Welcome to the reboot of Ina and Fade! Let the insanity begin!

This is ten pages when printed. XD Go me.

Characters I own: Ina, Mihi, the Sins, Slade, Lucky, Chaud, Gossamer, Jolie, Lindhal, Satan
Characters owned by Maro: Fade, Koru

As in the original, characters that appear will also be owned by other people, such as Maro, Risa, littleraccoondemon (Sarah), and some will be owned/inspired by series such as Ben 10, Code Lyoko, etc. I start dealing with those in Chapter 3. I will list all owned by me, and all owned by others.

- Kelar the Mage

Chapter One
Poor Kids Indeed

Ina cracked her knuckles idly as she waited in the center of Stone Circle. For the students of the Academy of Hell, Stone Circle was the illicit meeting place of rivals, roughs, and bored teenagers procrastinating homework. Sometimes teachers would deign to visit the old ruin to 'impart their wisdom' in the form of beating three or four students in a row. Weapons weren't allowed within the fighting circle, and the magic of some unknown demon in the long-distant past had restricted magic use to the most raw, uncultured form. For some, that proved a disadvantage, but for others, such as Ina, it was an advantage. She used lightning in the same casual way that a cat used their tail. It was as much a part of her as her distinctive pink eyes.

The few students at Stone Circle that day included Ina's closest friend and roommate, Mihi, who was primarily known for her clothing (or lack-thereof, as it rivaled the Mistress of Arms, Lust, for stares), and who never seemed as young as she said she was...but never as old, either. Another was Slade, primarily known by Ina in the form of Mihi's constant, bawdy jokes, and still another was the constantly mysterious Fade (also known as tall, dark, and weird), who would answer with 'everywhere' when asked where he was from, despite it being common knowledge that he was the prince of Lycanth. Though both were in the same Form as the two girls, they had been immediately dismissed by Ina and her circle of friends as jerks. There was also Pride, their all-too-angry teacher for fighting, weaponry, anything that had the potential to allow her to use students as anger management. She was unconscious because she'd been careless, and forgotten that metal is an absolute magnet for lightning. If she hadn't been careless, Ina half-suspected that her head might have been ripped off. Three older students haunted the edge of the Stone Circle, feigning boredom.

Ina glanced over at Mihi, then back around the area. "Oh for the love of!" she burst out. "Is anyone else going to bother fighting me? I'm bored."

"Oh quit whining," Mihi said, from where she was lazily sprawled across a cracked stone bench. "It's not like you actually like it that much."

Ina made a rude noise. "So? I need to do something."

"You're starting to sound like Pride," Mihi grumbled, letting her bare foot dangle along the dirt. "Too bad we don't have a sun down here," she said wistfully. "It's like whoever made this world didn't think of the need to tan."

"Need?" Ina demanded, scowling at Mihi. "I burn. I don't see any reason for a sun down here, thanks. It's not like we need one for light."

"I'm trying to do homework, you know," came the unfortunately deep voice of Fade. He might have been tall, but he was skinny as a pole, and thus, his voice constantly sounded awkward. It didn't help that he pretty much stuck to a monotone, either.

The two girls (and Slade) stared at him with some combination of wonder and amusement. Finally, Mihi broke down laughing, and rolled off her bench. Ina got her feet out of the way just in time, and ended up sitting hard nearby. "Homework?" Ina demanded, over Mihi's snorts. "Out here?"

Fade didn't look at her. "Why not?" he replied. His hands moved steadily, and every now and then, Ina caught sight of a tiny flash of white sparks, which she recognized as magic.

"Because it's a fighting arena..." Ina said slowly, wondering if Fade was oblivious, or an idiot. She dismissed idiot - his grades in everything indicated otherwise, and then was forced to dismiss oblivious as well. He could never pass Wrath if he was oblivious.

"Which hardly anyone is using at the moment," Fade pointed out, glancing at her briefly. He glanced away immediately, and his hair flopped across his face.

