Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma OneHalf: First steps ❯ Book Four Chap 7 ( Chapter 39 )

Ranma Onehalf: First steps. Book Four.

Chapter Seven.

Matoko lay on her bed, so engrossed in the new manga she had bought that she jumped when something warm and furry touched her neck. Rolling over she saw her sister standing above her, grinning.

"Bath time Matoko." Lia said.

"Oh, sorry." Matoko said as she marked her place. "I lost track of time."

"It's okay." Lia answered. "What's that one about?" she asked, pointing to the manga in Matokos hand.

"It's a romance manga." Matoko said as she put it on the shelf. "It's Uncle Tatewakis new one."

Lias eyebrows rose. "Uncle Tatewaki is writing a romance?" she asked in a surprised tone.

Matoko nodded as she headed to the door. "And it's very good, I must say. Not overly mushy and with a good balance of comedy thrown in."

"Hm." Lia said as they stepped out into the hall.

Heading downstairs Lia stopped by the kitchen and poked her into the kitchen. "Matoko and I will be taking our bath." She said to Akane who was loading the dishwasher.

"Okay, thanks Lia." Akane answered. "Tell me when you're done."

Walking down the hall to the furo Lia opened the door and stepped into the changing room. Matoko was already in there unbuttoning her blouse when she entered.

"Hi Lia." Matoko said as Lia shut the door.

"Hi." Lia answered as she pulled a comb from her cubbyhole.

"Interesting day." Matoko commented as Lia pulled the skrunchie off the end of her pigtail.

"I'll say." Lia answered as she began to unbraid her hair. "Naota got a hair cut."

"So I noticed." Matoko answered. Stepping out of her skirt she got a thoughtful look on her face. "You know, Kenji could do with one now that I think about it…."

Lia chuckled as she finished unbraiding her hair and pulled the second skrunchie from the top of her pigtail.

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"Ah -choo! Aw man and I was in the lead." Kenji said with a scowl.

Rubbing his nose he respawned and went charging back into the carnage.

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After running a comb through her hair Lia changed out of her clothes and stepped into the furo with her sister. Taking her stool she sat down next to Matoko and rinsed down. They began to plot on how to get Kenji over to Kasumis for a haircut, followed by a bit of clothes shopping.

Finishing scrubbing her front and extremities Lia nudged Matoko. "Scrub my back?" she asked, holding out her scrubber.

"Okay." Matoko answered as she took Lias scrubber.

Starting at the base of Lias tail Matoko began to scrub her way upwards as Lia arced her back and began to purr. Reaching her sisters upper back Matoko moved a stray lock of hair out of the way and began to scrub Lias shoulder blades. Reaching the upper part Matoko lifted her sister's hair so she could scrub the skin underneath and that's when she saw it.

'What's this… eep!" Matoko said before dropping the scrubber in surprise.

"What?" Lia asked, half drowsy from the back scrubbing.

Eyes wide Matoko pointed to Lias neck.

'Y-y-you've got a hickey!" Matoko squeaked.

Lias eyes went wide and her hand flew to the back of her neck. Turning around she waved her other hand in a placating gesture.

"Matoko, it's not what you think!" she said.

"What is it then?" Matoko asked in a small voice.

"Well…it's a…." Lia began. Swallowing she leaned close to her sister. "Matoko, don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, okay? I don't want Dad to kill Naota."

Matoko nodded and Lia continued.

"You remember our trip to the beach?" Lia asked.

"Yes." Matoko answered.

"Naota was there." Lia said. "It happened after I stepped on that broken glass. He was carrying me piggyback and I was playing with his ears and he's so strong and muscular and smelled so good…." She trailed off as her eyes glazed over.

Shaking her head Lia got herself back on track.

"Anyways, I was riding piggyback and I nibbled on the back of his neck, but I ah, forgot that I have cat's teeth and ended up biting him." Lia continued in a near whisper.

Matokos eyes went wide and she blushed as she heard this. Looking down at the tile Lia continued.

"And then his demon instincts kicked in again and the next thing I knew I was on m back in the sand and Naota was giving me one." She said.

Matokos eyes narrowed. "Wait, what do you mean again? This has happened before?" she asked.

