Wed, 9 Jun 1999 

HALF A SORCERESS

Chapter 6 Shock! The Serenity of the Tendo House is
Shattered!

Written by: Jussi Nikander

Ranma 1/2 is a copyright by Rumiko Takahashi and
Shogakukan inc.
Slayers is copyright by Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi, TV
Tokyo, SOFTX and Egg Films
Not used under authorisation, but since I don't get any
money from this, don't sue me, okay?

Previous chapters can be found at

http://www.users.fl.net.au/~bcadwgan/Anime.htm

A great big thanks to Barry Cadwgan for placing this fic to his
webpage, and to Benjamin Oliver and Jed Hagen for
nitpicking on the story, all the grammar mistakes and spelling
errors I tend to make. ^_^

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day had started out as warm and sunny, but now dark --
some might say ominous -- clouds were gathering over
Nerima.

<Damn, I hope it won't rain,> Ranma said, grimacing as the
sun was quickly blotted out.

<What? Afraid of some water?> Lina teased.

<No, but I'm just as uncomfortable as a girl as you are as a
guy. I hope we reach this Tendo's place before getting wet.>

<You could always give me control...> Lina suggested.

<No thanks. I'd rather be wet and a girl than a passenger.>

Ranma felt Lina give the mental equivalent of a shrug. <Suit
yourself.>

At some level, Ranma was glad of the ensuing silence. Ever
since the affair with that bandit gang near Xi'an, Lina had
scared him. The way the young sorceress had dealt with the
bandits... Ranma still couldn't reconcile himself with the girl.

Lina brooded. It was still obvious that Ranma hadn't
forgotten. The nerve of the guy: she makes one mistake and
he keeps a sour face for weeks without end. Sure, the times
had changed from her days, and she probably would do it
differently now, given the chance, but he just wouldn't let it
go...

Lina gave the mental equivalent of a sigh. Being angry at
Ranma would do no good. She'd probably have to change
quite radically, if she ever wanted to fit in.

Both teenagers were brought out from their musings, when
Genma cleared his throat.

"Son, there's one thing I must tell you, before we reach
Tendo's..." Suddenly, Genma fell silent. Should he tell
Ranma before they reach the Dojo? It would be fair, after all,
to give him some time to get used to the idea, but what if he
chose to disobey his father? With Lina helping Ranma, there
would be very little Genma could do to stop his son.

"Yeah, Pop, what is it?"

Best to tell him, Genma decided. Ranma would probably
never forgive him, if he were to thrust him into this kind of
situation without any kind of warning beforehand.

"Soun Tendo, the master of the Tendo Dojo is an old friend of
mine. We... studied under the same master."
Mayweneverseehimagain! "Before you were born, son, I
made a deal with Tendo-kun..." Genma trailed off again.

Lina felt like some had poured icy water down her spine. She
had a baaaaad feeling about this.

Ranma gulped. Pop was definitely up to no good.

"Yeah, go on," Ranma said.

Genma took a deep breath. "I... you see, son, Tendo-kun was
blessed with no male heirs, but several daughters, so I
promised that should a son be born to me, he would marry
one of Tendo-kun's daughters to ensure the future of the
Anything-goes school."

Ranma froze on his tracks. A strong gust of wind ruffled his
clothes. Marry? An... an... arranged marriage? Pop... was
taking him to meet a... fiancee? He started trembling.

Had she been in control of the body, Lina probably would
have facefaulted hard enough to break through the concrete
and dig several feet into the ground. As things were, her
higher brain functions had stopped.

Just then, the rain began to fall.

                        * * *

The fight had been spectacular, intense, and rather short.
Astonished, the pedestrians watched as the gigantic panda
finished the battle by uprooting a street sign and whacking
the gaijin girl with it.

Speculation ran wild. Some were sure it had to be a candid
camera, others thought it was one of those weird live-action
versions of anime, a few were certain it was a sign that the
world was about to end. Nobody came even close to the
right answer.

Unconcerned, the panda dropped the street sign, and bent
down to pick the girl up. However, before the panda touched
the girl, it froze for a second, and then picked up the street
sign instead.

A few seconds later, the girl started to get up, and the panda
whacked her again. Then, the animal picked her up, also
gathering her backpack and the pack it itself had been
carrying. After discouraging a few of the more nosy
spectators, it trudged away.

                                * * *

Genma sighed in relief. The situation had been critical for a
moment, but he had been able to deal with it. Now, if he
could just reach the Dojo before Ranma woke up, everything
would be fine. Ranma was a dutiful son, and Genma was
sure he would accept the situation... eventually. And Lina...
Genma would deal with her, somehow. Still, he should make
haste so he'd be at Tendo-kun's before either of his charges
woke up.

Around the corner, Genma was greeted by a familiar sight:
there, just some fifty yards away was an old restaurant, the
one where he and Soun had agreed to join their families.
Soun's house would be around the corner. Picking up speed,
Genma trudged on.

Just then Lina woke up.

                        * * *

After a few seconds of confusion and questions such as
'what happened?', 'where am I?' and 'why Naga had such a
big bust while mine is almost non-existent?' Lina
remembered what had happened. She slapped her hand at
Genma's furry forearm and let loose a tiny digger bolt, just
strong enough to make him release her. Then, using
Genma's shoulder as a springboard, she jumped away,
stumbling a little on the landing.

Genma felt a small hand followed by a stinging jolt on his
forearm. Screeching to halt, he turned around, in time to see
Lina with a furious expression and a hand full of fire, but too
late to do anything about it.

                        * * *

All was peaceful and serene at the Tendo Dojo. Soun Tendo
was sitting on the porch, sipping warm sake and enjoying the
sunny afternoon. Even that short rain shower had ended and
sun was once again shining.

