Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Aa! Megami-sensei! ❯ A Potion for Your Troubles? ( Chapter 9 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Imported From: RAAC
From: falcon@best.com (Peter L. Ward)
Subject: [XOVER][Fanfic] Aa! Megami-sensei! - Part 10


Aa! Megami-sensei!

by Peter Ward

Episode 10: Your Talent for Chaos - Part 1


"Your turn to deal, Jun."

Kokashi Jun took the deck of cards from one of her lab teammates,
Hasegawa Noriko, and started to shuffle the deck. It had been
over a month since Jun transferred to Furinkan high school in
mid-April, and she made fast friends with the three girls who
were her lab teammates, Noriko, Ishikawa Mariko, and Tanaka Rika.
As soon as she stopped shuffling the deck, she quickly dealt out
the cards as part of their regular pre-class poker game.

As Noriko picked up her hand, she turned to Rika and asked, "So,
have the drama club officers asked you if you're going to be in
this semester's talent show?"

"Well, not yet, Noriko." Rika said as she ran her fingers idly
through her long black hair while studying her cards. "I'm sure
they'll get around to it soon, though."

"What's this about a talent show, Rika?" Jun asked, still being
the newcomer of the foursome.

"Every semester, they have a talent show here, and they've always
asked me to sing a song or two since I started going to school
here." Rika replied brightly.

"That's cool." Jun replied. "So, are you going to do it this
semester?"

"Sure, if they ask me. I've got to figure out what songs to
sing, though. Oh, I guess it's my turn to open the bet, so I'll
start it off with five." With that, Rika took five chips from
her pile and put them in the center of the lab table.

"Only five, Rika?" Noriko asked. "I'll see it and raise nine.
How about 'Voices' from Macross Plus?"

"Yeah, 'Voices' would be good. I'm glad you didn't suggest 'Idol
Talk', though." Rika finished with a slight blush.

"True." Mariko interjected, the side of her head resting in an
open hand while she looked at her hand of cards in disgust. "I
heard that Tetsuo likes that song. Three guesses why and the
first two don't count. By the way, I'm folding this hand."

"Again?" Jun said incredulously. "You must be having really
lousy luck today. That's the fifth hand you folded this morn-
ing."

"Well, there are the rumors about you having some sort of powers,
Jun. I can't help but wonder about them." Mariko sniped in
irritation.

"Wait a minute!" Jun spoke up defensively. "I'm not using my
powers to cheat here! I mean, sure, I used them on Tetsuo at the
auto meet a few weeks back, but I wouldn't use them in such a
petty fashion....oops...I think I said too much." she added
meekly.

"So you do admit to having powers, then?" Mariko said as a smug
look crossed her face.

"Leave her alone, Mariko." Noriko cut in before things got any
worse. "Okay, so she's got some sort of power. I know, since
I've seen her use them on that jerk Tetsuo. But if she says
she's not using them to cheat, I'll believe her."

"Okay, okay..." Mariko said, backing down. "Sorry, Jun. I guess
I am taking the game a little too seriously. Gotta hand it to
you, though. Tetsuo had that tar-and-feathering coming for a
loooong time. Good one!" Mariko finished, a smile emerging on
her face.

"What sort of powers *do* you have, anyway?" Rika asked Jun.

"Well, if you guys can keep it a secret, I guess I can tell you.
It's magic." Jun whispered as all four girls leaned in closer
over the lab table. "Another thing, I'm raising the bet by 9 as
well."

As the girls sat back on their stools, Rika said, "This is
getting too rich for me. I'm folding with Mariko."

"And I'll call." Noriko finished. While Noriko took one card out
of her hand and replaced it, Jun did likewise with three cards.

"So, any other ideas about what else Rika could sing at this
variety show?" Jun asked as she studied her new hand.

"I'll open with twelve chips." Noriko said after a quick glance
at her cards. "You know, since 'Voices' does tend to be a
slower, quieter song, maybe we should balance it out with a more
upbeat song. Maybe the opening theme for 'Marmalade Boy'?
That's pretty infectious."

"That'll be a crowd-pleaser for sure." Mariko agreed, wearing a
slight smile while trying to fight off being glum after her bad
poker hand.

"Hey, I'll let you guys in on a secret if you promise not to tell
anyone." Jun added, leaning in towards her partners. "I was told
that Urd-sensei got really hooked on that show when it was on. I
think it had something to do with all those relationships in the
show, since she likes to play cupid all the time. Especially
between her sister, Belldandy, and Keiichi."

