TP-What to Prepare For[11 of 18]

[Twister]

Chapter Eleven
--------------

Early next day, Yasuro woke up hot, but refreshed. For
a long time he had not been going to bed very early. Being on the
computer made him lose track of time. Yesterday had been an exception
since he had wanted to get up without having Twister wake him up for once.
*I'm sure he means well, but getting up like that almost every day
is a little nerve-wrecking.* He smiled slightly as he remembered Twister's
usual wake up call. Twister's _loud_ and _startling_ wake up call.
Sighing, he got up and listened for his roommate's movements.
Nothing.
Blinking in surprise, Yasuro got out of bed and went to peek in
Twister's room. Amazingly, there was a prone figure, without a shirt on,
still dozing away on the bed.
*Smart idea. I wonder why he's still sleeping. Must have got home
pretty late. He _did_ seem to be in a rush.* An idea came to him and he smiled
as he contemplated it. *Should I? Yes, I think I will.* He softly chuckled
while going into the kitchen. *It will make up for waking me up all the time
and it _is_ hot.*
Returning with a big bowl of water with ice cubes, Yasuro looked at
the peacefully sleeping Twister before gleefully throwing the contents of
the bowl at him. The reaction he got was the expected one.
Another reaction caught him entirely by surprise.
"YAAHHH!! That's cold!" Twister shouted as her sleep was rudely
interrupted. Shaking her head free of ice-water, Twister glared at Yasuro,
"Couldn't you have found a less _shocking_ way to wake me up? Like a foghorn
perhaps?" Then she saw Yasuro staring at her chest region and realized with
shock what had happened. Blushing, Twister covered her now-present breasts
with an arm. "Oops."
*Jeez! Another person finds out in as many days.*
Snapping out of it, Yasuro blushed in turn and averted his eyes to
look instead at Twister's red-hair framed face. Both comprehension and
confusion showed on his face.
Finally he spoke out, "So _you_ were the girl we saw enter the
apartment! That explains the wet hair you have some of the time. But how...?"
Fumbling for the shirt she had discarded last night, Twister sighed,
"Long story." Twister's stomach rumbled. "Ah, during breakfast, alright? I
need some food pretty badly if I can hear _that_."
Yasuro rubbed his head and leaned on a wall, "I guess so." He watched
the female Twister leave for the kitchen.
*This is definitely not what I had expected this morning.* He thought.

Struggling with the story he had just heard, Yasuro viewed the still
female Twister eating with ravenous hunger.
"So you got splashed by some _magically_ cursed water and _this_
happened?" Twister nodded while eating. "And you can do magic yourself while
being a girl and psionics in boy form?" He received the victory sign as
confirmation and Yasuro sighed while rubbing his eyes, "This sounds like one
of my science fiction books."
Swallowing, Twister commented, "Don't forget fantasy too!" She grinned.
She had to admit that he was taking this well.
Yasuro had to laugh at that, "True. At least I finally know what all
the weird things about you have been about. It _had_ been irritating me."
Finally finished eating, and feeling one hundred percent better,
Twister sighed, "That's better. I really drained myself last night." She
looked at Yasuro, "How do you feel about this?"
"Well, you're definitely easy to look at..." Yasuro grinned as Twister
flushed red. "Relax, I'm joking. I'm okay with it and I won't tell anyone
about it." He laughed, "But it sure makes reading my books more interesting.
Though...you'd better watch out for Morio and Hito. I don't think they've ever
given up on finding your girl half."
Looking resigned, Twister glanced at a clock, "Joy and rapture. I
guess I'd better change back and get ready for classes."
Yasuro nodded. "Me too. By the way..." Twister looked inquiringly at
him, "I've heard that in that English class you've taken you are doing
extremely well. How come?"
Twister smirked, "That's my primary language, remember? I learned
_Japanese_ from that arch-demon's spell."
Yasuro looked disgusted and Twister laughed.