Soun's eldest daughter, Kasumi, was hanging the laundry to
dry and humming a happy little song.

The middle daughter, Nabiki, was in her room, probably
either reading a magazine or doing her aerobics.

And Soun's youngest daughter... his youngest daughter
Akane -- Soun was so proud of her that he almost broke
down crying -- was in the Dojo, practising her martial arts.

Oh, how dedicated to the Art little Akane was! Oh, how sweet
and kind Kasumi was! Oh, how smart and quick-thinking
Nabiki was! If only Soun's old friend, Saotome-kun and his
son would come...

The tranquillity of the Tendo Dojo was destroyed as a huge
explosion shook the building, shattering windows and
throwing debris everywhere.

"Oh, my!"

Soun burst out crying.

                        * * *

Magic is a tricky thing. It can kill a man without leaving a
trace, destroy or repair a whole town in the blink of an eye,
cause incredible amounts of heat, noise and property
damage but still be non-lethal and many other wondrous
things.

Lina Inverse was an expert in causing incredible amounts of
property damage without killing anyone (And in causing
massive amounts of property damage while killing quite a lot
of people). Thus the end results of a full-power non-lethal
fireball were downright spectacular.

There was a huge, blackened crater on the street. There
wasn't an intact window within a fifty yard radius. Everyone
within Nerima, and quite a few people outside it had seen the
huge pillar of fire. Nobody within five miles could miss the
noise.

The police, fire brigade and JSDF had already been alerted
to investigate a possible terrorist bombing/gas explosion/
nuclear attack/UFO landing/maniac sorceress on
the loose.

Soun Tendo had fainted from the shock. The noise had
awakened Ranma. Genma was burnt, blackened,
unconscious, and lying on the bottom of the aforementioned
crater.

Breathing hard, Lina sank to her hands and knees. Most of
her anger had been drained away to fuel her magic, leaving
an empty feeling behind. In the old days, that kind of spell
wouldn't even dent her reserves. Now, it had left her
exhausted. For a minute Lina lay there, trying to regain her
breath.

Ranma was jolted back to consciousness by a loud...
something. Confused, he tried to look around, only to find out
that he couldn't control his body. After a second of panic, he
remembered Lina, and realised that the girl had once again
taken control. She was laying on her hands and knees,
out of breath. There was a smell of smoke in the air, strong
enough for even him to notice it. <Lina!> Ranma shouted.
<What happened!? Where are we?>

For a moment Lina didn't react to Ranma's words. Then, she
lifted her head to look at Genma's blackened body. <Your
pop knocked us out. He was running, carrying us to
somewhere when I woke up. I got free of his hold and...
blasted him.>

Through Lina's eyes Ranma saw the burnt panda that was
his father. For a moment he was speechless with shock.
Then...

<Did you kill him!!??>

Lina took a deep breath. <No. He's fine. It wasn't a deadly
spell, just a loud boom.>

<He's not dead?>

<No.> Wearily, Lina climbed back to her feet. <He's alive,
just singed a little.> Still a bit uncertain of her footing, the
young sorceress clambered down to the bottom of the crater.
The panda didn't seem to be badly hurt. <See? Still
breathing.>

<Oh.>

                        * * *

The three sisters were standing in front yard of the Tendo
household, looking at the slowly dispersing pillar of black
smoke. Akane was frowning. Nabiki gazed at the smoke
calmly, her poker face holding perfectly. Kasumi was holding
a hand on her cheek, looking a tad worried.

"What do you think it is, oneechan?" Akane asked, turning to
look at Nabiki.

The middle Tendo sister shrugged in response. "Haven't got
a clue. But, it doesn't seem to be spreading."

Akane nodded to herself and started walking towards the
gate. "I'm going to check it out."

"Oh, dear, I don't think you should, Akane-chan," Kasumi
said. "It might be dangerous there. Better to leave it to the
authorities."

Soon afterwards, the three Tendo sisters were sitting in the
main hall of their house, trying to calm their bawling father.

                        * * *

Having no prior experience in over-ten-foot jumps while
carrying huge, unconscious pandas, Lina stumbled on the
landing, but managed to keep her footing.

It still amazed her how strong she was nowadays. She had
been quite fit in her old life, but now she was much stronger,
faster and had a much greater endurance. If only she were
stronger in magic too...

Sighing, the young sorceress dragged Genma to a near-by
alley (no sense in lingering at the crime scene, so to speak)
and sat on him.

<Alright, gimme control back,> Ranma said.

<Not yet, okay?> Lina replied absentmindedly.

<It's _my_ day!>

<Quiet, I'm trying to think.>

<Give me the control back, you flatchested tomboy!>

That set off Lina's temper. <Shut up you moron! We have
bigger problems than who controls the body!>

<So give it back to me! You're always stealing my days!>

<SHUT UP! Don't you realise your moronic father's engaged
us to somebody! I've got no plans of marrying a GIRL!>

Ranma was silent for a while. Finally he replied in a grave
voice. <We gotta do something about this.>

<Right. But what?>

<Ummm....>

                        * * *

<He's my father! I should be the one to confront him!>
Ranma shouted.

<I'm the one he's afraid of! You'd just end up giving in to
him!> Lina screamed back. As usual, their planning session
had very quickly decayed into yet another fight.

<I wouldn't! I ain't gonna be engaged to nobody!>

<Yes you would, and neither will I!>

<I would not!>

<Yeah you would! The second you see that girl he's
trying to engage us to, you'll be going ga-ga in no
time!!!>

There was a moment of shocked, absolute silence. <I would
not!>

<Would too!>

Lina hardly noticed when she whacked Genma, who had
started to show signs of waking up.