Lia clapped a hand to her mouth as she realized she was busted. Leaning forward Matoko took her sister by the shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"Lia, what do mean 'his demon instincts kicked in again'? "She asked."Has this happened before? Or did you-"

"No, nothing like that." Lia said as she held up her hand. "But we did have a really close call a while ago."

"What happened?" Matoko asked.

Lia began to turn red as she recalled the memory.

"It was right after Naota turned and became a student of Dads." She began. "We were sparring in the dojo, and he's a lot faster than he used to be and he managed to break through my attack and pin me to the wall."

"And?" Matoko asked.

"And…..well, to get out of it I tried to surprise him and I kissed him." Lia said. "And he kissed back."

"Oh." Matoko said as Lia turned a deeper shad of red. "And that's all you did?"

"Yeah. And it's a good thing that's all we did too." Lia said with a nod. "Otherwise I'd be learning on how to be a mother right now."

"What do you mean?" Matoko asked, puzzled.

"Matoko, Naota can, ah….smell when a girls fertile." Lia answered as she turned cherry red. "That's why he stays away for a couple of days every month."

Matoko blinked in surprise and was silent for several moments before she spoke.

"well…. That's ……interesting." She said.

"That's one way to put it." Lia said as she picked up her rinse pan. Dumping the cold water over her head she shook when the cold water hit her. 'Brr…cold."

That cued Matoko to put the scrubber down and pick up her own rinse pan. Then, after rinsing herself off her and Lia settled into the tub for a quick soak. As her foot touched the hot water Lia felt her ears and tail disappear and her senses dull partially as the curse switched off.

"Ahhh…" Matoko said as she settled into the tub. "This is heaven."

"I agree." Lia said as she leaned back.

Both girls sighed as they enjoyed the simple benefits of a hot bath.

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Naota and Kenji walked down the street at their usual pace, in no particular hurry as they were heading to school.

"And then I found where he was camping and barked (1) him with a grenade." Kenji said as Naota laughed. "I then went after him the rest of the match."

"Bet he learned his lesson." Naota said as the rounded the corner and began walking towards Furinkan.

"Oh yeah, he did." Kenji said with a nod. "Camp on one of my spawn points? I don't think so."

Both boys had a chuckle over the latest casualty of the Tournament as they neared the gates to the school. Stepping through the gates they went two steps and stopped dead in their tracks.

The reason why was because almost every girl in Furinkan was standing around the gates. Leaning over Kenji nudged Naota gently in the ribs.

"I told ya you shouldn't have gone to the mall." he whispered.

"Yeah, I kind of got that." Naota said. "I'm gonna make a break for it. Think you can avoid being trampled?"

"Easily." Kenji answered.

"Okay then." Naota said. "On three. One, two, three!"

Tossing his bag to Kenji Naota burst forwards and was halfway through the girls before they reacted. Breaking out of them he ran to the left hand corner, the mob in hot pursuit.

Upstairs in their classroom Lia and Matoko heard the commotion and went to the window to investigate. Looking out the window she saw a mob of girls in hot pursuit of Naota. Blinking she followed the mobs progress as they rounded the corner and headed to the athletic fields.

"Ooo -kay. That was different." Lia said as Matoko nodded.

Leaning over she whispered into her sister's ear. "I think they found out Lia." She said.

"You think?" Lia whispered back.

"Hey Neko (2), what are you gonna do about Naota?" a classmate asked.

Lia shrugged as she turned away from the window and headed back to her seat.

"Nothing. Why should I care about that hentai?" she said.

"Because in about five minutes the bells gonna ring, and Pineapple Head was spotted on the school grounds." The classmate answered.

"He gets caught, it's his own fault." Lia replied.

"Whatever." The classmate said as Kenji entered the classroom.

Kenji was followed two minutes later by Naota grinning triumphantly. Taking his seat he leaned back and counted down the seconds until the bell rang.

When it rang the only girls in the classroom were Lia and Matoko, the rest being outside. Hearing the doors slam Naota punched the air and grinned.

'Yes!" he said as maniacal laughter floated down the hallway.

The class stood and bowed as their first teacher of the day entered.

"Good morning Sensei." they chorused.

"Good morning class." Their teacher answered. "As you can see, we're missing a portion of our class."

