Balancing Act

By Turtlehat

Disclaimer:  I don't own Ranma.  I don't own Slayers.  This story is for entertainment purposes only.

Note: I wasn't happy with the original story I've written so I'm in the process of re-writing.  I like the beginning, though so I'm keeping it with very minor changes.  I'll probably change it from midpoint on, or something.  So yes, this is a re-posting (even though this is the first time I've posted in FF.net), but it is also a re-write.

Another note:  I don't mean to write a grand grand epic adventure, battles and fantasy with lots of plot twists and character development since I don't really know how.  I just write whatever and it takes forever since I keep changing my mind on some scenes.

Chapter 2

The morning was unusually quiet.  The Tendos all woke up in absolutely unexpected and unsettling quiet.  There were no Saotomes sparring, no insults yelled, swearing and angry words bandied about.  Kasumi got up regularly and made breakfast.  Nabiki got to get ready for school with no incident to watch and wait for while waiting to use the bathroom.  By the time she made her way downstairs for breakfast, her curiosity was peaked.  Surprisingly, there was no one at the table.  Kasumi walked out of the kitchen and saw her.

"Nabiki, would you please go upstairs and wake up Akane?  I don't think she's up yet.  She'll be late for school if she doesn't get up soon."  With that, she walked back into the kitchen, humming happily under her breath. 

Nabiki's eyebrows shot up in surprise.  Then deciding something must've happened, her curiosity prodded her to her younger sister's door and knocked.

"Go away!"  came a muffled reply.

"Kasumi said to get ready for school, Akane!  And where's Ranma?  You guys are usually at each other's throats by now."  Then a thought struck her.  Smirking, she lowered her voice and asked through the door.  "He's not in there, is he?  You guys aren't doing something the ecchi, right?"

Her imaginative thoughts ran through all the possible scenarios, all of them NC-17 rated.  She was so into it that she yelped in surprise when the door suddenly was yanked open and she was faced with a blazingly angry, red-aura'd, puffy-eyed Akane.  Instinctively backing up a couple of steps and wincing, she braced herself for the expected explosion.  She wasn't disappointed.

"WHY WOULD I WANT TO BE WITH THAT TWO-TIMING, PERVERTED, HALF-GIRL CASSANOVA?!  HE CAN GO UP AND JUST DIE FOR ALL I CARE!  EVEN BETTER, HE'D DO US ALL A FAVOR IF HE DID JUST DIE!  JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" 

SLAM!

Nabiki blinked owlishly at the door.  You could almost see the question marks on her head. 

"What's going on?  Akane?"  she tapped at the door, only to hear a frustrated scream behind the door.  Backing up nervously as she didn't really want to deal with a violent Akane, she went to the Saotome's room and peeked in.  There was no one there.  Now really confused, she went back downstairs.

"Kasumi, what's going on? What's with Akane?  She won't come down and she told me flat out to leave her alone."

"Oh dear.  I suppose it would be best for her to stay home today.  It will give her time to calm down.  You go ahead, Nabiki."

"What's going on around here?  Where's Ranma?  And Mr. Saotome?  And where's Father?"

"Father and Mr. Saotome left early this morning with Grandfather Happosai.  They said they'd be back tomorrow."

"What about Ranma?  Where is he?"

"I believe he's spending some time with his sister today."  Nabiki's jaw dropped in surprise at Kasumi's casual revelation.

"SISTER?  What sister?  He's an only child!" she almost yelled.  Kasumi looked up from her cooking and frowned in disapproval, cutting off her upcoming frustrated yell.

"I don't understand it fully, myself, but she came last night, don't you remember?"

Nabiki's brows furrowed in though.  *A girl who calls herself Saotome's sister came here last night?* Then she remembered her dream.  *Whoa!  That wasn't a dream, was it?  How did she do that?*  "That girl really was here last night, wasn't she?"  Kasumi nodded in reply.  "And she was actually Ranma's sister?  Not a new fiancée or rival or something?"  Kasumi nodded smilingly.

"Wow.  So Saotome really has a sister, does he?  I wonder if Mrs. Saotome knows her."  Absently, the middle Tendo daughter ate her breakfast, grabbed her lunch and left for school, her mind whirling on how she can use the information.

***

A few minutes after Nabiki left, Akane went downstairs in search of food.  She had woken up puffy eyed and angry.  Remembering the events of last night brought a pain in her heart.  Ranma, her Ranma, actually defended some other floozy from her.  She had spent most of the night last night crying, alternately blaming Ranma and despairing over losing him.  She had only managed a couple hours at best of sleep.  Then Nabiki had the gall to insinuate that they were actually sleeping together!  After screaming out in frustration, she realized that she couldn't afford to skip school.  Nabiki probably is selling the gossip by now.  Grumbling about perverted idiot fiancées and mercenary sisters, she got up and got dressed.  She will show them!  She doesn't need that perverted freak! 

When she got downstairs, she was surprised to find no one at the table.  Kasumi walked out of the kitchen holding a tray of food.

"Oh Akane!  I thought you'd still be in your room.  I was just about to bring you breakfast.  Would you like to have breakfast down here?"  At the answering nod, she proceeded to place the food in front of the red-eyed, sullen girl.  Concerned, she asked.

"What's wrong, Akane?"

The kind tone and knowing Kasumi's non-judgmental nature broke down the younger girl's dam on her emotions.  With a cry, she grabbed onto her sister's waist and cried, momentarily forgetting about what the other kids might be saying right now in school.  With tears in her eyes, again, she tremulously asked  "Kasumi, I just lost him, didn't I?  He wants to be with that…that…other girl!"  Kasumi's eyes widened in understanding and sighed at her youngest sister's habit of assuming the worst that always brought so much trouble.  Hugging the younger girl and patting her back, she asked.