                        * * *

Five minutes and another near-explosion from Lina later
the two teens had calmed down, more or less.

<Okay, so what do _you_ suggest we do?> Ranma asked.

<Uhhh... Let me think...>

<Right...> Ranma said, sarcastically.

<Hey! What's that supposed to mean?>

<You don't have clue 'bout what to do next, do you?>

<I'm working on it!>

                        * * *

"Gworf?"

There was a loud bonk, as Lina once again sent Genma back
to lala-land.

<So, you're going to just walk in there, throw pop down on
this Tendo-guy's lap and make them break their
agreement?> Ranma asked.

<Yup!>

<You can't do that!>

<Why?>

<It... It... It just wouldn't be honourable!> Ranma stammered.

Lina raised an eyebrow. <Got any better ideas?>

<...>

                        * * *

Nabiki couldn't help wondering how Kasumi was able to do it.
Just a few minutes ago Soun had been crying his eyes out.
Now, he was calmly sitting there, reading the day's paper and
sipping his tea.

Suddenly, there was rather intense knocking on the door.
Nabiki looked at Akane, who stared back at her.

"I'll get it," the elder of the two finally said and stood up.
Soon, Nabiki opened the front door and was greeted by a
rather surreal sight.

Outside, a short, redheaded gaijin girl was standing in damp
clothes, dragging a gigantic panda by one paw. The panda
seemed to have several large bumps on its head.

"Is this the Tendo residence?" the girl asked.

Nabiki spent the next few seconds blinking. "Umm... yeah..."
she finally answered.

"Good, " the girl replied, and, pushing Nabiki off to the side,
dragged the panda inside.

Not used to having gigantic furry mammals dragged into her
house, it took Nabiki a moment to gather her wits. "Hey!
Wait! You can't just barge in here!"

"Yes I can," the girl shot over her shoulder, dragging the
panda to the living room. She stopped at the opposite side of
dining table from Soun.

"You Soun Tendo?" she snapped.

Slowly, Soun peered over the paper he was reading.
Whoever the girl was, she had used the front door, and thus
probably wasn't there to challenge him to savage combat. A
fact Soun was rather relieved of. He wasn't in the best
condition after that recent... incident. "Yes?" he said.

Instead of answering, the girl used a rather sloppy judo throw
to slam a gigantic panda on dining table. Soun felt his
emotional control slipping again. Why did people always
have to break their furniture? Then, the girl made a weird
gesture, and some water appeared in the air which, following
the law of gravity, dropped on the panda, who turned into...

"Saotome-kun!?!?!??"

Before Soun's friend had time to anything, the girl had
grabbed Genma by the collar of his gi, which had suddenly
appeared, and glared at the balding man. "Okay, pops, you
got a contract to annul. NOW!"

"Oh, my!"

                        * * *

A minute of Kasumi's presence had been enough to bring
some resemblance of order into the situation. Soun was
sitting at one side of the shattered table, his daughters by his
side. Genma, and the gaijin girl were on the other side.

For a long moment there was silence while Soun tried to
keep calm, and Genma wondered what kind of horrible fate
Lina had planned for him, and if his son would stop her. Lina
glared at the sorry excuse of a man named Genma Saotome
and tried to ignore Ranma's ranting. The three Tendo
girls were plain confused.

"So, Saotome-kun..." Soun finally ventured. "Care to
explain?"

"I..." Genma began, faltered, tried to start again "You see..."
Unable to think of anything, he finally went silent.

The girl sighed and scratched her head. For a moment she
seemed to stare into space, and then began talking. "Okay,
since pops seems too clueless about how to start, I'll have to
tell the story. This here is Genma Saotome." She stuck her
thumb out at the man next to her as she looked at the three
confused daughters.  "My name's Lina Inverse, though I'm
currently in a body that originally belonged to Genma's son,
Ranma..."

                        * * *

"...So, we dragged him here to annul that stupid agreement,"
Lina finally concluded her story.

For a minute, there was silence. Then, Soun turned to look at
Genma. "Saotome-kun..." he began uneasily,  "Is she telling
the truth?"

Genma nodded.

"And you are going to annul the pact?"

Genma nodded again, meekly.

"So..." Soun drawled, before bursting into demon-head mode.
"How are we going to unite our schools if your son doesn't
marry my daughter!?!?!?"

Soun's outburst caused several things to happen at once:

First, Lina scampered backwards in fright and surprise,
letting loose an instinctive Mega Brunto, mildly scorching
Soun.

Second, the three Tendo sisters simultaneously jumped up
and shouted "Marry!!!??" as the nature of Genma and
Soun's agreement hadn't been revealed in Lina's story.

Third, Genma, who had already been very, very nervous
because of Lina's apparent bad mood, jumped into the koi
pond.

                        * * *

The first thing Soun saw upon waking was the worried face of
his eldest daughter, Kasumi. For a while he lay there, trying
to forget the horrible nightmare he had had about his old
friend Genma returning - only to reveal that he had a
daughter.

Then, the apparently concerned face of a gigantic
panda appeared in Soun's field of vision and he realised it
wasn't a dream. Rivers of tears burst out of the eyes of the
Tendo patriarch.

                        * * *

Lina sat at the porch of the Tendo home, brooding. Maybe --
just maybe -- she had been a tad too forceful back there.
Well, at least she wouldn't seem like a prime future-son-in-
law candidate after that show. Lina replayed that thought
again, and winced.

"Umm... Inverse-san?" somebody called behind Lina.

Turning, the young sorceress saw the youngest of the Tendo
daughters standing in the doorway, looking at her.

"Uhh... Yes?"

The girl... Akane, if Lina remembered right, shuffled her feet
for a second before replying. "Mind if I join you?"

Lina shrugged. "No, I guess not."

