HALF A SORCERESS



Chapter 7: Mystery! The Dangers of Reckless Spellcasting!



Written by: Jussi Nikander



Ranma 1/2 is 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



Great many thanks for Jed Hagen for prereading and Barry

Cadwgan for C&C and hosting my fics on his webpage.



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



Slowly, Lina woke up, gradually peeling through layers of

unconsciousness. She blinked at the bright light coming from... 

somewhere and wearily tried to shade her eyes with her arm. 

She was feeling extremely tired and had an empty feeling, like

somebody had sucked the life from her.



She was lying on something soft, and there was a sharp, stingy 

smell  in the air.



"Lina-san?" a concerned voice asked.



Groaning, the sorceress turned her head to see whoever had

spoken.  Akane was sitting in a flimsy-looking green chair next

to her. The  Tendo girl had her hands placed on her lap, and

was looking concerned. 



"Wha... What happened?"



Akane's answer was interrupted before it even began by a very

loud, very angry growling. 



"Huh?"



Lina immediately realised what the empty feeling she had was.

She was hungrier than she had been ever since her 

resurrection. 



Already startled by the sound of Lina's stomach, Akane jumped

a little as Lina suddenly shot up, and started looking around the

nurse's station. Spotting something on a near-by table, the girl

jumped off the bed. In a flash she was at the table, devouring a

pack of sugar cubes. 



Akane stared, dumbfounded, as Lina made short work of the

sugar, and swept the room with her gaze again. Seeing nothing

edible, she strode to Akane, grabbed her shoulders, and asked

in a voice that made certain that it was a matter of life and

death, "Akane, where's your lunch?"



Still utterly confused, Akane dug through her pack, and drew

out her bento. "Here, whHEY!"



Before the Tendo girl had a chance to react, Lina had sat down

and inhaled her food. 



"Sorry, it was an emergency," Lina replied, letting out a

contented burp. With at least some food in her stomach, she

felt much better, and was able to concentrate on other matters.

<Ranma? You remember what happened?> 



<Ranma?> Lina repeated after a moment, as no answer was 

forthcoming.  Again, she was met only with silence.



Concerned, Lina turned back to Akane, who was quickly getting

angry. "Akane," Lina began in a voice serious enough to push

the Tendo girl back into confusion. "Can you tell me what

happened? How did I get here?"



Akane quickly related the encounter with Kuno, which ended

with her dragging Lina to nurse's office. Lina nodded and stood

up, putting on cheery face. "Well, it seems that I just extended

myself a little too far! Now, lets go and see the scribe so I can

get started here!"



"Scribe?"



"Yeah. The guy who knows where everybody's born."



Silence.



"What are you staring at? Ranma told me everything about it; I

have to go and see this guy who knows everyone's birthplace

and tell him I wanna study here," Lina replied, shaking a finger

at Akane.



"Oh, you mean registering at school?"



"Isn't that what I said?"



As the two girls entered the hallway, Lina tried one final time.

<Ranma?> There was still no answer. Oh well, he would wake

up soon.



			* * *



"Class, we have a new student starting today," Togusa-sensei

said, indicating the white-haired gaijin girl standing next to his

desk. "This is Lina Inverse, and she's an exchange student

from... Zefilia?" Togusa glanced at Lina, who smiled and

nodded in return. 



"May I ask you where it is?"



"It's a small land near Zokathra and about two week's travel

from Atlas City."



Akane buried her head in her hands. So much for that secret...



Togusa-sensei just stared at the new student in confusion. He'd

never heard of any of those places. "Right... Now, even if you 

are a new student, that doesn't change the fact that you and

Akane Tendo were late." Sensei pointed at a pile of buckets in

the corner. "Go stand in the hall."



"Umm...Teach? What does that have to do with buckets?"



"You carry them, one bucket full of water in each hand, and

reflect on your tardy ways."



Lina developed a huge sweatdrop. "Oh," was all she was able

to say.



			* * * 



Tatewaki Kuno was a man with a mission. Earlier the morning,

a girl had made an impression on him. Indeed, her white hair,

lovely face and youthful energy had struck even the great Blue

Thunder speechless. Thus, he had not have a chance to ask

for her name. Unfortunately that meant he was once again

forced to lower himself to the level of mere peasants. 