"Only because it's the first day of the new term," Ina replied crossly. "Which is why I'm bored." She blinked, arrested by her thought process. "Homework?" she demanded, indignant. "You're not doing homework!"

"Observant, aren't we?" Fade retorted.

Ina's lip curled as she jumped to her feet.

Mihi stopped laughing and grabbed her impulsive friend by the ankle. "Ina, he's not challenging you for nutjob of the year, okay? Don't take jerks so personally!"

"I am not the nutjob of the year, Mihi," the other girl snapped, scowling down at her. "Could you let go of me now?"

"As long as you don't go attacking anyone who isn't even trying to provoke you," Mihi drawled, slowly letting go.

"Maybe I was attempting to provoke her," Fade said, watching the scene with amusement evident on his face, despite the monotone.

Ina leaped at him, her figure lengthening as she moved. Pale fur sprouted along her body as she changed. She knocked Fade, who had a slightly gobsmacked look on his face now, to the ground from his bench (which was, oddly enough, well-polished). She snarled at him. Before she could do more than that, he had shifted as well - far quicker than she had - into a wolf shape as well, with far darker fur. The snarling was getting loud.

Mihi stared at the scene with some alarm, and Slade was sprinting into the distance already, but the three older students approached now. Two of them boasted extraordinary heights, the other boasted a set of pink, sparkly wings, and if he'd ever visited Earth, would have been mistaken as gay instantly.

"Okay, you two are just being idiots now," the female of the three said. Lucky Bianchi was not known for being nice, but was more likely to be recognized for the enormous braid that she frequently used as a whip. She was vaguely acquainted with Mihi and Ina, having been put in charge of the girl's dormitories for her last year at the Academy. "Do I need to throw you two into something?" Along with her braid, she boasted strength beyond the average for even a demon, which was truly amazing considering that she was fully human.

"Maybe I should deal with them," Koru said. He stood at seven feet, along with Lucky, and had, at some point during the past three years, been bitten by a werewolf.

"I'll handle it," the winged one said with as much dignity as he could muster. Chaud was openly envious of Koru's height and lack of pink wings. He made a bored gesture with one hand, along with a flip of one wing, and the still-snarling pair of werewolves were blasted apart.

Ina turned back first, her fur receding and hair flopping down with an interesting sound. She scowled at the three. "He wanted to fight me!"

Fade turned back as soon as she spoke. "Yeah, I did."

"You're not supposed to fight outside the center circle," Lucky said, using Koru's shoulders as a prop for her elbows. She didn't see his face turning red. (The two were the focus of a schoolwide betting pool, with the bet being on when they'd finally give into the UST. Currently, half the school had lost, and re-bet on a later date).

Ina scowled. "It's an illegal ring. I had no notion there was rules for it."

"Of course there are," Lucky said cheerfully. "That's the purpose of being illegal isn't it? Follow even stricter rules to avoid being caught."

"Lucky, you're crazy, aren't you?" Mihi mumbled. She was tactfully ignored. Slade returned to the area as mysteriously as he'd left.

"Supposedly, you can trigger the Apocalypse if you do the wrong thing here," Lucky said, trying to sound ominous. She just sounded ten seconds away from laughing like a nutcase. She beamed down at Chaud. "You can let the kiddos go now Chaud. Classes start in, oh, thirty minutes or so, and none of these guys seem to know what shoes are for." She removed her elbows from Koru and turned a cartwheel, long legs flashing up and over. Koru's face turned scarlet.

"Lucky, you're wearing a skirt," he said stiffly.

"Pfft. Does it really matter? Chaud has Jolie, I could kill Slade with one hand, Fade's obviously gay, and you're not a perv." She walked off whistling.

"I am not gay," Fade growled. His monotone had finally broken! (For the first time in the years Ina had known him, too).

Koru shook his head. "It's impossible to argue with Lucky," he said. "Not that I don't try." He followed her.

Chaud muttered something and followed the taller duo.

Ina stalked over to Mihi, searching for something to put her hair up with, before giving up (in exactly twenty seconds) and swinging it across her shoulder. "I wonder where my hairthing went," she murmured.