"Akane, are you talking about the girl last night?" Akane nodded in her oldest sister's arms, taking in the comfort rarely given or asked for nowadays.

"Oh Akane.  You don't have to worry about her.  You see, that girl is Ranma's sister."  She didn't say that she suspects her youngest sister really did just lose Ranma, though.  She will have to learn that on her own.

"WHAT?!  But Ranma's an only child!  How can he have a sister?"  All thoughts aside, forgetting all about how miserable, jealous and angry she was feeling, Kasumi's revelation stopped Akane cold.  Kasumi sighed in disappointment.

"Akane, you must stop assuming things before taking action…"  Anything else she would have said was lost as the object of much mystery walked in.

"Hey, Kasumi!"  Ranma greeted the oldest Tendo sister and rather hesitantly, Akane as well.  He could only hope against hope that Lina had put that mind-spell thingy on her as well last night.  "Yo, Akane.  You okay?"  His easy and casual comments sparked the youngest Tendo's frustration.  He had a sister all this time and not telling them and seeing her behind her back and letting her believe he's seeing another woman and … and …  Ooooohhhh!  Akane's mind whirled from relief to joy to anger all within a second.  And since he didn't really choose another woman over her, she felt her world coming back down to what was normal and reacted in the only way she knew how…

Kasumi sighed in even more disappointment as Akane handled the situation by exploding in anger at her fiancée.

"Where have you been, you baka?  And why didn't you tell me you have a sister?" 

The pigtailed martial artist stared at her in panic and started stammering out excuses.  He may have regained some maturity and self-control.  But two years of the same thing tends to stick to a person so instead of maturely recognizing the worry and other feelings hidden in her statement, he just gave the automatic response.

 "Well you didn't give me a chance to explain!  You just went ahead and was gonna hit her!  She would've killed you, you uncute tomboy!"  The insult and insinuation that she can't take care of herself against another of his fiancées proved too much.  Added to the emotional load she was working up, Akane exploded.  Out came the hammer and…

"Ranma no baka!"

And so Ranma takes another trip via Mallet Air, much to Kasumi's hidden exasperation.

***

Meanwhile, at a not so nearby city…

"Come on, you useless idiots!  You better run faster than that!"  the diminutive master of Anything-Goes goaded his two students.  Much to their dismay, the master had taken it into his head that they needed some special training.  Of course, the fact that there was a lingerie show at the time at this city was a nice bonus.  Not the main reason, of course, thought the perverted master as he ran with a huge sack of women's lingerie down the street.  Behind him, his two students ran with large sacks of their own, bemoaning their fate and wondering why it wasn't Ranma that was forced to do this.  All three ran for their lives as a mob of women chased them with all sorts of weapons.

***

A deep sigh of depression escaped from Ryoga's mouth.  He's lost again.  He'd been trekking trough the deepest, wildest jungles in the world just this week.  He'd been trying to trace his way back to the Tendo's but can't seem to do it.  His clothes needed a good patchwork job and his supplies need to be re-stocked.  He wondered if Akane even missed him.  Then again, since she'd only miss his alter-ego 'P-chan', was it even worth it?  Then he thought of her gentle smile, her kind expression and all doubts fade away.  He couldn't help but start to daydream … that he didn't see or sense the unexpected body that landed right on top of him.

WHAM!

"Ggghhhh…."  Two groans of pain emerged from tangled limbs and canvas.  A few moments later, one figure twitched and regained consciousness.  Ranma pulled himself up to a sitting position and rubbed his head and the growing lump in it.  His joints and muscles protested as he tried to find out where he is.  Noticing the familiar backpack, he looked around for the owner.

"grrr…Would you get off me?!"  The annoyed and muffled voice got the human projectile's attention.  Ranma jumped as the ground beneath him moved and pushed.  Startled, he jumped up and saw a disgruntled Ryoga under him lying facedown.  Brushing the dust off his clothes, he peered at the lost boy with a smirk in his voice.

"Yo.  Ryoga.  What'cha doin'?  Havin' a dirt sandwich?" he grinned at his own joke.  Ryoga just glared at him as he sat up as well.

"Shut up, Saotome!  How dare you use me for a landing pad!"  He was about to attack his all-too-familiar rival before he remembered to ask the most obvious (to him) question.

"What are you doing here in Brazil?" Ranma just blinked at him in confusion before smacking his forehead with a one palm.  Shaking his head and groaning in exasperation, he drawled out.  "Ryoga, you're in Kuno's backyard.  Didn't you know that?"  Ryoga blinked in surprise, totally missing the sarcasm, then recognition sunk in.

"Oh.  That would explain the collar on that crocodile.  And the black roses."  As if on cue, they both froze as they heard Kodachi's laughter coming closer.  With no words needed, Ranma helped Ryoga pack and in a couple of seconds, leaped away and out of the Kuno grounds, Ranma leading the lost boy through the maze.  Behind them, they could hear Kodachi's laughter fading away.  Both let out breaths they didn't know they were holding.

"Man, that was close."  Ryoga nodded in agreement before remembering just how Ranma had 'found' him.  As if on cue, his depression aura burst out and he yelled out in indignation.  Ranma sighed at the inevitability of it.  Then an idea hit him.  Grinning evilly, he led the lost boy out of the city.

"Ranma…  How dare you land on me!" And off they went.  As they were still in Nerima and came from Nerima, people hardly looked as they sped by.

"Don't you dare run away, you coward!"  This normally gets Ranma to fight but with a new perspective on things, thanks to remembering some things, Ranma managed to ignore the insult and kept leading the lost boy.  His expression did darken, though.  Being careful not to lose Ryoga, they made their way to the nice pocket forest he had found after his last training trip.  Once there, Ranma turned around and started retaliating. 