The girl sat down a few meters from Lina, and folded her
hands on her lap. For a minute, the porch was silent.

"I..." Akane finally began. "Inverse-san, I'd like to apologise
for my father's actions. He's a bit emotional at times."

For a moment Lina stared at the girl. Sitting on the porch, she
had, among other things, tried to compose some sort of
apology. Just in case she'd need one. Now, one of the
Tendos and come to her to apologise. Lina burst out in an
embarrassed laugh, scratching the back of her head.

"I... Umm... I'm sorry too, blasting your dad and all that," she
finally said.

The girl smiled a little. "It's okay. Dad has a tendency to
shock people when he's angry."

"Oh."

<That was reeeaally intelligent.>

<Oh, shut up!>

"So... Inverse-san..." Akane continued. "You really are a...
magic-user?"

Relaxing, Lina leaned back, resting her elbows on the
porch's wood. "Yup. The correct term's 'sorceress', though."

Akane nodded. "And... Uhh... You're really a thousand years
old?"

For a while Lina was quiet.

"Inverse-san?"

The young sorceress sighed. "Call me Lina, okay? And, no,
I'm not 'a thousand years old', though if I have the dates
down right, it's been about a thousand years since I was
born. I drowned in the.. Nyannichuan when I was sixteen and
my soul slumbered there until last month."

Akane blinked a few times, and then visibly relaxed. "And
you're really a girl?"

Akane blinked as Lina suddenly tensed. Finally, the young
sorceress said, "You mean my, Uhh... curse?"

Akane nodded.

<Gee, you should realise that the curse's a bit easier to
notice than your bust. Or the lack of it.>

<Shut UP!>

<Ow!>

"Yeah, I'm a girl," Lina said, then sighed, "and Ranma's
a guy." She held her shoulders up in a long shrug. "It's
kind of complicated..."

"So..." Akane hesitated a moment. "When you're splashed
with hot water you turn into Ranma?"

"Yeah," Lina answered, only to add a few seconds later, "In
body I mean. We don't switch places when the body
changes, thank the spirits."

Akane frowned in confusion.

"Actually..." Lina ventured after a moment. <Want the body
back, Ranma?>

<Yes!>

"Actually what?" Akane asked. It looked like Lina had
dropped into a some kind of trance. Then, Akane's eyes
widened a little as Lina waved her hand, and a ball of
steaming water appeared over the sorceress' head. Then,
the young girl's eyes widened even more, as Lina morphed,
grew, and in a split second turned into a young Japanese
boy. Akane watched, amazed, as the girl-turned-boy closed
her... his eyes and shuddered a little.

"Wow..." Akane said. "You really are a sorceress."

Ranma turned his head to look at the girl sitting beside him.
"No, I ain't. Lina did that."

"Lina?" Akane asked. "But you said..."

"I'm Ranma. She did that water spell-thingy, and then gave
the control to me."

"Oh... So, you're Saotome-san's son?" Akane asked.

"Yeah," Ranma answered, standing up then bowing a little,
"I'm Ranma Saotome. Nice to meetcha."

For a second Akane's posture went rigid, then her eyes
narrowed momentarily before she answered. "Likewise,
Saotome-san. I... Uhh.. Better go see if my father's all right."

For a minute Ranma stared at the door to the Tendo's living
room, through which Akane had beaten a rather hasty exit.

<I wonder what that's about,> he finally remarked.

Ranma could feel Lina making the mental equivalent of a
shrug. <Beats me. She seemed like a nice girl to me. So
what are we gonna do now?>

Sitting down, Ranma answered, <I don't know. If your stunt
doesn't get us thrown out..>

<Hey!>

<... I guess we can spend tomorrow night here, at least.>

<You want to stay here!?> Lina asked.

<Better than sleeping on the ground.>

<But your pop brought us here to engage you!>

<So? I ain't gonna get engaged.>

<If we stay here the chances of your resistance crumbling
grow every second!>

<I AIN'T gonna get engaged!!!> There was a slight pause.
<Besides, you blasted that Tendo guy good. It ain't like he's
gonna engage any of his daughters to me now.>

<You sure!?> Lina wasn't sure, but had there been the tiniest
touch of... regret... in Ranma's voice?

For a minute Ranma was silent.

<Yeah, sure I'm sure!>

                        * * *

Inside, Soun had recovered from being on the receiving end
of a low-level firespell, and Genma had changed back to his
human form.

The two patriarchs sat alone in Soun's bedroom, Soun
having ushered his daughters out, stating that he would have
a 'private discussion' with his friend.

On the other side of the rather thin wall, Nabiki and Kasumi
were dutifully listening what their father would try to make of
their future.

"So my friend..." Soun started. "Are you really going to back
out from our agreement?"

For a moment Genma was quiet, and totally motionless.
Then, he burst out to rant, tears streaming from his eyes.
"Oh, my friend! You don't know how horrible and powerful
that woman is! She has supernatural powers under her
command, and her control over fire is horrible! She!... She!!!
Oh, my friend! She's almost as horrible as the Master!"

Again, the room was quiet, save for Genma's rather loud
sobbing.

"I wonder who this master was..." Nabiki mused on the other
side of the door.

"Shhh! Quiet!"

"So..." Soun's voice was cold. "You ARE backing out..."

"NO!" Genma screamed, still crying. "I'm not, my friend... It's
just... It's just that we must get rid of that evil woman who
possesses my son, before our children can have any chance
of happiness."

"Ah... I see..."

Again there was silence.

"As bad as the Master," Soun's voice wavered, saying the
word, "you say?"

"Yes."

"Possesses your son?"

"Yes."

Suddenly Soun burst out laughing. "Don't worry, my friend!
We just have to hire a qualified exorcist and our troubles will
be over!"