"All right! Juicy tidbits on the sensei!" Rika whispered con-
spiratorially.

"Hey, before we end up getting off-track here, it's your bet,
Jun." Noriko said, torn between her confidence in her hand, and
the curiosity about what the new teacher did in her spare time.

"Spoilsport." Jun said in mock petulance. "Just for that, I'm
raising you eighteen." she added with a very cool and confident
look on her face.

"Eighteen?!" Noriko nearly cried out. "Okay, okay, I'll fold.
See if I defend you again."

"Heh, you folded almost as easily as Mariko did." Jun said in
satisfaction as she collected her pot. "Here, my hand." she
added as she deftly set her cards on the table for all to see.
The hand consisted of a pair of fives.

"Huh?! You mean I folded to a pair of fives???" Noriko exclaim-
ed. "Here I was, with two pair, and I folded to a mere pair of
fives! Damn, you're good Jun."

Before Jun could gloat further, Godzilla's head came up beside
her. Or more rather, the head of someone wearing a Godzilla
costume. Jun nearly fell out of her chair in surprise, but was
caught by another boy wearing a kabuki costume. "So sorry." he
said. "We didn't mean to scare you like that. We just wanted to
talk to Rika here."

While Jun gawked at the two boys in astonishment, they turned to
Rika and the one in the kabuki greeted her, saying, "Good morn-
ing, Rika. I suppose you know why we're here."

"Of course, I do boys." Rika answered cheerfully. "Oh, Jun,
don't worry about these two. They're the ones who head up the
drama club here. Boys, this is Kokashi Jun. She's only been
here for a month now, so I don't think she's quite used to
everything here."

"As if anyone could get used to everything at this school."
Mariko muttered, referring to the higher-than-usual levels of
weirdness at Furinkan high.

"So, Rika, are you going to sing for the talent show this semes-
ter?" the boy in the Godzilla costume asked, ignoring Mariko's
comments.

"Of course, I am. In fact, we were just discussing that before
you boys came. Do you want one or two numbers for this show?"

"Two numbers this time?" the boy in the kabuki costume asked in
anticipation. "That'd be wonderful!"

"Good." Rika replied happily, then shifted to a sly voice. "In
fact, I think one will be an ensemble number, and I'll have my
friends here be backup singers and dancers for that one." Before
the three other girls could protest, she added, "Oh, I think I've
got another act for you guys as well. How would you like for Jun
here to give a magic show this semester? I hear that she's
really good!"

"Really?" Both boys asked. Then the one in the Godzilla costume
turned to Jun and asked, "Would you really do that for us?"

Jun paused a moment, deciding between her eagerness to put her
magic skills to use, and possible admonishments from Urd and the
rest of the temple household. Her love of magic won out and she
replied, "Sure, I'll do it."

"Great! Thanks ladies!" The two said as they started stepping
away. They came to a stop as they backed into Urd-sensei, who
was standing behind them.

"Interesting outfits you boys have on there." Urd said with a
bemused expression on her face. "Mind telling me what the
occasion is?"

"Oh! Sensei!" the boy in the kabuki costume said in surprise.
"My friend and I run the drama club here, and we were hoping that
you'd let us announce this semester's talent show at the begin-
ning of your first-period class."

"Really?" Urd said with a smile. "All right, I'll let you boys
make your announcement in a few minutes. Jun, could I speak with
you for a moment?"

"Uh, sure, Sensei..." Jun stammered, wondering if Urd overheard
the conversation, especially the bit about her hastily-planned
magic act.

"Uh oh...teacher's pet's in trouble!" Noriko teased as Jun got up
to go talk to Urd.

As the teacher and student stepped away, Mariko gave Rika a glare
and hissed, "What was that about an 'ensemble number' Rika? How
come you're dragging the rest of us into this?"

"I thought it would be fun having all four of us in one of the
acts this time around. Besides, what are you so uptight about,
Mariko? We were in the same dance classes a few years ago, so I
know that you'll pretty good at it."

"Well, yeah, but in front of all those people?!" Mariko stam-
mered. Sure, she was pretty good at dancing, but she preferred
to be recognized (justly) for her athletic prowress instead.

"You'll do all right, Mariko. Besides, wouldn't it be nice to be
known for something besides sports?"

Mariko only muttered under her breath in reply, but the look on
her face indicated her agreement to the idea.

Meanwhile, in one of the corners of the lab room. Urd was talking
with Jun.

"So you're going to use your powers in public, in front of an
audience?"