"Tell me, Nabiki Tendo, who is that new girl?"



Quirking an eyebrow, Nabiki glanced at Kuno. "New girl?"



"Yes. The white-locked whirlwind that tore through the ignorant

masses trying to date the sweet Akane Tendo."



"Oh, her," Nabiki answered in a bored tone, turning around.

Figures Kuno'd be interested in a girl who could knock him out

without touching him, she thought.



There was short pause in the conversation, until Kuno caught

on. "How much?"



Her interest renewed, Nabiki extracted four thousand yen bills

from the roll of money Kuno had produced. "Her name's Lina

Inverse. She lives at our house. She's not seeing anyone right

now, but is rather strongly attached to a boy called Ranma

Saotome. He lives at our house too."



"Strongly attached, you say?""



"Yes."



Inside Kuno's head ideas, thoughts, and delusions underwent a

rapid fusion, forming a conclusion that could be reached only

by a feverish mind. 



Despite her mercenary ways, Nabiki Tendo did tell the truth.

She said that his lovely white-locked girl was 'strongly

attached' to this Saotome boy. No doubt it was because of false

love, or something far worse. 



No woman (with the possible exception of Nabiki) could resist

the incredible charms of Tatewaki Kuno. Thus it was his duty to

free this new lovely example of womanhood who had entered

his world.



"Oh, my white-haired whirlwind!" Kuno shouted, jumping up

from his desk. How could he keep away from her? Keep away,

knowing that she was in the clutches of some low-born scum?

Oh, how this Ranma Saotome character was going to suffer...



"Kuno. Stand in the hall."



Kuno blinked, staring at the man who had dared to interrupt

him. How did that commoner think of issuing orders to him, the

great Blue Thunder of Furinkan High? How could a mere

peasant order the son of noble warriors?



...



Oh yes, he was the teacher. Kuno was the student. Hanging his

head in disgust, the shining hope of the Samurai caste left the

class, holding two bucketfuls of water.



			* * *



Outside classroom 1-F, two girls were stading in the hallway.

They both had buckets in their hands, a sure sign of tardiness,

if there was any. One of them was a dark-haired Japanese girl,

well-known to most of the school staff. 



The other girl was a new face in the school. She was a bit

shorter than her companion, had a snow-white hair and was

currently frowning in concentration.



<Ranma?> Still nothing. Lina slumped. If she, who had cast the

spell, was already up and running (even if she still felt rather

exhausted) Ranma should have woken up too. Something was

not right.



"It's all your fault," Akane grumbled just loud enough to be

heard.



Sighing, Lina stopped studying her shoes and looked at the

dark-haired girl. It was the third time Akane had said that. It

was getting a bit repetitive. Settling down her buckets, the

sorceress crossed her arms over her breasts. "Well, ex-cuse

me! I didn't intend to faint like that!"



"You still did it!" Akane shot back.



"Hey! If you really wanna blame somebody, blame that stick-

guy. What was he doing anyway, challenging you first thing in

the morning?"



Clenching her fists, Akane explained the situation. 



			* * *



"So..." she finally breathed. "I've been fighting with them every

morning since."



Lina shook her head, part in disgust, part in amazement. 'The

modern world' seemed to have some REALLY weird customs.



"Lina Inverse! Akane Tendo!" an impassioned voice shouted

from the end of the hallway.



"Eh!??" Shocked, Lina spun around to see that stick guy

running at her. He had buckets in his hands, which he threw

aside before stopping in between her and Akane. Kneeling on

one knee he took both hers and Akane's hand. Lina blushed. 



"Oh, lovely Lina Inverse! Oh, beauteous Akane Tendo! How my

hearth sings with joy upon seeing you two again!"



Lina stared at the guy, her face getting even more crimson. He

was far, far, _far_ worse than the Black Fox...



"Uhh... Yeah... Right..."



"Oh, my beauties..." Kuno breathed, placing his hands on his

chest. For a second, the scene seemed to freeze there, before

Kuno surged up and with a cry of, "I shall date with thee!"

caught Lina and Akane in a crushing hug.



