Fatal Fury Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor Rifts ❯ Chapter 9: Akin to Mage, Akin to Fire ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Sailor Moon/Rifts Crossover (Revised Edition) By Simon Woodington

Chapter 9: Akin to Mage, Akin to Fire

"No, I don't agree."

For a moment, he considered her nerve, and just what might be behind
it. Certainly, she had shown a dramatic natural gift for magic, and a
rather distinct inclination towards the element of fire. However, she
had only the most basic training in forming spells, and a very
rudimentary knowledge of said theory. His scrutiny did not fall to the
wayside as he inquired precisely what her point was.

"There's more to it than just faith in magic," she began, idly running
the feathered end of the quill along her cheek. "Faith in the deity is
what's really important. There wouldn't be magic without the deity."

She glanced at her notes momentarily, realizing just how much like her
grandfather she sounded.

"Granted," he replied, pacing slowly. "But how will that help you
focus your mind on the 'impossible'?"

She raised her hand again.

"Yes, Falra?"

"We can't see the deity, normally. There are visions, and other stuff
like that, but magic is the same. We can't see that until it's done.
Believing in what we can't see... it's all the same."

"There's the feeling, though," observed a dirty blond haired young
man, raising his hand, and lowering it as the words passed his lips.
"You know it's there, the whole thing. Doesn't matter what it is,
either, each feels different."

"Good, Juan," the teacher smiled. His gaze shifted to the rest of the
two dozen member group. "Juan has it exactly right. What you feel is
most important. Magic is very emotionally tactile. Positive spells,
such as the restorative, tend to have a positive manifestation. Some
have been aptly described as 'invisible hugs'. This is part of why
healers tend to be the friendly sort. Oppositely, as most of you
already know, there are negative magics for the darker aspect of
people. Summarily, faith in magic, or the deity, however you may view
it, is supported by these feelings."

He turned and faced the distraught looking student, who twisted a
collection of short shoulder length black hair in her fingers.

"You are not wrong, young lady. Your approach to spell construction is
valid as any other. Do not forget that it is not so much the path
taken, but the result of the direction chosen."

'Shimatta,' she muttered, writing somewhat frustratedly, and adding to
her newly learned scrawl upon the scroll, despite his affirming words.

"That is all for this week," the teacher announced. "We meet again
same time next week, as usual. Your only assignment," he continued,
pausing long enough for the students to settle down. "Is to read the
local lore records. Now get the heck out of here!"

"Miss Hino?" requested the unpaid educator upon her standing up. "I
would like to say something to you."

She felt a cold welling in her stomach.

"Yes?" she replied softly, facing him with mixed emotion.

"I realize you are quite gifted, and do have experience in these
matters."

She nodded.

:More than you would even guess; she thought, concealing her ire.

"I also appreciate very much the spin your faith has on the workings of magic, but try to remember that your surroundings are very different now. Your arguements, while passionate, may serve to confuse others who are young in their understanding of it. Don't focus so much on the method."

"Yes," she nodded half-heartedly. "May I go?"

He nodded, and walked away, shaking his head slightly. He had failed
to reach her, and could not fathom why. She, on the other hand, knew
precisely the reason for which she cared not for his words; unserved
interest. Folder locked against her chest, a frown written upon her
stern regard, the young man who came to her in the hallway afterwards
founded considerable nerve in the approach as she half-stamped away
from the classroom.

"Uh, Falra?"

She blinked, frowning faintly.

:Great, the guy who made me look like an idiot; she snarled in
thought, not stopping, nor acknowledging his request for attention.
Her pace became heavier, and somewhat increased.

"Okay," he replied to her lack of response. "Forget it. Seeya."

Instantly she whirled about, feeling badly. She reached out and
pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"Uhm," she began rather eloquently. "What?"

He faced her, arms crossed, a negative expression upon his simply
attractive face.

"Look, I wasn't saying 'hey stupid, this is how it really works'. I've
been a mage for years, and I flippin' well know better. The way you
see it is right too, for Lazlo's fricken' sake."

She said nothing, not even looking at him. His frown deepened.

"Your attitude sucks," he half-snapped, then turned to leave. She
gazed after him, not quite knowing what to think. An urge pushed her
to pursue him, which she ignored at first, but not for more than a moment.

With this thought, she walked rapidly after him, following her sense
of his comparably high-level aura. He had to be the most powerful mage
in the whole of the miniscule school. As she reached the men's dorm,
she realized she had no idea where his room was, and also that she
could no longer sense that intense aura. Glancing around, she noted a
green haired girl, who was chatting at high-speed with three others.

"Meiya!" she called, waving at the lithe blue robed girl. She was a
recently indocturned healer, one who was not only proving her mystic
prowess, but her social as well. Out of thirty students, there was
perhaps one who had found cause to dislike her.

The thin-lipped girl smiled widely in reply, muttering something to
her friends, then walking over to her.