"Well, only low-level magic as well as your typical stage
tricks." Jun said waveringly. "Please, sensei, you've got to let
me try."

"Hey, who said I was going to stop you? After all, why have the
power and not use it? Just be careful, all right? Oh, don't let
my sisters or Keiichi know what you're up to. They'll have a
hissy-fit if they do. Kami-sama only knows how many fits they've
had whenever I've used my powers to help those ingrates."

"Thanks, sensei!" Jun said in glee, almost forgetting to address
her as "Sensei" in front of her fellow students rather that just
"Urd" like back at the temple.

"Don't mention it, kiddo! And I mean that literally. By the
way, since I'm going to help you keep this a secret, why don't
let me do you another favor and let me do your costume design?"
Urd said with a smile.

"Um, you really don't have to go through that trouble, sensei..."
Jun stammered, not quite sure if she should let Urd design a
stage costume for her.

"Oh, it'll be no trouble for me, you know that! In fact, I
insist on doing it!"

"Um, yeah, if you say so..." Jun trailed off as she went to her
friends. Jun was happy that Urd was letting her do a magic act
(even if it wasn't her idea), but the thought of a stage costume
designed by her mentor was another thing altogether. Realizing
that when Urd sets off to do something, there was no stopping
her, Jun resigned herself to the "deal".

A few days later, the four girls went to one of the classier
department stores in Tokyo in order to get whatever outfits they
needed for the upcoming talent show.

"So, what about this outfit, girls?"
Rika held up a light blue Chinese-style dress to her body for the
others to see how it might look on her.

"Looks good to me." Noriko said while studying the way the dress
looked.

"Could be worse." Jun agreed.

"Yeah, but how are we supposed to move around in those things? I
mean, look how tight it is! I have to wonder if we could breathe
in that kind of dress!" Mariko objected.

"You have a better idea, Mariko?" Noriko said in frustration.
"You've said 'no' to the last five dresses that Rika picked out
in this store alone!"

"Well, they did look like idol singer costumes after all! We'd
look silly in them on stage!"

"Girls, girls!" Rika interrupted, trying to head off another
argument between Mariko and Noriko. "We've got other outfits to
look at as well, so let's not get worked up over this one.
Mariko does have some good points there about freedom of move-
ment, so we'll put this dress to the side. Now, how about this
one?" Rika pulled out a silver-sequined dress and held it up to
her body for the others to see. This one had a halter top to it
and was knee-length.

"Oooh! Now that's something!" Jun cooed.

"Yeah, baby! We're gonna knock the guys out in those!" Noriko
called out.

"Well, it's an improvement." Mariko said, bringing some relief to
the three other girls. "Can we move around in it at all?"

"Yeah, the fabric seems stretchy enough, so you don't have to
worry about that." Rika replied to the skeptical Mariko.

"Okay, I'll go along with that, though it does look to be Tetsuo-
bait there." Mariko finally agreed.

"Hey, if you want Tetsuo-bait, you should let Urd-sensei do the
costume design. She can get really racy once you set her loose."
Jun countered.

"Oh? You mean her usual wardrobe in class isn't racy enough for
her?" Mariko asked snidely, in reference to Urd's habit of
wearing miniskirts and tight tops around her students.

"Nope. That's barely the tip of the iceberg. Be glad she isn't
doing the group's costumes like she's doing mine for the magic
act."

"How come you're letting her do your costume if you don't like
it?" Noriko asked.

"It's part of the price for her silence around the temple about
my magic act. If either of her sisters or Keiichi found out I
was doing a magic act, they'd go ballistic!"

"Why would they do that?" Rika asked curiously, wondering if she
did something that could've gotten Jun in trouble at home by
volunteering her for the talent show.

"Well, I've got a good amount of power when it comes to magic,
but, well, my control is a bit off. They'd be worried if they
found out if I were to use my powers in a situation like a talent
show. Urd said it was okay, though, so I'm going ahead with it.
After all, she has final say in the matter."

"Well, if you say so, then I guess it's all right. I didn't want
to get you into trouble just because I wanted to get a bit of
revenge over that poker game that morning."

"Hey, don't sweat it." Jun said to put Rika at ease over the
matter. "I'll be using low-level magic at the most, as well as
your standard non-magic tricks, so there'll be nothing to worry
about."

With Mariko's grudging agreement to the style of dress, the four
made their orders and the necessary pre-payments. As they left
the store, Jun paused a second to pick up Joe from where she was
waiting dutifully near the door.