It was a fairly typical Ranma-Ryoga fight.  They started with hits and blocks, speeding up constantly, then adding special moves ending in a contest of ki-blasts ending in a mutual knockout.  By the time they were done, they had managed to clear a sizable clearing.

***

Ranma woke to the sensation of a wet cloth scrubbing his face rather thoroughly.  While such a thing would normally be a comforting thing to wake up after being knocked unconscious, the fact that his face was actually starting to turn red from the rather hard scrubbing ruined the experience.  Protesting around the cloth and pushing it away, he struggled to a sitting position, only to find a redhead frowning at him.

"Ranma-chan, I know I said to fix things.  But I didn't know you'd try to 'fix' things by killing the guy."  Lina said sarcastically.  At the 'chan', he looked down.  Sure enough.  He's a girl again.  After two years of hating his girl-side, it's taking him a while to get used to the idea of being a girl again.

"Hi sis.  Don't worry.  Ryoga's built like a tank, a little fight like that won't hurt him long."  As if agreeing, he heard a groan and spotted Ryoga lying next to him.  Getting up, the lost boy's eyes almost popped out of his head as he saw two onna-Ranmas.  He gaped.

"R-r-ranma?"

Immediately, both 'Ranmas' started laughing.  The Lost Boy's anger sparked again, thinking he was being made fun of, but before he could burst out in anger, one of the 'Ranmas' pointed at him casually mid-laugh and…

BOOOMMM!!!

Anger forgotten, a burnt and smoking Ryoga could only resume gaping at the two 'Ranmas'.  Onna-Ranma wiped her eyes from laughing so much and tried to compose herself before approaching the scorched lost boy.  Shaking her head, she whispered to the Lost Boy as she helped him up "Just a tip, don't even think of calling her a boy."

"Ryoga, I'd like you to meet my sister, Lina.  Sis, this here's my friend, Ryoga." 

"You mean she's not…"  Ryoga looked back and forth between the two redheads, finally seeing the differences.  For one thing, Ranma's hair was a lot more red while Lina's was more orange-red.  Also, Lina has red eyes while Ranma's is blue.  Added to that was that the cursed boy's female form is bustier.  Guessing at what was going through Ryoga's head, Ranma spoke up before Ryoga could say anything else that would result in more than a scorching.

"No, she's not an evil twin.  She didn't come from no cursed mirror.  Not from Happosai's incense or nothin'.  She's real and she's my sister."  Ranma finished for him.

"So you're the one who turns into a pig, huh?" Lina greeted him.

Ryoga blanched at the casual question.  Glaring angrily at Ranma, he shouted "Ranma!  How dare you tell her about my curse!"

"'Cause she might be able to cure ya, P-CHAN!" Ranma yelled back.  Ryoga growled at being called P-chan and was about to attack Ranma before what was said sunk in. 

"C-c-c-c-cure?  You mean, she might be able to cure me?"

Ranma nodded cutely in agreement.  Forgetting about the 'P-chan' bit, Ryoga turned hopeful eyes to the other redhead present.

"Can you cure me?  Really?"

Lina had watched the exchange, amazed at the raw emotions that the two seemed to radiate so freely.  The depression in Ryoga and the confidence from Ranma was amazing to watch.  And when they both use those same emotions to manipulate their aura to create some sort of shield, she's very impressed.  Such a creative way of using spiritual energy!  Ranma had gotten a lot more emotional than the last time she'd seen him - not that that is a good thing, however.  Too much emotion can color a person's judgment after all.  To her relief, though, Ranma seemed to be making an effort to control and lower his.  Maybe he had realized the weakness of such a technique as well.  She was so intent in watching and analyzing their spiritual auras that she didn't pay very much attention to their conversation.  When the depression in Ryoga's aura suddenly winked out, she startled.  Ryoga had to repeat his question a second time before she answered.

"Maybe.  I'm not sure.  I'll have to study it for a while.  How much is it worth to ya?"

"Huh?"

Lina grinned as Ryoga was suddenly reminded of Nabiki.  Except that Nabiki can't actually toss a ball of fire at him.  Onna-Ranma groaned silently to himself but kept quiet.  He wants to see this!

"Well, how much are you willing to pay me for my 'service'?"  Lina asked again.

"I…I don't have any money on me…"  Ryoga floundered as he started rummaging around his pockets and backpack for anything that could be of value.  A few minutes of this, he gave up and sadly gave the redhead a confused look.  "I guess, if you tell me what you'd like, I'll get if for you…"  Ranma groaned in the background.  Ryoga doesn't know what he's getting into!  Lina, in the meantime, just grinned even more at the blank check she was being offered.  With an evil glint in her eyes, she pretended to think about it for a moment before answering.

"hmmm… Something like this will be a bit hard to do…but since you're Ranma-chan's friend and all…how about…a dozen all-you-can-eat dinners?"

"It's a deal!"  Ryoga replied immediately, spirits lifting.  After all, she is even smaller than most Japanese girls.  And they don't eat that much…  It'll be a cinch! 

Ryoga's sudden burst of confidence was shattered at the sudden quiet in the entire clearing.  Even the birds and other small creatures seemed to freeze.  Turning around, he saw onna-Ranma staring at him in undisguised horror, as if he'd just done the unbelievable.  Finally realizing he might have, just might have, just made a mistake, he flinched and in great dread, turned back around to see Lina was giving him a look that reminded him of a cat who just got the canary and the canary's cousins and the cousins' distant relatives.

Later…

"C'mon, Ranma!  You can do better than that!"