"Who cares?" Mihi drawled, latching firmly onto Ina's arm. "Let's go, before you do anything else idiotic." She glared at where Fade was standing, watching them with deceptive calm, and flicked a hand. The teleportation spell took immediate effect, and the girls vanished.

Fade, left behind, continued to stare at the spot for a minute or so more. "Pretty," he finally murmured, and disappeared. The only one left in the Circle was Pride.

The room Ina and Mihi shared was split evenly down the center by a thick curtain. On the left, it was pink, brightly lit, and with an overabundance of lace. On the right, it was black and white, lit by small strips of metal, yet it also had an overabundance of lace.

Mihi could be heard on Ina's side, making a racket as she swore at her apparently absent shoes. Ina couldn't find hers either, and she swung the curtain open to reveal the pink side. "Mihi, try the staircase for the shoes."

"Why would they be there?" Mihi demanded, shoving a fluffy rug of pink-vomit aside. She tugged open a trap door and rocked back on her heels. "Why the bloody heaven are they here?" she demanded, flabbergasted.

"Don't know, don't care," Ina said, walking over to grab her boots from the third step of the old secret stairs. The girls didn't know why the stairs were there, but they seemed to be the only ones to know about it. At the very least, Lucky had never found it (and their large messes hidden inside) in her room inspections, and the previous women in charge of the dorm had never spotted it either. She grabbed Mihi's boots and tossed them at her, then shut the trap door and kicked the pink-vomit rug over it once more, and shoved through the curtain again.

She'd been wearing the uniform shirt and blazer, but had been wearing a pair of tight pants instead of the uniform strip of fabric that was occasionally called a skirt. Ina hastily threw that on, and then had to go hunting for socks. Her feet had grown again, so the boots were new, and she knew from experience that they'd give her awful blisters. No matter that she was half-demon, Ina was susceptible to just about everything humans were, and it was a topic she rarely dwelled upon. It made her angry, primarily because her human family had tried to hunt her, and her demon family - what little there was of it - had basically done the same, after her father died, with the exception of her batty grandfather.

Her socks were found, finally, in a pile with the rest of her things under her bed. Ina groaned when she discovered that, once again, her underwear was gone. She had no clue who was taking them, but it was really beginning to get on her nerves. Scooting out, she managed to get one sock on before standing up, and did a dance to get the other one on, before doing two more little dances to get her boots on, and then hurtled into the hallway. Mihi was roughly a foot ahead of her, still trying to get her left boot on, and swearing at it rather creatively. Ina was left with a dilemma: Allow Mihi to use her shoulder to balance on, or learn some new words (or new uses for old words). The second one seemed to be the best choice.

Mihi had her boot on by the time Ina (at her extremely slow, not-quite shuffling pace) reached her. "I hate boots," she said, stomping her foot. The girls walked together towards first period, joining the throng of other girls, ranging in age from nervous five-year-olds to bored-looking twenty-two-year-olds.

Ina often thought it was good that most of the humanoid/elf-y species aged at the same rate until around twenty, because she was pretty sure that it would get extremely confusing for enrollment if they didn't. As they neared their first period class, Mathematics (insisted upon by the lunatic, Gluttony, who said they'd need it one day), they spotted Jolie hurrying towards them, bright flush on her face, and a blazer that looked a bit overly large on her hastily thrown on. "I overslept a bit in the library," she said, linking her arm through Mihi's cheerfully. The other two exchanged a glance and a snort. Jolie had been in the library as obviously as it was her blazer she wore.

"I don't get how you got a boyfriend before any of us turned fifteen," Mihi said, aggrieved for a moment. She snickered when Jolie's face flushed deeper red.

"Must be really interesting place, that library," Ina said dryly, steetching as she walked. "Jolie always comes out a bit rumpled. Do the books fight back?"

"Oh shut up, you two!" Jolie hissed, crimson now.