<Good girl!> Jun mentally flashed to Joe.

<Will you cut it out with the "girl" business?? After all, it's
your fault as well as Urd's that I'm stuck this way! I wish you
two would hurry up and turn me back to a normal boy already.>

<Awwww...you're no fun at all! Look on the bright side, you've
got all those girls fawning over you!> Jun teased.

<I'd rather that they were fawning over my normal form, thank you
very much. At least I'd be getting dates.> Joe thought icily.

<There's just no pleasing you, is there?>

"Hello? Earth to Jun!"

Jun broke off from her mental conversation and saw Mariko stand-
ing right in front of her.

"Huh? Oh, sorry...I wasn't paying attention."

"That was obvious by the way that you were just standing there
looking at Jo there."

"Ah...I was just making sure that 'Jo' was all right there. We
were in there an awful long time."

"That's understandable. Mind if I hold her?"

"No, I don't mind at all. Here you go!" Jun said brightly as she
handed "Jo" over to Mariko, who held the piglet like a little
baby against her chest.

"Awww...isn't she cute? You know, Jo, you look every bit as cute
as Akane's pet piglet, P-chan. I wonder if Jun will let me keep
you for a week or so."

<I wouldn't mind one bit!> Joe thought, reconsidering her insis-
tence on being changed back to a human boy ASAP.

<Think clean thoughts, 'Jo'! After all, girls shouldn't be
lusting after other girls...> Jun teased darkly, being annoyed by
her brother's enjoyment of the situation. Turning to Mariko, she
said, "So, is this a soft spot I see in the ever-irritable
Ishikawa Mariko here?"

"Huh? Hey, it isn't as if I'm always an ogre. After all, Jo
here is just sooo cute. She's a lot better to have around than
most of the boys on campus."

"Oh?" Jun inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Last year, all the guys were trying to get a date with Akane
until her fiance, Ranma, showed up. They were acting like total
jerks thanks to that buffoon Kuno."

"What does Kuno have to do with that?"

"Well, he told all the guys that he wouldn't approve of anyone
going out with Akane unless they defeated her in combat. Of
course, none of the guys, Kuno included, could defeat her. They
stopped after Ranma beat Kuno a few days after he started to go
to school here."

"Hmph. Do they think Akane's some sort of prize to win or what?"

"And every time a new, cute girl came to campus, they went after
her. That included both Hinako-sensei and Urd-sensei. What
jerks."

"I can see why you get irritated from time to time now..."

"And just because I get irritated, they avoid me like the plague.
That and the fact that I'm such a good athlete and that I'm tall.
They must be wimps if they get intimidated by that."

"Hey, don't let it get you down, Mariko. I'm sure not all guys
are jerks 100 percent of the time."

"True. I just hope that my poetry reading will help things some
by showing the guys that I'm not a total bitch."

"You're doing a poetry reading for the show?"

"Yeah, I figured that if they were going to let Kuno put the
audience to sleep with Shakespearean poetry, I can at least give
my own work a shot."

"Kuno's going to be in the show too? Thanks for the warning...
I'll bring earplugs and No-Doz for the four of us. By the way, I
didn't know you wrote poetry."

"Because I don't seem the type, right? That's okay...everyone
else makes the same assumption. If you want to know the truth, I
love literature, especially western literature. Maybe not as
much as either track or softball, but I still love it. In fact,
that's going to be my major when I go to college next year."

"That'll be cool. Where are you going for college?"

"I'm not quite sure yet. I can probably go to school here in
Tokyo, but I also have distant relatives in America, so I can
arrange to go to school there as well while I live with them."

"Wow, that's pretty far away."

"Yeah, but at least it's far away from this madhouse of a neigh-
borhood."

"Gee, I didn't think you felt that strongly about things, Mariko.
Or is something really eating away at you?"

"Don't tell me mindreading's one of your magical powers..."

"Not really, or at least I can't read your mind. Come on, what
is it?"

"It's this whole ensemble act thing. I'm still ticked about Rika
dragging us into this. Now we've got to play dress-up as well."

"Hey, I was just as shocked as you were, Mariko, but I'm starting
to look forward to it now."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn't all that shocked. You
see, Rika and I go back to when we were little girls, and she
always dragged me into all sorts of things back then. I didn't
mind doing them, mind you, just the fact that she goes and gets
me involved in these things without asking."

"Did you ever tell her how you felt?"

"Not really. It irritates me, but I put up with it because Rika
is one of the few people that'll actually put up with me. I
really don't want to lose her as a friend over something like
this."