Ranma sweated while Lina cheered on or critiqued at the sidelines.  He was standing very still enclosed in an invisible bubble.  While normally this wouldn't be much of an effort, the swarm of tiny balls of fire constantly slamming and threatening to bust his shield is making it difficult, as he had to pump more power into the shield.  Also the fact that they slowly but surely kept getting stronger wasn't helping any, either.  They've been at it for a couple of hours now and his magical reserves were starting to strain.  He could have gone longer, too, if only for one little thing Lina decided to casually add…

"Aaaahhhhhhh!!" he yelped as a cat, out of the blue, sauntered by.  Immediately, his shield failed and the swarm…let's just say he won't be waking up anytime soon normally.  As it is, Lina dismissed the elementals and the illusion of the cat and gave a huge sigh.  Walking over the scorched and slightly cooked Ranma, she tsk'd and commented "Ranma.  Ranma.  Ranma.  You have got to get you over this fear of yours somehow.  Hmm."  She mentally sighed as she absently performed a recovery spell on the unconscious boy.

"Wha..what happened?" Ranma groggily asked, picking himself off the ground and noticing the state of his clothing.  Or what's left of it, at least. 

"You saw a cat."  Ranm flinched at the word and shuddered.  "You know, you really have got to work on that.  You can't have that weakness in an actual battle.  Even though your cat-persona is powerful, it's a weakness your enemies will take advantage of…"

"Yeah.  Yeah.  Yeah.  I know."  Ranma interrupted, hearing this speech before.  "I know.  Just me a little more time, 'kay?  I'll get it again." 

"Okay.  Get started.  We're not doing anything until you're done."  Her tone brooked no argument and instead of answering, he sat down on the ground and began. 

Lina watched as her 'little brother' started his meditations.  It had taken the cursed boy a long time to master the dreaded 'cat-fist'.  When she had first met him, he used to be fearful of even images of cats, reverting to a feral state with spirit-claws when exposed to any feline at a prolonged duration.  While the technique itself was powerful, increasing his speed and granting him cat-like senses and deadly claws, it had a huge disadvantage in a fight.  Basically, it's too much of a cat.  Ranma would lose his mind, losing any tactical advantage and would get distracted over the smallest things.  Why, all the opponent need is something for the cat-boy to play with or eat and he'd be out of the fight!  She'd had to send for professional help to help him control his fear and so have conscious control over the technique.  At the end of the (very long)  'therapy', he had mastered it and lost his fear of cats, thus letting him keep his sanity, but it had a side effect of making him aggressive and subconsciously cat-like when exposed to cats – the longer the exposure, the more cat-like and aggressive he becomes, though not to the point where he'd lose his sanity.  Unfortunately, when he was sent back and his memories sealed, everything he'd learned had been sealed as well, including the control over the cat-fist.  Now that he remembers and knowing his learning curve, it shouldn't take too long before he masters it again.  Oh well.  It was nothing for her to worry about for now.  In the meantime, there's this new meal-ticket that she'd gotten.  She looked around for the lost boy and was mystified.  He was supposed to fetch water from the stream just meters behind her.  Where is he?  He can't possibly get lost from here to there, can he?

***

In a sprawling metropolis somewhere, a figure walked down the sidewalk, a wooden bucket in hand.  He didn't remember there being lots of buildings near that stream.  Finally realizing he's no longer in the forest, the figure burst in a green fire, incinerating the wooden bucket he was holding and yelled "RANMA!  THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

***

"I see you've remembered your lessons."   Ranma puffed up in pride at the compliment.  It had only taken a couple of hours to get the cat-fist technique back in control.  He felt good!  No more worries about cats!

"No problem!"

"Since you're now back in control, and we seemed to have lost your friend…I guess you weren't kidding when you said he gets lost easy…you ready to get back to practicing magic? "  His larger smile was all the answer she needed.  He nodded in eagerness, looking like a boy who was just offered a treat.

"You bet!  I haven't tried anything yet."  He almost bounced in excitement like a little kid.  It has been so long since he's felt this good.  Their 'talk' last night had re-established the rapport between them and he now has someone he trusted completely and know accepts him no matter what.  It was as if a great weight had been lifted. 

"Good!  But first…" she paused for effect.  He looked at her expectantly.  "Let's get some lunch!" 

THUD.

Ranma got up from his face-fault and glared at the grinning Lina.  "I'd forgotten you had a bigger appetite than me.  Now since I don't have any money, where can we find some food…well, we can try the Tendo's?" he finished uncertainly.

***

As it turned out, everyone had left the Tendo home except for Kasumi.  After cleaning out the refrigerator and pantry of anything edible, they helped with the cleanup and dragged a protesting Kasumi back to the training grounds with them.

"But I have to go get more groceries for tonight's dinner!"  the eldest Tendo was saying.  Lina glared at her.

"No, you don't.  From now on, have one of your sisters do it.  Just make a list and be sure they have it done before you get back.  Or better yet, have it delivered!"

"But…"  Kasumi tried to protest.  Unfortunately, Lina wasn't about to be over-ridden.  Kasumi reminded her of a certain shrine maiden she's met back in her youth.  But unlike that shrine maiden, there was a core to Kasumi that was very promising.  She could sense that the eldest Tendo daughter wasn't exactly as oblivious to what's going on around her as the others believed and as Ranma had told her.  Finding out about Kasumi's history only confirmed what her impression gave her.  Kasumi is capable of much more than she seemed.  Why, just the control she has on her darker emotions was exceptional!  Some might say inhibited, but Lina knew that it could also mean better control, which is necessary when it comes to magic.  And once she had accepted training the night before, Lina didn't think twice about ordering her to change her life around.

"No 'buts'.  You're going to learn with Ranma here and that's final.  If anyone asks, just tell them you're taking a class or something."  Lina turned away, the matter settled and already dismissed from her mind.  Ranma, finally realizing the wavering indecision in the eldest Tendo daughter, tried to reassure her.

