Chapter 2 comes now, be ready.

                Someone mentioned that Ranma got a raw deal, and I agree.  Koenma sent someone to kill Ranma to get him to Spirit World just so that he could give him a test to get his life back?  That ain't right!

                Well, the way that Koenma was working was that he simply wanted to meet Saotome, which he couldn't do until he had died.  Next, Koenma knew that Ranma wouldn't turn down a challenge, and so Koenma decided to add a few lessons mixed in to help Ranma out a bit.  Cutting him off from his chi was one of those lessons.  And last, Koenma was rather certain that Ranma had too much positive energy to create a monster from the egg.  But if such a thing did happen, he was (is) ready to jump in at any time to prevent it from hatching.  He's ready to give Ranma his life back the 'other' way if he needs to.  Ranma would simply get the most out of the egg.  There are other things that helped to decide it for him, but for now those things are... a secret!

                Hope that clears it up a bit. :P

                "No matter how you slice it, it's still not whole anymore." - Alex Ultra

~~ Recap ~~

                Last time on Ranma of Spirit World:

                After losing his life in a battle in Living World, Ranma was introduced to Koenma, child ruler of Spirit World.  In this introduction, he was given a chance to redeem his life.  In return, he would become something called a 'Spirit Detective', the Avatar for Spirit World Justice in Living World.

                He was also told the difference between chi, the energy he had used in life, and ki, otherwise called Spirit Energy.

                He is now headed back to Living World, where preparations are to be made for his re-animation.

                ~~~~~~***   FUNERAL   ***~~~~~~

                Ranma was sitting on the floor of the dojo, where his funeral was being held.

                Not surprisingly, half of Nerima was in attendance (seemingly).  There was Tatewaki Kuno, who mourned his loss and gave his lifeless body a bokken in remembrance.  Coincidentally, he also began going on about how he was now free to pursue his pig-tailed girl.  Tatewaki's sister Kodachi was there as well.  She seemed to be doing rather well considering her crush of two years was now dead.  She did, however, give him a black rose and promised to meet him in the after-life.

                'Fat chance...'

                After Kodachi was finished Ukyo came.  Strangely she seemed both sad and relieved at the same time.  "Well, Ranma.  I was hoping to actually marry you, but now that you're dead that's impossible.  You know it's strange.  In a way I feel like I should be angry at you for leaving, but somehow I'm not.  I'm sad yes, but... I'm sorry." Ukyo then pulled out a plastic bag with a bit of her best Okonomiyaki in it and placed it on his casket. "I know that not even death would keep you from this stuff, so I hope they let you eat up there 'cause when I see you again I'm gonna make you the biggest Okonomiyaki I've ever made..."  Ukyo left quietly with Konatsu close behind.

                Strangely, after Ukyo was a young man with the pelt of a raccoon on his head.  He had a black stripe across his eyes like a raccoon and was holding a package wrapped in some kind of animal skin.

                When he got beside the casket he looked inside.  "So that's what he looks like.  Hmm...  Well, anyway, I'm sure you're wondering who I am.  Well, I'm sure you'll like to know that Prince Herb regrets not being able to be here.  But he wanted to know that he considered you to be a real man worthy of respect, so he sent me to give you this..." He then went to unwrapping the package.  Once fully undone it revealed a golden bracer with black bands of onyx stone embedded into it.

                "In life this would have shown you to be a guest of the Musk, he had planned to give you this in time to see his son's birth.  But now you can't, so instead it is his promise that you two will meet again, probably in Spirit World.  I'm afraid there was nothing else he had to say." He then closed his eyes and put his middle and index finger of his right hand against his left shoulder, bowed, and started walking away.

                As he walked past the line of people his eyes tracked Ranma's location.  He hid it well, as to anyone else it would have seemed that he was looking at Akane, whom he was sitting directly beside, but Ranma could tell that gaze was directed upon him alone.

                The creepy feeling Ranma had as a result left him when that man left the room.

                From then on it was a series of people ranging from his best friends at school, to several people he couldn't even remember the name to.  Even Gosunkugi came to put a hex on his soul that was supposed to make him rest in peace.  Fortunately, like everything else Gosunkugi tried to do, it didn't work.

                Something Ranma noticed, though, was a peculiar absence of any of the Amazons.  "Hey Botan, where are Cologne an' Shampoo?  Out of all these people I woulda figured them to come first?"

                Botan smiled and laughed as she waved the question off.  "Oh!  Well, I'm sure they're around here somewhere!  Ha, ha, haaa..."

