Daisuke and Hiroshi could only stare in disbelief as Miss Hinako introduced the green-haired girl standing next to her, wearing a female Furinkan student uniform.

Miss Hinako cleared her throat. "Everyone, we have a new exchange student. She will be attending our class for the next year. As you can see, she is a dryad, but please make her feel welcome just as if she wasn't a non-human."

"Hello everyone," June said with a smile and even bowed like a proper Japanese student would. "My name is June. I hope we all get along with each other."

"Very good," Miss Hinako said. "Now, there's an empty seat right next to Daisuke-kun. Please sit down so we can begin."

"Yes, sensei," June nodded and walked to the back of the class.

Daisuke and Hiroshi couldn't stop staring in disbelief. "June… what…?" Daisuke stuttered. "Just WHAT are you doing?"

June raised a finger to her lips as she sat down. "Shush now, we can talk later. Classes are about to start."

"Thank you, June," Hinako smiled. "I can see you're going to be a good influence on Daisuke-kun. Now, everyone open your books on page 24…"


After class, the three of them had a chance to talk. "I'm sure you guys are wondering what I'm doing here," June said in an amused manner.

"Yeah, no kidding," Daisuke grumbled. "You aren't even close to our age, so why the heck are you attending our school?"

"We dryads are ageless creatures," June said. "No one can really tell how old I am. And it's the perfect alibi for hanging out with you without having to use telepathy all the time, isn't it?"

"That is true," Hiroshi agreed. "Last time we did that, I nearly got in trouble with Miss Hinako. But won't you stand out?"

"Why would you say that?" she wondered. "I even decided to wear normal human clothing for once."

"Huh? Why wouldn't you wear normal clothing?"

Daisuke and Hiroshi nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard another voice directly behind them. They quickly turned around. "Oh, Ranma… it's you," Daisuke said nervously. "Um… how much of our conversation did you hear?"

"Not a lot of it," the pig-tailed boy shrugged. "I just came over to say hi." He grinned towards June. "Good to see you again."

She smiled. "Likewise, Saotome-san."

"So…" Ranma lazily put his hands behind his head. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Oh, not much…" Daisuke said. "Just that, um… June will probably stand out… because she's the only dryad at school."

"So what?" Ranma shrugged. "She still looks pretty much like a human. And she's not the only non-human at school, after all. There's Akiko, Ukyo, Nabiki…"

"Oh, you're right," Hiroshi nodded. "And Miyo, too."

Ranma was surprised. "What? Miyo's still coming to school?" He looked over to where the fortune teller was sitting, together with Gosunkugi. "And she's still a gorgon? I thought she'd figure out a way to turn back by now."

June took a closer look at the two warlocks. They were wearing their hoods over their school uniforms, and Miyo's snake hair was clearly visible underneath. She could also see that she was wearing a pair of glasses that looked like they were made out of amber or something similar.

"Looks like she decided to stay like this," June said. "And she even managed to acquire a pair of enchanted glasses to shield others from her petrifying gaze."

"Such a thing exists?" Ranma asked. "I didn't know that. But I'm really not very good at all this magical stuff anyway." He turned around to face June. "Hey, I was thinking… maybe you and I could have another spar?" He grinned. "That fight we had the other day really was awesome."

"I'll think about it, Saotome-san," June said. "But if we do that, we probably shouldn't go all out, or else we'd end up causing too much destruction." She smirked and twirled around her dirt rod. "And I probably don't wanna use this little thing either."

"Ha ha, I guess that's true," Ranma chuckled. "But please, just call me Ranma. All of my friends do."

The dryad smiled. "Very well, Ranma."

"So, um… speaking of destruction, I just wanted to warn you: Classes here at Furinkan aren't too bad, most of the time… but then there are some days when some crazy stuff just starts happening."

"Crazy stuff? What kind of stuff?" June asked.