When Genma replied, there was hope in his voice. "Maybe...
Maybe my friend..."

Soun slapped Genma on the back. "Now, there. I know a few
people who can help us. Let's give them a call, shall we?"

On the other side of the door Nabiki said to Kasumi, "I think
it's time we make ourselves scarce."

Kasumi nodded.

                        * * *

Later, Akane was in her room, doing homework, when Nabiki
stuck her head through the doorway. "Have you seen Lina
around, sis?"

Shaking her head, Akane turned. "She... Uhh... Haven't seen
her since I talked to her on the porch, some time ago. Why
do you ask?"

Nabiki smiled. "Ohh, nothing. I just have a little business
proposition to her."

                        * * *

A few minutes later Nabiki entered the Tendo Dojo, finding a
young Japanese boy in the middle of rather aggressive kata.
He was wearing the same clothes Lina had had when she
arrived.

So this is must be Ranma Saotome, Nabiki thought, settling
by the Dojo's door to watch the show.

Ranma's style strongly reminded Nabiki of her own family's.
She had watched Akane working out a number of times,
lately most of them in secrecy with her trusted camera to
keep her company, and believed that she knew the moves
rather well.

What Ranma used was very similar to Akane's style, only his
actions were faster, more fluid and natural. Nabiki guessed
that Ranma was better than her little sister, possibly a lot
better.

The moment Ranma ended his kata, Nabiki started clapping.

Quickly, Ranma whirled around to see one of the elder
Tendo daughters standing in the Dojo. She was clapping
and had a weird half-smile on her face.

"Ranma Saotome, I presume."

"I..  Yeah," Ranma stammered.

<Oooh! That was smooth!> Lina snickered.

<Shuddup!>

"My name's Nabiki, and I'm the middle sister, so to say. I've
already met your better half, but it's nice to finally get to see
you, too."

"Oh..."

"Especially since I have proposition you might be interest in,
Saotome-kun."

Had she been able to, Lina would certainly have narrowed
her eyes. She had heard that line a thousand times, and
more often than not it had meant something bad was about to
happen.

<Ranma! Give me the control!>

<What? No way! It's my day and you've already stolen too
much of it!>

<I need to get in charge, Ranma! I've seen her type before
and know how to handle them.>

<Huh? What do you mean?>

"Well, you interested Saotome-kun?" Nabiki asked. The boy
appeared confused, Nabiki thought. A good thing for her --
confused people were much easier to bargain with.

<I mean look at her! "I have a proposition for you." Can you
start a conversation in a more suspicious way?!>

<You mean she's gonna try to con me or something?>

"Yeah, sure," Ranma answered absentmindedly, more
occupied in her conversation with Lina.

<Yes!>

Ranma almost laughed at that. <Don't be ridiculous! She's
just one of pop's friend's daughters.>

"Well, I happened to hear a conversation between your
father and mine, shortly after Lina had blasted daddy. This
particular conversation concerned yours, and Lina's, future."

"Yeah?"

"And, if you're interested, I could relate to you what I heard.
For a small fee of course. Shall we say, five thousand yen?"

Ranma blinked.

<See? She's after my money!>

Ranma was quiet, not noticing Lina's comment about money
being hers.

Then, Ranma got an unusually bright idea, at least in his
opinion.

<Don't worry! I know how to handle this!>

<No! Wait!> Now, had she been able to, Lina would have
buried her head in her hands...

"Uhh... How about I don't have Lina turn you into a frog if you
tell me what you heard?"

Nabiki smirked. The younger Saotome certainly had a lot to
learn about bluffing. "And, pray tell, how could I tell you
anything, being a frog? Seven thousand, and that's being
generous."

There was a moment of silence.

<What do I do?>

Lina sighed. <Pay her.>

"Six thousand?" Ranma asked hopefully.

"Not a chance."

                        * * *

A bit later, when the sun was just setting, Ranma sat on the
roof of the Tendo house. If he had understood his father and
Mr Tendo's rather enthusiastic explanation, they'd be staying
at the Tendo home 'until the situation has been
satisfactaralily settled' or some such thing. At least they had
said that they had agreed to 'postpone the engagement' or
something.

<Lina?> Ranma asked.

<Yeah?>

<You think my pop and Tendo-san's exorcism-thingie could
work?>

<No!> Lina replied, rather forcefully. <I'm not possessing
you, as proved by the fact that I can't just wrestle control from
you when I want, and thus whatever pops and old man Tendo
might try would only be embarrassing and very
uncomfortable. For us. So we better just scramble, if they
ever try anything of the sort!>

Ranma blinked. <Ookay...>

<Anyway, I'm certain there is a better way of solving our
problem than exorcism!>

<Yeah,> Ranma answered. <Like what?>

<Errr... There must be a magical artefact for situations like
this somewhere!> Lina quickly blurted. She was damned if
she'd admit she had absolutely no idea of what to do.
Besides maybe trying to exorcise Ranma, and that really
wasn't something she was about to try. Too risky, for one
thing, and it has she who was the 'intruder' here...

<Riiight...> Ranma replied. <So what are we going to do
now?>

<Live here, I guess. Unless you're willing to dump your pop.>

<I ain't.>

<I knew it. Anyway, since that stupid engagement isn't going
to happen, I don't think There's any danger in staying here.>

<Oh... You trying to tell me you don't like any of the
choices?>

<Well,> Lina answered in a thoughtful voice. <That Kasumi
girl seems like a nice person, you know. Kind, sweet and
always smil... WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING!?!?!?!?>

Ranma burst out laughing.

<RANMA YOU JEEEEERK!!!!!!>

                        * * *

Kick. Punch. Feint, punch, kick, kick. Kick, block, feint,
punch, ki...