Everyone looked at the windows as shrieks of terror started coming up through the open window. Clearing his throat the teacher spoke over the screams.

'And when they get back please let them know what the assignments for the week are going to be." He continued. "Now sit down and open your textbooks to page 23…."

It was the middle of the next class when the girls finally came back to the classroom, each with a new, short, hairstyle. The boys in class nudged each other and whispered amongst themselves while the girls simply sat down and glared at Lia, who was sitting with her knee -length pigtail visible to the whole class.

Naota for his part was trying to stay awake because this class was critical to his passing and his grades were on knifes edge as it was. As class dragged on notes were passed back and forth discussing why Lia was up in the classroom and they were outside chasing Naota.

Finally in the intermission before gym a consensus was reached: Lia had known about the mob and had lured Naota up there to ensure that they got caught outside when the bell rang. That way Lia would be the only girl in class with long hair and Naota would pay attention to her and not them (3).

So by the time gym class came around the female portion of the class had a good sized resentment of Lia brewing. Lias chi sense had picked it up immediately and so she and her sister were on guard as they headed to the changing room. That day was the last pool day of the year, so they were going to be finishing all the swimming requirements for their gym class.

After changing into their swimsuits Lia and Matoko double checked the combination locks (4) on their lockers and headed to the pool. Walking up to the pool they passed by a knot of girls who were waiting for the class to begin.

As they passed by one of the girls reached out to grab Lias tail but it flicked out of reach. Flexing her fingers Lia turned and gave the girl a threatening growl before continuing on.

Naota and Kenji were sitting with their backs against the fence surrounding the pool and witnessed the encounter between Lia and their classmate.

"You think they would have learned by now." Kenji whispered, nudging Naota in the ribs.

"You'd think." Naota said as he flicked his ear.

"They've gotten bigger-"

Naotas attention was piqued as he heard the snippet of conversation. Folding one ear back he rotated the other one to listen to the conversation.

"So they got bigger? So what?"

"So what? So I win the pool!"

"And how are you going to prove it? Go over and ask?"

"No, I like breathing. So I'm gonna have Koetsu do it. Oi, Koetsu!"

Naota looked over and saw one boy separate from the group and begin to walks towards where Lia and Matoko were sitting. Thinking quickly he waited until the boy was almost on them and then he nudged Kenji in the ribs.

"Kenji, stretch your legs out." he said.

Kenji did as Naota asked and stuck his legs out right into the path of the luckless Koetsu, with predictable results. Koetsu stumbled for two steps towards the edge of the pool, where he stood wind milling his arms in a vain attempt to keep from falling in. Finally gravity took over and he fell in with a loud splash.

Surfacing a spluttering Koetsu turned and faced Kenji.

"Kenji you idiot, watch where you're putting those legs of yours." He sputtered.

"Oh, sorry." Kenji said as he retracted his legs. "My bad."

Pulling his legs up Kenji leaned over to Naota.

"So, what was I doing?" he asked.

"Disrupting a betting pool." Naota answered.

"On what?" Kenji asked.

"Lia." Naota said with a low growl.

'Oh." Kenji said with a nod.

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Lia snapped and growled as she and Matoko left Furinkan for the day. Walking out the door she wrapped her tail protectively around her waist and scowled at the students surrounding them.

'What is with everybody today?" Lia grumbled. "Everyone's trying to yank my tail."

"Actually Lia, it's not everybody." Matoko corrected her sister. "Only the girls."

"I noticed that Matoko." Lia said. "I just want to know why they upped the ante."

"How about Naotas new haircut makes him look even cuter?" Matoko suggested as they walked out the gates.

"More than likely." Lia said as they began the walk home.

They had only gone a few steps when they heard a girl shriek in the schoolyard.

'EEEE! There he is!"

"YAAAAAH!!"

Matoko and Lia were looking at each other when Naota vaulted the wall and landed next to them.

"I'mgonnabelateformysparringsessionigottagobye!" he said before dashing off.

Lia and Matoko were starting to puzzle out what Naota had said when a mob of girls burst out of the gates and headed directly towards them. Thinking quickly Lia grabbed her sister around the waist and hopped up onto the wall. Watching the mob run past Matoko snapped her fingers.