                Before Ranma even had the chance to realize that the two in question had even arrived he heard a very tell-tale voice shout out his name.  "RANMA!!!" *Crash*

                Shampoo looked about, confused for a moment.  One second she had been trying to glomp onto Ranma, and the next she was on the floor!  "Oh!  There you are Ranma!" Turning around, Ranma saw Shampoo holding her face less than an inch from his own.

                "GAH!!" Ranma fell backward and then through the floor, shocked and surprised by having Shampoo so close.  He pulled his head back out of the floor and blinked at Shampoo.  "Shampoo!  I was wondering where... Hey wait!  You can see me!?"

                Shampoo smiled as she crawled closer to Ranma's head. "Silly Ranma!  Of course!"

                "Of course what, Shampoo?" It was a good thing that only the Tendo's and Saotome's were still about, or the whole scene in the dojo would have been even more chaotic.  As it was, only those two families really had the chance to be confused.

                *Clonk* "Shampoo!  What did I tell you!?" Cologne then turned to Genma and Nodoka, who were still sitting on the floor while Shampoo nursed the bruise on the top of her head. "I apologize for Shampoo's lack of manners.  She is not used to dealing with ghosts and spirits." Cologne gave Shampoo a quick glare before turning to Ranma.  "I look forward to hitting you over the head again, Ranma." Cologne smiled wryly and swung her staff around.  "EH-hehohoho!"

                Genma scowled.  "You too seem to be acting quite disrespectfully, Cologne!"

                Cologne was ready to whack Genma across the head as well, but decided against it.  "Well, he won't be getting anything from the Amazons until he gets back from Spirit World!"

                Nodoka grabbed onto Cologne.  "Are you telling me Ranma's coming back!?"

                Cologne nodded while backing away from the teary-eyed woman. "Er... yes..."

                Nodoka let go of Cologne and started singing to the heavens.  "OH!  I knew it!  NOTHING can keep my manly man down!  Not even death is enough to keep my Ranma down!!!"

                It was now Cologne's turn to have a massive sweatdrop as Shampoo fussed with being unable to wrap Ranma in a massive glomp.

                Akane frowned rather darkly.  "Now wait a minute!  What makes you think that we're going to believe you two!?  You two have a way with misleading people, especially where Ranma is concerned!"

                Nabiki shook her head.  "Yes.  But I don't see how this would help them get Ranma married to Shampoo unless it's true.  And so far that seems to have been their only motivation."

                Cologne froze for a moment as she stared blankly at the middle Tendo girl.  "Yes, you're right!  Not bad!"

                Ranma, who was still trying to avoid Shampoo, was rather confused and seeking out Botan.  "Botan?  Hey!  Where'd you go?"

                "I'm right here!"

                Shampoo frowned.  "Who is funny girl on stick?"

                Cologne sighed as she bopped Shampoo on the head yet again.  "Mind your manners Shampoo.  And Botan, it's good to see you again."

                Botan bowed slightly.  "Elder Cologne, you're in good health!"

                "Hah!  Of course!"

                *Blink*

                Botan looked around.  "Um... Elder Cologne?  I think you're being stared at..."

                "Who's Botan?" Soun had a calm air about him, though it seemed (by experience) ready to crash down and leave him soaking the floor with his tears.

                Cologne cleared her throat with a quick cough.  "Yes, well.  Anyway.  We are here to make sure that Ranma has a body to come back to upon his return."

                Kasumi 'hmm'd in thought, "Oh my.  I suppose I should keep a place for him at the table..."

                Those still in the dojo watched Kasumi walk out as if it was the most obvious thing to do.

                Looking first at each other, then at the door, Nabiki, Soun, Genma, and Nodoka shrugged and followed.

                Akane stayed behind, along with the two Amazons.  She then looked grumpily to Cologne.  "Is he really coming back?"

                Cologne gestured toward Ranma's casket.  "Look for yourself!"

                Akane, curious now, crept over to the casket for a quick look inside.

                A look at his face showed that there was a slight coloring to his skin.  Reaching down, she discovered that he also had a faint pulse, and that he was breathing ever so slightly.  "So why can't he just wake up now?"

                Cologne sighed.  "Because he has no chi.  Without any life-energy, his soul can't re-enter his body."

                "Oh..."

                After a few minutes of silence, Shampoo turned to Cologne.  "Shampoo stay here and watch Ranma?"

                Akane frowned immediately.  "Hey!  What happened to 'Airen' and 'Son-in-law'?  Why are you using his name all of a sudden!?"

                Cologne sighed.  "Well that's... complicated."

                "Ranma dead, no longer is Airen."

                *Blink* "Well... that makes sense..."