Mihi and Ina giggled at the other girl. "Better not mention how much you love the library to Goss," Ina teased. "You know how protective she is."

"Protective about what?" Gossamer asked, latching onto Ina from behind. She dangled limply off the taller girl's neck as Ina flailed.

"The library," Mihi said cheerfully, and burst out laughing at Gossamer's confused face. "Nevermind, nevermind," she snickered.

Ina detached Gossamer from her neck and straightened her blazer. "I am not a landing rack for fairies," she said, mock-serious.

The four lounged around the door, waiting for Gluttony to decide class should start. It was exclusive to the Fifth Form, a class comprised of fifteen and sixteen year-olds. Slowly, others from their form trickled to stand outside. Their Form was one of the smaller ones, being composed of approximately twenty-five people, instead of the usual thirty-five. The last of the group to arrive were Slade and Fade, complete with their uniquely sunny dispositions. Fade had his nose stuck in a book and a scowl on his face, while his roommate decided to start the schoolday by smacking Jolie's butt.

Jolie squealed and swung around, swinging Mihi with her, and made a threatening gesture at Slade. Immediately, his throat constricted. Veins bulged out and he writhed in pain. The lithe brunette's eyes shone red until she lowered her hand. Slade dropped to the ground, clutching his throat and coughing.

"An impressive display of magic, my dear," Ina said to the abrupt silence, "But perhaps a wee bit over the top, hmm?" Her impersonation of Gluttony's voice was eerily accurate. In her normal voice, she continued. "If you'd'a just punched him, we might be lucky enough to have him gone for the class."

Jolie giggled nervously at that. "Thank Wrath for teaching me that," she said quietly. "I didn't imagine it would work so well, though."

Gluttony twirled up, pink hair and green skirts spinning. She had no sense of what looked good, none at all. She came to a stop in front of the door, and it melted away. "Come on in, children," she said happily, skipping in. They followed, more or less in a horde, with Slade tailing the group doubled-over.

The students made their way to their assigned spots. Ina settled next to Jolie, flicking a hand at a folder on the desk, a motion soon imitated by the others. Folders soared across the room to their owners. It was one of the first lessons taught to young students, and perfected by daily use in class, since students were not allowed to leave their seats (except in Pride's class).

Gluttony began her lecture immediately, and under her high-pitched drone, Jolie and Ina talked.

"Any ideas about why Fade looks so grouchy today?" Jolie murmured.

"He didn't get a chance to have his ass handeed to him by me at Stone Circle," Ina replied. "He wanted me to attack him, apparently."

"Maybe he likes you," Jolie suggested, stifling a giggle.

"Why do you always think that he likes me? He's always baiting me," Ina hissed.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Jolie said smugly. "He only baits you."

"He just hates me, the idiot," Ina said, rolling her eyes. She bit her lip as she scribbled at her notes.

"Do you like him?"

Ina jerked up, ramrod straight, and sent her pen flying. Before it could hit Fade, who sat in front of them, she jerked it back with a frantic hand motion. Gluttony didn't notice.

"You do!" Jolie exclaimed, just barely keeping her voice down.

Ina stared at her. "No," she said slowly. "I don't. Why are you on a love fix now that you have a boyfriend?"

"I'm not on a love fix, I just know emotions," Jolie said, sniffing daintily.

Ina rolled her eyes and determinedly ignored Jolie for the rest of class. However, near the end, something tugged her hair. Ina shut her eyes, and immediately, another pair, located on the back of her head, opened. Slade was tugging her hair. She tilted her head, and he made a few gestures with his hands that equated to 'You're hot'. She re-opened her normal eyes, shutting her other pair, and stared at the paper bemusedly, before finally nudging Jolie, who looked bored to death. "Slade just said he thinks I'm hot," she whispered. "What the heaven do I do?"

"Ignore him," Jolie hissed. "He's such a creeper, after all."

Ina sighed in relief, and tugged her hair around so that it couldn't be tugged. She glanced up in time to see Fade watching them. His eyes widened as Ina caught his gaze, and immediately turned his head back around.

