Kurama sighed wearily. It had taken him a long time to find Hiei and he didn't like the fact that he was so far away from his mother. Anything could happen while he was gone. He sighed again and nodded to himself, 'Of course, that is exactly why I need to talk to Hiei in the first place. Though, perhaps it would've been best to get Yusuke or Kuwabara... Perhaps not. They're lives are no doubt busy. I cannot ask them to put things on hold.'

Hiei waited patiently for Kurama to gather his thoughts. It wasn't like he was going anywhere or had anything to do besides watch the crazy town of Nerima.

"I'm going on a trip to China."

Hiei nearly choked on his own saliva, 'What?'

Kurama tried not to be amused at Hiei's reaction. He was very serious about what he was going to say. Hiei glared at him, "That's very interesting. And can I ask what possessed you to go and do something like that?"

Kurama heaved another sigh, "Well, I hadn't really meant to."

Hiei's expression ran into nothing short of irritated, "Explain."

"It all started at school..."

"Nuisance."

"Please, do not interrupt me, Hiei. As I was saying, it started at school. It was... some kind of contest. Of course, I hadn't entered. I didn't even really pay attention to what it was about simply because of the prize. A trip to China. I have no interest in going there. It's much too far away and you know how much I worry about leaving my mother alone..."

Hiei nodded.

"Well, it would seem that someone had entered my name into the contest."

"Well, couldn't you have unentered it?"

"No. The school frowns on students who... 'Say one thing and do another'. I didn't want my mother to think I had started turning into a troublemaker."

Hiei crossed his arms, 'Humans. They're such foolish idiots.'

"The contest, I still find myself getting confused just thinking about it. It was run by a Chinese man named Chao Tiq. He made us do the silliest things... And no matter how hard I would try to botch..."

Hiei had to ask, "What kind of things, Kurama?"

"Well, one of the things he asked us to do was see how many times we could run in a circle without getting sick or falling down. I ran a few times and then pretended to trip. I was out first. When everyone was finally finished, Tiq announced that I had won that one because I had fallen down at the exact moment he wanted me to."

"That sounds stupid."

"It was and it made the other contestants pretty angry, too. Well, at least the male contests. The female contestants just seemed happy that I won, but I'd rather not talk about them."

"So, no matter what you did to try and lose, you always won?"

"Well, not always. Once or twice, Tiq announced that another contestant was the winner, but it seemed like he only did that to curb the other contestants anger. I ended up winning and naturally, when my mother found out, she insisted that I go. She worries that I have spent too much time cooped up in the house."

"When do you leave?"

"A week from now."

"And you want me to look after your mother?"

"Yes, Hiei. I would appreciate it if you did."

"Fine. As long as you listen to what I have to say, first."

Kurama blinked in surprise that Hiei had something else to say about the situation, "Yes?"

"China is a dangerous human country," Hiei said.

"Why do you say that?"

"There is some kind of place there... It puts curses on people. I've seen them. They turn into ducks, cats, strange monsters... It's insane. I just thought I'd warn you."

Kurama's interest piqued, "Curses, you say? All stemming from some place in China? Hmm. Odd."

Hiei glanced at him puzzledly, 'Of course, it's odd.'

Kurama noticed the look and smiled uncertainly, "It's just strange that I've never heard about it until now."

Hiei shrugged, "You can't know everything."

"No, but... I used to know a bit about many different kinds of curses back when I wasn't quite so human. I don't remember such a curse that would turn people into... things they're not. Of course, there were stories about witches that would turn people into frogs, but that was about it in that department," Kurama said.

Hiei shrugged again. Kurama looked lost in thought for a moment, "Perhaps I should check it out while I'm there in China."

Hiei glared. "Have you gone insane?"

"Curses are very powerful things, Hiei. This place that curses people, it must've popped up either recently or has been inactive for quite some time. In either case, it would be best to investigate."

"You're not the detective. Or Spirit World Intelligence."

Kurama took on a look of consideration. "True as that is, Hiei, you and I both know that Yusuke isn't much of a detective, though he far makes up for it with his level of power. Also, I know that Spirit World Intelligence has a lot of work to do. It could take decades or more for them to notice things that could be trouble. They tend to focus on things that most urgently need to be investigated. Things that could, not possibly could, be a threat."

Hiei shot up into the tree he was standing by. "Do whatever you want, Kurama. If you come back looking like a pig or some other nonsense, you have only yourself to blame."

Kurama looked on as Hiei leaped away, 'Well, that's settled. Still... I wonder how in the world Hiei was able to get that beat up?'

It was then that he tuned himself into the energies of Nerima and his eyes opened wide in shock.

'I've never felt so many powerful energies in one place before. Some of the energies here are stronger than those found in the demon world.'

"PIG-TAILED GODDESS!"

Kurama visibly froze as someone unexpectantly pulled him into a bear hug. He acted quickly throwing the 'attacker' off of him. The 'attacker' hit the tree with a loud crack, "Ah, pig-tailed goddess, me thinks you're beginning to see things my way. You usually throw me much further than this."