"Waaaah!"

With a loud thump Lina landed on her bottom from a little-
too-eager attempt on a spin kick.

"Aaaaahh!!! Why can't I get a handle of this!!!!"

<Sigh.>

Lina had woken up rather early that morning, and had
decided to take the chance to make an early start. After all,
she could sleep the whole next day if she wanted to. She had
also made a point of mentally kicking Ranma up and having
him give her one more lesson in Saotome-style Anything
Goes.

During the time it had taken them to cross China Lina had
learned quite a bit, and was now a much more 'in tune'
with her body than she had been after her so-called rebirth.
She was quickly becoming proficient in Ranma's fighting
style, and seldom stumbled as she had in her fight against
Shampoo. But, if she tried anything more advanced, she
still failed more often than succeeded. And Ranma seemed
to demand more and more of her each day.

<You're trying too much again,> Ranma commented. <Your
body knows what it's doing, so you don't hafta actually think
about doing it. Just visualise what you want to do in your
mind, and then let the body take care of it.>

<Easy for you to say,> Lina grumbled.

<Yeah, it's easy. Lemme show you, okay?>

Lina sighed. <Okay...>

Ranma took over, and executed the kata quickly, gracefully,
and without a flaw.

<Okay, now you try it,> Ranma said, giving control back to
Lina.

<Yeah, whatever you say, 'sensei'...> Lina replied without
much enthusiasm. She still took a ready stance, though.

<Okay... Here we go...>

Kick. Punch. Feint, punch, kick, kick. Kick, block, feint,
punch, kick. Punch, block, feint punch, ki...

"Lina-san?"

"Waaah!"

Rubbing her sore bottom, Lina stood up again, and turned to
face Kasumi. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Breakfast is ready. Would you like to come?" the Tendo girl
beamed back.

"Sure, whatever..."

                        * * *
Almost immediately, the meal turned into a rather surreal
affair for three of the participants, as the Tendos' were
introduced to the Inverse method of eating.

Soun, Nabiki and Akane hadn't had time to even touch their
portions before Lina had already devoured hers and was
asking for more. Kasumi had been more than happy to
comply, and had refilled Lina's bowl of rice with a smile.

Lina had thanked Kasumi and inhaled the next cup of rice,
along with some side dishes, just as fast as she had
devoured the first one.

So far, Lina had made short work of seven bowlfuls of rice
and most of the pickles and pork on the table, as well as
several of the other dishes.

The only others to have eaten anything were Genma, who
was outwardly calm, but still eating very quickly, like a man
used to his food suddenly disappearing if he didn't eat it right
now, and Kasumi, who had somehow managed to eat her
share of the food while serving both Lina and Genma.

"More, please!" Lina said, swallowing the last of her previous
portion.

"Oh, my," Kasumi said, "you certainly have a healthy
appetite, Inverse-san." She handed Lina the refilled bowl.

"Thanks!" the sorceress beamed back. "Working magic burns
a lot of energy," she explained between mouthfuls.

A few seconds later Lina had dealt with her latest portion
of rice, and put her bowl on the table, placing her chopsticks
on it. "Thanks, I'm done! It was really good, Kasumi!"

A gigantic smile on her face, the young sorceress bounded
out to the back yard.

For a few minutes the room was silent, save for Genma
munching on his food. Then, hesitantly at first, Nabiki started
eating. She was quickly followed by Akane, and finally, Soun.

                        * * *

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!????"

The whole Tendo house shook from the volume of Lina's
exclamation.

Kasumi's hair was blown backwards from the air pressure,
making her usually serene image a bit bewildered. "I'm afraid
Ranma needs to go to school," she repeated.

"But... But I don't! I'm a fully qualified sorceress already!"

"Gee, I don't think they a sorcery department in universities,
anymore," a somewhat sarcastic voice said behind Lina. The
sorceress whirled around to face Nabiki.

"Huh?"

"You see, Lina-san, we have to think about Ranma's future
here. Do you think he's going to be a wandering martial artist,
like his father, for the rest of his days?"

"Um, well..." Lina had been on the move since the age of
thirteen. For her, 'settling down' was something that
happened to other people.

"Now, if he's ever going to, for example, open a Dojo," Nabiki
plunged on, not giving the other girl time to recover, "he
needs to have proper education. In this case an university
degree, in physical education, I believe. And, in order to
enter an university," Snatching the lunches Kasumi had
prepared for her and Lina, Nabiki dragged the still-
bewildered sorceress out, talking all the while, "he needs to
graduate from high school, which is the name of the school
youngsters of our age go into..."

"Hey! Wait! What are you doing!"

                        * * *

A few minutes later, having finally escaped Nabiki, Lina was
sitting on the top of a stone wall, thinking.

<Did you understand anything that girl was saying, Ranma?>

<Uhh... Yeah. She's basically right, you know. Having gone
to university would help me when I open my own Dojo.>

<So, you're saying we should go to this 'high school'?>

<Yeah, well, I dunno. I've always figured that if I'm good
enough martial artist I don't need any stupid diploma or
degree to start my own Dojo.>

<So then you're saying we shouldn't.>

Ranma really hoped he had been in charge. Somehow,
scratching the back of his head would have done wonders for
him right now.

<Uhhh... I dunno... It's kinda boring there, you
know...Besides, who would we register as?>

Lina blinked. <What do you mean.>

<I... You see, you hafta register to school when you go there.
So they know who you are and where you live and stuff, you
know?>

"Oh..." Lina replied out aloud.