'Hiya Fal-san,' she chimed in Japanese, bowing politely at the waist. Instantly
Falra recalled that the young woman was of Asian decent, despite her strongly western appearance.

'Hai, how are you?' she bowed, mollified by being able to lapse into
her native tongue.

'Really good!' she laughed. 'I learned "Ball of White" today. My first
offensive spell. Not often a healer gets to pick up stuff like that!'

She nodded curtly.

'There are no healing spells for fire elementals like me,' she replied
with a faint grimace. 'Too bad, I...'

'Iye,' she negated, interrupting her, a friendly snide grin spreading
across her face. 'There is a healing flame even you can learn.'

Rei smiled faintly.

'So, what is it?'

'Is what?'

She tapped the side of her head, a knowing smirk upon her face.

'You forget very quickly,' she said. 'I'm a minor psychic, remember?'

'Empath. I remember. Um... it's a guy I'm looking for. I was nasty to
him and... I kinda wanted to say sorry,' she explained, averted her
eyes slightly.

'You? Nasty? No joke?' she blurted, mock surprise upon her finely
detailed face. 'It's Juan, isn't it.'

'How do you know?'

'Because he's staring at you,' she pointed behind the dark haired
mage. 'Good luck, 'cause I'm outta here!'

They bowed simultaneously, and Meiya departed with a warming smile.

"Funny you two should get along," he remarked. "She's so nice..."

"And I'm not?"

He shrugged, his eyebrows pitching up for a moment.

"You're Falra the Phoenix. You know what they say.'

'Yeah, and it's a load of bullshit.'

'Really? What about today?"

She sighed with the weight of emotion resting within her soul.

"You don't know me, so don't think you can make judgment calls. I've
been through more than you think."

"I don't think anything. I'm just going on how you've treated me: Not
very kindly. That," he declared, "I can judge as I like."

She folded her arms and turned away slightly.

"And I was going to apologize. Silly me."

"Okay. Silly you."

'By Lazlo'sÉ" she snarled angrily under her breath.

Her eyes narrowed, her thin black eyebrows nearly meeting. While he
waited, she thought, and after a while, came to a decision. She faced
him.

"All right," she began soberly. "I'm sorry for..."

"Being a cow?" he filled in helpfully. Her face tensed again, then
relaxed.

"Yes," she sighed heavily.

"Well, that's cool. I'd heard you never apologize to anyone."

She regarded him seriously.

"I don't."

"First time for everything," he smiled so warmly that the effect
caught upon her expression, lighting her mind as much as physical
representation of emotion.

"Come on," he gestured, turning towards the lunchroom. "Buy ya lunch?"

She balked at him, then nodded, warming internally to his pleasant
attitude. Shortly thereafter, over a steaming bowl of chicken noodle
soup (it was flu season, after all), she smiled.

"Thank you."

"Sure, you're welcome," he blinked. "For what? You thanked me for
lunch."

"I'm kinda stubborn..." she started.

"No, really?" he smirked as he lifted a noodle laden spoonful to his
mouth. She frown for a moment. "You mean for standing up to you when
no one else would? I know."

Silence.

"I did it 'cause I think you're as hot as hell."

Her spoon soundly splashed in the large earthenware bowl as a deep
blush flooded her features.

"Uh..." she gasped, fumbling for the spoon, dipping her fingers into
the scathing mixture as she stared at him blankly. "Ow!"

Her burnt fingers quickly went to her mouth, then were clasped in her
other hand. Concern washed over the young man's face as he urged her
to let him caress the burn.

"I'm sorry," he issued before pulling her delicate hand up and kissing
the fingers.

"ShitÉ" she breathed tightly.

"Hey, it was my fault, let me..." he said, and in so doing, confessed to
her, 'no, I'm not perfect.' Within moments of his hushed chanting, a
tingling sensation banished the superficial throbbing. Politely, she
pulled her hand away.

"It's better," she told him, a faint warmth in her voice. "A lot.
Thanks."

"Forgive me?" he tried, not appearing terribly interested in his
cooling lunch. Numbly, she averted her gaze, and resumed eating.

"Sure. Nice to know you've got good taste," she half smirked. There
was no point in inquiring after his sincerity. His eyes told her
plainly that which she needed to know. He was cute, no doubt, but... a
tad pushy.

:Oh; she thought sarcastically, :Just a little:

In a relatively short span of time, she realized that lunch had ended,
and that he was gazing at her quite steadily.

"I'm not busy now," he offered, elbows upon the table, hands clasped
together.

"I am, though," she growled. He blinked at her, almost offended. "No,
no, it's not... It's Ms. Kayole. She's pestering me to perform a Cloud
of Smoke... but..."

"But...?"

"Uhm... but..." she stopped, cursing her mumbling mouth. Then, she
gazed at him firmly, flicking her hand through her hair flirtatiously.
"Do you tutor?"

Juan found the table of sexual control flipped over quite swiftly. She
had it, and... he didn't mind.

"Uh," he muttered, as she smiled beamingly, her combination of
appearance and action having the desired effect. "I do now."