Kurama gazed at the adolescent practically embedded in the tree neutrally, "You have me mistaken for someone else. I suggest next time you sneak up on someone that you make sure you know the person you're sneaking up on."

Kuno blinked and took in the face of the red-head, "... You're not the pig-tailed goddess."

Kurama's face was impassive, but through his harsh tone it was clear to see he was a little bit irritated, "You're right. I am not."

"You're a guy."

"Yes. I am."

Kuno shuddered after realizing that he had just hugged a guy and wriggled off of the tree. He bowed to Kurama, "Many apologies. I will look before I leap next time."

"You do that."

Kuno walked away and shook his head, 'I've never seen the pig-tailed goddess with her hair down, anyway.'

Kurama sighed and headed for the train station, 'That was quite a feat he pulled, sneaking up on me like that. Perhaps Hiei is right when he says that I am getting too soft. I really need to pay more attention to my surroundings.'

"The All Girls Anti-Pervert Secret Club"

A young girl with long brown hair stood in front of a chalkboard with her hands on her hips. Her eyes surveyed each girl in the room.

"All right, ladies! Today has ended in failure. Just when we thought we had finally caught that good for nothing panty thief, it turned out we got the wrong guy, afterall. But does that mean we're giving up!"

Fifteen other girls shouted the response, "NO!"

"That's right! We're not giving up! We've trained hard just so we can keep up with that dirty, old man! We've all done things to try and increase our speed! We are the fastest members on the track team! The best swimmers! The best athletes in all of Nerima, maybe even in all of Japan! We will beat that pervert and restore peace to Nerima once and for all."

"YEAH!" all of the girls screamed in unison.

"Tomorrow, we will each run an extra five miles and practice our Randomly Selected Object Swing exercise three hundred times. Remember, the next meeting will be at Kari's house at 8:00 P.M. All Girls Anti-Pervert Secret Club, show me your anti-pervert glares!"

The girls' faces scrunched up in anger and disgust. Some were so good at the glare that they were practically snarling. The leader girl nodded in satisfaction, "Dismissed!"

The girls filed out of the leader girl's treehouse. Neither of them were aware of the little old man that had been watching them. The little old man was, of course, Happosai. He looked to be deep in thought.

'Hmm. They're coming pretty far along. I always wondered what would happen if I stayed in one place for too long. It's almost like doing an experiment. These girls are the best pupils I've ever had!' he thought.

He grinned lecherously, 'Now, if only I could give them more hands-on training...'

Ryouga was glad when his spirit beast finally dropped him, 'Ugh... I feel sick.'

He looked up at the little arch in front of him wonderingly, 'Spirit Purification Center. Huh. Doesn't look like much. One little building...'

A light brown-haired man came out of the square, white building as if he had sensed Ryouga was coming. His eyes were lit up with enthusiasm, "Finally! You're the first person I've seen since the time I was assigned this stupid, boring job."

Ryouga looked at him blankly, "Community service?"

"Nah. I died about twelve years ago. Being of such high spiritual power and status, I was elected to work for the Spirit World. They said they needed someone to do the purification work at the Bridge. Naturally, I volunteered and now I'm stuck here until some other idiot volunteers for it. I thought this job would be interesting. There's nothing to do here."

"Sorry to hear that," Ryouga said.

"Eh, don't be sorry. It's my own fault. You can call me Mr. Kuwabara by the way," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Ryouga bowed, "My name is Ryouga Hibiki."

"And I'm YaYa!"

Mr. Kuwabara nodded, "Right, then. Let's get started. If you two will come with me inside, we'll begin the Spirit Purification process."

Inside the building, Ryouga and YaYa were asked to relax and wait for him to return from the back room.

"Do you know what all he's going to do to me?" Ryouga asked.

YaYa beamed, "Of course, I do! He's going to purify your spirit!"

"How?"

"I don't know."

A sweatdrop ran down the back of Ryouga's head, "I thought you were suppose to know these things."

"Well, no one can possibly know everything! And the purification process isn't mentioned in the guide book!" YaYa said.

"Sorry, if I've kept you waiting too long."

Ryouga and YaYa saw Mr. Kuwabara come out of the back room, wheeling a strange computer-type device towards them.

"Just place your arm in the arm hole, Ryouga," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Despite apprehension about the device, Ryouga did as he was told. Mr. Kuwabara typed some things into the computer, "Good. Now, you might feel some pain, but whatever you do don't jerk your arm out until I tell you, you can."

Ryouga nodded and waited. For a moment, all was calm...

Until he felt like his arm was on fire, he gritted his teeth and tried to bear through the pain.

'Some pain? Some pain? This really hurts...'

"Okay, you can take your arm out now," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Ryouga withdrew his arm quickly and held it. His eyes widened as he saw a huge red circle on his arm, and it was growing in size. The burning pain refused to cease.

"Mr. Kuwabara, is it suppose to hurt this much?"

Mr. Kuwabara laughed, "Are you kidding? It's only a..."

He saw the red mark spreading over Ryouga's arm.

"... That's not suppose to happen."

