Since she was a little girl, Ryoma found herself with troubling dreams, and abilities which she keeps hidden. She is also plagued by demons, another thing she hides from her team until she gets a fateful invitation...

Wonderful life-note sarcasm there

A week from now...training tripled. Especially on Kawamura and Momoshiro who were the team's heavy hitters as Kabaji taught them all a very good lesson, that someone out there is physically stronger than them. Their physical training tripled...skills aside. The others also had to undergo a rigorous physical conditioning and skills training in preparation for Rokkaku and Rikkaidai. Heck, Rikkaidai's been doing their regimen for three freaking years, they had to catch up! Seriously!

'I heard from Genichirou about your new...station in life.' Yukimura told her as she visited his room. 'But he had to wait for a while until he's confirmed a few things.'

'Understandable. We DID meet at that party and spent time together with the blimp rather than deal with people who won't get along with us.' said Ryoma. 'Well, I'm not too happy. I'd rather go back to my ol' simple life.' she sighed. 'My old house is just a block away from Seigaku and now I need a limo and a thirty-minute ride! That means waking up extra early!' she grumbled. 'And I had to hide the fact I'm rich by making my driver stop in the corner before we get to school so I can just waltz my way in the normal way.'

'I can imagine a life like that.' Yukimura giggled. 'Sneaking around as if you're about to do something naughty.'

'Oh shush, you.' Ryoma smirked and playfully pushed him, when Botan appeared in their room. 'Botan?'

'Ryoma-chan, we need you.' said Botan urgently. 'We need you for the finals against Team Toguro tomorrow!'

'Who died in the team?' Ryoma frowned worriedly. 'It had better not be the boys...' Botan bit her lower lip and fretted.

'Master Genkai died.' she choked out. 'She and Toguro had a private match on their own and Toguro killed her.' she whimpered, nearly bursting into tears. 'Yusuke took it hard as she was his teacher after you!'

'Sou ka...' Ryoma whispered softly, feeling sorry for Yusuke. 'Poor kid. A master to their student is as good as a parent, and considering what kind of person his actual mother is...Genkai would've made a better mom in comparison, strict ways of teaching aside.' she said before looking up. 'So I'm to replace her to complete that five team set? Did you and Koenma clear this up with the board?'

'Yes, we set everything up long before the tournament started.' Botan told her.

'I see...hey, can you arrange for...nine tickets?' Ryoma asked Botan as she held up nine fingers. 'My teammates and my father know everything. I want them to watch what I can do at my best. And could you make a videotape for Yukimura to watch? To normal humans, it's a concert of whoever his favorite J-Pop idol is but to humans with Reiki, a footage of the finals between Team Urameshi and Team Toguro.'

'Eh? B-but that would mean...' Botan choked out as Ryoma nodded as she materialized a piece of small paper and handed it to Botan...with the name of 'Kuronue' on it. Botan paled and she knew the ramifications this name would cause.

'My teammates and father accepted me whole-heartedly. My powers and my bloodstained hands since I was elementary.' Ryoma chuckled with a guilty-looking smile. 'I believe they're ready to know the real me. They deserve that much. Tell Koenma that.' the way she spoke it in such a subdued manner told Botan she's serious about this.

'A-alright...I'll be picking you up tonight, OK?' she told her as she vanished.

'Er Echizen? Is there something else I should know about you as well?' Yukimura asked his mentor-and crush-with a gobsmacked expression. He knew she's powerful. but still...he never saw her in action before. All he had for vouching was her vast B-Class powers and he was well way behind her by a few notches. He's the 'Child of God' after all. He had to postpone his training for a frigging month just to get the scouts off his rear.

'You should. I planned for everyone involved to know but little by little of course...too much shock in one day is bad for one's health after all.' Ryoma told him with a grin. 'You'll know when you get that videotape.'

NOW Yukimura couldn't wait for that tape. And the fight is TOMORROW!

xxx

After school...Ryoma told her teammates, and her father to gather in the old temple behind their...old house.

'OK hunny, what's with the gathering?' Nanjiroh asked his daughter.

'Tomorrow, will be the Finals in the Ankoku Bujutsukai.' Ryoma told them all wryly. 'And one of the main members is killed off-stage, so I have to replace that person and fight.'

Nine jaws dropped, nine pairs of eyes widened and yes, even Tezuka.

'EHHHHH?'

'And what kind of people ARE in the Finals?' Nanjiroh choked out. 'It's a fighting tournament and all...'

'Well...' Ryoma gulped. 'Team Toguro are all B-Class Fighters AND Demons.' her father and teammates began panicking. 'QUIET! I'm a B-Class too dammit!' she hollered at them.

'B-but you're a human nya! Not demon!' Kikumaru choked out and Ryoma wondered what they'll do and think when she says otherwise but she is quite a difficult case. 'Hime-chan don't die!' he wailed as he glomped her.

'Hey! Hands off my daughter brat!' Nanjiroh grumbled as he pried Kikumaru off his daughter.

