Disclaimer: None of the Slayers or Ranma ½ characters belong to me.

However, Yeshta, Meri, Poison Tree and Etarnia are the property of my siblings and myself.

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Zelgadiss stumbled out of the Furinkan School of Magic's Registration office. He squinted in the light from the sun that was much brighter than the building he had just come out of. The Registration office was poorly lit, largely because of the fact that it had no windows. He had been able to register for classes that would start tomorrow, but now he had a new problem.

Every single coin in his possession had been taken for the various fees of attending school.

First, there were the fees for tuition, then there were fees for materials that would be used in the classes. The fees for late registration were incredibly high, leaving poor Zel with no money at all.

The worst part was that he had to find his own place to stay for the time he wold be attending classes. Although the School itself did have some dorms, they were all full. Being a late registration student certainly had its drawbacks. He wandered around the streets of Seiruun, wondering what he should do. Living on the streets was not a desirable prospect, especially to a chimera who turned in to a woman when splashed with cold water. He sat down in an ally, wondering if a place like this would be his home for the time he was not in school. He leaned his head back and stared up at the sky. Now that his eyes were adjusted, he could see the rain clouds that hovered threateningly over him. He closed his eyes and leaned his head foreword as the clouds began to let their rain down upon the city. He glanced down at his newly rounded body, contemplating if he should have registered at the school as a female.

"Zelgadiss? Zelgadiss Graywords?" A voice Zel did not recognize came from the street. He glanced up to see a man he did not know running up to him.

"It is you!" The man exclaimed, smiling while gasping to catch his breath.

"And you are?" Zel asked, uncertain what to make of this.

"Oh, I'm sorry! It's been years since I saw you!" The man paused. "I'm Mr. Tree, owner of the Tree Fighting Dojo. I saw you when you were just a little child!" Mr. Tree smiled. Zel wondered how on earth someone would recognize him if they had seen him in his childhood.

"Please, come to my house, we can discuss this over tea." Mr. Tree took Zel's hand. Zel thought this was quite strange, with the possibility of being a trap. But if it were a trap, Zel would not feel badly about beating him senseless and stealing his wallet. Zel shook his head.

"I've been around Lina too long..." (S)he sighed, standing up and following Mr. Tree down the street.

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"Please, wait here. I'll go get my daughters." Mr. Tree left Zel sitting at a Japanese-style table. Zel glanced around the room. IT was fairly plain and simple, with tatami mat floors and a sliding door on one side. A moment later, Mr. Tree returned with three girls following him.

"Ooh, he's cute." The girl with dark brown hair commented, smiling. The three girls sat down across the table from Zel. Mr. Tree stood at the head of the table.

"Zelgadiss, these are my daughters. Meri, age twenty-two." He gestured to the girl who was pouring tea. Zel studied her for a moment. She had long white hair that was pulled back in to elaborately interwoven braids and deep blue eyes.

"Nice to meet you." She smiled and handed him a cup of tea.

"Etarnia, age twenty." He gestured to the girl who had called Zel "cute". She had dark brown hair that was pulled back out of her face in a style that Zel could not describe, and dark brown eyes that matched her hair.

"And Yeshta, age nineteen." He gestured to the one on the end. She stared at Zel blankly with turquoise eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a single ribbon at the base of her neck. At the top of her head, the hair was a pale blonde, but seemed to get darker as it flowed down. Zel curiously looked under the table to see the end of Yeshta's hair. The ends of her hair were mahogany colored. Between the top of her head and the end, the hair darkened gradually. Zel looked up at Mr. Tree, who was smiling proudly.

"Well? Which one do you like?" Mr. Tree asked.

"What?" Zel asked blankly.

"For your fiancé." Mr. Tree said this as though it should make sense.

"My fiancé? What are you talking about?" Zel was beginning to get alarmed.

"I'm sorry for not explaining sooner. " Mr. Tree sat down with a cup of tea that Meri handed him. "You see, I knew your great Grandfather, Rezo."

"Rezo?!! What does he have to do with me?!" Zelgadiss demanded, slamming her (his?) hands on the table.

"Please, calm down and let me explain. I knew him for a while, and we decided it was in our best interests to combine our family lines. So, we decided that you, the youngest male in his family would marry one of my three daughters." Mr. Tree paused dramatically. Etarnia yawned.

"Look, Daddy, don't bore poor Zel with all your dramatics. I'm sure he had other things he'd rather do than listen to you go on all day."

"You're right. I'm sorry." Mr. Tree wiped tears from his eyes. "When he chimeraized you, Rezo sent us this postcard." Mr. Tree handed it to Zel. Zel read it.

"To Mr. Poison Tree:

Greetings from Sairaag. I hope this finds you well. Zelgadiss is nearly of a marriageable age. Prepare yourself and your daughters for the merging of our family lines.

Sincerely,

Rezo the Red Priest"

"But... That was ages ago." Zel stared at the writing on the card.

"How I know!" Mr. Tree burst in to tears again.

"..................." Silence stretched across the room.

Zel turned the card over to see the picture on the front. His eyes widened in horror at the sight. In one corner, there was a chibi Rezo making a "peace" sign. The rest of the card was a rather dashing picture of Zelgadiss. Along the bottom of the card, there was a speech bubble that supposedly belonged to Rezo. It said, "Look for Zelgadiss in his new form!" Zel set the card on the table. (S)he was beginning to feel sickened.

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Poor Zel! Don't you feel bad for him? (((_^)) Many thanks to the people who have reviewed this story! ^_^ Yes, even the one who flamed me... ^_^; I'll try to get more up soon! ^_^ \/ Peace!