Maru-sha: sorry for the big wait ! I had help with this, so expect it to be better than ever ! Laugh and enjoy !

The sun rose slowly into the sky, bringing its radiant light down on everything and everyone of Tokyo city. Then all of a sudden a pie flew out of nowhere and hit the sun with a splat, sending it crashing down and all was dark again.

"I hate Mondays !" somebody screamed.

(At the Inu-house)

When the sun recovered and rose a second time, light shone down on everything for real. People rose and began their daily lives again. Everybody was as happy as could be. Birds sang and perched on branches and everybody felt even better when they heard them sing.

Well, everybody except one.

Inu-yasha was snoring away the morning and was awoken when he heard a bird singing cheerfully outside of his window. With a grunt of irritation, Inu-yasha reached over towards his alarm clock, seized it and tossed it at the window. There was a loud crash followed by a loud squawk.

"SHUT UP YOU STUPID BIRD !" Inu-yasha roared as he rolled out of bed. He blinked a few times to adjust his vision, and then went downstairs to see what there was for breakfast.

"I swear if anybody annoys me today, I'm going to tear their heads off !" thought the grumpy dog demon. Of course anybody who did not live with Inu-yasha would know that this was pretty much his daily mood and those who did were used to it by now.

(Downstairs)

Inu-yasha got downstairs to find everybody eating breakfast already. Vespa, only wearing a skimpy looking towel over her gorgeous body, was cooking pancakes. This was new to Inu-yasha, seeing as most anything Vespa cooked aside from curry often times mutated and tried to eat them. Serenity seemed wide awake and cheerful while Randy was asleep in his cereal. Small drips of milk came out of the bowls cracks as he snored. Everybody else seemed fine.

"Mommy, why is Randy sleeping in his cereal ?" Mimi asked.

"Mimi, just ignore him and finish your breakfast. I'm going to take you to the park later." Serenity responded. Mimi giggled cutely at that.

Serenity suddenly reached down beneath the table and seized something by its tail. She hoisted up an angry Shippo from beneath.

"Have you forgotten I wear pants to bed ?" she said irritably. Shippo pouted. He was hoping for a "catch" to present to Kamatari later.

Mimi pointed and said, "Hey, Shippo has the same pajamas as me Mommy !" Mimi giggled, pointing at him.

"Oh be quiet ! Boys can wear yellow too!" Shippo whined. He and Mimi were both dressed in identical yellow pajamas with small feet on them that fit them just right.

"No they can't !" Mimi retorted.

"Yes they can !"

"No they can't !"

"Yes they can !"

"No they can't !"

"SHUT THE HELL UP !" Inu-yasha shrieked, the force of his voice shaking the house. Everybody grew silent at the sound of his voice in an instant. When Inu-yasha was angry, you did what he wanted.

"Don't be such a grouch !" Serenity said. "Do you always have to be so angry all the time ?"

"What did you say to me ?" Inu-yasha was on his feet. "You need to learn some respect !"

"Wait, I didn't mean it that way ! I just-" Serenity suddenly found herself grabbed by the wrist and flipped over Inu-yasha's lap. A moment after that, Serenity felt Inu-yasha grabbing for the waistband of her pajama pants.

"Oh, not in the morning !" Serenity wailed. Luckily, rescue came to her in the form of one Chang Ryuenja, Randy's sensei who hadn't appeared in many chapters.

"Good news everybody. I have something I want to show you !" Ryuenja said, dressed in only what looked like a bathrobe.

He entered just as Serenity's pajama pants fell.

Silence pervaded the room. Randy's head shot up and blood squirted out of his nose.

"Um...wow. Interesting pattern..." Randy said, gazing in awe at the bright pink silk of Serenity's underpants.

"You jerk ! I'm going to get you for that !" Serenity roared, already trying to break free. Randy didn't notice. He was busy counting the small blue stars on the panties. He would have continued, but Nabiki brought her plate slamming down onto his head.

