A Third Chance at Life

Secrets and a Shadow

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or Inuyasha, they are the property of Rumiko Takashi and some companies I can't remember, I am making no money of this work.

Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay, but my disk with the chapter I had planned on posting Monday broke so I had to rewrite it and didn't get it done until after I left the internet access school provides. Thank you to all those who reviewed, please continue to do so, I like reading them and constructive criticism is always helpful. Does anyone know if Yuka, Sayuri, Hiroshi, or Daisuke were ever given official last names? (Or first names depending on whether you're using it in its English or Japanese set-up.) I'm going to use Akagi for Yuka's last name in this chapter, but I will change it if she was given a family name, in the anime or manga.

"You are dismissed." The last teacher of the day said before he darted out of the room.

"Geez, is just me or did all the teachers, besides Hinako that is, really haul ass to get out of here." Daisuke said.

"You didn't hear?" another boy said.

"No what happened?" Hiroshi said as walked up to his friend.

"They found that old fart Yamaguchi in his underwear screaming about demons and such in the teacher's lounge." The same boy said, "I heard he got sent to a psyche ward."

"So that explains why Mrs. Hinako is teaching History as well as English, but that doesn't explain why the teachers fled from the room like we have the plague." Hiroshi said.

"We may not have the plague, but we do have the wards resident Chaos Magnet in our class." A girl said as she gazed softly at Ranma, "The teachers decided that since every strange thing that happens in Nerima is somehow connected to Ranma they will avoid him as much as possible. Like someone as cute and sweet as Ranma would ever do something so awful." Blah blah blah.

"God don't tell me we're paired up with one of the Ranma fangirls." Daisuke moaned

"Oh Sakura is a member of the "I love Ranma fan-club" The boy said.

"Ah dammit," Daisuke moaned "and she was one of the cute ones to, how are any of us supposed get a girl if Ranma causes all the girls to love him.

"There's an "I Love Ranma Fan-club?" Hiroshi asked.

"Yeah, a high school made a fan club to some guy they consider their prince and the girls here decided to the same for Ranma." The boy said, "Sakura here considers herself his number one fan."

"Shut it Ben." Sakura snapped.

"Yes ma'am" Ben said quickly.

Yuka, Sayuri and Akane all put their stuff away quickly, "Come on you two, Yuka wants to get home quickly." Akane hissed at Ranma and Ukyo who were moving at a more sedate pace.

"Right, sorry sugar." Ukyo said as she began to hurry.

'Crap, I still need to turn into a girl first' Ranma thought. "Just let me get a drink of water and I'll be ready to go."

"Oh whatever just hurry up." Akane Grumbled.

Splash

"God you can't even get a drink of water without you getting into trouble can you?" Akane said, "Now we have to wait for you to find hot water to change back."

"Eh, it's not a big deal. I'll just change back later, now let's get to working." Ranma said enthusiastically.

Ukyo, Akane, Sayuri, and Yuka all stared at him in shock.

"You know I'm not sure if I should be more shocked at him not demanding to stay until he changed back." Akane started.

"Or that he actually wants to do the homework." Ukyo finished.

"Hey come on you four I have no clue where Yuka's house is." Ranma shouted.

"Hey boss, you told me to report if Ranma did anything strange so here it is." A mousy girl said as she handed Nabiki a file. "One other thing to note is he purposely transformed into a girl, while getting ready to go work on Hinako's Assignment.

"How do you know it was intentional? "Nabiki asked.

"I saw him purposely splash himself." The girl said.

"Good work Reika, I'll talk to you later.

'Ranma Saotome prepare to be grilled.' Nabiki thought evilly.

Ranma shuddered visibly. "Hey what's wrong sugar?" Ukyo asked

"I don't know, but for a second it felt like I was being stared at by a pack of hungry cats." Ranma said as they walked towards Yuka's house.

"Hey Mom I'm home." Yuka called out.

"Welcome Home Sweetheart." Yuna responded.

"Hello Mrs. Akagi." Sayuri said as Yuna stepped into view.

Yuna sighed "How many times must I tell you to just call me Yuna. Well who are your other friends?" Yuna asked while looking at Ranma and Ukyo.

"This is Ukyo, she owns Uc-Chan's Okonomiyaki." Yuka said, "And this is Ranma Saotome, Akane's fiancée."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Yuka said, but paused as she looked into Ranma's eyes. 'They're the same shade of blue as the one who healed me… wait a minute Akane's Fiancée is a cursed martial artist who turns into a boy when hit with warm water and from what I hear is incredibly strong, could this girl be the boy who saved my life.'

'From the way she's gazing into our eyes I think she may have figured it out, or at the very least suspects something.'

'Great I change sex and this lady still figures it out.' Ranma thought.

"You're the infamous Ranma Saotome then." Yuna said, "I've heard quite a bit about you from around town, is it true you have a curse."

"Um, yeah." Ranma says nervously.

"Well, I won't believe it till I see it, so do you mind showing me?" Yuna asked sweetly.

"Um, well, I'd really rather not." Ranma said as he began pulling on his pigtail.

'What's got him so worried' Akane and Ukyo think at the same time noticing Ranma's nervous habit.