"Hey, you're not some kind of monster. Okay, so you're almost as
nasty with your bats as Kuno is with his boken, and you don't
hesitate to use them. So what? Most of the guys you use them on
have it coming anyway. Especially Tetsuo and Joat-mon. Just try
to tell Rika how you feel about these things. I'm sure she'd
respect your feelings...I know I would."

"Well, okay. I'll try to keep it in mind next time, since
there's no real chance of backing out of this. I guess you,
Rika, and Noriko are the only ones who aren't afraid of me and my
temper." After a moment, Mariko broke a slight smile and held
Joe at face level. "I guess you aren't scared, either, Jo. What
a brave little piggy!" With that, Mariko gave Joe a quick peck
on the snout.

Mariko didn't notice it, but Jun blushed slightly as Joe's
emotional state was transmitted to her. <Clean thoughts, Joe!
Clean thoughts! I don't think she meant that kiss in a romantic
way! Are you even listening, you pig?!>

Frustrated by Joe's clouded mental state, she spoke up again.
"Well, if you want to know, Jo and I have dealt with scarier.
You don't know scary until you meet my mother. I might get
teased as a 'teacher's pet' and all, but it sure beats having to
put up with mother and her ideas of destiny."

"That bad, huh? Wait a second...isn't that Mackie that Rika and
Noriko are talking to over there on the corner?"

Jun looked over and noticed that the other two girls in their
group wandered away for a short distance while she and Mariko
were talking. "Hey, I wonder what's up? Let's go check it out
and say 'hi' while we're at it."

As soon as Jun and Mariko caught up with the others, Rika turned
to them and said "Oh, good, you're here! We just ran across
Mackie while you two were chatting."

"Yeah, I finally saved enough money and got another guitar to use
here since my folks won't send mine over."

"That's cool. I wonder why they wouldn't send your guitar over,
though." Mariko remarked.

"Oh, they're just being tight, that's all." Mackie answered.
"Anyway, Rika was telling me that you ladies are planning on
doing a couple of song numbers and I could do accompaniment on
one of them."

"Well, I guess that'll be all right" Mariko said neutrally, not
having heard his playing before.

<Why do I have a baad feeling about this?> Jun thought darkly,
also running the bit about the parents through her mind. Before
she could say anything, though, a large hand fell on her shoulder
and she jumped. Turning around, she saw a tall mountain of a
monk standing there. <Oh, no,> she thought, <it's starting
again...>

"Kokashi Jun. It took me a long time to track you down after you
left your parents. You know that you have destiny to fulfill as
the heiress of..."

"Um, listen," Jun cut the monk off before he could continue, "I
*really* would like to stay and chat further, but my friends and
I have got to get going now. Bye!"

As Jun herded her friends around the corner and down the street,
the monk sternly stood there and shouted after her, "You cannot
escape your destiny, Kokashi Jun!"

After a few minutes of running down the sidewalk and dodging
others like the monk, all five stopped to take a breath while
hiding in an alleyway. "What was that all about, Jun? Do you
know that monk?" Noriko asked.

"Not really, but I really don't want to be bothered by him or his
buddies. I thought I lost them when I moved in with Urd and her
sisters..."

"Why were you trying to lose them? Are you in some sort of
trouble?" Rika inquired in worry.

"No, just about to be pestered day-in and day-out. You see, if
you have a convoluted family tree like mine, everyone seems to
think that you're some sort of destined person. And I do mean
everyone. Sorry, but I think that you're going to be seeing a
lot more of his type hanging around for a while."

"Hey, if they're bugging you so much, why don't you let me take
care of them for you?" Mackie exclaimed, "cracking" his metal
knuckles.

"I'm with mecha boy here," Mariko agreed while swinging an
imaginary bat, "If they want to bug our friend here, they're
going to have to get past us first."

"Ummmm...thanks, really..." Jun stammered nervously, "but I don't
think we really need to go to bloodshed over this. I'm sure we
can deal with it without resorting to violence here..."

"Okay, okay...you're no fun at all." Mariko relented. "But
seriously, if you need help in dealing with these jerks, let us
know, all right?"

"All right. Come on, let's go home before it gets any crazier."
A while later, after saying her goodbyes to her friends at
Furinkan high, Jun walked over to the public phone and dialed out
to the temple. Within a minute, she saw a flash of light from
the teachers' lounge and proceeded to wait by the school's main
entryway.