"Pervert !" she snarled.

"Why are you calling me a pervert after our make-out session last night ?" Randy shouted, forgetting he was in front of every resident of the house.

Silence came again. One moment later, Randy was screaming in terror and running for dear life as Nabiki chased him down the hall with a giant mallet and Serenity (who had gotten her pajama pants back up) was chasing him along with Nabiki, only she held...a spoon ?

"Why a spoon ?" Nabiki asked. "Why not a knife or-"

"Because it's dull you twit ! It will hurt more !"

"I know I've heard that somewhere before." Sesshomaru thought as he ignored this ruckus. Turning to Ryuenja he said "Now what news do you have for us ?"

"Well," Ryuenja said, wiping the last of the blood from his nostrils, "I just got news of a martial arts tournament that's going to be held in one week. It's open to all participants, both male and female."

"Huh, women in a martial arts tournament ? We now have another sign of the apocalypse" Inu-yasha scoffed. "What do they think this is, America ?"

"Don't forget France, Germany, England and-" Randy called as he ran by.

"Shut up !" Inu-yasha shouted as Nabiki and Serenity ran by, both of them holding double bladed axes which were glowing red to show the temperature to which they had been heated.

"Inu-yasha, please calm down." Ryuenja pleaded. "It's open to everybody."

"Not interested." Inu-yasha snorted. "I don't even use martial arts, I just fight !"

"Maybe that's why you have such a bad temper and rely on your little transforming big knife !" Randy taunted as he ran past them again. Serenity and Nabiki were now carrying lit bombs.

"I'M GOING TO (BEEP)ING KILL YOU !" Inu-yasha screamed, and joined in the chasing of the American coyote kid.

"This is a great opportunity to test our skills." Ryuenja continued.

"Not interested." everybody said in unison.

"It is a chance to do something together!"

"Not interested."

Ryuenja sighed and said. "There is a cash prize of five hundred thousand yen."

"WHAT ?" everybody-except Sesshomaru-shouted. Within moments, everybody (with the exception of a few) had dashed out of the room. Randy was still running back and forth between the halls, screaming.

"Um Randy, they aren't chasing you anymore." Ryuenja said.

"Maybe they're invisible !" Randy shouted, continuing his mad dash.

"Randy, I don't think they've learned that yet."

"Maybe they read a Naruto book and copied it or something !" And suddenly Randy was grabbed by the back of his T-shirt by Ryuenja.

"How about you and I go train for a bit up in my room ?" Ryuenja said calmly, although he always seemed to speak calmly.

"Yeah I'd like that !" Randy exclaimed as he was led up the stairs. "With five hundred thousand yen I could buy all the video games I want ! I could buy a new computer for the house ! A big screen TV ! Or I could just spend it all on what I really want !"

"And what would that be ?" Ryuenja asked.

"A lifetime supply of Fudge-sicles !"

Ryuenja anime fell, carrying both him and Randy back down the stairs to land painfully at the bottom.

(That afternoon)

"Now then son," said Kamatari as he stood next to a large tree, "in order to master the art of the ninja, one must be at peace, both physically and spiritually. The way of the ninja is the shadow. You must strike quickly and when your opponent least expects it."

"That sounds like something off of a cartoon show or from an actual ninja." Shippo said.

Kamatari sighed. "Look, I know it's cheesy, but the audience eats this stuff up !"

"Audience ?" Shippo asked, cocking his head to one side.

"Um...forget I said that son !" Kamatari said quickly with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's not like people are watching what we are doing right now !"

"Whatever you say Father..."

"Now then, observe !" said Kamatari as he closed his eyes. One moment he was standing near the tree, and the next moment he was gone. Shippo gasped and began to look around for him.

"Father, where are you ?" Shippo called. There was no answer.

"Father, are you even there ?" Suddenly Kamatari reappeared in front of Shippo, a large handful of silky unmentionables in his hands.

