This had been a time of festivity. The city of Temul was having its annual harvest festival. People were enjoying life to the fullest, and there was much merry-making going on. And Sheila asked Terio to meet her so that they could talk in private. She needed his opinion on a certain matter, one that he seemed to be well versed in. Especially when she considered the latest woes he had told her and the others about earlier that day.
Still... Even as Sheila sat with Terio is a mostly deserted el fresco café so they could talk without too many people listening in, something was off...
“That’s odd. The crowd got quiet...” Sheila muttered.
Terio shrugged his shoulders. He smiled a little at Sheila. “What did you wish to speak to me about, Sheila?”
“Oh, right...” Sheila muttered, taking her mind off all the quiet. It’s about you and Mitsuko... I mean it’s about...” Sheila gnawed at her lower lip. “Can you keep a secret?”
“I can keep lots of secrets.” Terio said in all honesty, although there was a hint of pride.
Nodding her head at that, Sheila admitted her problem. “I have a crush on one of my teammates and I-”
“You mean Tirga?” Terio interrupted quite bluntly.
Sheila was a little surprised. “How did...” Sheila shook her head. “Please don’t tell anyone, okay? I’ve only told my brother.” Seeing Terio nod his head, Sheila continued. “Well, okay. He’s the one I want to settle down with someday.”
Arching an eyebrow, Terio gritted his teeth a little. “He doesn’t seem to be the ‘settle-down’ type of guy...”
Slumping her head down into her folded arms on the table, Sheila sighed. “That’s what I’m afraid of. That he might just use me up and toss me aside like everyone else. And that I’d have to leave the Guard to get away, like you-”
“Hold on!” Terio interrupted. “I didn’t run away from anything or anyone. Losing Mitsuko was my dishonor to bear, and I couldn’t run away from that. Finding hand leading her back to the righteous path is my quest alone.”
Sheila’s eyes widened in shock. “You mean she was...”
“That’s riiiiight...” came a feminine voice. The candle on the table Sheila and Terio were sitting at lifted into the air, and a hand appeared around it, and more of a body appeared with it.
Standing behind Sheila was another two-tailed Kitsune. With a shock of long red hair, a very generous bust, red and creamy-white fur with black fur on hands, feet and ears. She wore a small white mage-suit, which barely went over her chest and left the legs bare. And finally she had a black leather mini-skirt, black leather shoulder guards, and a red scarf over that.
It was the Psionist Mage of the Eastern Edge Guard, Mitsuko.
Looking over the candle in her hand, Mitsuko spoke softly. “I was the deserter.” She put the candle down and placed her hands on Sheila’s shoulders. “And Terio, hot on my trail, still holds a torch for me.”
Terio stood up and placed his hands on the table. “Mitsuko!”
Sheila meanwhile, was very surprised but this sudden change of events. “How long was she here? I couldn’t sense her at all!” Sheila thought with a little worry.
“I was here long enough.” Mitsuko answered. She smirked at the further surprised Sheila and answered. “I can read minds too. We Kitsune are very powerful indeed, Sheila.”
Terio walked around the table and over to Sheila. As he did, Mitsuko stepped back. Placing his own hands on Sheila’s shoulder, Terio looked at Mitsuko pleadingly. “Mitsuko, don’t do this. You’ve got to come back with me! We can help you!”
Waving a finger at Terio, Mitsuko glared. “You cant and you won’t. Here’s my offer, Terio. That it, or leave it.” Her glare hardened a little more. “Forget about me. Forget about this mad crusade to bring me back. I’m not your lost little girl anymore, thanks to the Dark Edge Guard. I’m more powerful than ever, and I plan to stay that way.”
There was a moment of silence between the three. Mitsuko’s glare softened and she smiled a little. “Before you answer, I’ve sweetened the deal. Settle down with Sheila here. Her associate have their hands full, and I’ve taken care of Tirga personally, there’ll be no-”
“NO!” Sheila yelled. She held her hands out to thee side to summon her magical weapon. “You’ll pay for that! ICE-”
“SILENCE!”
And Sheila was muted with that spell. Mitsuko’s hand glowed for a few moments as the spell took effect fully. “There! No weapon summoning.” She then put her hands on her hips and looked at Terio. “Well?”
Terio tried to plead with Mitsuko one last time. “You can let the Dark Edge Guard use you like this!”