"Oh, you know, the usual…" Daisuke made a vague hand motion. "People breaking through walls, chasing after their fiancees or wannabe-fiancees, martial artists starting fights, Miss Hinako draining your power…"

A sudden pink blur came zooming past them, faster than a magic missile. June felt someone snatching the dirt rod from her fingers and a high-pitched voice shouted: "Jerome!"

Ranma facepalmed with a groan. "Ooooor THAT could happen…"

June blinked. "Who… or what was that?" She stared down at her empty hands. "My dirt rod… who took my dirt rod?"

"Ranchan!" Ukyo came running on all fours, panting as she came to a stop next to the group. "Did you realize who just came past here?"

"Of course, I'd recognize Azusa Shiratori anywhere," Ranma grumbled.

"Yes, but she also got her hands on P-chan… I mean, Ryoga again," Ukyo said.

"Huh, I thought I heard something that vaguely sounded like 'bwee'." Ranma groaned. "How did that green knucklehead let himself get caught by her again?"

"I dunno, but it was definitely him," the worgen girl said. "I'd recognize that smell of bacon anywhere."

"Can anyone please tell me what's going on?" June said. "Who is this Azusa and why would she think that stealing a powerful magical artifact from a dryad would be a wise thing to do?"

"I don't think Azusa and the word 'wise' should be mentioned in the same sentence," Ukyo sighed. "She's a kleptomaniac who runs around stealing anything she finds cute, to add it to her collection. And whatever it is she stole from you, she has probably already given it a French nickname by now."

"But wait a minute…" Ranma realized. "If Ryoga's here… and Azusa has kidnapped him… that would mean…"

All of a sudden, Azusa came running back the opposite direction. This time, they all could see the little black piglet she was clutching to her bosom, together with June's rod and several other objects. Following her like a roaring beast was a female, green orc riding high atop a huge, rampaging boar. "Get back here and fight like a woman!" Akari yelled. "And give me back my Ryo-chan!"

"This is my Charlotte and she'll be mine forever and ever!" Azusa shouted back.

"Over my dead body!" Akari shouted as she spurred Katsunishiki. The giant boar let out a deafening squeal as he stormed through the corridors of the school, knocking down desks, breaking down doors and throwing any student aside that was unlucky enough to stand in his way. Fortunately, this was Furinkan, and most of the students were used to violent abuse in some way… the best example being the male students Akane used to beat up every morning coming to school.

"Should we even intervene?" Ranma asked. "Ryoga looks like he's doing okay, and Akari almost caught up to them anyway."

"You wanna risk endangering the whole school?" Ukyo asked. "By the time that happens, half of the classrooms will be wrecked! I'll try and reason with Akari, you stop that skating maniac."

"All right, fine," Ranma sighed, and the two martial artists ran off.

Daisuke and Hiroshi looked at each other. "Should we try and do something as well?" Hiroshi asked.

"I don't know, I really don't want to risk getting trampled…" Daisuke said.

"You idiots, of course we're gonna do something!" June shouted. "That thief has my dirt rod, and I will make her rue the day she stole from a dryad!" The green-haired girl clenched her fists and growled angrily. Then, she took off her backpack and opened it. "Come on, you two. I've brought along some essences and orbs… but I can't use them without the Vault Keeper's permission. What do you think would help most in this situation?"


Meanwhile, Ukyo had managed to almost catch up with Akari and Katsunishiki. "Hey!" she shouted while running alongside the giant boar. "What do you think you're doing? You're destroying everything!"

"I don't care!" Akari shot back. "I'm not stopping until that puny little pinkskin drops my darling Ryoga! I'll crack her flimsy little skull with my bare fists, I'll nail her innards to the ceiling, I'll…"

It was a good thing the essence that changed Akari also changed everyone's perception of her, or else Ukyo wouldn't have recognized the sweet, kindhearted pig farmer underneath the aggressive behavior of the raging orc woman she has become. But even though she knows that Akari only acts like this because of her love and worry for Ryoga, she still could not let her continue on like this.

"If you won't listen to reason, I'll have to pin you down until you've calmed down," Ukyo snarled as she leapt onto Katsunishiki's back. The giant boar squealed as he felt the worgen's sharp claws, but he stubbornly kept running ahead as his mistress commanded.