After a couple of minutes, Urd opened the locked door and let Jun
and Joe in. Jun couldn't help but notice the irritated look on
her mentor's face. After a few steps Urd turned to Jun and asked
evenly, "Jun, do you have any idea what was going on back at the
Temple while you were gone?"

"Ummm...how many people came looking for me?"

"Oh, about a dozen or two. They came looking for you so you can
fulfill various destinies. Skuld made a quick trip to Heaven to
find out why using Yggdrasil, but I think you can fill us in
here..."

"Well, I don't understand all of it myself, nor do I care." Jun
replied in mild disgust. "It's just that I have so many differ-
ent ancestors that everyone thinks I have to fulfill their idea
of destiny. To be honest, I've gotten tired of it all and I wish
they'd leave me alone." Turning to Urd, she added, "I'm sorry if
I put you and your sisters through so much trouble."

"It's all right. I'm sure we'll deal with the remainder that are
still camped out by the temple gate once we get back. In the
meantime, I picked out your costume without the others knowing.
I'm sure the guys'll be drooling over it at the show!" Urd
finished with a wink.

<That's what I'm afraid of...> Jun thought as they reached the
lounge and Urd fired up the teleportation spell.

Moments later, the three of them emerged from the TV at the
temple and found themselves in front of a waiting Belldandy,
Skuld, and Keiichi.

"Jun, did Urd tell you..." Belldandy began.

"About the crowds out front? Yeah, she told me. Can you give me
a minute while I try to deal with them?" With that, Jun strode
out the door without another word, made her way to the gates out
front, and addressed the sixteen people still remaining from the
day.

"Okay, listen up, you jerks! It's bad enough you have to track
me down, but you don't have to disturb these good people living
here! I'm only going to say this once: if you bug these people
again, you'll risk facing divine wrath! Leave them alone!"

"How can we be sure that you mean it?" A voice in the crowd
shouted.

"Are you sure you want to take that chance? Especially since all
of you think I'm some sort of avatar, destined one, or whatever
else you jerks want to call me?"

After a moment of murmuring and some thought, the remaining crowd
dispersed, not wanting to push Jun further. Jun turned around
and went back into the temple. Once she closed the door, she
gave a heavy sigh and bowed her head. "Damn, I can't believe
those guys. Can't they take 'no' for an answer?"

"Guess not." Keiichi said while Belldandy handed Jun a cup of
tea. "Are they going to be back?" he added in worry.

"Some of them, maybe." Jun said quietly, then added with a hint
of optimism, "Then again, a lot of them tend to be superstitious.
I think the threat of divine wrath might scare them off."

"'Divine wrath'? You didn't..." Keiichi asked, concerned about
keeping the sisters' true identities secret.

"No, I didn't tell them that I was living with goddesses. I
don't want half the world's population swarming this place any
more than you would. All I did was tell them that they risked
divine wrath if they came back, nothing more."

"They almost got my wrath for certain." Urd spat out. "Your
threat won't be a bluff, Jun, if they ever show their faces
around here again."

"Now, now, Urd." Belldandy said in half-soothing, half-scolding
tones. "You know better than to do that."

As Urd was about to protest, Skuld walked up to Jun and handed
her a thick stack of paper. "Here's what Yggdrasil was able to
dig up on your ancestry before the sysadmins had to shut that
task down. You wouldn't believe how many system resources were
used up to come up with this fraction of your family tree!"

"I can believe it, Skuld. Thanks all the same. Guys, I'm really
sorry that my family problems ended up being a burden on you."

"Hey, don't worry about it!" Keiichi said to cheer Jun up. "With
all the other craziness that goes on around this temple, what're
a few dozen fanatics showing up? It's just part of the price of
us living here, I guess."

"What was that about the craziness here?" Urd asked with an edge
to her voice.

"Oh, hush, Urd." Belldandy admonished as she took Keiichi's arm.
"Keiichi's right about us living here, and I'll gladly stay here
with him as long as he wants me to."

While Urd was mollified by the show of affection, Skuld pushed
herself between the couple and shouted, "Hey, don't you be
getting that close to my sister like that! She's a goddess,
after all!"

While everyone started laughing at Skuld's childishness, Jun
excused herself and carried Joe to her room. As she opened the
door and stepped in, she did a double-take at what lay on her
futon. After a moment of staring at it, she knelt slowly and
picked up the outfit laid out for her. Of course, there wasn't
much to pick up, since it was a one-piece strapless bathing suit
in a tiger-stripe pattern with a mock tiger tail attached to it.
Also on the futon were a pair of fishnet stockings, mock cat
ears, a collar, gloves, and spike heels.