"WHAT!"

Mr. Kuwabara quickly pulled out a drawer from underneath the keyboard and brought out a medical needle.

"Hold still again."

Ryouga held his arm close to him in a protective manner, "NO WAY! You're nuts!"

"You have to calm down. This shot here will cancel out that shot of weakened purity I gave you. The purity shot is suppose to subdue all of your negative traits... like selfishness and arrogance, for example. It allows me to accurately measure all aspects of your spiritual power and it aids in the purification process," Mr. Kuwabara said.

"Do what he says, Ryouga!"

Ryouga didn't know what else he could do. He thrusted his arm at Mr. Kuwabara and closed his eyes. Mr. Kuwabara gave him the shot. Gradually, the pain lessened and Ryouga sighed in relief. Mr. Kuwabara looked at him wonderingly, "Looks like I'm going to have to run a few tests to see what caused your severe reaction to a weakened purity shot. It's obviously not because you're wicked, otherwise your spirit beast would've devoured you when it hatched. I had the feeling you were going to be different, somehow, but I dismissed it as me being too hopeful. It's been so long since I've had to actively use my spirit senses that they must've gotten a bit dull."

"Should be more careful next time," Ryouga muttered.

Mr. Kuwabara pulled out a small radar device out of his pocket and pointed it at Ryouga. He pushed a button and glanced at the readings.

"Let's see. Everything seems to be normal... Hmm? Hmmm..."

"Hmmm? What's 'hmmm?'?" Ryouga asked.

"Well, you seem to have a dangerously high level of depression in your soul."

Ryouga sighed heavily, "Yeah, that sounds like me..."

"Also, there are traces of high energy chaos around you. And... I can't believe I didn't see it before, you have demon blood in you."

Ryouga peered at the radar curiously, "Demon blood? What do you mean? I'm... a demon?"

'Not only do I have a stupid curse, but now I'm a demon, too! Akane will never love me!'

Crr...Crrrr... Crack.

Glass from the radar fell to the floor. Mr. Kuwabara winced, "That's bad. Awful."

"What?" Ryouga muttered.

"Your depression... I've never felt anything like it. You should be taking some extra strength anti-depressants."

Ryouga glared at him, "What do you know?"

"I do know and I feel. Think some happy thoughts or something, kid. You're giving me a major headache," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Ryouga took in a deep breath, "Sorry..."

Mr. Kuwabara put the broken radar away and pulled out a new one, "I'm turning the negativity sensors off, so that I can explore this demon aspect of you more thoroughly and without having the radar break."

"What's it say?" Ryouga asked.

Mr. Kuwabara studied the radar carefully, "Apparently, you are one eighth demon. Some type of canine demon of some sort. Fox? Wolf? Hyena? Dog, maybe? I'm not sure. This new technology takes time getting used to and I'm afraid I got bored tinkering with it the first few years that I stayed here. But anyway, the rest of you is human."

Ryouga attempted to comprehend what all of that meant, 'I'm not entirely human? But... but...'

He always knew he wasn't just an average guy, but then he didn't know anyone that was.

'Maybe everyone in Nerima has demon blood! Especially Ranma. He better be being nice to Akane. I'll be coming back soon, Akane...'

"But that works out all the better for me! I haven't had real fun in a looong time," Mr. Kuwabara finished.

"Huh? What?" Ryouga asked.

Mr. Kuwabara narrowed his eyes, "You weren't paying attention?"

"Umm..."

Mr. Kuwabara sighed in frustration, "I hate delays! All right. I'll say it one more time and you better listen. Obviously, I can't give you the weakened purity shot. So, in cases such as this, there is only one thing I can do to purify and strengthen your spirit."

Ryouga nodded, "Yeah?"

Mr. Kuwabara smirked, "We have to fight."

"Fight?" Ryouga looked confused. "Where? Why?"

"Outside, of course. I have my own personal training room. It's one of the things that have allowed me to keep my sanity for all these years. Fighting with me will strengthen your spirit and, in a sense, pacify your demonic energy so that you can survive the journey back to life."

"You guys make the journey sound impossible!" Ryouga said.

"It's not impossible, just really, really difficult," YaYa said.

"Your spirit will no doubt pass through being strengthened with ease. The first part is always the easiest. But after that, as you journey further across the bridge, the strenghtening of your morality, wits, and physical self will try you. But enough about that, you'll find out later. Let's get the fight underway."

Ryouga followed Mr. Kuwabara into a back room. The training room looked like an enclosed forest with trees dotted everywhere and grass planted firmly beneath their feet. Mr. Kuwabara walked to the opposite side of the room. YaYa laid on the grass and watched the two bow to each other.

"This is going to be fun," Mr. Kuwabara said, smirking.

He summoned up four spirit swords; two in each of his big hands. Ryouga stared at him in amazement.

'I've never seen anything like that before...'

(Author's Note: Sorry about the long period of time without updating, readers. And also, I know this chapter is a little short, but I will try to make the next one longer and hopefully, Life Runs Into Chaos will be updated sooner...)