"That's what he said!" she exclaimed. "He said he was going to be late for his sparring session!"

"You think?" Lia asked as she watched the mob rampage down the street.

Unwinding her tail from her waist, Lia then rewrapped it around her legs before hopping down from the wall. Putting her sister back on her feet Lia unwound her tail and stretched.

"Okay, that was different." She said as the mob thundered off into the distance.

Matoko nodded as they started walking. They had walked a couple of blocks when Kenji came running up behind them.

'Sorry I'm late." He said, panting slightly. "I had to fast talk my out of a mob of boys.

'Say what?" Lia asked.

Seeing the looks on the two girls faces Kenji grinned sheepishly.

'You know all the girls chasing Naota, right?" he asked. Getting nods he continued. "Well, their boyfriends wanted me to get Naota to stop trying to steal their girlfriends."

Matoko giggled demurely while Lias reaction to the news was typically Lia: Her ears went back halfway, her right eye developed a twitch and the air around her began to shimmer as her battle aura began to shimmer.

"Steal their….. They want to make him their….." she murmured as the air around her began to glow red.

Kenji jumped as all around them birds took wing in a ten block radius and dogs set to barking. Seeing the glowing Lia he glanced over to Matoko.

"Ah, Matoko, shouldn't you calm her down before she goes critical?" He asked, pointing at Lia.

"I already have it covered Kenji." Matoko said as she reached into her bag.

Pulling out a box of Pocky she waved it in front of Lias face.

"Lia, Pocky." She said softly.

"….he's mine damnit- POCKY!" Lia said before grabbing the box and slicing it open.

Kenji and Matoko watched Lia happily munch Pocky, her anger temporarily forgotten. Carefully stepping next to her he leaned over.

"Uh, what do we do when she finishes the box?" he asked.

"That's easy." Matoko answered. "The magazine shop we go to is having a Pocky sale."

"Ah."

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Naota landed without sound in the yard and waited several heartbeats before relaxing.

"Lost 'em." Naota thought as he released the breath he had been holding.

Leaning against the wall Naota realized he was roasting and began to unbutton his uniform jacket when his ears picked up the tread of footsteps. He almost bolted then but realized where he was and relaxed. Deciding to have a little fun he ran over to the house and jumped up into the eaves, leaving his backpack behind.

Akane came around the corner of the house and saw the bag lying on the ground. Spotting the bag she frowned.

"Okay, who left their backpack out here?' she asked as she walked up to it. Picking it up Akane recognized who it belonged to. "Naota?" she called out.

"Yes Akane?"

"YAAAH!" Akane yelled as she reflexively snapped a kick in Naotas direction.

'You missed-GAAAH!" Naota said before taking a blow to the head.

'Not that time." Akane said as she released her mallet back into Hammerspace. "Matoko made you some lemonade."

"Thank you sensei." Naota said from his postion face first in the dirt.

"Your welcome." Akane said as she extended her hand to Naota.

Pulling Naota to his feet Akane handed him back his backpack before heading inside. Glancing back at him Akanes brows knitted as she eyed the large lump appearing at the top of his head.

"I didn't hit you too hard, did I?" she asked.

"I'm fine. I have a hard head." Naota answered, knocking on his skull for emphasis.

"I should have known." Akane said with a slight smile. "I think all males born here have one."

"We have to. It's a necessity if you want to date the women here." Naota answered.

Akane laughed as they reached the porch where the main room was and they kicked their shoes off.

'If you say so Naota." She answered. "Matoko told me about the mobs at school."

Naota growled at the mention of the incidents from earlier in the day.

"Yeah. Apparently the reaction to my haircut has been positive." He said, waggling his ears for emphasis. "I swear the place is a friggin' loony bin."

'Then it sounds like Furinkan hasn't changed much since when Ranma and I went there." Akane answered. "And speaking of my husband, he's waiting for you in the dojo."

"Thank you Akane." Naota said as he dropped his backpack off at the table. "I'll be right in there after I change."

As Akane headed into the kitchen to get her a glass of lemonade a thought buzzed at the back of her brain.