"What do you think, Jun?" Urd said from the doorway. Closing the
door behind her, Urd knelt beside Jun and added, "I came up with
these myself, you know."

"Ummmm....it's...something all right." Jun stammered in shock.

"No guy is going to resist you when you get on stage in this!
They'll be lined up for dates with you for sure!"

"Um...yeah." Jun said quietly, remembering what Mariko told her
about how the guys went after Akane quite literally.

"Don't forget, I expect to see you in costume for your act! Do
me proud and knock 'em dead!" Urd said cheerfully as she stepped
back out of the room.

After a moment of stunned silence, Jun leaned back until she was
lying on the floor while still holding the suit. <I don't
believe how this day turned out. First, the shopping trip from
hell. Next, those fanatics show up, both while I was shopping
and at the temple. Now, Urd decides to dress me up like some
sort of showgirl. Sure, she's got a great fashion sense in her
own manner, but this is a bit much. What do you think, Joe?>

<She kissed me....> the lovestruck piglet thought, still dazed by
the affection that Mariko gave her that afternoon.

Jun reached over, grabbed a pillow that was lying there, and
threw it at Joe. <Some help you are, pig.> she thought in
frustration.

* * * * * * * * * *

Jun wandered around the stage in Furinkan high's auditorium on
the day of the show with a portable TV in hand. The few times
she had been in the building, she was in the audience, and the
stage looked a bit puny compared to the one at the high school
she left behind over a month back. However, it looked a bit more
imposing now that she was on it. Setting the TV down, she took a
look towards stage left and tried to spot the phone in the dim
light. Walking over to get a better look, she ran into the the
club officer that was always going around in a Godzilla costume.
The guy always seemed to give her a fright, and the dark lighting
didn't help her nerves any.

"Oh, hi Jun!" they guy said in greeting, oblivious to the impres-
sion his appearance gave. "You're here early."

"Yeah, well, I've got to get my props in here. Where's the
phone?" she stammered while recovering from the sudden shock.

"Over here." he said, indicating the phone in the near-darkness
as it was second nature for him to find things backstage. "It'll
dial out, if that's what you need."

"Thanks." Jun said as she picked up the phone and dialed.
"Hello, Urd?" she asked as the line picked up. "Yeah, I set the
TV on stage as you told me, so you can bring the stuff in any-
time."

As the club officer stood there trying to figure out what Jun was
talking about, a bright flash of light shone from the TV left on
stage and Urd emerged as he turned around to look.

"Phew! It took a bit of doing to send the others out so we can
sneak the props on stage here." Urd said as she teleported Jun's
things onto the empty stage. "I think Skuld got suspicious when
I sent her out with Bell and Keiichi."

"Hahaha...I'll bet that confused her, since you're usually trying
to keep her away from those two." Jun laughed.

"Anyway, I hope you appreciate all I'm doing for you, unlike
others I could mention. Teleporting stage props through dinky
TVs like that is pretty tough work. Oh, here's your dress for
the song and dance routine," Urd said, handing Jun a garment bag.
"And your costume for the magic act." she added, producing a much
smaller bag.

"Um, yeah, right." Jun muttered as she took the bags.

"Where do you guys want the props, Godzilla?" Urd called out to
the club officer.

"Over there, but let me round up some of the stage hands to help
you out, sensei!"

"Don't bother." Urd waved off his offer for assistance. With a
similar wave, the props floated to the spot where the boy pointed
at.

"Okay, I'll see you on stage tonight, then! Break a leg!" Urd
said cheerfully as she teleported back out through the TV while
the boy stared in amazement.

While the boy just stood there agape, Jun took the TV off the
stage and headed through the darkness to where the dressing rooms
were set up. Waiting there were Mariko and Noriko, both being
preoccupied with Joe since Jun left her with them.

"Are Rika and Mackie here yet?" Jun asked.

"Nope." Mariko answered. "Rika must be held up with babysitting,
but she should show up soon. Mackie probably flaked out.
Y'know, he never did show up for any of the rehearsals."

"True." Noriko agreed. "Think we ought to drop him from the
act?"

"We should." Jun said, also in agreement. "I hate to say this,
but I did have a bad feeling about him. I'm just glad that Rika
managed to get an accompaniment track for the song as a backup."

"Is someone talking about me?" Rika said as she walked through
the door to the backstage area. "Sorry I'm late, guys. Had a
bit of trouble with my charges and I had to tell their parents.
I also had some trouble getting through Jun's followers."