"You know she's right, Kasumi.  You gotta have a life outside the house.  Besides, the others can take care of themselves, they're not kids anymore.  Just think – if you learn magic, you can heal peolple and stuff.  Besides, we can bring you back before dinner."  He concluded jokingly.  Kasumi stood, undecided.  She was thinking of her self-imposed responsibilities, namely her responsibilities to her family.  Then she remembered her mother, how her mother's death had affected them all.  If there were any way to help anyone else avoid what happened to them, it would be worth it.  Besides, as Ranma said, her sisters are grown up already, about to leave the nest.  Maybe it was time she thought of her own future as well.  And they did say she'd be home before dinner…maybe, just maybe it was time to think of her own future as well?…maybe they're right…and it would be so nice to be able to help people…and wouldn't it be funny to see her sisters' expressions when they find out…

Lina and Ranma watched her as she went from a worried housewife to a resolved and determined young woman with an unfamiliar mischievous look in her eyes.  For a brief moment there, Ranma could've swore Kasumi reminded her of Nabiki, but since it vanished quickly, he dismissed it as a figment of his imagination.  But it was strange to see so many expressions in a face so fast.  An aspect of Kasumi's was emerging which Ranma has never seen before.  His sister had mentioned it, but he didn't believe it then.  Now it was a different story.  It's very fascinating to watch her transform before his eyes.  It was as if the oblivious gentle Kasumi he has known for the last two years was a mask and now for the first time, he is seeing a glimpse of the woman beneath.  A woman he suspected no one had ever been allowed to see.

"Okay.  I'll do it."  The brilliant smile given her by the two 'siblings' was all the encouragement she needed.

***

BANG!  STOMP  STOMP  STOMP  STOMP  STOMP

"RANMA!  WHERE IS THAT BAKA PERVERT?!"  Following her voice, Akane came stomping in the house, red aura blazing almost a foot from her body.  She had looked for her missing fiancée at school and got worried when he failed to show up.  She had also gotten in trouble with Miss Hinako when she failed to pay attention in class, resulting in her getting drained.  Then his other fiancées showed up and demanded to know where he was.  By the end of the day and he still didn't show up, she assumed the worst and thought he was out playing around with some new floozies…

Behind her, Nabiki walked into the house, keeping an eye out for the cursed martial artist.  She was also furious.  Ranma's absence from school today had cost her what would otherwise have been a hefty profit.  

The youngest Tendo daughter slammed her way around the house, checking every room, angry aura blazing brighter and brighter at each unsuccessful search.  She ended up looking into the dojo and finding it empty as well, screamed out her frustration.

"AAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!  THAT PERVERT!"

Akane's emotions and anger snapped.  Nabiki, stepping back nervously and expecting her to blow up like one of Ryoga's attacks, was surprised when unexpectedly, the youngest Tendo burst into tears, aura winking out and ran to her room.

"Well…That was unexpected…"  Nabiki muttered to herself as she tried to understand just what had happened…

***

***

It was a strange month for Nerima and it's residents are holding their breath.  There was a noticeable drop in property damage and noise level, which unsettled everyone who are now waiting for the disaster to strike.  This was, of course, due to the fact that the main focus of these problems, namely Ranma, was practically absent.  He would show up late at night after dinner half-dead, go to sleep then leave before anyone gets up.  All attempts to talk to him were promptly either ignored or would get the same frustrating answer "That is a secret."  Even Akane's malleting, threat of malleting, shouting, and even cold dunkings didn't get an answer out of him, or even wake him up.  It was only Kasumi who, for some reason, prevented them from malleting, literally drowning or burning the pigtailed boy to get him to wake up.  They even went as far as asking Cologne for help, but she was also held back from doing anything by the eldest Tendo daughter who reassured everyone that 'Ranma must be doing some new kind of training and is just tired.'  No one had the heart to contest her so they were stuck waiting until hopefully soon, Ranma was done with whatever it was he's doing.  Nabiki was tearing her hair out in frustration in not being able to track where he goes every day.  It was as if he just vanishes and appears in his room, asleep.  And knowing about the Saotome Forbidden Techniques, he could be doing just that.  His fiancées and rivals also noticed but couldn't do anything about it.  Much to their frustration, every time they tried to follow, they would lose him.  They all assumed he was either learning a new technique or meeting a girlfriend.

Another couple of changes, one that went unnoticed by all but one, was Kasumi and the Tendo's food throughput.  No one really noticed or paid attention, but Kasumi started disappearing in the afternoons.  When Nabiki noticed and had asked, Kasumi told her that she was taking a class.  As for the food, everyday, a vast amount of food was delivered to the Tendo's, which would amazingly be gone by the end of the day.  Kasumi, knowing Nabiki would be concerned at the cost, reassured her that someone was paying Kasumi to prepare the meals in exchange for the cost of the classes, the ingredients to be provided.  She just had to prepare it.  Surprised but satisfied with the answer, an encouraging Nabiki had deemed the matter closed, assuming that Kasumi was taking some medical classes.  And since it is Kasumi, she didn't pursue the matter, especially since trying to find the elusive martial artist occupied most of her time.  Her profit margin has drastically plummeted with her source of income missing so she just had to find him.  Unfortunately for her, she didn't know that Lina had given Kasumi a large quantity of precious gems in payment for the food.  So far, Kasumi has only used one of Lina's smaller rubies (small for Lina's standards, that is) for a month's supply of food (for Lina and Ranma, it's only a month's supply.)

Unknown to the Nerima gang, Ranma wasn't really gone the entire day and Kasumi wasn't exactly taking medical classes.  Kasumi was learning magic and was learning very well indeed.  She was a fast learner and was able to cast Recovery and other basic spells in no time at all. 

She was at first very reluctant to take part in 'sparring' or learn any offensive spells, wanting to just learn the 'healing' spells.  That was when Ranma and Kasumi found that Lina's presence was more than just a visit.

"WHAT?"

"You heard me the first time, Ranma."  Lina glared at the cursed boy.