---

The effect was immediate and dramatic. Juan laughed loudly as the
light grey cloud quickly suffused the circumference of the circle of
apprentice mages with such speed that the bright haired and compactly
built teacher literally lost her equilibrium, falling over in a robed
heap.

:There's your cloud, you impatient cow!; Falra grinned.

"Excellent!" cried Ms. Kayole, waiting for the thick manifestation to
dissipate before recovering her feet. "Your improvement is exceptional! I am very pleased."

Falra bowed, hands clasped in front of her.

"Thank you, Ms. Kayole."

"'Cissy' my dear, please," she smiled, approaching her and laying a
hand upon her shoulder as she leaned close. "Lucky girl. He's so cute.
But you know he doesn't just tutor anyone."

"Oh really..."

"Oh yes! He must really like you... and see - as I - that you have a
great strength."

He was smiling proudly as her eyes fell upon him.

As they exited the circle, Falra allowing for some distance away from
the other mages, she turned to him, took his face in her hands and
laid her lips fully upon his. As they kissed, his hands descended to
her slender hips. She murmured something as she pulled away, removing
his hands from her body and taking one of his hands in both of hers.

"No," she decreed softly. "Don't."

He nodded, a sincerely innocent expression upon his clear regard.

"Shoot. Okay. On your word, gorgeous."

She turned, leading him through the hallway toward the large, open
garden.

"You've been so sweet this last couple of weeks Juan. I was just
thanking you."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," he replied with an earnest, and honest
smile. "Maybe we can go further next time."

"Maybe."

Juan felt the tension suddenly surrounding her, like a glimmering
shield of manna. Gently, he inquired:

"What's up, beautiful?"

"Just because I won't... you think something's wrong?"

"Did I say that? Before you get nasty, stop and think. Please?"

Internally, she reluctantly snapped a leash about the roaring beast of
emotion that loomed over her sense of hope.

"Sorry."

"Forget it. Not your fault. It's been a long week."

She shook her head minimally.

"That's not it."

"I'm all ears Fal," he offered, pushing only slightly.

The fact that someone actually cared, in a more intimate sense than
she had ever previously understood, brought a wash of brief serenity
through her being, and into her shining eyes as she beheld him. Yet,
as memory beckoned, her expression darkened.

"I think I'm falling in love with you," she admitted rather
selflessly.

"Great! Me too."

She chuckled despite herself.

"What's that 'but' expression for?"

Her hand squeezed his, emotional need tearing through her young soul.

"Before, um... we get serious, we kinda need to talk."

He glanced at her with stark curiosity.

"'Kinda'? Sounds major."

She wrapped her arms about his.

"It is."

"I'm all ears," he offered.

"No, no, not here. It's... can we go to your room?"

He suppressed a smirk, knowing what he had in mind was quite distant
in interest from hers.

"Sure. Anytime."

"Now."

He shrugged.

"This way."

As they proceeded in silence, she admitted something that made Juan
wonder, to say the least.

"I'm a D-Bee."

"You mean you came through one of the Rifts?" he started, not stunned
as she might have thought him to have been. "I thought only freaks,
demons, and mutants came through those."

"I didn't exactly have a choice," she muttered.

"Hey, I'm all ears, y'know that."

Without a word she hopped onto the bed and sat, legs crossed as he took his usual place in a customized chair. That is to say, a comfortable but haphazardly
cushioned thing.

"I was kidnapped..." she began.

---

"If I wasn't a mage and..." he chuckled, "who I am, I wouldn't believe
you. But I do."

"I wasn't sure you would," she replied, arms folded over her chest.

"Why not? I mean c'mon, they're Rifts. At least it was something
worthwhile, like you, that came through one for a change."

"Thank you Juan," she smiled gratefully. "But it wasn't that simple!
It's not like we were sucked in by a mystic vacuum or something.
Someone - something - sent that flaming lion after us."

"Okay, I'll buy. What does that mean for you?"

"I... I don't know what you mean," she gazed at him blankly.

"Do you know what you're going to do? Sounds to me like you care about
your friends alot. You're aren't giving up, are you?"

Her wandering eyes locked to his, face abruptly tensed.

"What?"

"On them. Your friends."

She averted her gaze.

"No, that's why I'm training to become a Walker."

"I'll help."

She peered at him vaguely.

"You already are."

He spread his hands, palms up in a brief motion.

"Sure, but I mean in finding them. I know people. It might take a
while, but hey, I don't think you'll mind my company?" he grinned
assuredly. Rising from the chair, he approached her, and paused as she
negated him for a moment, before wrapping his arms about her. His lips
found her forehead, and she sighed, emotions swirling in her soul.

"No. I can't ask you to risk your life for me."

"But you're not asking," he uttered with that ever-calming confidence
which inspired his being. "I'm offering, and hell, I'm not gonna watch
you suffer, 'cause it sucks to see you like this. You said you were
falling in love, gorgeous? Well so am I..."