Ukyo wrapped her arms around Akari's upper body. "Come on, stop this pig before someone's getting hurt."

"Get your hairy arms off me or I'll skin you like the mangy wolf you are!" Akari growled and struggled against Ukyo's grip. The two bestial women wrestled with each other, while the giant boar kept storming ahead.


"Dangit, I lost her," Ranma muttered as he ran through the different corridors and classrooms of Furinkan High. He could easily see where Azusa and Akari came through, either by the destruction or the missing objects the kleptomaniac figure skater took. He ran outside to the school's sports field and noticed right away that one of the basketball hoops was missing. "How much can that girl carry around at once?" he sweatdropped.

Just then, he heard soft sobbing. It was coming from one of the small sheds next to the field, where some of the school's sports equipment was stored. He carefully approached the closed door and knocked. "Hello? Anybody in there?"

"G-go away…" a female voice sniffled.

"I recognize that voice…" Ranma muttered and slowly opened the door.

"GAH!" The figure crouching on the floor raised her arms in front of her face. "Close it, close it! The sun… the sun burns!"

Ranma quickly stepped inside the cramped little shed and closed the door behind him. In the darkness, he could barely make out the girl's face. "Tatewakiko? What are you doing in here?" he asked.

"R… ranma-darling?" she vampire princess sniffled. "Is that you? Oh, my beloved… it was so terrible… waaaaah!" Tears gushed forth from her eyes as she clung to the pig-tailed martial artist. Ranma felt a bit uneasy, but he patted her head softly, making sure she would not be able to reach his neck with her fangs.

"Um… there, there. Everything's going to be fine. What's the matter?"

"She… she stole my parasol," Akiko whimpered. "The parasol I always need to get outside when it's daytime. That menace on rollerblades… she took it from me." She sniffled again. "Of course, I could easily defeat her. I am, after all, the bluebell of Furinkan High, Tatewakiko Kuno! But… she caught me off-guard… and without my parasol… I really can't do anything. Without it, I can't come to school… I can't even step out of the shadow without being hurt. The sunlight hurts so much, darling…"

"All right… there must be something here we can use to get you to safety," Ranma said, looking around. "There… one of those old sport mattresses should be enough. I'll hold it over your head while you go somewhere safer. Is that okay?"

"Oh, my beloved Ranma!" The young vampiress gazed up into Ranma's face with sparkling eyes full of gratitude. "You are my hero! My knight in shining armor! My…"

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get on with it," Ranma sighed. He knew Akiko would see this as an even bigger reason to pester him with adoration… but if there's anything he was unwilling to do, it's leaving a young girl in distress. No matter if she was a human or vampire.


"This one? Are you certain?" Hiroshi asked.

Daisuke nodded as he picked up the bottle with the brown essence within. "Definitely! She's a nuisance because she's so fast on those rollerblades of hers, always zipping around and taking everyone's stuff. So, if we can ensure she's a lot slower and heavier, she won't be such a big menace for Nerima anymore."

"And we'll be doing our town another great favor," Hiroshi smiled. "Good thinking, Dai." They bumped their fists. "Still… there's one problem."

"Huh?" Daisuke asked. "What's that?"

"How are we even going to get close to her to give her the essence?" Hiroshi wanted to know. "We're not even close to her speed."

Daisuke smirked. "Once again, you underestimate me, Hiro… me and the power of science! Behold, my latest invention!" He reached into his bag and pulled out a small contraption. "The GRAPPLING HOOK!"

For a moment, there was silence.

"Um, dude?" Hiroshi spoke up. "You didn't invent the grappling hook. That's something that already exists."

"Do you have to rain on my parade like that?" Daisuke sighed. "I know it exists, I just wanted to sound cool. Besides… there's one special thing about this grappling hook that other grappling hooks don't have."

"And that is…?" Hiroshi asked.

Daisuke pulled another one out of his bag, looking exactly like the first one. "You can fire TWO at the same time!"