Lina acted purely on instinct. "EEEEEEEEEK!!!! BURST

RONDO!!!!"



The hall was suddenly full of explosions and black smoke, as a

dozen spheres of light struck Kuno, throwing him to a wall. "Oh,

I must have her," Kuno mumbled before passing out.



Coughing, Togusa-sensei peered through a broken window to

the smoky hallway. After a few moments the smoke cleared

enough for him to see several upended buckets lying around,

an unconscious and blackened Tatewaki Kuno imbedded in a

wall, and a confused and blackened Akane Tendo looking

down at something. 



Glancing down he saw the Inverse girl sitting in a large puddle

of water, with her back against the wall. She was breathing

hard. Curiously, she seemed to have escaped the effects of

whatever it was that blew up in here.



"That wasn't supposed to be possible," Lina mumbled, not

noticing the teacher. With great difficulty, she pushed herself

up, holding her head with one hand. "That," she said with

emphasis, "should not have happened..."



Togusa pushed his glasses up. "Would you please tell me what

happened here, Tendo-san, Inverse-san?"



Akane developed a huge sweatdrop. Lina was still too

disoriented to take notice.



			* * *



Trying to ignore both her again-empty stomach and the

teacher's droning, Lina studied her hands. She had used her

life energy, instead of mana, to empower a spell. The weary

and exhausted feeling she had was without a doubt caused by

the massive expenditure of life-energy. She was literally

drained of most of her life. 



Lina sighed as her stomach let out another massive gurgle,

causing the sensei to glance at her sharply. It wasn't like she

had done something completely unheard of. There were

dozens of stories about sorcerers using their own life force to

feed spells. Also, most of those stories ended with the said 

sorcerers dying from exhaustion. 



And in all the legends life energy was used to feed

_ceremonial_ magic. Enchantments, summonings,

resurrections, and such. No-one, according to all the rumors

she'd heard, had used it to power combat spells. 



Now, while she was yet unable to explain how she had done it, 

she had a suspicion that the use of life force might have

something to do with Ranma's condition. That was a major bad 

thing.If she only could...



Lina's train of thought was interrupted by a well-aimed piece of 

chalk that hit her between the eyes. Lina glared at the teacher.



"Pay attention, Inverse-san, unless you want to go back to the 

hall."



Grumbling a little to herself, Lina settled down to follow the 

lecture. Or at least appear to.



			* * *



Miyako glanced at the new exchange student from the corner of 

her eye, wondering just who and what this Lina Inverse was. 

She had arrived in a really weird manner, knocked out Kuno-

sempai and Akane's other suitors, and then somehow seemed 

to have caused an explosion that knocked Kuno down again in 

the hallway. 



And if that hadn't been enough...



"It's definitely changing colour, Miya-chan," Shizue whispered, 

when sensei had turned his back to the class.



Miyako nodded to her best friend. "It'll soon be lunch break. 

Wanna find out why then, Shizue-chan?"



Shizue nodded back.



The minute the bell rang, sounding the beginning of lunch 

break, the two friends stood up, intending to confront Lina 

Inverse on a number of things. Unfortunately for Miyako and 

Shizue, so did everybody else.



			* * * 



Lina started sweating as her desk was surrounded by students 

and she was assaulted with questions from every side.



"How did you beat up that mob?"



"Are you a martial artist too?"



"Umm..."



"What's this Zefilia place, anyway?"



"What happened in the hallway? How did you knock out Kuno-sempai?"



"Uhhh..."



"Wanna go out today?"



"What's the deal with your hair?"



"Err..."



"Are you binding your chest or something?"



"WHAAAAAAAAAT!?"



The chatter was cut off and the crowd took a step back as Lina 

surged up. Her face was red from anger, and somehow the 

effect seemed to spread to her hair, turning it from pale 

reddish-white to fiery red.



The crowd took another step back as they witnessed a right cross

that rivalled Akane's, in both power and accuracy.



The following silence was broken by a girl pushing her way 

through the mass of students. Breaking through the mob, 

Nabiki leaned at Lina's desk and pointed at the door. "Could 

we speak for a minute? Alone?"



