Chapter 2:

Ranma started awake, sitting up in an admittedly very comfy western bed for perhaps his, correction her, very first time, "How the heck did I get here? The last thing I remember was holding Akane's hand to my head."

Ranma felt very off, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw why. She turned fully to the mirror, and what she saw was a beautiful young woman. Even lying down she could tell that she was easily as tall as her male form. Her form's sizes were maybe a couple centimeters smaller than they used to be. Other than her height, slightly more balanced build, and her silver hair, she couldn't tell any difference between this form and her form when she would be splashed with water.

She pulled some of the silver locks in front of her face and looked them over, "Huh, wonder why my hair is silver?"

She pulled up the edge of her dress and saw a small birthmark that she had always had, meaning that this was indeed her body. She got out of bed and stretched. Getting a feel for the way her new body worked. Her center of balance had shifted slightly so she did a couple quick exercises to adjust to the difference. After she finished that she noticed something small and green coming at her from outside the window.

She stepped out of the way and let it crash into her bed, and after the sheets settled down she got a good look at it. It was a small green-clothed fairy of some kind and it seemed to be dizzy. She chuckled at the way it was struggling to get its bearings.

The fairy heard her, and when he looked at her the first words that went through his head were, "She is pretty." The little sprite shook his head and slapped his cheeks to get his bearings, "Hello, I am Satsuki, I will be your fairy guide in this destined world."

Ranma smirked, "Really, and why would I need a guide?"

Satsuki pouted, "Cause I can share my knowledge of this world with you."

Ranma raised an eyebrow in some amusement, "So you know I am not of this world?"

Satsuki nodded, "Well duh, it is a game after all."

Ranma poked herself, "Wow, never knew of a game to feel so realistic before."

Satsuki growled at her, "Don't make fun of me. You are currently within the beta-test of the vr-rpg-mmo game 'The Destined Reality.'"

Ranma shook her head, "So you are trying to tell me that I somehow got inside of a game while holding my fiancée's hand?"

Satsuki paused as he mumbled something under his breath, and Ranma was surprised when a little screen popped into being in front of the little sprite with a picture of the golden bracelet Akane had been wearing on her wrist on it, "It is theoretically possible if he was wearing one of these."

Ranma looked at him with wide eyes, maintaining a form of cutesy appearance on the outside while her inside was grumbling about magic, "What else can you show me?"

Satsuki perked up and changed the screen and then his eyes bulged out on reading the information, "I… I can show you your status information about your body and life in this world, b…bbbut there is no way this is accurate. I can see your magic being ridiculously high because the system detected your Jusenkyo curse and all data I have access to says that those with a curse from Jusenkyo automatically have the system read that as magic potential and it takes a lot of energy to facilitate the conversion of one body into another and the storage, destruction, and creation of mass. But there is no way the rest of these are correct. You are only level zero but your stats are similar to if you were currently in the level thirty-five to forty range."

Ranma blinked as she made a fist and threw it forward in a punch, "My strength seems equal to what it was in my original body."

The poor little sprite blinked, "That is how the game decides your staring numbers. They are the same as your real life body, and if you should awaken then the stats from the game carry over into real life."

Ranma raised an incredulous eyebrow, "So you are telling me that I can get a lot stronger through playing a game?"

Satsuki nodded, "I don't see how that would be a concern for you considering all your stats are already in the thousands when my data suggests that an Olympic athlete should maybe be somewhere around a hundred and fifty or two hundred at the most."

Ranma nodded, "Sounds about right then."

Satsuki's eyes bugged out, "Are you telling me that you are better than an Olympic level athlete in real life?"

Ranma nodded with a cocky grin, "Well yeah. I am the best martial artist of my generation after all."

Satsuki sighed at her, "How did I end up getting the superhuman to lead around?"

Ranma shrugged, "Luck of the draw?"

Satsuki glared at her, "Very funny."

Ranma grinned, it was fun teasing the poor little sprite, but there were serious matters to attend to, "So… Why am I a girl? Is it my connection to Jusenkyo that did this?"

Satsuki blinked, "Wait, you aren't a girl in real life?"

Ranma shook her head, "Not unless I have been splashed by cold water, and I hadn't changed before I came here."

Satsuki groaned as he went searching for the relevant data, and what he found caused his eye to twitch, "Your magic stat is so high because you have more than one curse on you, and the system traced your existence back to the point where you would have no curses on you and gave you a body based on that with some randomization thrown in."

Ranma's eyes widened in shock, "What do you mean? I grew up as a guy. I have been one all my life."

Satsuki winced, "That probably means that someone used magic to tamper with you before you were born."