"You can't actually attack with that move son ! I just ripped it out of a Ranma ½ comic book ! But it sure is useful in getting into women's houses when nobody is around !"

(Inside Ryuenja's room)

"Ready Sensei ?" Randy called, already in a back stance.

"I'm ready Randy." Ryuenja said in normal stance.

Randy jumped towards him and threw a graceful series of kicks at Ryuenja's head, which were all dodged with relative ease. In the next moment, Randy was knocked to the ground with one sweep of Ryuenja's hand.

"Too slow. Try again." Ryuenja said, adjusting his Gi.

Randy somersaulted forward and launched a beautiful Jumping Back Kick at Ryuenja and the man simply stepped to the side. In a flash Randy tilted his leg to one side and sent another kick at him. Ryuenja grabbed his leg and once again Randy was hurled to the ground.

"A bit better, but you have to try not to be so aggressive when attacking me." Ryuenja said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Randy jumped to his feet and a bright red hue surrounded his body, as if some spectral outline had just covered his body.

"So you're using your demon energy now ? You really do intend to win, don't you ?" His only response was a sliding kick directed towards his legs. Ryuenja leaped over Randy and as he did, Randy reared back and slashed at him with his claws. Ryuenja dodged them, but he felt the heat of the energy they gave off. It was clear his students really wanted to win. Well he'd just have to calm him down.

Ryuenja seized Randy's hand as it came at him in the Tiger Claw formation. The demon energy should have burned his hand, but a small blue aura had surrounded his body and the heat was not felt. Ryuenja flexed the muscles in his hand and Randy's body jerked as electricity surged up it. Randy fell to the floor with a gasp, the energy aura around him fading.

"Not bad. You've gotten better since last time !" Ryuenja was positively pleased.

"Better ? Are you kidding ? I didn't land a single blow on you ! Just like always !" Randy yelled as he got up. "I mean, you're a master of martial arts ! It's the same old thing ! I train with you, I try to hit you, and you kick my- !"

Ryuenja held up his hand. "It's not that I'm a master Randy, nor is it that you lack experience. You are indeed very powerful and I think if you would focus more on just trying your best rather then winning, you might be able to score a blow on me."

Randy rolled his eyes. "As if that would really help ! And furthermore, you aren't really what I had in mind when I came to China years ago. I thought Chinese masters of martial arts wore robes, were over seventy years old, and had white hair ! I wasn't expecting a thirty something year old man who still had his boyish good looks and wore casual clothes !"

This time it was Ryuenja who rolled his eyes. "Let's see, you spend how much time in reality instead of watching movies ?"

"I spend plenty of time ! I spend gobs of time ! I spend so much time in reality I can't even force my mind to wander any- Oh look a penny !" Randy quickly bent down to get the penny and Ryuenja sighed. This was going to take some time.

(At the park)

Rokuro closed his eyes and concentrated. As he sank into a wave of relaxation his Ki began to radiate out of him, eventually forming what looked like a bright blue flame surrounded him. Across from him stood his daughter Nabiki, dressed in a white Gi, her own aura beginning to flow out of her, although hers was a tad smaller. Both of them were staring directly into each other's eyes, preparing for a move, any move, to be made.

"Try again." Rokuro said. The moment those words were uttered, Nabiki stood on one foot, holding her knee out in front of her and having one hand out while the other was above her. Her fingers were curved downwards to form a powerful formation meant to strike with the finger tips; the Crane Stance.

Rokuro had assumed a different fighting stance, balancing on his back foot while his front leg was held out a little bit away while just barely touching the ground; the Cat Stance, also called Tiger Stance in the Chinese style. Rokuro's hands were held out in front, one on top, one on the bottom. Both of them had the fingers spread out and hooked downwards at a very slight angle; the Dragon's Claw.