After a few seconds of steaming, Lina nodded.



			* * *



On a good day Lina Inverse would be the first person to admit 

that she was a bit short tempered. On a bad day she would 

horribly mangle anyone who dared to even suggest such a 

thing. The current day was rated 'moderately bad.'



Narrowing her eyes, Lina whispered, "My lunch..."



Nabiki shifted her weight, smirking. "Well, what do you say?

I think a thousand yen is rather cheap for me hanging to your 

luERK!"



Fast as lightning, Lina grabbed Nabiki's neck with one hand

and slammed the older girl on the floor. Immediately she 

applied a rather painful wrestling hold, her eyes simmering with 

rage.



"Buying information, especially if you're planning to use the 

services of the same person again, I understand, but trying to 

sell my lunch to me is pure blackmail! Now you have five 

seconds to give my food back to me, or I will FRY you!"



Dropping her bookbag Nabiki tried to pry the fingers off her

neck, but Lina's hold was like iron. She didn't have any chance 

of freeing herself.



"Well!??" Lina inquired, squeezing a little tighter for emphasis.



Her face turning a bit purple, Nabiki nodded frantically. Lina

released her hold, and the older girl eagerly gulped air.



"Lunch. Now." Lina snapped.



Coughing and holding her neck, Nabiki waved a hand at her

bookbag. Rummaging through it, Lina quickly found her lunch

and stomped off.



Nabiki lay there for a few minutes. Never before had she

been so afraid. All the other martial artists she knew, like

Akane or Kuno never attacked non-fighters. Apparently Lina didn't

have that sort of restraint.



Then again, it was probably her own fault, thinking that the

gaijin girl was just like any other martial artist, just because

she knew Anything Goes.



Gathering her bookbag, Nabiki headed back to her class to 

have some lunch herself. She would have revenge, too, but 

that'd have to wait for the moment.



			* * *



"Damn! That thief took MY lunch, too! Curse you, Lina 

Inverse!"



Nabiki blushed and quickly sat back down, as she saw 

everybody in the class looking at her. Well, she did look very 

silly posing like that, one fist thrust to the heavens. I must have 

been hanging around Kuno too much, Nabiki decided.



			* * *



"Nabiki Tendo."



Feigning boredom, Nabiki looked at Tatewaki Kuno, who was 

standing next to her desk. She could smell a faint odour of 

smoke from the would-be samurai, whose hair was still a 

signed, despite the obvious efforts to conceal the effects of 

Lina's spell.



There was a moment of silence before Kuno continued. "I'd like 

to speak with you." 



"Sure, Kuno-chan. What's up?" Nabiki answered, straightening 

up.



"In private."



Shrugging, the Tendo girl stood up and follower her classmate 

to the hallway. There, Kuno spun on his heel, to face Nabiki.



"To my greatest charign, I must once again ask for your 

services. Earlier today I... became distracted during an 

inopportune time."



"And...?" Nabiki prompted.



Kuno clasped his hands behind his back and turned to face the 

window wearing what he thought to be a dramatic expression --

Nabiki wasn't impressed. "Were this any other thing, it would 

not concern me overly. Indeed, we are overlooking things, 

forgetting details and otherwise letting things drift by all the 

time."



There was a slight pause. Nabiki was just about to throw a 

sarcastic comment, when Kuno continued. "However! As this... 

event concerns the lovely Lina Inverse, I'd like to know what 

exactly happened. And, as there were none of my peers 

present, I once again find myself coming to you, Nabiki Tendo."



"Right," Nabiki muttered, before continuing, loud enough to be 

heard, "and what this 'event' was?"



"This morning. After our teacher unjustly sent me out of our 

classroom, I went to see my two beauties..."



Two beauties? Nabiki thought. What's he up to?



"It turned out that the gods themselves were smiling at me, as 

the two were also in the hallway, no doubt from some slight 

mishap their teacher had blown completely out of proportion. 

However, I remember racing to meet them, my heart bursting 

with joy... and then events become unclear. Surely it was the 

great joy I felt, which made me miss the details. However, I can 

no longer clearly recall the exact sequence of events."