<Well, that's an easy one. Since I can't use my magic while
in your body, we'd have to register as Lina Inverse.>

<What!? No! They hafta check your papers and stuff, and
you don't have any! We'd have to register as Ranma
Saotome!>

<What do you mean, check papers!?>

<Stuff about your birth and all that. They have that stored
of everyone!>

<You mean the school knows when everyone's born? That's
ridiculous!>

The only thing the following argument made clear was that a
mostly ignorant person shouldn't try to explain the workings
of the civil records system to somebody who had lived in the
middle ages.

                        * * *

Arriving at Furinkan High, Nabiki wondered if Lina, or
Ranma, would come. She was rather hoping they'd decide to
attend school. She/he was certain to bring a lot of
amusement and  probably a little extra pocket money for
Nabiki. Starting with the fee of her holding onto Lina's lunch...

                        * * *

Having left the house a good five minutes after her sister,
who had apparently left early, and with Lina Inverse in tow,
Akane found the sorceress sitting on a wall, wearing a weird
mixture of intense concentration, confusion and annoyance
on her face.

"Hello Inv.. Err, I mean, Lina," Akane greeted her
houseguest. She was still having trouble adjusting to the
other girl's very familiar manner.

Lina didn't seem to notice.

"Good morning!" Akane said again, louder this time.

Lina blinked and looked down. "Oh, hi... Akane, right?"

The other girl nodded. "Kasumi said that you had already left
with Nabiki."

Lina hopped down from the wall. "Yeah, she dragged me off,
babbling about school and future plans and whatnot."

"Oh."

Akane resumed her walk to school, and Lina fell in step
beside her. "Do you think I should go to school?"

<YOU ain't going. We'll go as Ranma Saotome!> Ranma
interjected.

Akane was silent for a moment. She didn't know Lina at all
really, and Ranma even less (and wasn't too eager to make
the acquaintance), so it was really hard to try and guess what
the other was trying to say. "Sure. I mean, it's in the law."

Lina glanced at Akane. "A law?"

"Yes," Akane answered.

"Right..."

<What do you say?>

<Well, she's right...>

<You want to go?>

<Well... Not really...>

"Lina?" Akane asked. "You're coming?"

<You want to go?> Ranma asked.

<No. But... While I figure out a way to solve our problem at
least.>

<And just what are we going to tell people?>

<The truth, I guess.>

There was a moment of silence. <ARE YOU NUTS, you
flatchested tomboy!?!?!???>

<WHAT DID YOU SAY!!>

Akane took a step back as Lina suddenly gained a red glow.
It seemed that she was radiating heat too...

<... and don't EVER say that again you insensitive JERK!
What's wrong with telling people I'm a chronologically
displaced sorceress!?>

<What are you babbling about! If we go, we're gonna go as
Ranma Saotome!>

<Will not!>

"Ummm... Lina-san?"

Lina whirled to face Akane, shouted, "Shut UP! I'm busy!"
and walked, or rather trampled, on.

Akane took a step back, and then frowned in annoyance. "I
was just going to ask if you were coming or, not, but if you're
going to act that way..."

Normally, Akane wasn't the type to hit guests, but she had a
rather short temper, and had seen a part Lina's morning
practice. Thus, she was reasonably sure Lina would
withstand the hit. Not that Akane considered any of this when
she hit Lina with a powerful right hook.

                        * * *

It took Lina a moment to recover from the shock, and a few
seconds more to realise what had happened. "So this is how
it feels," Lina remarked, rubbing her chin.

With experience gathered by hundreds of flight-hours Lina
observed her trajectory. It seemed that she was about to land
to the yard of a largish building, into which a lot of people of
her apparent age were going into.

<Well,> Lina remarked, smirking. <I think we'd better decide
which identity to use, now.>

<And just why's that,> Ranma asked hotly.

<Unless I'm wrong, that,> Lina pointed at the building they
were rapidly approaching, <is a 'school', probably even
the one the Tendo's are attending.>

<Ranma! We'll hafta go as Ranma Saotome!!> Ranma
screamed, a touch of desperation in his voice.

                        * * *

Looking out from a third floor window Nabiki spied a rapidly
approaching, flying form which had red hair. "So she can fly
too, huh?" she commented to herself, leaning against the
windowsill.

                        * * *

<What are you doing, you crazy chick!?!?> Ranma
screamed, the earlier argument momentarily forgotten, as
Lina didn't seem to be a bit concerned about the rapidly-
approaching ground.

<This!> Lina shot back. Approximately ten meters off the
ground, she cast a minor version of Levitation, just enough
slow her fall so she would touch down gently.

While having students arriving through ballistic arcs wasn't
unheard of in Furinkan High, this was certainly the first time
anyone had touched instead of crashed down.

The eyes of Furinkan High were on the oddly dressed gaijin
girl, who had arrived at school through a rather unusual
method. The crowd that had gathered for the daily ritual of
challenge-Akane-Tendo-and-get-beaten-up-by-her, was
quiet. Those who had gathered inside by the windows were
staring. Even Kuno Tatewaki, the Blue Thunder (until
recently, the Shooting Star) of Furinkan High, was a bit
perplexed.

Just then, Akane Tendo stepped through the gates of
Furinkan, and the normal course of things resumed. For a
moment at least.

                        * * *

The students who gathered to challenge Akane usually did
so by the main entrance of the school.

Akane, like the great majority of students, arrived at the
school through the main gates.

Lina found herself standing in the middle of Furinkan's
front yard... straight in the path of a mob which, upon
seeing Akane, decided to charge.

"Waaah! What the hell are they doing!!" Seeing the mob
charging at her, Lina panicked for a second. It was quickly
over, though.

"DAMU BRASS!" The most intelligent of the charging mob
jumped down as dozens of crackling spheres of white energy
flew straight at them. The rest just froze up at the sight of the
incoming projectiles. To the great surprise of everyone
involved, the missiles suddenly sputtered and disappeared a
few meters before reaching their targets.

