AUTHORS NOTES: This is my path that I'm taking on an addventure I'm doing on another site, which is why the chapters will be a bit short. Feel free to check out the addventure and take other paths, and I'll banter back and forth with you and make something wacky! Here ya go (copy/paste): addventure.bast-enterprises.de/159122.html

"Ooh!" Nabiki squealed, her mind churning with possibilities. Surely Akane would wish for enough money to keep their family out of the slums, or for their mother to be brought back to life so their father would stop wallowing in despair.

"That's easy!" Akane declared. "I wish to be a man among men!"

"It shall be done," the jester said, and began chanting ominously.

"WHAT?" Nabiki exclaimed. "Of all the stupid things to ask for!"

"It's not stupid!" Akane shouted back. "If dad can't be the man of the house, then it HAS to be me!"

The argument would have continued on, but the chanting grew louder, and the world around the pair of siblings grew blurry for a moment as the spell took hold and began altering Akane according to his wish. In a flash, though, the effect disappeared, and things were back to normal again.

"Your wish has been granted," the clown said with a grin that might have been interpreted as not-quite-honest had anyone been paying attention. "Do you like the results?"

"Well?" Akane struck a pose and threw out as manly of a smile as he could muster up. "Do I look manly now?" He waited a bit, and upon not receiving an answer, finally noticed that Nabiki wore a very shocked expression on her face. "What? What's wrong?"

Nabiki wordlessly placed on hand on one of his breasts.

On one of his breasts.

"You dumbass!" the now-female Akane screeched. "You turned me into a girl!"

"Of course I did," the clown – no, demon, Akane decided – said slyly. "You did wish to be a woman among women, did you not?"

"No! I wished to be a man among men!" She stomped her foot and shook her fist at the tiny once-drawing. CHANGE ME BACK RIGHT NOW!"

"Sorry, I can't!" the demon said cheerfully. "Don't worry, it'll wear off in seven years—AHHHHHH!" he screamed as Akane chucked the book into the river.

"TAKE THAT!" she yelled at the book as it floated away.

"That was stupid," Nabiki finally found her voice to comment. "I bet he was lying. How are you gonna change back now? And you know you can't swim," she added as an afterthought, realizing that Akane would assuredly try to dive in after the book if she didn't stop him...er...her, first. Akane nodded, and the pair stared dejectedly at the river.

"Kasumi is gonna be so pissed."

As it turned out, Kasumi was not pissed at all. Upon apologizing profusely to her older sister, Kasumi merely inquired as to what the apologies were for with a suspicious look on her face.

"Look at me!" Akane shouted, pointing down at her small, budding breasts. "I'm a girl now!"

Kasumi stood shocked for a moment, and then chuckled heartily, causing both Akane and Nabiki to squirm uneasily. "What sort of silly game are you playing now, Akane? You were always a girl!" She pulled a picture off a shelf and handed it to Akane. "Here, see?"

Akane and Nabiki stared at the picture in shock. It was fairly recent – their father had insisted they take a picture with him just a few months ago. And sure enough, Akane was distinctly female in the photograph.

And so it was that Akane was stuck as a girl, doomed to live the life as a female for six long years...