Kuno turned to face Nabiki, his face still stern, and noble. Or at 

least he thought it was stern and noble. "And, as you are the 

best informed person in this institute of learning, Nabiki Tendo, 

no doubt you know the details." Nabiki opened her mouth to 

reply, but Kuno plunged on. "Tell me... did I score?"



			* * *



"What was that, Hiroshi?"



"Dunno. Sounded like a falling sandbag or something."



			* * *



"Are you all right, Nabiki Tendo?"



"Ouch, yeah. Now help me up Kuno-chan."



"As you wish.""



"Thanks," Nabiki replied, dusting her school uniform. "Now, 

could you please tell me again what you wanted to know?"



Silence.



"Surely you haven't forgotten what I asked..."



"Just humor me, okay?"



"Very well," Kuno said, straightening up. "I merely wished to 

know how my loves appreciated my humble display of 

affection."



"Oh. I see." Nabiki answered in flat tones.



"That is what the commoner phrase meant, is it not?"



"I guess," the middle Tendo answered, adopting a thoughtful 

pose. She appeared to give the matter a serious consideration. 

Inside, Nabiki was giggling in glee. For once, Kuno's timing 

was perfect. "Three thousand yen," she finally said.



Quickly, several bills exchanged owners.



"Thanks. Well, you rushed to hug Lina Inverse. Unfortunately, 

the embrace was interrupted as you were knocked out."



"Knocked out!? Sure you jest!! What sort of dark sorcery would 

do such a thing!?? Especially to the noble Blue Thunder when 

he was about to greet his loves!?"



"Well..." Nabiki drawled. "Four thousand."



"What for?"



"To know _how_ it happened."



"I despise you," Kuno said, digging out his wallet.



"I'm glad... Thanks. As the matter of fact, it might have been 

sorcery of some kind..."



"WHAT!?!?"



"Yeah. Lina Inverse just happens to know some magic, and I 

guess she..." Nabiki drifted off, as Kuno's face turned dark 

purple, and he started muttering something.



Kuno remembered. He remembered seeing his two loves, 

remembered running to greet them, and most of all, 

remembered Lina Inverse's frightened scream. And the terrible 

explosion following said scream. Somebody must have tried to 

kill him. Or, he shuddered to think about it, the attempt might 

have been on Lina's life.



For the moment, he had only one suspect. But, as a true 

samurai, he would refine from passing judgement until further 

evidence was offered. However... 



"Lovely Lina Inverse! I shall save you from the clutches of this 

evil sorcery!!" Drawing his bokken, Kuno charged down the 

hall.



Recovering her composure, Nabiki smirked. Not exactly the 

effect she had in mind, but an excellent one anyway. Kuno-

chan was criminally easy to manipulate.



			* * *



Akane glanced at Lina as the twosome stepped out of Furinkan 

High's gates. The redhead had been in an introspective mood 

ever since the hallway encounter with Kuno. Akane wondered if 

something was wrong, as Lina hadn't seemed to be the silent 

type last night. 



"Akane Tendo! Lina Inverse!" an obviously delighted voice 

cried out. The two were snapped out of their thoughts, and 

turned to look at Tatewaki Kuno. He was running full speed at 

them.



Akane spun around the face the voice, as Lina froze up. 

Seconds later, Kuno screeched to halt in front of them, 

continuing his speech in a far graver voice than before, "Fair 

ones!  I have been given the most grave of news! A most 

reliable source has told me of a most horrible fate the minions 

of evil have placed you under!"



"Huh?"



Grabbing Lina by the shoulders, Kuno went on. "Lina Inverse, 

you must tell me!"



"Err...?"



"Tell me who is the dark sorcerer who binds your soul!"



A pause. "My soul...?"



"YES! I have been informed that dark magics imprison your 

heart! Speak the name of the evil sorcerer who has cast this 

vile curse, so I may smite him and we can profess our undying 

love for each other!!"



Finally recovering her wits, Lina shook her head violently. 

"What the hell are you babbling about, pal!?"



Totally misprinting Lina's angry outburst, Kuno hugged her. 

Lina blushed deep crimson.