"Now why do I feel like that Naota going into the furo to change is a bad idea?" she asked herself right before a female shriek ripped through the house. Akane winced and covered her face with her hand. "Because Lia is in there cleaning off after a stress induced Pocky binge, that's why."

 Sighing Akane dashed to the furo to keep Ranma from trying to kill Naota. She needn't have bothered however; when she got there Naota was standing in the hall beet red and Ranma was massaging a rather large knot on his head.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

Naota was silent so Ranma responded for both of them.

"We're okay Akane. It was an accident." Ranma said as carefully prodded the lump on his head. Wincing as he discovered it was quite tender he looked at Akane. "She's as good with that damn mallet as you are, but her aims off."

"My aim is not 'off'." Lia said from the other side of the changing room door.

"So why did you clobber me and not Naota?" Ranma asked.

"To keep you from killing him." Lia answered. "Besides, I walked in on him first."

"So now you're even." Akane said.

That comment made Naota turn even redder and Akane had to keep from giggling.

"He looks so cute when he does that." Akane thought as she watched the boy out of the corner of her eye. "No wonder the girls are after him."

Ranma had been watching Naota too and decided to intervene before he died of embarrassment.

'Naota, go change in the dojo.' He said.

Naota gratefully complied and fled the hallway for the dojo.

"And lock the doors!" Ranma called after him.

"Yes sensei." Naota answered as he slid the dojo door open.

After Naota closed the door Ranma stepped past Akane to get to the kitchen.

"I'm gonna go get some ice." Ranma said. "Place is turning into a peepshow." He muttered under his breath.

"Just like when we were kids, eh Ranma?" Akane teased.

Ranma simply growled as he stomped off to the kitchen.

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Naotas breath came out in an explosive gasp as Ranmas fist connected with his solar plexus. Ranma stood and watched as Naota fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

It had been this way since the sparring session had began. Normally Naota was on the ball, alert and nimble but currently it was like his mind was not entirely on the sparring session. And Ranma knew exactly what Naota was thinking about, or trying not anyways.

"Naota, get your mind off my daughter and on the spar before I beat those thoughts out of you." Ranma growled.

"Y-yes sensei." Naota wheezed in reply.

After catching his breath Naota got back on his feet and he and Ranma resumed sparring, only this time Naota was considerably more on the ball.

This became evident when Ranma snapped a kick at Naotas midsection and he didn't dodge, Naota simply flowed out of the way of the attack and into an attack of his own.

Naotas arms seemed to split and wreathe like tentacles as he launched into his version of the Roasting Chestnut Fist, and Ranma seemed to suddenly grow a dozen more arms as he countered Naotas attack. They did this for nearly a minute before Ranma stepped into Naotas attack to break it.

Naota flowed backwards and sideways away from Ranma, denying him the opportunity to press his attack. Ranma and Naota then circled each other warily, looking for an opening. Spotting one Ranma lashed out but Naota simply dodged again and attacked with a low kick that caught Ranma by surprise.

Feeling his right leg go out from under him Ranma used his left leg to push himself into a back flip that carried him away from Naota, who keeping with the Hagakure School didn't attack but waited for Ranma to come at him again. Again Ranma and Naota began to circle each other.

They did this for the next hour before Ranma called it to a halt. Bowing to Naota Ranma turned and headed to the edge of the dojo, where towels and cold drinks waited for them.

"That was impressive." Ranma said as he picked up a towel.

'Thank you." Naota said as Ranma tossed the towel to him. "When do you think I'll be ready?"

Picking up his own towel Ranma looked at Naota. "You're ready now." He said.

Naota blinked and looked at Ranma. "I am?" he asked.

Ranma nodded before wiping the sweat from his face.

"Uh -huh." He said. "So when you're ready, let me know."

"Okay." Naota said with a nod.

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Lia was sitting at the table with a snack and a glass of juice getting over her embarrassment when Naota came in from getting changed. Seeing Lia Naotas face went red as he tried to say something.

"Ah, Lia, about the bathroom, it was, it was, ah-" he stuttered.

"Naota, don't worry about it." Lia said as her own cheeks began to go red. "It was an accident."

"I know, but still….." Naota answered. Sighing he looked at the floor in front of him. "Man, this is embarrassing."

"You're telling me." Lia said. "But as least we're even now."