                Cologne picked herself up off the floor in time to have Akane confront her again.  "Then why did you say it's complicated!?  That didn't sound too complicated to me!"

                Cologne sighed and looked to Botan, who only shrugged.  "Might as well, she'll find out anyway."

~~

                Cologne started a story and it went a bit like this...

                Long ago, the Amazon and the Musk were actually quite cooperative tribes.  Both of them had been made, through influences from Spirit World, to protect and defend two Earth-side artifacts.  One was a gate, which the Amazons protected.  The other was the key to that gate, which the Musk held in their vault.  In order to better protect them both tribes were taught in ways to strongly enhance Spirit Awareness, and would get infrequent updates on the happenings of Spirit and Demon Worlds.

                The two tribes, however, disagreed on how best to protect these artifacts.  The Amazons thought that controlling who protected them was the best way, while the Musk turned to the natural world from which they drew strength.

                Both tribes drew up contracts with Spirit World's ruler, King Yemma, specifying their participation and any other rules they would have to follow.  Few are sure what all is in these contracts, but most are sure that Spirit World did provide for both tribes in one way or another so that they may better defend their artifacts.

                The final clause in both contracts is also the most prevalent.  The Spirit World's chosen Avatar for Earth is to be considered a protected person and is therefore an honorary member of both tribes.

                In light of this and to better defend their artifacts, both sides began to pursue greater power and techniques.  Both tribes hoped to have a Spirit Detective named from their own ranks, in hopes of being able to influence both tribes simultaneously.

~~

                "Among the Amazons it is the winner of the tournament who most seeks that title.  I do not know exactly how the Musk determine such things, but in light of what Ranma relayed of Herb I believe it is likely they consider the royal line to be their best hope.  So far, only one has been chosen from either tribe, and she coincidentally did not fulfill those hopes.  Being a Musk daughter, she did not have the kind of influence among the Musk that a man would have, and beyond that she saw no reason to try to change things among the Amazons."

                Ranma, having been curious as to this explanation, blinked in a mix of comprehension and confusion.  He then turned to Botan.  "Hey, is any of that stuff true?"

                "Well, I could look it up in Spirit World records to be true, but I'm pretty sure that's how it went.  Not that I was there myself of course!  Haha!"

                Akane, oblivious to the conversation going on just above her head, looked down at Ranma's face.  "Well, then I suppose I should take him inside..."

                Akane then picked up the casket and carried it inside, giving Shampoo the snake-eye on the way.  Before leaving the small building she turned to Cologne.  "By the way, some guy with an animal on his head came in here tonight.  While he was leaving he was looking my way, but not at me.  And I'm guessing that he was really looking at Ranma, which is the only reason I'm even taking this into consideration..." She then left the room to go to the house.

~~

                Ryoga was still trumping through a forest somewhere in Tibet when a car suddenly rammed into his side.

                When he noticed the car wrapped around him he looked through the window.  'Oh good, he was wearing his seatbelt...  Since when were there cars in the forest?' Looking around, he saw a city he didn't recognize.  "...  WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW!!!" 'DAMN YOU SAOTOME!  HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO YELL AT YOU FOR DYING BEFORE I COULD KILL YOU IF I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE I AM!?!?'

~~

                Back in Japan's skies Ranma's ghost sneezed.  "Hmm, I wonder who's talking about me?"

                Botan put her hands behind her head and gazed at Ranma with a teasing expression.  "At the rate you're going half of Tokyo..."

                "Oh right!  ... okay."

                Down in the Tendo household Akane's eyes drooped dangerously low as she muttered one more word.  "Ranma..." 'If she's lying, I'll make sure she regrets it!  And you had better be really coming back...'

~~ That night, Cat Café (Nekohanten) ~~

                Cologne had just bopped Mousse the third time that night when a letter came through her window.

                'Hmm?  What's this?'

                "[Elder Khu Lon,

                "[We recently got word that an event is about to occur that requires your presence in the village.  If at all possible we need you to come back as soon as possible.  Your Great-Granddaughter, Grandson, and Mu Tsu's presence are not needed.

                "[Elder Sah Firh.]"

                "..." 'Interesting... I wonder what it could be?'

                Cologne then pulled out a pad of paper and a pen to start writing a note to the others of the Cat Café.

                ~~~~~~***   End Chapter 2   ***~~~~~~

                Gawd... that was a heavy one!

                Next chapter hopefully won't take as long as this one did.  And it will hopefully be the full eight pages that is my norm!  ^.^  (This was only six... -_-;)

Alex Ultra: Creator of Eternal Realm

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