For a second, Lina stared at the horde of students, who
stared right back at her. Then, a small gust of wind blew the
snow-white locks of Lina's hair to her face. "Oh no, not
again," Lina muttered, slumping her shoulders, as a sea of
murmuring voices filled the yard and hallways of Furinkan
High.

Seeing, that no more strange globes of energy were going to
be released, the mob resumed its charge.

"AAAAH!" Lina screamed, then paused. "Wait..." she added,
suddenly thinking of something. <Ranma, _you_ take over!>

<Right!> Having something he could handle in his hands,
Ranma lost his bad mood, at least momentarily.

There was a visible shudder as Lina was drawn back, and
Ranma took control of the body.

The fight was even more intense as usual, and a lot shorter.
Only three of the would-be suitors of Akane Tendo reached
the unwavering object of their attention, the others having
met a whirlwind with white hair in the way.

Akane stood by the fate, blinking in confusion as Lina
dispatched the daily mob with ease. The confusion quickly
gave way to anger as the other girl stole her fight.

She hadn't ever needed anyone to fight her battles for her,
and she wasn't about to start now!

The few students who got through were quickly and violently
taken out as Akane advanced on Lina. She got within a
couple of meters of the former redhead before the last boys
had been dealt with.

"Lina! What are you doing!?"

Ranma whirled around to face whoever had shouted, and
saw an angry Akane standing a little ways from him.

"Huh? Whatcha mean?"

"It was my battle! I don't need anyone to fight it for me!"

"They were charging right at me!"

<Ranma!>  Lina said sharply. <I'll handle this.>

<Huh?>

"You could have listened to what they said! They were
coming at me!"

<Give me back the body. I'll handle this.>

There was a moment of silence.

"Lina!" Akane shouted. "You listening to me at all!?"

<Okay,> Ranma said, shrugging. It wasn't like she wanted to
argue with Akane right now. Let Lina handle it if she wanted.

Trying to ignore the ranting girl before him, Ranma closed his
eyes and felt the all-too-familiar wrenching sensation that
meant Lina was again in control.

"Yes, I'm listening to you." Lina began in a mock-sweet voice,
ending her sentence in a dramatic pause.

Before Akane could open her mouth to reply, the sorceress
continued, her speech quickly gathering volume and speed
as she continued, "It isn't my style to interrupt somebody
else's battle, but when I get charged by a mob of armed men,
I'm not just going to ignore it! AND YOU HAVE SOME
NERVE TO COME SCREAMING AT ME AFTER YOU HIT
ME!!!" At the end of the speech Lina was shouting straight at
Akane's face.

Then, just as Akane opened her mouth to say her piece of
mind, a clear, loud voice interrupted the argument.

"Tell me, Akane Tendo, do you know this fair maiden?"

Lina turned to see that a tall boy with a dark hair, wearing
some kind of martial arts clothing and holding a wooden stick
and a rose, had come out of the school building.

"Kuno-sempai..." Akane breathed.

After regaining her composure Lina raised an eyebrow.
Whoever the guy was, he seemed to be really full of himself.

"No matter," the boy, Kuno, continued. "Might you give me
the honour of fighting you, Akane Tendo?" He lightly threw
the rose to Akane.

"What's this about?" Lina asked.

"None of your business," Akane answered through clenched
teeth, adopting a ready stance.

Lina shrugged, crossed her hands behind her head, and
turned to walk into the school. "Okay, then. See you later."

She was, however, stopped by a wooden sword. "You,
maiden. Are you a friend of Akane Tendo?"

Lina glanced at the sword, at the boy holding it, and, putting
one finger to her chin, answered in a piping voice. "Well, you
could say that, since I'm staying at her place. On the other
hand, she did hit me without provocation..."

"HEY!"

"...so unless she hits her friends..."

"Very well," the boy interrupted Lina. "Surely you are a friend
of the Tendo's if you stay at their household. What might be
your name?"

"Well..." Lina drawled, squaring her shoulders and smirking.
"I'm..."

"Wait, please!" Kuno interrupted again. "Is it not polite to give
one's own name first? Very well, I'm..."

Lina quickly ignored the boy's rant and asked Akane, "Is he
nuts?"

Akane nodded, fuming.

"Ah. Dill Brando." Too late, Lina recalled what had just
happened. Her hair had once more turned white. Thus, her
reserves were empty. She couldn't cast...

Kuno's rant was suddenly interrupted when the earth below
him exploded.

Lina fainted, a thin streams of blood flowing from her nostrils.

Akane was frozen long enough for Kuno to land. Head first.

"Truly, what a personality," he breathed in awe, before
falling onto his back and passing out.

end chapter 6.

notes:

Dill Brando: a spell which causes a circular area of ground to
explode upwards, taking anything, or anyone standing on it
with it.

Mega Brunto: a low-level fire spell which Lina seems to be
able to fire by reflex.

Damu Brass: Yet-anther-attack-spell. This one is a flurry of
electrical blasts that fry and blow their targets backwards.

Why would Soun think anyone would come to the Tendo
Dojo to challenged him in savage combat? Look at the
second panel of the 8th page of volume 1 of translated
Ranma 1/2 manga... ^_^ (sign: "to defeat the owner in savage
combat, use the rear door.")

And yes, in my opinion Kasumi would listen to Soun and
Genma's conversation. She's not the airhead on valium most
fanfics picture her. (TV-Mihoshi has that honour ^_^) Nor is
she the secret master of Tendo Dojo. (the white mice have
that honour. ^_^)
----------
Jussi Nikander
Jussi.Nikander@alien.nixu.fi
----------
imordilap nenillariv nokiiv