Naota nodded. "True." He said. "Now if I could only get those girls at school off my case."

Lia shrugged and sipped her juice. "Well, that's the price we pay." She said.

Naota scowled and looked away from Lia.

"Yeah, well, it's beginning to be a pain in the ass." He growled. "Sometimes I wish we'd just drop the act and tell them to go to hell."

Lia sighed and stood up. Walking over to Naota she looked up at him.

"You do remember why we're doing this, right?" she asked.

Naota nodded as he looked at Lia.

"I know, I know, so we can have some privacy." He said.

"Exactly." Lia said, tapping a finger on Naotas chest for emphasis. "And besides, we only have six months to go until final exams. We've made it this far, so I think we'll be able to survive a few months of this."

"Okay, okay." Naota said, putting his hands up. "You win. It's gonna be a long six months though."

"That's the spirit." Lia said, patting Naota on the shoulder.

Naota smiled and stepped past Lia and headed to the door.

"Well, see you tomorrow." He said.

"You're not staying for dinner?" Lia asked.

"Nope." Naota answered, shaking his head. "I got stuff to do at home."

'Okay." Lia said. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." Naota answered.

Lia watched him step into the hall when she was struck by a sudden impulse. Walking into the she went to the mud room, where Naota was slipping his shoes on.

"Hey Naota." Lia said as she came into the mud room.

"Yeah?" Naota answered.

"I have something for you." Lia said as she stepped up to him.

"What is it?" Naota asked.

"This." Lia said.

With that Lia stood on her tiptoes and French -kissed Naota. She held the embrace for several seconds, tickling the tip of his tongue with hers before releasing him. Stepping back Lia looked at Naota, who looked like someone had stuck the tip of his tail in a light socket.

Naota blinked several times before his senses recovered and he looked at Lia.

'Wh-wh-what was that for?" he asked.

"Incentive." Lia answered a ghost of a smile on her lips. "There's one waiting for you after graduation."

Giving Naota a wink Lia turned and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. He stood there stunned for several seconds, the taste of Lia still in his mouth.

Licking his lips Naota remembered to breathe and dazedly turned and stepped out of the mud room and began to walk home, his mind in a whirl.

As the evening wore on Lia began to develop a feeling of unease that got steadily worse as bedtime approached. As she got changed for bed her sensitive ears picked up the low frequency rumble of distant thunder. Pulling on her night shirt she walked to the window and pulled back the curtain.

Looking out over the horizon she saw he distant flashes of lightning on the horizon as a thunderstorm came in.

"A storm." She thought. "This is an omen. Last time there was a storm like this was when Dad and Mom went out to fight."

Closing her curtains Lia turned her light off and got into bed for an uneasy night. Naota didn't sleep any better, the kiss from Lia and the business with his clan keeping him up.

Lying on her futon Lia listened to the rain pounding on the house and watched the lightning flash through her curtains. After one lightning bolt flashed overhead and the resulting thunderclap shook the house Lia nearly jumped out of her skin.

Shaking like a leaf she got up off of her futon and left her room. Padding down the hall she headed to her sisters room. Soundlessly she opened the door and stepped inside. Carefully she walked over to Matokos futon and knelt down.

"Matoko…" Lia mewed softly as she gently shook her sister's shoulder.

'I'm awake." Matoko said as she lifted her head. Flipping back the covers she made room for her sister. "I figured you'd need help with the storm so I got out an extra pillow." She said.

"Thank you." Lia said as she got into bed.

Pulling the covers over her Lia laid her head on the pillow as Matoko snuggled up and put her arms around her sister. Feeling the warmth of Matokos body and her arms around Lia soon drifted off in a semi troubled sleep.

And unbeknownst to either Lia or Naota that's also when he drifted off to sleep as the storm raged outside.

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(1) That's where you fire a grenade at someone and the splash damage gets them. The term comes from the American South, where it refers to using a .30 -06 and firing into the tree next to the squirrel and the shockwave kills the squirrel rather than the actual bullet.

(2) That's Lias nickname at school.

(3) This theory of course failing to take into account Matoko and the fact Naota was watching the board, not the girls.

(4) Put there to ensure no one tried to repeat the incident after Naotas first day back at school as a demon.