"Listen if you and Akane are lesbians, you don't have to lie about really being a boy with a curse, you will both still be welcome over." Yuna said. 'Sorry about manipulating this, but I need to know.'

Yuka put her head in hands shocked and embarrassed that her mother just said that. Sayuri was attempting to restrain a giggle and failing badly. Ukyo was currently on the ground laughing her ass off. Meanwhile Akane spluttered as Ranma babbled incomprehensibly, both redder then a cherry tomato.

"Ranma you will show her your curse right now." Akane raged.

"But," Ranma started.

"No, buts. Do. It. Now." Akane said as her mallet materialized from thin air.

'Well Yuna manipulated that well, guess you should have just been honest from the beginning.'

Ranma sighed in defeat, "I need a glass of hot and cold water.

"Here you are." Yuna said a moment later.

Ranma upended the glass of hot water over his head and turned back into his birth form.

Recognition flashed across Yuna's face. 'It's him' Yuna surged forward and took him into a motherly hug causing everyone to look on in shock. "You were the one who healed me, thank you, thank you so much." Yuna said as she began crying.

"What Ranma you were the one who healed my mom?" Yuka asked. Ranma nodded his head in the affirmative and suddenly he had both members of the Akagi household hugging him as the other three occupants of the room just looked on in confusion.

"Sir I bring troubling news." A tall dark skinned man said as he walked towards a desk covered in shadows.

"What news is that Vlad?" A deep voice spoke from the shadows.

"Someone used spiritual energy inside the Nerima Ward, we haven't found any priests or priestess going in or out who could have done it and none of those who would seek to stop you have any clue about your hand in the events that take place in Nerima.

"Keep an eye out Vlad, we must not let the Martial Artists of Nerima learn of us, they are some of the few fighters in the world that could pose a threat if they were to interfere, before everything was ready."

"I shall endeavor to make sure they do not learn of us." Vlad said.

"See that you succeed, after the failure to find the location of the reborn Shikon no Tama, a second set back will not be tolerated."

"I understand." Vlad said as he bowed and walked away.

"So why did you try to hide the fact that you saved someone's life?" Akane asked awhile after Yuka and Yuna stopped clinging to her fiancée.

"Seriously Sugar, it's something to be proud of." Ukyo said.

"I know, but my life is already chaotic and I can't really explain how I got this spiritual power, because I don't understand everything myself. I just don't want everyone knowing about it." Ranma said.

"Well I can understand that with all I heard about your life so neither me or Yuka will say anything to anyone. Right hon?" Yuna asked Yuka.

"Right, there's no way I'll spill your secret after what you did for us." Yuka said.

"You know ya can count on me Ran-Chan." Ukyo said.

"Well I can see how a lot of the jerks we know would try to manipulate you and you did help Yuna so I'll keep it a secret as well." Akane said.

"Thank you for helping my friends Ranma, My lips are sealed." Sayuri smiled lightly.

"Thanks it really means a lot to me." Ranma said.

"Well I guess we didn't get much work done." Ranma said with a sigh as he walked between Ukyo and Akane.

"Yeah well I was read a little into the book we got from Mrs. Hinako and I think we must have grabbed a book on mythology instead, it talks all about demons wandering the land in that time and how people dealt with them. I mean how are we supposed to write a historically accurate report with this crap." Akane ranted.

'Very easy actually.'

'What do you mean by that? Akane has a point.' Ranma thought.

'Apparently your little teacher knows more about what the sengoku jidai really was then most. Demons really did wander the land in that time.'

'How do you know this?' Ranma questioned.

'I was originally from that time period, my name was Kikyo, I was a priestess who was murdered by a shape shifting demon. I was given a second chance at life fifty years later, but I was slain by the same demon, I had underestimated him. I guess in my second death part of me survived falling into Naraku's miasma, and then for five hundred years I lived in darkness nothing to touch, nothing to feel, I was all alone…but then my soul came in contact with you about a year ago, and I've been inside you ever since.' Kikyo said.

'How come in those five hundred years you didn't join with another body?' Ranma asked.

'The only reason I was able to join yours is because you had two bodies but only one soul between them. You see I was able to be brought back from the darkness because of your curse. I know I never asked, but I wasn't in a place to really do so.' Kikyo said.

'Hey if my curse was able to help you, then maybe it's not so bad after all. Who knows we maybe able to find away to break apart to where you keep the girl body and I keep the boy.' Ranma said.

"Ranma's really out of it." Akane said as she waved her hand in front of his face.

"Yeah it's like he's following us on auto-pilot." Ukyo agreed.

"I can't believe the baka was going to keep the fact that he saved Yuna's life from me." Akane said.

"Ran-Chan definitely surprised the hell out of me when he mentioned using a spiritual power." Ukyo said.

"What do you mean he use that all the time." Akane said.

"No he uses Ki, not spiritual energy to fuel his attacks. I don't know much about spiritual energy but I do know that a louse like Genma couldn't have been the one to teach Ranma even the basics. It's an entirely different type of energy. Ukyo said.

"Well here's where we split up." Ukyo motioned towards Uc-Chan's. "Night Akane, tell Ran-chan I said good night as well.

Ukyo walked away leaving Akane in the sole company of the zonked out Ranma.

"Baka." Akane said warmly as she glanced at Ranma.

Well here's the next chapter, sorry about the wait.