"This is getting annoying." Jun muttered in exasperation.

"Same kind of trouble as usual, Rika?" Mariko asked, ignoring
Jun's comments.

"Yeah, Misato-chan brought another of her father's beer cans with
her, and Ritsuko-chan wouldn't share her stuffed kitty. I have
to wonder how those two are going to turn out when they grow up."

"They're no angels, that's for sure." Mariko agreed, having had
to deal with the two little girls that Rika was referring to.

"Anyway, we were discussing the Mackie situation." Noriko ex-
plained. "The three of us were thinking of dropping him from the
act."

"Hey, what was that about dropping me from the act?" Mackie burst
in, guitar in hand and two barrel-shaped amplifiers mounted on
his shoulders. "You can't drop me now, not on the night of the
performance!"

"Oh, so you show up now, of all times." Mariko growled. "And
where were you during our practice sessions?!"

"Hey, I had to get these amps put together, Miss PMS. How was I
supposed to practice without them??"

"'Miss PMS'?! I'll show you PMS!!!" Mariko was yelling while
reaching for something to bludgeon the mechanoid with.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Rika raised her voice. "They'll hear
you two bickering out there if you keep it up. Now, it's the
night of the show, and all the programs are printed up. We might
as well keep Mackie in the act."

"Thanks, Rika! You won't regret this!" Mackie nearly yelled out.

"Okay, okay." Mariko sniped. "But you better not screw up, mecha
boy."

"Hey, don't worry. Rika told me what song it was, so I've got it
down pat, all right?"

The four girls went into the dressing room while Mackie (not
having need of it) remained outside. Jun also left Joe outside.
<Hey! Why do I have to stay outside?> she mindflashed to Jun.

<Ladies only, pig.> Jun answered mentally through the door.

<Hey, I'm a girl, or have you forgotten?> Joe protested, refer-
ring to the mishap that changed her gender.

<Nice try, you pervert. I thought you didn't want to be called a
girl.>

<Wellll....>

<Let me guess, you want a peek at Mariko, don't you? You've been
like this ever since we went shopping together that day.>

<Hey, can I help it? You owe me, sis. You and Urd both. You
for turning me into a piglet, and Urd for turning me into a girl.
I want to be turned back, as soon as possible.>

<Hold your horses, brother. We're trying, really, but it's going
to take some time. We've got three goddesses and myself working
on the problem, so be patient. Besides, how are you going to
explain to Mariko who you are and *why* you've gotten such
feelings for her? Huh? She'll brain you for certain if she found
out your secret.>

<She'll brain you, too, for helping hide that secret.> Joe
countered, then sulked by where Mackie was standing like a
sentry.

"You okay, Jun? You went into one of your quiet spells again."
Mariko asked.

"It's nothing...just thinking of something." Jun answered, barely
avoiding a total lie.

"You do an awful lot of thinking. By the way, where's Jo?"

"Outside with Mackie. I had to leave hi...I mean her out there
since she acts funny around girls in dressing rooms and such."

<I heard that!> Joe mindflashed in annoyance.

"That's weird, Jun." Mariko stated.

"Yeah, well, you don't really know Jo like I do. You know,
you've calmed down quite a bit."

"Well, keep me away from mecha-boy and I should be all right.
Anyway, let's start getting our stuff ready before the show
starts, huh?"



Next Episode: Your Talent for Chaos - Part 2

As Furinkan High School's semi-annual Talent Show starts up, Urd
finds out about Ranma's relationship problems. Will she be
stunned like any other person would be, or will she capitalize on
the opportunities? Will Nabiki be able to capitalize on the
growing pile of evidence on Urd-sensei? Will they all survive
Jun's magic act, as well as Mackie's debut on the guitar? And
what of the growing horde of people pestering Jun? All will be
answered in the next episode of Aa! Megami-sensei!


All Aa! Megamisama and Ranma 1/2 characters copyright Fujishima
Kosuke and Takahashi Rumiko, respectively. All other characters
copyright Peter Ward, Tim Dunn, Tim Holt, "Snafu", and Ray Yeen.

E-mail all comments, suggestions, etc. to falcon@best.com.
They're always welcome...even the flames to a certain extent ^^;




Peter L. Ward falcon@best.com Kyusaku on IRC #Anime!
Caretaker of the Urd Shrine (http://www.best.com/~falcon/urdhome.htm)

"If you see something this big, with eight legs, let me know so I can
kill it before it can develop language skills!" - Ambassador Londo