'I ain't dyin' anytime soon.' Ryoma reassured her friends and father. 'Besides, if I DID die, Koenma will bring me back to life as it's not yet my time to die therefore there's no space for me in the afterlife. That's guaranteed.' she told them. 'But I don't wanna die either cuz' that's painful like hell.' she grinned.

'The way you say it it's like you speak by experience.' Fuji commented weakly.

'Ahahaha...in a way...yeah.' Ryoma remembered how she died in her previous life. Impaled by bamboo spears all over and while reeling fron the pain, she bled to death s-l-o-w-l-y. She doesn't want a repeat performance, thank you. 'Tomorrow you're guaranteed first-class seats, safety guaranteed to the fight if your parents allow you to go out and skip school for a whole day. And dad has to figure out a way he can go out on a simple day off without the family knowing anything. Your tickets are being handled, so no worries.'

'So we all skip school tomorrow huh?' said Fuji. 'How do we explain to Ryuuzaki-sensei that we'll skip a whole day tomorrow...?'

'I'll handle the old hag. She's my ex-coach you know.' Nanjiroh reassured the kids. 'You'll get off scott-free so your only issue is...your parents. We better plan this well...and Ryoma, you'll be leaving tonight, right?'

'Yeah. I need to know what I'm dealing with. It's a dumbass idea to go in knowing nothing. That will get me killed.' Ryoma chuckled wryly.

'You WILL be OK, right?' Nanjiroh asked her again worriedly. 'You just started to get along with your older brother and I can't have you die two days after you started!'

'I know pops. Like I said, I ain't dyin that easily.' Ryoma promised. "Dying hurt bad, let me tell you!"

xxx

That night, in her room...Ryoma got packing. Her fighting outfit, and two spare outfits. "Yosh...it's almost time." Ryoma thought as she packed everything in a small backpack. She began packing quickly after dinner. Because Botan will pick her up soon. Upon packing everything, Botan appeared in her room.

'Ryoma-chan, time to go.' said Botan. 'I told the boys everything about what you intend to do...needless to say, three out of four freaked out.'

'I can predict who.' Ryoma drawled sarcastically as she hopped on Botan's oar, backpack slung on her back. 'Let's go.'

xxx

In Team Urameshi Suite in Kubikukuri Hotel...they arrived there, at the Main Room.

'Yo.' Ryoma greeted and all hell broke loose.

'Oy Ryoma, you're SERIOUSLY going to tell your team AND you're dad that you're a youkai?' Yusuke asked her incredulously.

'Not really a youkai. I'm just like Kurama. A youkai soul in a human body from reincarnation after a five-century wait although in his case, it's possession.' Ryoma explained wryly. 'It took me until I was twelve years old for my memories to return after numerous soundless dreams and a pair of sickles to appear on my bed at six years old. In America it was soundless dreams but here in Japan, an unknowing close proximity to Kurama finally made sense in the dreams I'm seeing while Kurama knew everything since day one.'

'That's the difference between reincarnation and possession, Yusuke.' Kurama quipped with a cheery smile.

'Well, I'm still new to this spiritual mumbo-jumbo and all I know in it is fighting.' Yusuke griped in an indignant huff. 'Well, we're glad you're here.' he said in relief.

'Aa. I hoped everybody trained hard for the finals...?' Ryoma leered at them all with a glare. Especially at Yusuke and Kuwabara while Hiei had done this for a century and Kurama for a good 3000 years before his untimely death, forcing him to start from scratch, building his body up with her help and with it, his youki.

'Hey! We've been doing as told since the day we met you!' Kuwabara choked out. He didn't fancy getting a nasty kick to his stomach again from her...it took him a good fifteen minutes to breathe properly again!

'That's good and that means we'll survive this one. If we die, Koenma will just bring us back to life for dying at a wrong time therefore no place for us in the afterlife.' Ryoma chuckled.

'That's the same tripe Botan told me in that car accident when I died.' Yusuke deadpanned.

Next day...Ryoma was understandably nervous, as she wore her outfit of 3000 years ago.

'Looking good in there Kuro.' Kurama smiled in approval as his best friend was in the familiar garb he used to see for a long while. 'But uh...' there's something wrong of course. 'Is it OK with most of your chest uh...exposed? You're not a man anymore you know?' he said with a slight blush. Echizen Ryoma's body, with arduous physical training, struck early and is very gifted by puberty. At a young age, she was what they call a 'B' when normally, teens her age would be on 'washboard levels'.

'Meh, this is flat by normal standards, it's barely there.' Ryoma snorted as she looked at her chest. 'Most of it is covered by my shirt anyway.'

'Yes but can you imagine the looks on your teammate and father's faces? They'll sport nosebleeds and a protest for sure!'

'Hey! It's my body, I do what the hell I want with it! Dress included!' an argument occurred and Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara who just came out of their rooms, hearing arguments about decency and protest were deciding they were better off not knowing anything...and have anything to do with that conversation.