Hiroshi facepalmed.

"Are you two done fooling around?" June asked as she approached them. "I know where the skating girl is… and it's in the exact opposite direction to where Ranma ran. Which means, we're going to do this ourselves."

"How do you know that?" Daisuke asked. "Did you put a tracking device on her or something?"

"Dai, this isn't James Bond…" Hiroshi muttered.

The uniformed dryad smiled. "Close. The Dirt Rod is a powerful ancient dryad artifact, so naturally, every dryad can feel its presence. As long as she has it, I know where she is. Now get those little tools of yours and the essence ready… we've got ourselves a rollerblader to catch!"

Not too long after that, the trio found Azusa in the school library. The place was a mess, books were strewn all over the floor. Azusa was standing in front of one of the shelves, thumbing through several books and then carelessly tossing them behind. She managed to do that despite holding onto a huge pile of stolen goods, including a battered-looking P-chan who still struggled against her iron grip. Ryoga despised his cursed form more than ever, now that it was even smaller and weaker than his natural orc form.

"Just hold still for a bit longer, little Charlotte," Azusa giggled. "Once we're at home, I'll show you this ADORABLE little pink bow that will make you look all pretty."

The mighty orc trapped inside the body of a small piglet wished nothing more than to pound Azusa's brainless little head into the ground.

"We could just get some hot water and toss it over them," Hiroshi whispered as the looked around the corner. "Then we can leave everything to Ryoga."

"Until he gets splashed with cold water again," June whispered back. "Besides, didn't your plan involve freeing Nerima from the Azusa menace once and for all?"

"She's right," Daisuke nodded. "So, gentlemen… get your weapons ready." He raised his grappling hook with a grin.

"Dai, you're acting weird again," Hiroshi muttered. "I'm going to let Sayuri-chan have another talk with you. Besides, I'm the only one with another grappling hook, so why the plural?"

Daisuke waved his objections aside. "Details, details. A true scientist doesn't let himself be distracted by that. Now, my friend, ready your tool… aim… and fire!"

"W-wait, what?" Hiroshi stuttered. "Just give me a sec, I'm not ready yet…"

But Daisuke wasn't willing to wait. He stood up straight, aimed his device at the kleptomaniac and pressed a button. The big hook at the front of the device flew at her, dragging a long chain behind. The chain wrapped itself around Azusa's upper body, including everything she was holding.

"BWEEEE!" P-chan let out a strangled squeal as the air was pressed even further out of his lungs.

"Ah! You can't do that to little Azusa!" The figure skater struggled against the iron chains, which curiously managed to wrap themselves exactly around the curves of her supple chest. "You big meanie… I'll just take this with me, too." She took off abruptly, skating along the bookshelves… and pulling Daisuke off his feet as he was dragged behind her.

"Aaaaaaaaah!" the hapless inventor screamed as he was pulled through piles of book. He spit out a bit of paper. "Hiiiroooo… why didn't you fire the goddamned hook?"

"I told you I wasn't ready!" Hiroshi shouted. He raised his own grappling hook and took aim, but the fast skater was already out of reach. "I'll have her in a moment, just hold on."

"What does it look like I'm doooooing?" Daisuke screeched as he was pulled around a corner. He hit a big shelf that was still filled with several heavy books… which promptly all fell down on his head. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Hiroshi started running, trying to intercept Azusa on the other side of the library. When he saw her zipping past, he took aim again and fired.

Azusa gasped when the chain wrapped itself around her head, effectively gagging her and blocking her vision. "Mmmmmmph!" she mumbled around the chain gag. "Mmmmmmmph!"

"Now we got her!" Hiroshi pumped his fist… not noticing that Azusa hadn't really slowed down at all. She zoomed past him… and then he got yanked off his feet as she dragged him after her as well. "Not meeee toooooo!" he yelled.

"What the heck are you doing?" Daisuke shouted. "You were supposed to save me, not imitate me."

"It's not my fault your devices aren't working the way they are supposed to," Hiroshi shouted back. "What a load of junk!"