"I want you to fight with your full power Nabiki. I wish to see what you've learned lately." Nabiki wasted no time and sprang towards him. Just as she reached her father, Nabiki slid to the ground and rose up with a Crane Fist attack, meaning to strike Rokuro on the underside of his mouth. Rokuro hopped back, keeping his stance, and shot out his hand. Normally a claw technique would be used to tear or rip, but the Dragon Claw was different. Instead, Rokuro snatched Nabiki's arm and twisted it behind her back in one fluid movement.

"Not bad. You've sped up, but you still aren't fighting with your full potential !"

"I can't Father. You raised me ever since…" Nabiki stopped, knowing too well that mentioning her mother would bring Rokuro's emotional wall down. And if he broke down here…she didn't even let her mind venture into that region.

Nabiki twisted her leg behind her and wrapped her leg around the back of Rokuro's leg and twisted, making the man stumble. Nabiki followed it up with a jump kick to his chest, knocking him onto his back. Rokuro wasted no time and used his hand to level himself and then kicked his leg straight up, knocking Nabiki back. The man jumped to his feet and shot out his hand at her face. He stopped just short of connecting and Nabiki jumped back.

"I told you to fight me with your full potential. You are much better then this and I wouldn't say that if I didn't mean it." Rokuro pointed his finger and it began to glow a bright blue. Nabiki's eyes widened and she jumped into the air just as the attack came.

"Spirit gun !" Rokuro called out and a large jet of Ki shot out of his hand, just missing. He could have easily made it a lot bigger, but this blast was only capable of stunning, not hurting or worse, killing. It would have done no serious damage, but it still meant Nabiki had to pick up the pace.

Nabiki dove at Rokuro from the air, aiming one of her feet at his head. Rokuro stepped to one side, and suddenly Nabiki's Ki flared up around her.

"Stabbing Crane's Hand !" Nabiki called out. She extended her hand, and suddenly Rokuro found himself doing his best to dodge a series of rapid fire Crane Fist stabs as Nabiki's fingers cut the air around him. So she was fighting for real now. That was good.

Rokuro raised his hands to block and suddenly he hand was cut as Nabiki's finger tips tore into the flesh of his palm. As he pulled it back with a hiss of pain, Nabiki called out "Crashing Foot of the Crane !" and her foot came straight up under Rokuro's chin with all the force of a wrecking ball. With a grunt he crashed to the ground as Nabiki stood over him, her foot straight up in the air and ready to crash onto him again should he try to attack.

"That's good for now." Rokuro said with a smile. He got up and dusted off his Gi. "You heeded my advice and you won."

Nabiki bowed. "Thank you Father. I hope you are alright."

Rokuro laughed. "Oh don't worry, I'm perfectly okay. We'll take a break now and continue later. I have a good feeling about your chance of winning the tournament."

Nabiki giggled. "You really think I can win Father ?"

"Of course you can. It's not whether a fighter is male or female, but simply how skilled and determined they are. I'm going to try my best too."

Nabiki replied "Well I'll certainly do my best in there too !"

"You always were a determined one. Your mother would have been…" Rokuro's words trailed off.

Nabiki began to look around wildly. "Father, you did remember your anti-depressant this morning, right ?"

"I think I forgot it." Rokuro said, his voice growing melancholy.

Rokuro may have forgotten his medication, but Nabiki had not forgotten the "alternative" to that as she promptly picked up a large rock and slammed it down on Rokuro's head, knocking him unconscious.

"He never stops thinking about her." Nabiki sighed as she dragged her unconscious father home.

(Back at the Inu-house)

"Serenity, do you really believe that this will benefit you in any way ?" Sesshomaru asked in his usual emotionless voice.

"I can take care of myself Sesshomaru ! I don't need your help !" Serenity said as she circled the heavy bag which had been hung from her bedroom ceiling.

"It's not that. It's just that I don't think you have nearly enough combat experience to survive a battle in a martial arts tournament. Many of these fighters have been training for years. Some of them have even been trained since being weaned."

"What do you mean by that ?" Serenity asked.