"But…but…but…" he tried to protest.

"But nothing.  I might as well explain it to you as well, Kasumi, so listen up, both of you."  Lina settled into her lecture mode.

"As you know, in the beginning, the Mother of All created two powerful beings in this world.  One was Ceipheed and the other was Shabranigdo."  Actually, Kasumi didn't know this, but was hesitant to speak up.

"From Ceipheed came the dragon race and from Shabranigdo came the monster race.  Being of two opposite natures, the two Lords and the races fought for supremacy.  For countless years, they fought.  In the end, Ceipheed and Shabranigdo both fell, neither winning.  Unfortunately, the subordinate lords kept the war going.  The monster race sought destruction and chaos while the dragons sought survival and order.  It got to the point that they came to a stalemate and that was when humans flourished.  The dragons basically ignored us, as long as we exist, they didn't care.  The demons, of course, found us to be a prime source of amusement and nourishment.  But that's beside the point, of course.  The point is that there was a stalemate between the two races and we humans were wildcards that would sometimes come into play in their cold war.

"A couple hundred millennia ago, something unexpected happened.  When Ranma here appeared unexpectedly, he got some monsters and dragons nervous.  If the Mother of All is now choosing humans to bestow power on, then humans are now a threat and can potentially dominate the world.  We could easily tip the balance in their 'cold' war.  They couldn't allow it.  They first attacked our home, their primary targets were Ranma and myself.  Well, to make a long story short, Ranma got tagged before I realized what was going on.  Some of us escaped while drawing their attacks away from home and when we were in the clear, I tried a new spell I was working on.  It seemed to work, sort of, and then while they were still out of it, we sent Ranma back where he belonged to keep him safe.  After that, the demon race seemed to change their mind about us being threats.  And soon after, magic got all sealed up and now it's coming back.  So now you guys need to learn how to wield magic so you can use it to protect people when the demon race comes back which is sometime soon."  Lina finished lightly as Ranma and Kasumi stared at her.  After being silently stared at for a good five minutes, she asked innocently.  "What?"

THUD.

Both Ranma and Kasumi fell face-first on the ground, twitching.  Picking themselves off the ground groaning, Ranma put himself together long enough to ask in exasperation. 

"Sis!  What kind of explanation is that?!" 

"Yes, Lina-chan.  I think you skipped some important details there."

"Yeah!  Like how did the magic get 'all sealed up' and how just when did the demon race go away?  What happened to all the other races and magical creatures?"  Lina huffed, trying to look insulted at the lack of trust.  Seeing they didn't buy it, she protested.

"Hey!  It's got nothing to do with me.  I'm still asleep, you know!"  She retorted defensively.  Ranma and Kasumi looked at her in confusion.  Lina flushed in embarrassment, realizing she just gave something away.

"Okay!  Okay!  I admit it!  It was after the monster attack when you were sent back.  To counter the threat, I tried a variation of a spell of mine.  Unfortunately, I didn't know the effect it will have on the caster and surroundings.  It actually sealed up anything magical in nature, including the caster, which happened to be me at the time, including monsters and dragons.   It also started draining all the magic in the area.  It was a quite a spell, if I do say so myself.   The thing is, since it did seal up those annoying monsters and useless dragons, everyone decided it was better to just leave everyone all sealed up as long as the spell lasted.  They concluded that I was a fairly small price to pay for a peaceful life without more demon threats or other dangerous creatures.  It didn't take long after that before everyone forgot about everything altogether and magic became rare and feared.  Unfortunately, they forgot that a spell is just a spell.  It will always end at some point.  The spell has been weakening for the last few millennia.  It's now at the point where humans can now start using magic again.  Of course this means that soon, the demons and gods will wake up.  The problem is that the human race is just not ready for them.  It'll be a slaughter if nothing is done. 

"And that brings us to why Kasumi needs to learn offense."  Lina's sudden turn on the topic kept the other two off-guard such that they didn't notice two of her fingers crossed behind her back.

"I'll be honest here.  It's not a very pretty future ahead.  I need strong people, people who are capable of taking care of themselves and others.  Ranma is already training and I need you, Kasumi, to help as well.  I need you to be more than a healer, I need you to guard Ranma's back in a fight and be a teacher to others when the time comes.  We may have time, but not so long that we can afford to have deadweights.  So, are you going to fight?"

"Oh, my.  If it's that important, shouldn't we get the others trained as well?  Don't you think the more people we have, the better?  And why me?"

"Sure.  But I can't teach everyone at once.  That's where you two come in.  I teach you two.  Then you guys teach a few others.  Those others teach a few others and so on.  Get it?  We want quality sorcerers here and the best way to get that is one-on-one.  So no telling anyone yet, okay?  And to answer your question on why you, it's because I like you more than the others.  So, you in or not?"

Kasumi froze at the question.  Put like that, there's no way she can refuse.  Bracing herself, she nodded in agreement.   She had a hard time believing it all.  But since they both seemed to know what they were talking about, and the magic she's starting to learn as proof, she had to take their word it was all true.  Besides, they seem trustworthy to her even though she felt that Lina's still hiding things.

Ranma also nodded in agreement and comprehension.  It wasn't so surprising to him that the family was directly involved in the incident.  And even though Lina was still keeping other details to herself, at least they got Kasumi to agree.  He promised to get answers out of his sister later, though.

***

Ranma and Kasumi awkwardly stood facing each other across the clearing, both obviously very very uncomfortable and hesitant.  Every so often, one would look like they're going to attack or cast a spell or something, only to stop or fizzle out at mid-attempt.  Ranma's reluctance to actually hit or cast a spell at Kasumi in addition to Kasumi's reluctance to take any offensive action wasn't helping any.  Even though he didn't feel as uncomfortable fighting girls, it was the fact that is was Kasumi that Ranma had problems with.  It was an almost laughable situation and ridiculous and they both would much rather just give up and practice separately except for a growing sense of anger at the edge of the clearing where a redhead glared at them both.  At each half-hearted attempt from either side, the feeling of anger from her corner would increase.  Finally, Lina couldn't stand it anymore.