"Hey!" Daisuke yelled angrily. "You can insult an inventor, but never insult his babies… OW!" His head collided with the corner of a bookshelf, making him see stars. "Oooooh…" he groaned. "That's… my new inspiration…"

Suddenly, Azusa let out a short yelp as she stopped and fell to the ground, directly on top of everything she was holding. Hiroshi and Daisuke slid past her… and slammed directly into one of the empty bookshelves. Which was fortunate, because otherwise, every book would have probably fallen on their heads.

Hiroshi rubbed his head with a groan and stood up on shaky legs. "What… what happened?" he mumbled. He looked at Azusa… and saw that her legs were tightly bound with several vines that suddenly grew out of the library floor.

June casually strolled around the corner. "You guys are idiots, you know that? If you're trying to stop a rollerblader, then why don't you aim for her legs? You're very lucky I'm here to do your job for you."

"Wait… that was you?" Hiroshi asked. "Those vines?"

June rolled her eyes. "Duh! I'm a dryad, remember? That means I have control over plant life. The Dirt Rod is just an artifact I like to use. Speaking of which…" She stepped over several books, rolled the entangled Azusa on her back and with a yank, made all the loot she was holding fall on the ground. While Ryoga did his best impression of a bacon-flavored pancake, June picked up her Dirt Rod.

"That'll teach you not to mess with a dryad!" she spat, staring daggers at the kleptomaniac.

Azusa just struggled against the vines and chains, but to no avail.

Hiroshi helped his buddy to his feet. It took Daisuke some time to fully regain consciousness. "So… you still got the bottle?" Hiroshi then asked. "Please don't tell me it got cracked…"

"N-no, I still have it here," Daisuke muttered. "If only the room would stop spinning…"

Hiroshi took the bottle from his friend and knelt down next to Azusa.

"This isn't something we usually do," he said with a grim expression. "But you've been a complete menace for Nerima for some time now. And even though you don't seem to be the brightest bulb in the shed… your stupidity doesn't excuse your actions. Today, Furinkan nearly got wrecked because of you. So… consider this your punishment." He moved the chains covering her face out of the way, and before she could say anything, he opened the bottle and put it on her mouth, forcing her to swallow a bit of the essence.

Satisfied, Hiroshi stood back up and looked down at her. "You may not remember any of this after your change, but your days of zipping around Nerima on rollerblades are over!"

He closed the bottle, which was labeled 'Essence of Goron'.

Over the next few minutes, Hiroshi, Daisuke and June watched Azusa's transformation. Her body gained a lot of bulk and her skin turned rough like gravel. Her cute face stretched into a broad mouth filled with robust teeth that could chomp down on rocks. Her luscious hair completely disappeared and her womanly curves were replaced with a tubby tummy, stocky legs and muscular arms. The chains wrapped around her body started to crack under the weight of her stone-like body.

"I'd feel bad for her," Daisuke said. "Except that she won't remember a thing. So in her eyes, she's always been like this."

"Is she even a she anymore?" Hiroshi wondered. "That body doesn't look like a woman's body at all."

"Honestly, I can't say for sure," June shrugged. "Goron biology has always been a mystery for the scholars. Some say there entire race consists of males only. Others say that they don't even have a gender."

"N-n-no…" Azusa moaned weakly as she slowly stood up. "All my precious darlings… Charlotte… Jerome… Antoinette… I need to take you home." Her voice sounded exactly as it did before, high-pitched and bubbly.

"So she's still a kleptomaniac," Daisuke noticed. "But at least she won't be able to run away very fast with these." He pointed at her stubby legs and chuckled.

Azusa glared at him. "You big meanie! I'll show you I don't need any legs to get away from you…" She reached down to pick up the half-conscious P-chan and her other stolen goods… but then, a pair of muscular legs kicked her out of the way. With a squeak, Azusa rolled over the floor like a bowling ball and crashed into the empty bookshelf, which started wobbling, fell down on her head… and promptly broke in two.