"I'll tell you what it means when you are older. Or have you been skipping health class again ?"

"Well...I don't think I have !" Serenity said as innocently as she could. "But that class doesn't teach anything worth hearing about !"

"I think you could last against most of the human fighters, but against the rest of the household-"

"I don't care, I'm entering !" Serenity roared, her head suddenly filling up the room and her eyes glowing a demonic. Sesshomaru was not frightened of this in the least.

"Even more so, do you even have the physical strength for this ?"

"Of course I do !" Serenity shouted and drove a savage punch into the bag.

It did not even jiggle.

Serenity punched it again.

Nothing.

Serenity snarled and kicked the bag, and then began to hop around the room screaming in pain while holding her foot.

"Like I said Serenity-" Sesshomaru began.

"Shut up !" Serenity shouted. She tried using her claws and ended up breaking one of them.

"Okay, I'll fix this !" Serenity shouted. She left and came back with a giant mallet and slammed it against the side of the bag. It did not budge. She left again and came back with an axe. The blade broke in two. She left again and came back with a medieval mace. The ball shattered and the chain went limp. She left yet again and jumped on top of it with a jackhammer. Two seconds after she had turned it on, the jackhammer broke. Serenity dove out the window, but she did not come back in.

"Now where is she going ?" Sesshomaru thought. Suddenly he saw what was going to happen and dashed out of the room. Randy came in, sweaty from his training session with Ryuenja.

"Hey Serenity, have you seen my yo-yo ? I'm going to try to break the record !" Just as he came into the middle of the room, a giant wrecking ball crashed through the wall and smashed him against the opposite wall. Half of the wall-and a good portion of the house-was gone.

The heavy bag however, remained intact. It hadn't even moved from its original position.

"ARGH !" Serenity roared as she jumped out of the construction crane. "I knew that guy was conning me when he offered it for ten yen !"

She failed to notice Sesshomaru coming out the front door and he was approaching her very slowly. His hands were clenched into tight fists and the ground under him was dissolving with each step.

In a few moments, people could here Serenity's screams of pain as Sesshomaru's powerful hands gave her backside a terrible lecture.

(Later that night)

Randy was propped up on his bed in a body cast which hid everything except his face and Serenity was crying and standing up.

"Don't cry for me, I'm alright !" Randy said as he tried to wiggle his fingers. This only brought more pain to his shattered body.

"I'm not crying for you ! I'm crying for what happened to me !" Serenity snarled before returning to her crying.

"You are a very selfish individual, you know that ?"

Serenity stopped crying and glared fire at him. She went downstairs, came back with a carton of milk and some cookies. "Want one ?" she offered in an awfully kind voice.

"Yes please" Randy said. Serenity then shoved a large chocolate cookie into his mouth.

"Got milk ?" she said evilly, beginning to drink the carton of milk quickly, making sure each gulp was loud and well heard.

"I HATE YOU !" Randy howled as he tried desperately to get free.

(The next morning)

"Now let me get this straight: your Sensei wants us to go to China for a special training exercise ?" Serenity asked.

"Yep. He says he's going to prepare us both for the tournament and teach us how to use Ki." Randy replied. Hank had managed to fix his body in one night, but it had not been pleasant. It had something to with Randy, Hank, and a bottle of medicine that said "Bad Tasting Medicine that Heals you in an Instant, But it Burns like Fire through Your Whole Body the Entire Night !"

"But we already have demon energy !"

"No he means, regular Ki. It's a lot stronger."

"Stronger that demonic power ? Wow..." Serenity thought.

Upon arriving at the ocean, Serenity gasped. "I can't swim ! What are we gonna do !" she cried.

"Hang onto me, I can swim !" Randy offered.

"You first !" Serenity said, kicking Randy into the water and jumping in after him. She found herself being pulled through the water by a small black piglet. "I'm really starting to hate those springs..." Serenity, who was now a boy, sighed.

To be continued...