"FIREBALL!" she yelled out.  Immediately feeling better, she developed a huge sweatdrop next to her head at the two twitching piles of bodies where her two 'students' used to be. 

"Oh well.  I guess they need more incentive." 

***

A lot more discussion later (fireballs, debates, fireballs, and other threats to their health), Kasumi and Ranma finally agreed to 'spar' with/on each other.  It amazed Ranma that Kasumi's unconscious aura that made people want to not hurt her didn't seem to affect his sister any.  Kasumi, meantime, realized that she wasn't going to be able to get out of this and that the redheaded sorceress is determined to have her learn no matter what.  Now she knows how Ranma must have felt every time he got hit with Ryoga's shishi hokodans.  In the end, Lina had to promise Kasumi that any damage she might actually do to Ranma will be healed and not cause permanent damage while Ranma needed more violent persuasion.  The lessons slowly progressed well after that.   Lina made Kasumi practice with/on Ranma and vice versa.  To help her have more time for the lessons, Lina had Ranma make all the meals and do all the chores except dinner for the Tendos.  They may not know it, but Nabiki, Akane, Soun and Genma ate only Kasumi's food at dinner while Ranma prepared and served everything else.  A nice application of illusion spells and mental 'suggestions' made sure they saw 'Kasumi' preparing and serving meals while the real Kasumi was out training with her new self-appointed sensei.  In addition, she received a spell book to learn from for whenever she had time to study.

 It wasn't long before Kasumi was sparring regularly with Ranma.  Apparently, she hasn't forgotten all the lessons in the martial arts she took when she was younger.  They also found that she had a sharp mind and a high learning curve, much like Ranma.  Combined with a high affinity for magic, she became a force to be reckoned with, though she still wouldn't initiate any combat at all.  Every battle was fought strategically, as she uses just enough force and magic to counter anything thrown at her.  For Ranma, it was a challenge to keep her on the offensive.

It was after the end of the month when their routine changed.

***

Par Fum sighed in absolute boredom.  Beside her, Lu Pa and her sister Lu Bo were chatting like girlish teens instead of the warriors they were supposed to be.  She knew she should stop them as gossiping while at patrol was not befitting of Amazon warriors, but then again, as nothing ever happens in a routine patrol, she let it go for once.  It wasn't even supposed to be her shift, but her sister had twisted her ankle the day before and since no one else wanted to volunteer…  She sighed again.

The chatter of the girls and her boredom dulled her senses so none of the Amazons were prepared when suddenly, something shot out of the bushes next to them and grabbed the two chatting warriors.  Before the any of them knew it, they were overwhelmed as at least a half dozen creatures attacked.  Looking like a mutated cross between a sloth and a hedgehog with razor sharp quills and with the ferocity of an enraged grizzly, the creatures made short work with the unfortunate Lu Pa and Lu Bo.  Par Fum herself would have been quickly overwhelmed as well; it was only pure luck that she had been sitting at a tree branch twenty feet in the air.  Hoping to at least save one girl, she had quickly joined the fray, only to find out her wooden Bo couldn't even get past the quills that covered the creatures.  Her initial attack only earned her a quill through an upper arm, rendering it useless, and a half dozen creatures with murder in their eyes looking at her direction.  Quickly calculating the odds and the unmoving pieces of gore that used to be the other Amazon warriors, the surviving patrol did the one thing she never in her life imagine she'd do.  She turned tail and ran like the hounds of hell were on her trail.  Her only consolation was that in her case, it was true.

***

At the Cat-Café.

Cologne watched Shampoo as she finished cleaning up the kitchen.  The girl had become subdued lately, almost depressed.  While she knew the cause to be the strange behavior of her Son-In-Law, she also knew there was nothing any of them can do.  Every one of them had tried.  Even Cologne herself had tried, to find out what the pigtailed boy was up to.  But no thanks to the Forbidden Techniques, the cursed boy had eluded them all.  After a month of attempting to follow him, they had all given up and just hoped he would be finished with whatever he was doing soon.  It has been a little over six weeks since he'd started.  Given his learning curve, surely he'd be done soon.

"HELLO!  CAN I HAVE SOME SERVICE HERE?" someone called out.  Seeing no response from her depressed great-granddaughter, Cologne made a mental note to do something about her and hopped out of the kitchen to tell their customer they were closed.  After all, it was very unbefitting an Amazon warrior to be pining over a male.

"I'm sorry but we are no longer op…"  Cologne stopped as she took a good look at the 'customer.'  If she hadn't been paying attention, she'd have easily dismissed her as just another teenager.  But it was her aura that made her pause.  The girl had showed none.  Knowing about the Saotome Hidden Thief technique or the Umisen ken(sp?), Cologne was curious.  The girl must be very good to be hiding her aura that well, but she doesn't have the look of a martial artist.  Maybe she's related to that Ryu boy that had been after Ranma for the Forbidden Techniques that one time.

"Six bowls of your special, please." The redhead smiled at the elder, seemingly oblivious to the elder's inspection. 

"It'll just be a moment."  Changing her mind as she got curios enough about the new girl, Cologne hopped back into the kitchen and within a minute, had the six bowls tossed out of the kitchen, not bothering to watch to know that it landed perfectly, not spilling a single drop.  Bopping the depressed Shampoo to get her attention and signaling her to follow, she hopped back out to 'talk' with their guest who, much to her surprise, ate like her unwilling Son-In-Law.

"That's quite an appetite you've got there.  I didn't think anyone but Son-in-law and his father could eat like that."