Finishing the first few classes in the morning, Twister sat down to
have lunch. Halfway through this, Yasuro, Morio, and Hito came by and joined
him where he was sitting.
"Hello there! I hear you've been working with the ladies already,
Twister!" Morio smirked.
Blinking at this, Twister replied with an intelligent, "Huh?"
Hito excitedly explained, "That great-looking second year student!
You know! Natsumi!"
Twister had been drinking his beverage as he listened, but he choked
when he heard the name. Getting his breath back, Twister denied it, "Wait
a moment! Why on Earth do you think _that_?"
"She's been asking a lot of first year students about you today in
classes and she looked like she wanted to do more than just _talk_ to you."
Morio saw Twister's pale face and added mildly, "I take it you aren't
interested."
"Gah! Of course not! Firstly, Nabiki would _kill_ me! Secondly, I've
seen her from...afar, and I think she's a little _dangerous_ if you know what
I mean." Twister grimaced, "'Predatory' is another word that comes to mind."
"Well, she certainly has gotten a high opinion of you somewhere.
Do you know why?" Yasuro queried.
Light dawned in Twister's eyes and he smacked his forehead, "Oh,
right! She saw my little 'argument' with that group you guys made that bet
with. They were a little peeved at what you guys did to them."
The others were wide-eyed at this, "You mean _that's_ why all of them
look like they've been through a wringer today?" Hito exclaimed.
"How did you manage _that_ neat little trick?" Morio asked curiously.
He looked amused by the news.
"None of them asked me if I knew martial arts." Twister grinned. "I
have a friend who's been teaching me. He's _very_ good and I learn fast. Much
to that group's disappointment. It helped that I'm stronger than I look."
Yasuro chuckled, "They certainly picked the wrong target."
"I'll say! They didn't look very happy I'll tell you that!" Hito
gleefully laughed.
Morio chuckled with him, "True." Then he looked thoughtful, "That
Natsumi girl was also looking for a red-head that matches the description of
the one that _we_ saw in our building. Nobody she asked seemed to know about
her, which made her a little angry it seemed." Morio thoughtfully smiled,
"At least we know her name now. I wonder where this 'Itazuka' lives..."
Twister and Yasuro both tried to look innocent.
"Ah, well. I _do_ know _one_ class she is in now." Morio grinned,
"Soon we'll see just what she's like. Right, Hito?"
"You bet!"
*Oh, boy.* Twister groaned inwardly.
Yasuro looked halfway concerned and halfway amused.