No wonder they got roomed together, Ina thought, disgusted. They're both creepers!

As soon as they were let out, Jolie squealed and wrapped her arms around Ina, lifting her into the air. "You're going to get a boyfriend yet, Miss Inanna!" she proclaimed.

"Eww, no way," Ina said, wrinkling her nose. "Put me down, midget."

"You only have six inches on me," Jolie said, obeying reluctantly. "I am not a midget."

"I'm only 5' 3"," Ina said dryly. "Yes, you are a midget."

"Why's Ina going to get a boyfriend?" Mihi asked, trailed by Gossamer.

"Slade said she's hot, and Fade was staring at her during class," Jolie said promptly.

"That does not mean Fade's interested," Ina said, impatient, "And they're both such jerks! Why would I ever be interested in either of them?"

"Well," Mihi said thoughtfully, "They've both got really nice butts."

"Mihi!" Ina was blushing now. "Quit teasing me! I'm not interested in anyone, and especially not in butts!" She whirled on her heel and ran to catch up to Lindhal, another girl in their Form. "You're sane, I'm walking with you," she said in response to the raised blue eyebrow. Lindhal snorted, but made no objection.

Second period had been cancelled, due to some disturbance that had taken Lust off to the outskirts of Dis, and so the Fifth Form students took their lengthened break cheerfully. Normally they only got a fifteen minute break between second and third periods, so a long break was always welcome - whatever the reason.

Ina chose to sit alone, working on homework Gluttony had already assigned, instead of joining the gossip/betting circle that her friends were firmly esconced in. She worked on one of the comfortable benches provided in the school's lounge area, and as she was ignoring everyone else, did not notice Fade sitting next to her and watching.

Other students poured in as breaktime began, a stream of young children being herded by the older students who had volunteered to work with them instead of taking an off period of some sort, and older students talking loudly. The volume of the room increased, and Ina put her homework away, stuffing it into the pocket of her blazer, which was far larger than it looked.

Fade leaned forward, into her field of vision, as the noise suddenly cut off. Ina's reaction was another involuntary spazz - this time she nearly slapped him before managing to control her hand. He made no reaction, intent on the figure of Ina's grandfather, who had just stood up from nowhere in the center of the room.

Lord Satan was the leader of Hell (the most recently voted-in name for the Underworld of the Realms - so far, the one that had lasted the longest was Hades). He'd been in the position for a long time now, since his father had died in some freak accident or other. "Welcome back for the start of another year, students," he said, spreading an arm wide as he smiled at them. His other hand held onto an ebony walking cane with elaborate designs in platinum. There was some muted response from the students.

"Now, it is my pleasure today to announce the approval of ten students to study with those of us in charge," Satan announced. He tapped his cane on the ground.

Ina felt her blazer twist, and in several seconds, a golden design had taken over one side. Similar designs, she noticed, had sprouted on the jackets of others. Mihi, Jolie, and Gossamer had peeled off their blazers to examine the multicolored designs growing, Slade was grinning smugly at his silver design, Lucky, Koru and Chaud (who truly stood out, even in a school full of strange individuals), were grinning at the looks of envy they received from the other students in their Form, and a set of twins two Forms above Ina had actually started to do war-whoops. The only question was who the tenth person was, and Ina discovered a lot of people looking next to her at...Fade. She twisted her own head to look at his blazer, and blanched. "Oh great," she muttered, staring at the gold design on his jacket. "I'm stuck with you for a year." She twisted back, and spotted Slade, who evidently hadn't seen his roommate's achievement yet. Just as well, since he'd coveted a spot where he would receive private lessons from Satan.

"Should be interesting tonight," she heard Fade mutter as normal chatter resumed.

"You mean you'll probably have a fight with Slade?" Ina asked, looking back at him again. "I'd think he'd just throw a temper tantrum."

Fade's mouth twisted into a sarcastic smirk. "Oh no. Slade's much cleverer than he looks." It broke into a genuine smile, though his monotone didn't waver. "Rather like you."