The girl finished, smiled at the 'compliment' and patted her stomach contentedly. 

"This is good!"  Cologne smiled at the compliment.

"So what's your name, young lady?  I don't think I've seen you around here before." 

"Lina.  My name's Lina.  And I'm visiting my little brother here.  Maybe you know him!"  Lina replied with a girlish smile.

"And can I ask who your brother is?"

"Oh, you know.  He's the one you got that shipment of ceruva spores for."

Cologne's smiling face got serious.  How did this girl know about that?  She had ordered it in secret, and got the delivery only last night.  Not to mention that plant was an Amazon secret.  It was so rare and potent that each part of the plant is potentially lethal or curative.  The spores alone make an irresistible aphrodisiac when prepared a certain way or an incurable poison when prepared another way.  Each plant is carefully hoarded, cared for and kept safe in a secret place.  Its existence was something no one outside the amazons knew about.  She was tempted to subdue and interrogate the girl, but with her apparently excellent control of the Saotome Forbidden Technique, Cologne knew there's a chance she could escape fairly easily.  She decided to go the cautious way and get the information she needed to know first before trying anything else.

"I was not aware Son-In-Law has a sister." She cautiously started.  "And may I ask how you knew about my shipment?"  The girl grinned at the elder in reply, her expression saying 'I know something you don't.'

"Now, now, no need to get all upset or anything.  I'm here to deal!   Here's the deal.  You stop going after my little brother and I don't burn down your village."  Lina finished with a smile, as if she hadn't just declared war on the entire Amazon tribe.

The elder Amazon scrutinized the girl in front of her.  It was preposterous that this one girl could threaten her village like that.  Even Son-in-law, with his talent and potential in the art, couldn't possibly threaten them as a whole.  The mere idea is laughable.  She smiled thinly.

"My dear.  Even if you are a master at hiding your aura, the Amazons are very skilled and would not hesitate to kill you just for that remark."  Cologne said dryly, giving the impression she was one of the latter group.  In the background, Shampoo watched curiously, the strange conversation snapping her out of her despondency.  Understanding the 'insult' the newcomer had just given, she grabbed her bonbori and waited for Cologne's direction.  Surely this girl will be punished for her outrageous threats to the village.

Lina ignored the younger Amazon and smirked at the stone-faced elder.  Holding out a hand, palm side up, a red ball of flame burst into existence hovering just over her hand.  Cologne's eyes widened in surprise.  A mage?  That art had never been fully learned and integrated into the Amazons and they were wary of anything that involved magic.  Not that they don't believe in it, of course.  Their village is too close to Jusenkyo to not believe in magic.  Also, since anything magical coming from Jusenkyo always meant trouble, no one has ever even thought of 'learning' the magical arts.  Lina's demonstration had just elevated her in the Matriarch's eyes from a harmless girl to the level she'd normally place Saffron.

"I just can't allow anyone to force my little brother to marry, you see?  I was going to let him handle this, but I'm not so sure if he won't just get into more trouble.  And I need him fairly available soon."  Lina finished calmly.  Closing her hand, the ball of fire flickered out.  Looking at the now-wary elder, she grinned.

"So what do you say?"

It was at that moment when the door burst open and a ragged exhausted man rushed in.  Cologne and Shampoo almost attacked at the sudden invasion, but stopped at as the man held out a wrinkled and stained envelope, which had obviously been through some rough treatment. 

"Urgent…Emergency…letter…for a Cologne…Here…sign please…" he huffed as he fought to catch his breath. 

Quickly signing and tossing the useless male out of the restaurant, Cologne kept one eye on Lina while she opened the envelope.  Reading the letter, she turned white and almost fell off her staff.  Shampoo, all depression forgotten as she realized something is happening, rushed to her and waited anxiously for the elder to speak.

Pack your bags, Shampoo.  We're leaving first thing in the morning.  We are being recalled back to the village.  Cologne instructed the younger Amazon in chinese.

What!  But... Shampoo's protest died as she noticed the worried and angry expression on Cologne's face.

Our village is under attack by monsters.  She gave the letter to the younger Amazon, who quickly read it as well, her expression turning to confusion.

'Monsters'?  Great-great-Grandmother, it's probably just another stupid person who got splashed in Jusenkyo like that Rogue girl.

No.  They wouldn't call us back from a husband-hunt for something like that.  They are capable of handling a dozen Rogues.  This must be something else.

"Cologne's right, you know.  They actually mean 'monsters'.  You know, like demons and such" Lina casually inserted into their conversation.  Surprised the girl understood them, Cologne and Shampoo turned and saw her smile innocently at them.

"Like I said, let's deal."  Cologne's eyes narrowed as two and two became four.

"You!  You're doing this!" she accused.

Author's notes:

Well, what do you think?  I'm not filling in all the holes right now otherwise, there wouldn't be a much to answer later, right?  I'm also thinking of maybe adding the SM scouts to this – what do you think?

As for Kasumi, I know there's almost a 'rule' out there that Kasumi must not be harmed and stuff.  But in my fic, I like the idea that she's more than just someone to be protected.  I kinda like the idea of a powerful Kasumi.  Sorry for Akane fans out there, but she's not going to have much power relative to the others in this story.   And no, this is not an Ranma/Akane or Ranma/Kasumi story. 

For those of you who are familiar with Slayers, Lina may seem a bit OOC, but in this story, she's no longer a teenager.  She's also much more powerful.  After all, if she could do a giga slave in her teens, she should be able to do much more as she gets older, right?

Comments?  Suggestions?  Is this good?  Bad?  You can email me at turtlehat@hotmail.com.  Helpful criticisms welcome.  But if all you're going to do is flame me, please don't bother.  I'm not interested in those.  Like I said in my previous notes, I'm not claiming to be a writer so if you don't like my story, don't read them.