Thankfully, the rest of the day passed without incident though Twister
had to quickly dodge Natsumi every once in a while. This was done fairly
easily since she seemed to be gleefully thinking about something else
besides hunting for Twister. When he was done classes, he went to an
all-you-can-eat place to restore his energy levels. After leaving the
place, with several fascinating expressions on the staff's faces behind
him, Twister went home. He finished some homework, talked to Nabiki over
the phone for a nice long time, and finally went to bed.
The next day was fine...until halfway through Prof. Miyabi's class.
The class had been moved to a larger, amphitheater-like room since
Miyabi figured that they would need the extra space soon. Probably the
result of Twister's huge illusion that she had done before.
Miyabi was right about needing the space.
That was when Natsumi had decided to openly attack Twister with a
magical creation she had been making for some time using one of her family's
ancient scrolls. It had taken her almost four days to quickly finish it
for battle with her red-haired adversary and Natsumi was sure it would
punish 'Itazuka' effectively.
"Now I shall show you, Itazuka, what a _real_ use of magic is!" Natsumi
laughed as she entered the large area in front of the class. "I challenge you
to face my creation!"
Twister sighed and waited for the professor to do something, but
Miyabi just shook her head when Twister looked at her.
"I cannot interfere with a challenge, Itazuka." She looked
apologetic. "It's a tradition that _has_ to be obeyed."
"Oh, joy. Playtime with Miss Wonder Wizardess." Twister sighed
again and walked down to the area where Natsumi, fuming at
Twister's comment, waited. She turned to face Natsumi and spread her hands,
"Ready when you are," Twister said as she smiled sardonically.
Smiling a wicked smile, Natsumi took something from a pocket and
carefully placed it on the floor. Twister wondered what she was doing until
Natsumi made a few gestures directed at the small object and it started to
grow. And grow. And grow some more. It stopped at around eight feet in height
and was humanoid shaped.
It was also made entirely of iron.
Recognizing the thing from descriptions in fantasy novels and AD&D
monster descriptions, Twister groaned in disbelief, "An _iron golem_??? Now
_how_ did you make _that_?"
A little shocked that Twister _knew_ what she had made, Natsumi still
smirked at Twister, "An old family recipe. We still had the mold even." She
smiled, "And iron nowadays is _very_ easy to find." Her face was gleeful
as she pointed at Twister and shouted, "Attack!"
The golem moved with surprising swiftness at Twister in an attempt to
grab her. Twister was disinclined to accommodate it so she dodged to the side
as the massive construct passed by her. The class was getting a ringside seat
to this spectacle. The watchers were feeling mixed fear for Twister and
thrilled excitement at the combat. Yuriko was worriedly watching Twister and
hoped that the fight would go well.
Turning to face it's opponent again, the iron creation slowly advanced
on Twister who carefully backed away. Not caring to have a long prolonged
fight in front of people who might get hurt, Twister decided to try out her
newest 'toy'.
"Been a busy gal, haven't you, Natsumi?" She replied while ducking
a grab from the golem.
Natsumi smirked, "I have indeed. You will, of course, lose in the
end, little girl. My creation cannot tire and is impervious to most
magics. I see you must know that since you have not tried anything upon
it yet."
"Yup!" Dodge. "But you know," Leap. "_I_ haven't been idle either.
Whoop!" Twister flipped backwards to avoid getting caught, and to put a
little distance between her and the golem.
"Oh, so?" Natsumi called out contemptuously, "And _what_ do you think
_you_ have done will help you now?"
Smiling broadly, and silently praying that it worked, Twister called
out while raising an open palm, "Just this! Dragonsword! I call thee to _me_!"
It wasn't necessary to speak, but Twister was feeling dramatic.
A purple glow of energy appeared just above Twister's raised palm. It
lengthened and stretched into an outline of a sword. With a POP!, the dragon
illustrated blade Twister had made a few nights earlier appeared and she
grabbed the hilt quickly before it fell to the floor.
It worked.
Natsumi was surprised, but didn't show it. "Am I supposed to be
impressed by a _teleportation_ spell? Just _how_ do you suppose you will be
able to do anything with just a mere sword?" Nevertheless, Natsumi was
getting a bad feeling about this.
"As a friend of mine once said: 'Just step back and watch me work.'"
Twister replied cheerfully as she held the hilt of the sword with both
hands. The golem relentlessly advanced with one hand outstretched,
reaching for her. Ducking the hand, Twister swung at the arm it was
attached to.
The sword went through as if cutting a piece of soft toffee and the
arm fell off where it had been cut. Twister stopped the swing before the
blade hit the floor. She hadn't been prepared at how _well_ the sword
did. She had increased it's cutting ability still _further_ with it's
enchantment.
*Talk about overkill, but good thing I did anyway. The golem had
magical protection from normal swords, I guess, from the resistance I felt.*
Twister thought.
Staring with disbelief, Natsumi saw her magnificent creation disarmed.
Literally. She then reddened with rage as Twister stepped back and regarded
the sword's work with a grin.
"It slices! It dices! It's the amazing ginsu sword! It never dulls
even after the toughest battles! Buy now while offer lasts." Twister
chuckled.
Blind with rage now, Natsumi screamed out, "The battle isn't over
_yet_! FIRE!"
Responding to it's Mistress's command, the golem opened its mouth and
a roaring torrent of fire spewed forth, engulfing Twister. The class and the
professor looked on in horror as the form of Twister vanished in the thick
sheets of flame. After ten seconds of this, Natsumi had regained control
of herself and, smiling gleefully, told the golem to stop. As the fire slowly
stopped coming from the golem, everyone numbingly prepared themselves for what
they knew they would find. Finally, the flames died and a form appeared.
Twister was completely untouched by the fire and ticked off to boot.
Eyes almost glowing in anger, Twister ground out, "I call this blade
'Dragonsword' for a _reason_, Natsumi. That includes _fire resistance_!"
*And _damned_ lucky I put it in too!* She turned her attention to the golem,
"Say bye-bye to your toy!"
Stunned by this, Natsumi could only watch as Twister leaped at the
golem and, blindingly fast, sliced her painstakingly made creation into
little iron chunks of metal with the unbelievably sharp sword she held.
When done dissecting the golem, the angry Twister was _still_ not satisfied.
She leaped towards _Natsumi_, sword raised high above her head, before anybody
could stop her.
Seeing this, Natsumi had time to raise her arms in futile self-defense
and scream as the blade swooped down towards her helpless form. Everybody
turned their heads to avoid the sight just before the scream died.
Professor Miyabi was feeling sick as she quickly ran over to where
Twister was standing above the fallen girl.
"What have you _done_?!" Miyabi shouted out as she stared at Twister
in shocked anger.
Surprisingly, Twister chuckled, "Scared the _hell_ out of one
vindictive know-it-all," *'Bitch' is another word I could use,* Twister thought
as she went on, "is what _I_ would say I have done." She grinned at the
professor, "Did you _really_ think I would kill her?"
Surprised, Miyabi looked down and saw, not the bloody form she expected
to see, but rather an unconscious Natsumi with her dress cut in half all the
way down the middle.
"How...?"
"Among fire resistance, the blade will pass harmlessly through human
flesh, even though it will stun the person temporarily if it hits the head."
Twister chuckled, "I did _not_ want to cut myself on _this_ pig-sticker!"
She glanced at the split clothing. "Um. I think a little embarrassment
will also make up for what she _tried_ to do." A gleam appeared in her
eye as an Evil Idea formed. "Do you mind if give her to someone who can
take her to the nurse's office?"
Considering the prone form at her feet, Miyabi silently debated for
a few seconds then nodded, "Very well. Come back soon."
"Yes, ma'am!" Twister grinned as she effortlessly lifted the
unconscious girl onto a shoulder and walked out of the room. When she was
outside the room, she spied the two boys she had half-expected to be there and
grinned nastily.
"Excuse me!" Two heads lifted and brightened as they saw who had called
them. Before they could speak, however, Twister interrupted them. "Could you
take this girl to the nurse's office? It's nothing serious, but I have to go
back to class right away. Please?" She smiled cutely.
Unable to refuse, one of the boys uncertainly replied, "Ah, sure!
But..."
"Great!" Twister quickly took Natsumi off her shoulder, and into the
other boy's arms, before running back to class. "Thanks a lot! Bye!"
She closed the door behind her.
"Well. That was a brief discussion, I must admit." Morio mused out
loud as he stared were the girl had gone.
Hito was still holding Natsumi in his arms. "Yeah. Could you help
me here? I'm not very strong you know and...urk!"
Turning around at his friend's sudden sound, Morio wondered what had
happened now. "What's the matter?" Then he saw himself.
Morio remembered the girl as that beautiful Natsumi girl who had
been after Twister before, but that was not what had shocked Hito. The
cut, that divided her clothes and was now causing them to all fall off,
was the true reason. Hito was having a terrible time trying to get
handhold on her without causing articles of clothing to fall off. He
wasn't having much luck and Natsumi was now half-naked as a result.
Luckily, she was not apparently waking up anytime soon.
Smiling broadly, Morio contemplated the scene before him.
"Well, well, well... Opportunity knocks, I believe. Good thing we
brought our camera." He grinned as Hito struggled with the still form of
the girl.