"I do not look stupid," Ina hissed, scowl forming on her face.

"I didn't say you did," Fade said, smirking again. "You inferred that. Congratulations."

Ina pursed her lips, then grabbed his ear and yanked. Fade yelped and had a minor spazz attack, and glared at her after she let go. She smirked at him, and then, just because she could from her postion, ruffled his hair before standing to flounce off to sit next to Mihi, giggling.

"Now you're good enough to sit with us," Jolie teased, looking up from where she was collecting money. She was in charge of the betting pool on Lucky and Koru. "Fifteen people lost today," she informed Ina. "You're happy."

"Oh, I just got my revenge on Fade for being such a jerk this morning," Ina said, smiling. "Apparently, he doesn't like being touched." Her smile grew dreamy. "Who knew?"

"You're right. She totally likes him," Gossamer said, wrapping an arm around Mihi and Jolie's shoulders and pulling herself from the ground to her feet.

"I do not!" Ina protested as her friends began to laugh. "Jolie, do you want me to talk about how much you love the library?"

Jolie flushed. "Ina! Don't!"

"What's the deal with the library?" Gossamer demanded, confused. "Jolie, what does she have on you?"

"N-nothing," Jolie stammered.

"Ugh, break's over," Mihi said, and stood as well. "Time to gossip about love later. We've got Pride now."

Groans chorused from other members of the Fifth Form.

"I wonder if she's recovered from me yet?" Ina drawled as they walked towards the open courtyard that served as Pride's classroom.

"Evidently," Mihi said, spotting the flash of Pride's electric blue magic.

"Too bad," Jolie sighed. "She always picks on me."

"You? She didn't try to decapitate you last year!" Ina cried.

"That's just because you're family," Jolie retorted.

"Oh, quit bickering, you two," Gossamer ordered. "Or she'll stop you. With a battleaxe."

The two glared at each other, but stopped.

"Oh, quit hovering like idiot mice!" Pride yelled from the middle. "Get your arses in here already!"

The students slowly filed in, casting nervous glances at their teacher. She was a big woman, with purple hair that now had an interesting white scorch in the shape of her unusually absent helmet. Mihi clapped a hand over her mouth to stop her giggles. A ripple of murmurs quickly broke out, then died as Pride turned to glare at them. She leaned heavily on her battleaxe.

Oh no, she's going to try and kill me for this morning, Ina thought, repressing a shudder as Pride's eye landed on her. Then her more rational side kicked in. Not that today is any different from any other day in the past five years I've been here...

"Inanna!" Pride called. "Let's see if you're as capable in a fair fight as you are in an unfair one."

"It was Stone Circle," Ina grumbled, reluctantly rising. "That's not unfair. It's called affinity."

"I thought you weren't allowed to fight students in class anymore," Mihi said loudly.

Pride glared, began to swear, and looked around. "Fade!" she roared. "See if you match up to your new cohort."

Fade bounded down with surprising enthusiasm and grinned at Ina. "Payback for my hair," he said cheerfully, monotone breaking for the second time. Whispers actually began to circulate in speculation.

"You're vainer than I am," Ina said. "Not that it's too hard to do that."

"How about we settle this the werewolf way," Fade replied, smirking. Whispers rose in volume.

"You're on," Ina said, lunging at him as she changed.

The next twenty minutes were, to the other students, blurs of snarling, panting, an occasional lucky kick or bite by one of the two, and a few angry howls. Ina finally landed on one of the many benches, bracing her large paws and digging her claws into the soft stone. Fade came flying at her, and they went down in a tumble of fur and stone. When the dust cleared, Fade and Ina were distinguishable from the tangle they'd fallen in solely by the color of their fur. Both were completely unconscious, and Ina's tongue was lolling out of her mouth.

"I guess we'd better take them to the infirmary," Mihi said, after several minutes silence.

"Guess so," Jolie said, springing down from her seat.

"I guess they're an even match," Pride was heard muttering. "Foul temper, unfortunately good fighters. Their poor children."