Ranma almost asked who would have done such a thing, but she knew exactly who would have done such a thing, and her growl caused Satsuki to float away from her in fright, "Grrrrr… Pops. When I get my hands on him…"

Satsuki winced, "Is there anything else you want to know?"

Ranma sighed, tabling the issue for later consideration, "Did I just pop out o' nowhere in this world, or am I taking over someone else's life?"

Satsuki pulled up the information, "You should have been able to customize that information yourself. Oh boy, I am gonna get so many headaches from this."

Ranma raised an eyebrow, "I didn't realize game programs could get headaches."

Satsuki sighed, "They can if they are made using a magical coding language, and… what the… Apparently your name in this world is Kazuya Aki, and you are the engaged daughter of a wealthy nobleman. You are seventeen and today you will be going in to town to take part in the coming of age ceremony where you will be getting a unique power from the goddess."

Ranma's shocked face was priceless, "What do you mean engaged?"

Satsuki shrugged, "That is what it says."

Ranma's eyes narrowed, "And just who am I engaged to?"

Satsuki scratched his head, "Uh, it says here that you are engaged to the orphaned son of one of your father's best friends and business associates. His name is Ryoga Hibiki."

Ranma stared at him blankly for a moment, before bursting into tears because she was laughing so hard, "Hehehehe, Ryoga, hehehehehehe, that's rich, hehehehehe, hahahahahahahaha."

Satsuki scratched his little blond head, "I'm confused."

Ranma looked at him, mirth dancing in her eyes, "Private joke, hehehehehe."

Satsuki twitched, "Okaayyy. Moving on. Is there anything else you want know?"

Ranma nodded, calming down from her laughing fit, "Two things, is it possible for someone's soul to be trapped in this world, and should I use my real name or the one this 'game' gave to me?"

Satsuki rubbed at his chin almost like he had a beard, and Ranma had to admit that even just a little bit that it looked kind of cute, "It is possible for an awakener's soul to be trapped in this world, though if that happens they die in real life. As for your name thing, based on the data I have available to me proper game etiquette is to use your in game name when you are in the game."

Ranma/Kazuya nodded, "Makes sense, I guess, but what exactly is an awakener?"

Satsuki rubbed the back of his head, "It is a condition, I guess, where your in game stats carry over into real life and there is a fairly good chance that items can be brought back and forth with you as well. It seems that you have already unintentionally taken advantage of that."

Ranma/Kazuya blinked, "Say what now."

Satsuki tilted his head, "That pendant on your neck. It is a legendary level cursed item from the real world."

Ranma/Kazuya's eyes widened on seeing her necklace, it was a small phoenix-like pendant attached to a silver chain around her neck, "I had a feeling it was cursed so I threw it into the river when I got it. So how is it on my neck and in what way is it cursed?"

Satsuki winced, "It is bound to your existence so you can never get rid of it, it makes it so that any one attack will leave you at an absolute minimum of 1 hp, making you extremely hard to kill, and it increases your natural rate of regeneration to make you functionally immortal."

Ranma/Kazuya's eyes widened even further in shock, "Iiiiiimmortal…"

Satsuki nodded, "Most people would consider immortality to be a blessing, but for some reason it is classified as a curse."

Ranma/Kazuya's eyes narrowed at him, "Immortality is a curse, never growing old, having to live while everyone you know and love around you dies, that is torture."

Satsuki winced, "I don't exactly get what you mean there, but your natural rate of health regeneration is still ridiculous like the rest of your stats."

Ranma/Kazuya sighed, "How is it ridiculous?"

Satsuki pulled up her stat screen again, "Your natural rate of regeneration is one health point every ten seconds which again simulates your ridiculous body's real life capabilities, and your currently unranked pendant boosts that to eleven health points regenerated every ten seconds. It also boosts mana and stamina regeneration in the same way."

Ranma/Kazuya sighed, "I don't know much about games, but the way you are talking makes it sound like I am cheating."

Satsuki shrugged, "I wouldn't consider it cheating if it is unintentional, but why so focused on souls and immortality?"

Ranma/Kazuya shook her head, "I don't think you would understand, but someone I care about is in trouble. She is in a coma in the hospital, and I was able to tell that her soul was not inside her body, and I was wondering if it could be here instead."

Satsuki nodded, "It is possible, I guess, though I wouldn't necessarily bet on it."

Ranma/Kazuya formed a fist and pounded it against her bed, "Don't ask me how I know, but I do. Akane's soul is somewhere in this world, and I am going to find it."

Satsuki raised an eyebrow, "That is as good a motivation as any to do this I suppose. Now, with the knowledge I have been equipped with, you are gonna be intruded upon any moment now."