"Oh, my love! I know it is hard to break the bonds that hold you. 

But please, try and fight so you can at least tell me the name of 

the diabolical one!" Kuno pulled back, holding Lina once more 

by her shoulders. "Is it this Saotome I've been told about?"



"MONO BOLT!!!"



Kuno fell, twitching and smouldering. An exhausted Lina was 

caught by Akane.



"Come on, let's go."



Lina nodded.



A few minutes later Kuno recovered enough to form a coherent 

thought. Or, at least as coherent as he could manage. 



He had once again been felled by what must have been dark 

magics. Right after he had uttered the name, Saotome. Thus, 

there was only one conclusion; his suspicions had been right, 

and this 'Ranma Saotome' was the vile sorcerer Nabiki Tendo 

had spoken of. She probably hadn't uttered the name so as not 

to alert the warlock.



Shaking off the after-effects of the spell, Kuno surged to his 

feet. "I will free her from your clutches, Ranma Saotome!!!!"



Lightning stabbed down from a clear sky, striking Kuno.



			* * * 



A few minutes later, Lina was strong enough to walk 

unassisted.



"Are you sure that is healthy, Lina?" Akane asked.



"What is?"



"This... magic of yours. You've been exhausted every time you 

do a spell."



Lina waved her hand. "Naah, its just that I've drained my 

magical reservoirs dry. This doesn't normally happen."



"It doesn't?"



"Nope. Though I wonder how I'm casting spells with my life 

force. And what it has done to Ranma?"



"Life force? Ranma?" Akane mumbled. What was Lina talking 

about?



"Yeah, well, eheheh... Ranma's kinda been out of it since I first 

blasted that Kuno guy." an embarrased Lina answered.



"Out?!"



"Well, unconscious, though I don't know why. I guess my magic 

could have caused it. Well, not normally but since I don't have 

mana left and the power must come from somwhere, it's 

possible that he's been affected by the few tricks I've done."



"Unconscious?! Aren't you worried?"



There was a brief pause. "Well, kinda..."



"Can we do anything?" Akane asked.



"Uhh..." Lina paused for a moment. "I'm not really sure, you 

know. I haven't had a situation like this before, so I'm not 

completely sure as to what to do."



There was a moment of silence.



"I think I know a doctor who might be able to help you..." Akane 

finally said.



Lina blinked. "A doctor?"



The other girl nodded, beaming. "Dr Tofu's treated all my 

injuries since I was a little girl. He knows a lot about pressure 

points and all sorts of mystic stuff!"



"Pressure points?"



"Uhh... I don't know much about it, really." Akane replied, 

blushing. "I think he uses some sort of... I don't know... central 

points of chi to make it... flow better or something?"



"Right..." Lina frowned. "And what's this chi?"



"Well... I think you could describe it as a sort of life force..."



For a moment Lina was silent. Then, she shook her head. She 

wasn't going to drag outsiders to this mess. Not yet anyway. 

"Naah. I don't think he'd be able to help me. Now let's go home, 

I'm hungry!"



"But, Lina you can't just leave Ranma..."



Turning a corner to the main gate of Tendo dojo, the two saw a 

largish van parked right next to the dojo wall. On the side there 

was a logo - Hikawa Exorcism Society - and under it a slogan: 

Exorcisms everywhere in Tokyo, 24 hours a day!



Lina stopped on her tracks and developed a huge drop of 

sweat. They didn't...



Akane stared at the van, confused. What on earth was going 

on?



I do NOT want to handle this now. I've had quite enough 

stupidity for one day, Lina thought and turned to face the other 

girl. "Akane?"



"Yes?"



"We're going to see that doc-friend of yours. Now." Lina said 

rather forcefully, and started pushing the other girl away.



"Hey! What!? Stop!"



"Don't worry! I know what I'm doing!"



			* * *



Adjusting his glasses, doctor Tofu Ono studied the redhead 

sitting on his examination table. If Akane hadn't confirmed it, he 

would never have believed her story. He had seen a few odd 

things in his life, but this went far beyond anything he had ever 

seen before.



"Well, Doc?" Lina asked. "Can you help me or not?"