Mitsuko ignored Terio’s plea. “Last chance. Yes or no?”
Terio looked at Sheila. Sheila couldn’t speak, but she could mouth what she was trying to tell him. Terio understood loud and clear. So, turning back to Mitsuko, Terio gave his answer. “No.”
Mitsuko smirked. “Then a little Psychic Surgery will change your mind.” A ball of magic began to form before her as she changed a spell. “May the object of all your love and desire be Sheila for-”
*PLEP*!
Mitsuko stumbled forward a little as a candied apple hit her in the back of the head; the magical energies she was gathering for her spell were released. “What!? NO!!! MY SPELL! Who… Who?”
“Didn’t see that one coming, did you?” Tirga smirked as he slinked out of the shadows. He was beaten, bruised, and bloodied, but he had survived the literal beating Mitsuko had given him.
Mitsuko meanwhile, just held onto the sides of her head with her hands; tears were pouring from the corners of her eyes. “This is bad... This is very bad... I haven’t botched a spell this badly since I was a kit! The spell affected me! S, so now, the object of... All my... Love is...”
Sheila became rather nervous as Mitsuko began to look at her in a teary, yet hopeful expression...
“RAVEN WING!”
And before Terio and Tirga knew it, Mitsuko had her arms around Sheila’s waist, and the Kitsune was flying off with the petite jagwere.
Tirga looked over at Terio and growled. “D, don’t just stand there! Cough! GO GET HER! I’ll, cough, catch up!” Tirga demanded of the Kitsune. He looked at Terio seriously. “And bring her back in one piece... All right?”
“Trust me.” Was all Terio said, and he shifted to his full fox form. He was moving at lightning-quick speeds.
(------)
Meanwhile, thanks to her flight spell, Mitsuko was covering great distance with Sheila. They were already flying over a forest that was at least three cities away from Temul! “We’ll figure this out. Don’t worry you’re pretty little head over it.” Mitsuko said in all honesty.
Sheila frowned a little.
Mitsuko looked ahead. “ASTRAL RIP!”
A tear through the fabric of reality appeared.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head.” Mitsuko said. “I’ll be taking us to some place private. I mean, spell or no spell, I think we’re perfect together don’t you? You’re just so cute and... Heavy all of a sud-”
*KA-POW*!
And this a very human Sheila had slammed her fists at either side of Mitsuko’s head, knocking out the magically-afflicted Kitsune.
Unfortunately, Sheila did not act fast enough, and Sheila and Mitsuko were falling into the astral rift.”
“AW, NUTS!” Sheila screamed as she was sent hurtling through the dimensional barrier with Mitsuko.
Terio stopped in his run as soon as he saw the Astral Rip close. He gulped. “Aw, man... Tirga is gonna kill me...”
(------)
Ranma Saotome, Heir of the Saotome School of Martial Arts, and sometimes girl, was walking home from school alone.
And he was in a bad mood...
“First Akane’s wake-up call with the stupid water-bucket! Then she doesn’t let me sit down to eat! Then a simultaneous attack from Kuno, Principal Kuno, Mousse, and Ryoga! Then Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi fighting over me during lunch. Not too long after that, Happosai had to come on that damned panty-raid and gave the stuff to me, amking me a target for righteous womanly wrath. And to top it all off, I was given detention by Hinako, who kept stealing chi from me!” He ranted to himself.
Ranma was about to say, ‘this day can’t get any worse’, but he remembered how stuff always seemed to when he said it.
Maybe it was time for a new approach...
“Life couldn’t possibly be as hard as a walk through the park!” Ranma screamed out. Silence. Absolute silence all around. “Well, I’ll be damned... That actually worked!”
Ranma was about to walk off and actually try to be joyful for once, when fate decided to bite wonder-boy in the ass once more. Life was going to prove that it was as hard as a walk through a park.
If that park was in Nerima, or Tomobiki, or Juuban for example...
And so, Ranma stopped in his tracks when he saw a vortex suddenly open up above him. And out fell a large, bust, redheaded girl with freckles, and a two-tailed Kitsune.
Both forms landed on Ranma with a loud thud.
“Owwies...” Sheila groaned as she rubbed the back of her head.
“You can say that again...” Ranma groaned.
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(Posted Sun, 17 Aug 2003 00:54)
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