Coming back to class, Twister smiled at the clapping students and
picked up her sword that she had dropped before leaving the room.
Twister flourished the sword in a grand gesture as she bowed to the
class, "Thank yew."
Eyeing the sword with interest, Prof. Miyabi spoke up, "Is _that_ why
you asked me about permanent spells for items?"
"Uh, huh. I think I'd better put it away though." Speaking to the
sword, Twister said, "Go home now." And with a purple flash, it was gone.
"Hm. Just like a pet."
"Except a pet normally cannot slice apart an iron golem with ridiculous
ease." Miyabi commented with slight irony.
Embarrassed, Twister rubbed the back of her head, "Well, I think I
overdid the cutting power of the sword a bit." She shrugged. "Oh, well."
With that, she went back to her seat.
Looking worried, Yuriko whispered to Twister, "I thought she had
_killed_ you!"
"Almost _did_ the stupid... I was bloody lucky I put that fire
resistance part into the enchantment." Twister shook her head in irritation.
"She really ticked me off there. At least no one was hurt, thankfully."
Yuriko calmed down a bit and smiled, "You _do_ fight well."
Before stopping the conversation, Twister quickly got out, "Maybe,
but I _still_ have to learn how to _use_ a sword properly," she chuckled.
Looking incredulous, Yuriko stared at Twister as Prof. Miyabi started
the class up again.

Elsewhere at the moment, a person was searching through various arcane
books with great care.
Takaya smiled as he found what he had sought for in an ancient tome.
*At last! I have found the best way to use Itazuka's power for my own!
Now all I have to do is find a way to make her do it.* He chuckled. *I had
not planned on ever doing this, but if it _truly_ lets me access her power
freely then I certainly will do so.*
Closing the book, Takaya mused over the method he had found.
*Now, how _shall_ I force her to marry me?*

--
==============================================================================
Darren Steffler a.k.a "Twister"- mail at <umst...@cc.umanitoba.ca>
==============================================================================