Tofu shook his head in confusion. "I'm not sure Inverse-san. 

Your case is definitely unique."



Akane slumped her shoulders. She had been so sure that 

doctor Tofu would have been able to help them.



Lina shrugged. She had expected nil results anyway. How 

could anyone been able to help her, the world being as devoid 

of magic as it was?



"Okay. Thanks for your time, Doc," Lina quipped, jumping off 

the table and heading for the door.



"However...," Tofu said, just as Lina reached the doorway. She, 

along with the disappointed Akane, turned around. 



"There is a pressure point I might try," Tofu continued. "The 

legendary Rage of Fuji-san point."



"Rage of Fuji-san?" Lina and Akane echoed.



"Yes. It is an old pressure point normally used to wake up very 

weak people. I'm not sure how it would work on you, Lina-san. 

And.." Tofu adjusted his glasses. Somehow, the light coming 

from a near-by window reflected off them, giving the young 

chiropractor an ominous air for a moment. "It's not 

recommended to be used on conscious people."



"Why's that doctor?" Akane asked.



"Well, the name of the point comes from the sound caused by 

applying it to conscious people, though many rather call it by 

the nickname given during the second world war. The Air Raid 

Siren point."



"The what?"



"The Air Raid Siren point. During the war, doctors were very 

often just as tired as the front-line troops, and...Uhh.. 

occasionally made slight mistakes, I'm afraid. The Rage of Fuji-

san was often applied to people who were not unconscious..."



"And...?" Lina prompted, more than a little worried.



"...The pain made them scream rather like air raid sirens."



Lina started sweating profusely and edged towards the door.



"Eheh... Thanks a bunch doc, but... I think I'll be gonenow!"



"Lina, wait!" Akane quickly dashed to the doorway, catching the 

redhead girl by her shirt.



"I'm sure Ranma'll wake up soon! There's no need to try such 

extreme methods yet!" Lina babbled while trying to free her 

shirt. 



"Lina, please! Let doctor Tofu help you!"



The tug-o-war went on for a minute, while Tofu watched on, 

befuddled. Finally Lina sighed and gave in.



"Well, can't be worse than Big Sister's flu treatments, I 

guess..." she mumbled, and sat down on the examination table 

again. 



Lina took a deep breath. "Let's get this over with, doc."



A few seconds later the whole Nerima stopped for a second.



"KIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"



			* * *



"Papa, papa, please! Don't make me go there again!"



It had been horrible the previous times. The slime, the voices, 

the forms piling on her, slithering over her. The small creatures 

biting her, licking her, and bashing her with their antenna. The 

mere smell of the hungry slugs waiting for her would have been 

enough to make her wet her pants. Accompanied by the the 

sound of many bodies slithering restlessly made her freeze up 

in terror.



Her father stood firm however. "It's for your own good, 

daughter. If you learn the legendary Slug-fist, you're sure to be 

the greatest martial artist of all time. Now stop whining and take 

it like a man!"



Lina screamed as she was once again pushed into a pit full of 

hungry slugs.



			* * * 



Ranma had buried himself in the farthest corner of his bed. His 

room was shrouded in darkness. It was already past nightfall 

and he had blown all the candles in a vain hope that Big Sister 

wouldn't find him. Not that it'd help, Big Sister being what she 

was. Mrs Renu had told Big Sister how he had managed to 

break their shop's window. Probably had twisted the story so it 

was all his fault, like the grown-ups always did. It wasn't his 

faulte they had to keep their shop next to the best soft-ball field 

in the town!



Ranma drew back a little more, as the door to his room was 

opened. Big Sister was like a black shadow in the middle of the 

light doorway. Her yellow eyes glowing in the darkness and tail 

and ears twiching, she looked like some sort of demon.



"I heard you've been a bad boy again, Ranma..." she said. 

Ranma drew back a bit more, whimpering in terror.



			* * *



"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 developed huge drops of sweat, as the old priest pulled 

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 apparent 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 his sense 

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 that Tatewaki 

Kuno, 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 new.



The boy in question was wearing dusty, 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 2 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 an invasion of the Chinese Amazons. 

(well, not really, but the next best thing anyway.)