Ranma/Kazuya turned to him, only to find him gone, and then she watched as the doors opened and a pair of maids walked into the room. They bowed as one and said, "Mistress Kazuya, it is time for your bath."

Ranma/Kazuya sighed and decided to roll with it, "Thank you. Please lead the way."

She followed the two maids to a rather impressive western style bathroom, and the bathtub there was almost a small swimming pool it was so large. She figured it would be easiest to allow the maids to undress her and lead her over to the soapy water considering that when she almost resisted one of the maids seemed to glitch or something, and she didn't exactly want to be responsible for breaking someone's game considering the fact that much of the damage in Nerima was pinned on her in the first place.

She watched as the maids gathered up her clothes and left. She looked partially apprehensively and partially hopefully at the steaming water of the bath. She sighed when she got a foot in and no change happened. She kind of figured that would be the case with what her little guide had said so far, and she didn't quite know how to feel considering the rest of the fairy's revelations. So she decided to just soak in the water and enjoy it and the rest while she could.

It wasn't more than two minutes into her bath that the door banged open and she saw Ryoga standing there huffing and puffing. She smirked, "I was wondering how long it would take you to get here pork-for-brains."

Ryoga growled at her, "So it is you, Ranma. What is with this Kazuya business?"

Ranma/Kazuya smirked, "You didn't get a guide who could explain things to you?"

Ryoga sighed, "I did, but he was just talking nonsense."

Ranma/Kazuya waved an arm around, "No he wasn't, we are currently in a game where our characters' back stories are that we are engaged to be married."

Ryoga growled, though it was more one of confusion then anger, "How can you be talking about this so flippantly?"

Ranma/Kazuya shrugged, "Practice." She paused, "Hey, Satsuki, can you tell me why those maids haven't burst in here yet to drag him out?"

Ryoga confusedly grunted, "Huh?"

His eyes bulged out on seeing Ranma/Kazuya's fairy fade into existence with an uncomfortable look on his face, "You two are engaged in this world, and they maid code that they are based on says that the customers, who are you two, is always right and are free to do whatever they want in their own home."

Ranma/Kazuya sighed pinching the bridge of her nose, "I guess I didn't want to know the answer." She looked back at Ryoga, "Hey, Ryoga, want to get in the bath?"

Ryoga sighed, "Sounds better than having those weird butlers chasing after me again."

She smirked and closed her eyes to enjoy the peaceful feeling the bath was giving her. She heard the rustling of clothes and felt the water move when Ryoga got in. She smirked at his intake of breath when the bubbles moved enough for him see a slight problem with his current predicament that the absent minded boy had failed to register earlier.

Ryoga stuttered out, "R-r-r-ranmaaaa, h-h-how are you still a g-g-g-girl? Th-th-this is hot w-w-water."

Ranma/Kazuya sighed, whether in anger or sorrow Ryoga couldn't tell, "Apparently the body I got in this magic game world is based on what I would have looked like if Pops hadn't screwed up my life even worse."

Ryoga carefully kept his eyes on his rival's face, not admitting to or acknowledging the concern in his eyes, "What do you mean?"

Ranma/Kazuya sighed again as she opened her eyes and looked at Ryoga, "Pops apparently used magic on me before I was born to make me a boy, and if it hadn't been for him I would have been living as a girl all these years."

Ryoga's eyes widened in shock, "You mean…"

Ranma/Kazuya nodded, "If there had been no magic in my life I probably would have looked similar to this, and I am naturally a girl and not a guy."

Ryoga made a move to get out, "I-I-I am terribly sorry then."

Ranma/Kazuya rolled her eyes, "Sit down, Ryoga. Just because I am naturally a girl, I am not gonna start accusing you of perversion or something because you saw me when we were bathing."

The blushing Ryoga moved over to the opposite side of the large bath and sat down on the underwater bench so he was in up to his neck again, "What are we gonna do?"

Ranma/Kazuya sighed and rested her head on the side of the tub again, "I figure that Akane's soul is somewhere in this world and we are going to find it and rescue her. Even though it isn't much of a plan, how does that sound?"

Ryoga blinked, his blush still not subsiding, "That isn't exactly what I was referring to, but that is taken care of I guess."

Ranma/Kazuya looked at him with a raised eyebrow and crossed her arms under the water, "What were you referring to?"

Ryoga scratched the back of his neck, "I was asking about what we were going to do when it came time to get out of the bath."

Ranma/Kazuya blinked then started laughing, "Hehehehehe, be, hehe, more specific, heheheh, next time."

Ryoga pouted and stuck his head under the water up to his nose, bubbles rushing from his nose to the surface of the water across his fiery red cheeks. He admitted privately within his mind that Ranma was beautiful when she laughed.