"Get your rocky hands off my Ryo-chan!" Akari grunted as she pulled her leg back. She looked at the other girl who helped her kick the pilfering Goron out of the way with a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"Hey, no problem," Ukyo replied with a toothy grin. "Just make sure not to rampage around school the next time you're trying to help your fiance."

Azusa pushed her way out of the pile of wood and books she was standing in. She started to sniffle and her lower lip was trembling. She pointed a stubby finger at the two boys, the dryad, the worgen and the orc. "Y-you… you're all just a bunch of meanies! I'll show you… I'll… I'll tell big bro about what you did! And then you'll be sorry!" She started running, as fast as her little legs could carry her, did a small hop… and then she rolled her whole body up into a round, boulder-like shape which she used to quickly roll out of the library.

Daisuke and Hiroshi stared after her.

"Did she just…?"

"I think she did…"

"And she wasn't slow… not at all!"

"I think she was even faster than before…"

They both turned to look at June.

She grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head. "Oh, right… I forgot, that's something Gorons can do. That must have slipped my mind. Sooorryyy…"


At the skating rink, Mikado Sanzenin was practicing his ice skating skills, when suddenly, a big, round came rolling over the ice, coming directly at him, while a shrill voice shouted: "Biiig brooooooo!"

All of his skills as a skater were not enough to save Mikado from getting tackled by the rolling object, which unfurled into the crying form of his friend, Azusa Shiratori. She tacked him with a massive Goron hug… which felt more like an avalanche of rocks slamming into his body. As both of their bodies stumbled to the slick ice floor, Mikado saw nothing but stars for a moment.

"Ooooooooh… Azusa, look at what you've done!" the then started to rant. He pointed at the ice rink, where the young Goron had created a deep fissure in the ice. "You've completely ruined everything! Now I can't continue practicing. I hope you're happy…"

"But… but Mikado…" Azusa sniffled. "Big bro… they were sooo mean to me."

Mikado stood up with a groan. "What are you talking about? Who was mean?"

"The meanies from Furinkan!" Azusa screeched. "They pushed me around and wrapped me up in chains and used me like a soccer ball… go beat them up for me, big bro!"

"Please stop calling me that," Mikado said, shaking his head. "Let me guess: You stole a lot of things from their school, didn't you? Again…"

"No!" Azusa pouted. "Well, I took a couple of things… but those were the cute things that belonged only to Azusa!" She crossed her arms, trying to look as adorable as a Goron could.

Mikado sighed. "Listen, Azusa… we've been friends for a long time now. But I can't help you if you keep rolling around, stealing all the time. It's going to end with trouble for you… and for me, if you keep this up."

"But Mikaaadoooooo!" Azusa whined. "You have to help me. You're my friend, my big bro, and… we'll be partners some day, yes?" She looked at him with gleaming eyes. "One day, you'll teach me how to skate, will you?"

"Azusa, we went over this," Mikado said. "You can't be an ice skater. Your feet aren't the correct size to wear skates, your body is way too heavy… I mean, just take a look at what you did to the skating rink." He pointed at the fissure she created. "You are a Goron. And Gorons aren't meant to be ice skaters. Just… play soccer, or something like that. Or maybe that barbaric, American sport… what was it called again? Rugby?"

"Th… that was just an accident," Azusa cried. "Please, big bro… I can change, I promise! I won't wreck everything I touch… I just wanna be an ice skater sooo baaaad…" Tears started streaming down her rocky face. "It's my big dream… you and I, skating together on the ice… as the Golden Pair… it's going to be so beautiful…"

"I'm sorry, Azusa," Mikado said as he left the ice. "But that is something that is never going to happen."

Azusa curled up into a miserable ball of sorrow and cried her little eyes out.


Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

The Dryad (NPC) and everything Terraria belongs to Re-Logic.

Derpy Hooves and My little Pony belongs to Hasbro.

Wonder Woman belongs to DC Comics.

World of Warcraft belongs to Blizzard.

The Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo.

Dungeon Keeper belongs to Bullfrog Productions.

Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo.