Spirits of the World: Dual Reality

by Dingo T. Wilds

Her curse was locked, she was disowned by her parents, betrayed by her friends. Ranma wandered the streets, merely existing until an opportunity appeared. When she took the job, she took one step closer to her revenge.

4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Test and the Sentence

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Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or Yu Yu Hakusho.

XxXxXxXx

Yusuke couldn't believe this. He was trapped in the mind of someone strong enough to make Enma, Lord of the Underworld, think twice about confronting her, and he had no idea what they were supposed to do. Kurama seemed to be pondering the four doors in front of the group as Botan seemed to be in the beginning stages of a freak out. Atsuko sighed as she tapped her knuckle on one of the doors, an unlit cigarette hanging from her mouth.

"I think," Kurama started as he pointed at the doors, "Behind each door there is a different piece of Ranma's core personality. Male, Demon, Child, Honor. From what I know about her past, each of these things are very much a part of her mental image of herself, no matter what she physically looks like."

"So we each chose a door and go through," Atsuko said, "So who goes where?"

"The Doors marked Male and Demon are most likely the most dangerous doors, so Yusuke and I should take those. Child seems to be the least dangerous, and Honor, well that can be dangerous on many levels that the others aren't," Kurama said as he gripped the handle for the Demon door, "I'll take this one, I've already experienced this side of her once, I should be able to handle it again."

"That leaves me and Botan the Child and Honor doors," Atsuko said as she turned to the ferry girl, "Which one you want?"

"I'll take the Child," Botan said as she chose the one door that didn't sound dangerous. It wasn't that she was a coward, but she knew what Ranma was capable of.

"Your funeral," Atsuko said as she threw open the door for honor and walked through. She knew what a hellion Ranma had been as a child, just from the brief visit she had made to her sister's home. She only hoped Botan didn't attempt to strangle whatever was behind the door. Yusuke shrugged as Botan began to freak out even more as he opened his door, and Kurama followed suite. All Botan could do was watch the three doors disappear, leaving the one marked Child. With a gulp, she slowly opened it and snuck in, hopefully not alerting whatever laid beyond it.

XxXxXxXx

With Ranma

XxXxXxXx

Ranma grinned as Kuwabara kept his friends close, thinking it would be safer to move in a group. He knew he was being watched, he could practically sense her. The three with him also had a good amount of potential, and it never hurt to have some back-up fighters. She knew who they were, she had been following them long enough to gather information, now it was time to play.

Kuwabara shivered as he heard the whisper of steel being drawn. He had watched more than enough samurai movies to know the sound, "Guys, get ready, that psycho Yusuke told me about might be here!"

Kirishima, a tall boy with dirty blond hair, looked around the empty street, "You sure that Urameshi ain't pulling your leg?"

"She attacked him with a sword! I just heard something that sounded like a sword being drawn!" Kuwabara retorted, his eyes scanning the alleyways.

"I don't get it, if this psycho is real, what's she want with you?" the boy with a shaved head, Sawamura, asked.

"Maybe she's trying to prove she the best," the last boy, Okubo said as he glanced down the street anxiously, "I mean, Urameshi said he only slashed him once before leaving right?"

"Yeah," Kuwabara muttered, "I still don't want to get sliced up by a sword though!"

"Completely understandable," a girl's voice said from the middle of the group, "But unfortunately you hold too much potential for me to leave you alone."

The four boys whirled around as they saw a short redheaded girl with a sword held at her side. She grinned, a frightening grin that filled them with fear. Suddenly she disappeared from the middle of the group and caused them to jump.

"Alright, I'll give you a chance. Run. If you escape, you won't feel the bite of my blade," the girl's voice carried with the wind.

Kuwabara's eyes widened as he turned to his gang, "Let's get going!"

Ranma watched as the four boys took off together. They had decided to stick together, so they had some loyalty. It was time to see how far that loyalty would go.

XxXxXxXx

Kurama walked through the darkness behind the door, his senses sharp and his guard up. His surroundings seemed to mimic a rocky cave, and his eyes could pick up movement that was always happening just out of sight. He knew it was here, and it knew that he knew, but it stayed just out of sight. So he kept walking, following the path.

The attack came suddenly from his left, probing his reflexes as he rolled forward. More attacks followed as Kurama continued to move forward. As he ducked, dodged and rolled out of the way, he recognized the intent behind the attacks. This 'Demon' did not consider him a threat, in fact it matched the behavior of neko demons everywhere, cementing Ranma's claim. He was currently acting as a mouse in a game of 'Cat and Mouse.' And he didn't like it.

He took off in a dead run as fast as he could as the cat became more interested in its new 'toy', the attacks coming in faster and from all sides. The long cave suddenly opened up into a large cavern with what seemed to be a deep pool of water covering over half of it. The sound of claws on stone alerted him to the coming danger, and Kurama leapt back as the cat demon landed where he had been.

Its large animalistic form shrunk down slowly from the size of an elephant to a human shape, putting him on the defensive. Its fur patterns reminded him more of a tiger than a house cat, or even a feral cat. He couldn't take any chances. The figure suddenly disappeared as Kurama felt a pair of arms drape over his shoulders and voice purred into his ears, "Oh my, why are you so tense Yoko? Has it really been long enough for you to forget me?"

"Matabi, I should have recognized your scent when I fought Ranma. Why are you here?"

The tigress's weight pulled away from his back as she slunk around until she was in front of him. She had barely changed since she disappeared thirteen years ago. Her wild mane of blood red hair matched the red and black tiger stripped 'bikini' she 'wore' to protect her 'modesty'. Her ears flicked back and forth in annoyance as her tail swished back and forth in a long slow motion. The only real change, it seemed, was that her body had matured and the 'little sister' to his band of thieves had grown up.

"After all these years that's the first thing you say to me? I'm hurt," She said as she turned away from him, crossing her arms and sniffing, "And here I was trying to make my host's challenge easy for at least one of you."

"Look Matabi, I apologize, but this is a dangerous situation for us. How much danger are the others in?" Kurama asked as he stayed where he was.

Matabi sighed, she knew that when he was on a mission, he wouldn't allow himself to be distracted, "The boy is going to get the shit beat out of him and the ferry girl is going to end up getting worn out. Honestly the woman is in the most danger."

"I figured, but Atsuko is also the most suited for dealing with that aspect." Kurama said as he relaxed, "Tell me Matabi, why have you merged with Ranma? Every one of us searched for you for months before we disbanded. Not long afterward I was forced into my spirit form by a Demon Hunter and I fled to the Human World, but I never expected to find you in such a state."

"The Neko-Ken ritual." Matabi stated as she moved forward, stopping directly in front of him. He noted that she was Ranma's height and it seemed like a lot of their physical features had been blended together. They looked almost like sisters. Matabi looked him in the eye and continued, "I was mad that you guys wouldn't take me on that raid with you and decided to visit the human world. As a low C Class, it was easy enough to get through. With me being attached to your reputation, not to mention how much like a kitten I looked like, I was mostly ignored by the other demons. So I started to wander around when I felt something draw me into the woods."

Kurama felt his heart drop as he realized what happened, "You were drawn to the ritual site and bound to Ranma when she was a child."

"Yep!" She chirped as she leaned forward, "While I can only take over when Ranma goes berserk from fear or when she would let me take control, such as one time where Ranma had hit his head and I took over making him act like a girly girl to freak everyone out. I decided to be like a big sister to the kid, I even managed to influence the Jusenkyo magic to make her girl form look like me."

"An admirable feat from what I've heard about the place."

"Not really, the old dragon want Ranma to turn into a girl, it didn't care what the girl form looked like. Normally that change just draws on the traits hidden in the blood, but I was able to tweak it a little." Matabi said as she leaned in even closer, pressing herself against Kurama.

Kurama went as red as his hair as his so called 'little sister' spoke, "I told you once I was old enough that you would be mine. Even if I have to share you with Ranma, I haven't forgotten."

"How much longer do I have to stay here?"

"Until the others finish."

Kurama cold on break out in a cold sweat as Matabi's grin turned predatory once more, 'I hope the others finish up soon!'

XxXxXxXx

The fat one, Okubo, was the first to fall. He lagged behind the others due to his weight and slow pace, but they never went far enough ahead to lose him. They didn't even know she had caught up until he had screamed in pain. The others turned to see him fall forward as the redheaded girl grinned and flicked his blood off of the blade.

"One down," she whispered as the three rushed her. Kirishima and Sawamura charged her, forcing her away from Okubo as Kuwabara, in an impressive display of strength, hoisted the downed boy in a fireman's carry. He turned and fled as Kirishima and Sawamura quickly followed, though Kirishima was cradling his profusely bleeding arm as the girl disappeared from sight again.

"Two down," her voice echoed through the empty street.

XxXxXxXx

Yusuke gulped as he found himself in a forest clearing, obviously set up like a campsite. It was defiantly used, the fire was going, a tent sat near it, and he could feel the eyes of someone on him. He started to turn in place, trying to locate the source of the feeling, only to feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight. Following his gut instinct, Yusuke threw himself onto the ground as a vicious spin kick scythed through the air where his torso had been.

"Good instincts Ghost Boy, looks like you won't be to disappointing of a fight after all." A male voice said, its cocky tone and demeanor automatically pissing Yusuke off. Jumping to his feet, Yusuke glared at what could only be Ranma's old male form. It only made sense as he looked like her twin.

"What's the big idea?!" Yusuke roared, "Do you greet everyone you meet by trying to break their spines?"

"Cool your head, nothing I do to ya here will affect your real body." The male Ranma said as he cracked his knuckles, "Besides, I was hopin' to get a crack at you. We heard about your little punk ass over in Nermia."

Yusuke started backing up as he remembered who this person in front of him really was. Just like everyone had apparently heard of him, he had heard of Ranma Saotome, even before Botan pulled her file. Everyone knew of the Nermia Wreaking Crew, and apparently if Ranma Saotome wanted to fight you, the only thing you could do was resign yourself to losing, because that's the one thing Ranma Saotome doesn't do. There were a bunch of other weird rumors about the people that Ranma had fought, but he never really cared to follow up on any of those rumors or even really remember them. Ranma had been in high school and he had been busy keeping the gangs around Sarayashiki from jumping him.

"And what did I do to get your attention?" Yusuke said as he shifted slightly.

"Just heard you were a good street fighter for your age, figured if we ever came across you we could see if you would make a decent student." The male Ranma said with a shrug.

"You say we a lot, is this the royal 'we' or something else?"

"You saw the doors, you can figure it out pretty easy if you think about it."

"Split personalities?"

"Ya got it in one, even though the only two that can take over our body are Ranma and the Neko-ken Demon." The older boy said with a shrug as he grinned, "Honestly the damn cat hasn't shut up since we saw the red headed fox, she knew him before or something."

"So Kurama picked the easy door then?" Yusuke asked as the older boy cocked his head to the side.

With a grin the older boy chuckled, "He's already passed her test, so I would say yes."

"I'm screwed aren't I?"

"Yep."

"And you're going to enjoy this, aren't you?"

"Oh maliciously."

"Shit." Was all Yusuke said as Ranma blurred forward, his fist burying itself into Yusuke's stomach. Yusuke was set flying as the male Ranma followed. Scrambling to his feet, Yusuke managed to get out of the way of another kick, but Ranma managed to grab his leg and swung him around. Rolling when he landed back where he had begun, Yusuke quickly realized something. This Ranma wouldn't give him time to think, only act. He could deal with that.

The highly one-sided fight continued on in this manner, Yusuke barely getting out of the way of one attack only to get tossed around the clearing or laid flat by the next one. The male Ranma wasn't letting up and, over the long minutes, seemed frustrated that he couldn't find what he was looking for. After about ten minutes of this, Ranma pulled back, staring down at the battered Yusuke.

Yusuke was already forming several bruises and he felt like he had been mugged by every gang he had ever beaten at once. His left wrist felt broken, his right eye was slowly swelling shut, and his right leg quivered every time he put weight on it. And the Male Ranma looked less than impress.

"Bah, and here I thought you could pass the test," he scoffed before turning away, "But you fail to impress. What a weakling."

Something inside of Yusuke snapped at that point as adrenaline dulled the pain and his eyes locked onto the older boy's form. With speed he didn't know he possessed, Yusuke went on the offensive. The older boy dodged each strike easily, making Yusuke angrier, which made him focus on decking the older boy. He focus made him tune out the things that didn't matter, such as the dull throb of his injuries and the taunts thrown at him.

Yusuke kept going though, with only one goal on his mind. And that goal was to place his fist squarely in the middle of Male Ranma's face. The more Male Ranma dodged, the angrier Yusuke got. The Angrier Yusuke got, the faster he moved. Finally Yusuke managed to land a clean punch to the older boy's jaw, causing Male Ranma's head to snap to the side. Yusuke grinned as Male Ranma looked at his extended fist with more than a bit of shock. He had managed to land a hit on THE Ranma Saotome!

Then Ranma disappeared causing the younger boy to gape before Yusuke felt something hammer into his stomach again. Yusuke began to black out from the pain.

As the world faded around him, Ranma reappeared over him, "Good job punk, this has to be the first test you've ever passed."

All Yusuke could do was weakly flip him off before he passed out. Male Ranma could only shake his head and chuckle, "Good luck kid, you're going to need it."

XxXxXxXx

Kuwabara huffed and puffed as he continued his charge, well aware that Kirishima and Sawamura were starting to fall behind. He felt Okubo shift and looked around. He needed to get the cuts Okubo and Kirishima received at least bandaged. Seeing an old warehouse where they would occasionally hang out, He ran to it, kicking the door open as he went.

Setting Okubo down and noticing the boy was starting to wake up, Kuwabara pulled the fat boy's jacket and shirt off of him. Using the ruined shirt to wipe off the blood he noticed something. He couldn't find the cut.

Turning to Kirishima, who was also covered in his own blood, he saw the wide eyed amazement on his face, the cut on his arm gone as well. But before they could even wonder what was going on, the redhead dropped from the ceiling, slashing Sawamura across the chest. As she stood up, Kuwabara's fist impacted with her stomach, throwing her across the warehouse.

XxXxXxXx

Botan squeaked as she glanced around the park she had found herself in. The tree she was hiding behind was a good size, but she still felt on edge. It was almost as if something was…

Botan shrieked as a figure shot out of the branches above her and she felt like she got tackled by a large animal.

"Tag! You're it!" a child's voice called out as Botan opened her eyes.

"Ah but I don't want someone else playing!" another voice whined as Botan eyed the two children. The one that had come out of the trees was a black haired boy of about six wearing a white gi and the other one was a redheaded girl of about the same age wearing a pair of overalls and a long sleeve shirt.

"But it gets boring if its only two people," the boy said, a grumpy look on his face as the girl pouted.

"I guess it's alright then..." the girl groused as she toed the ground. It was at this time Botan regained her ability to talk.

"Why are there two of you?" Botan asked, feeling a little faint.

"Well, it was just me for a really long time," the boy said before he smiled, "Then one day she showed up! She a little weird, being a girl and all, but we like playing the same games and stuff!"

Botan cringed as the boys comment set off the girl and a name calling fight started, "Maybe these two aren't only Ranma's child hood, but the split between what she had been told about gender roles? Her father is cruel enough to have caused such a split, even if only by accident."

As both children began repeating words, mostly ones that were synonymous for 'poo-poo head', Botan clapped her hands, "Alright you two, do you know anything about a test that I'm supposed to take?"

The children suddenly stopped as they remembered.

"Didn't Nee-chan tell us some one was supposed to play with us?" the girl asked as the boy nodded.

"Yep! Nee-chan said that whoever played with us had to win a game of hide and seek. That means…"

"YOU'RE IT!" the two children screamed as they dashed off into the playground.

"And don't forget to count to a hundred!" the girl called back as she stopped briefly, "And close your eyes!"

"Good grief, I choose babysitting duty," Botan groused as she did as she was told, "As if I don't get enough of that with Koenma."

Botan hummed a little tune as she mentally counted to a hundred before looking around. The park was actually pretty small, and she could see the two children attempting to hide in the same place. Sneaking over towards them, Botan heard them whispering.

"Why are we in the same spot?" the boy asked as the girl mumbled.

"Because I think she and her friends can help Nee-chan. If they can help Nee-chan…"

"Nee-chan will be happy." The boy sighed.

"You know Matabi-nee-chan wants to help and Kun-nii does too, even if he doesn't want to take it easy on ghost boy. But I want to help."

"I do too," the boy said before whining, but I want to play too!"

Botan felt slightly sorry for the two of them so she decided to play along, "Hmm, where could those two be?"

The two children froze as they heard her speak from right behind the crawl pipe they were hiding in, hearing her hand tap the side towards the end that the boy as near, "Maybe they're in …HERE! Oh, it's empty."

As Botan watched as the two giggling children ran in opposite directions, she sighed, "Well, this isn't too bad. It's actually kinda fun."

Lucky for her the children knew she was humoring them. She had passed their test, but they still wanted to play.

As the boy looked to the girl, who had rejoined him, he whispered, "We'll tell her after the other one finishes."

The girl only nodded before they scampered away shrieking in delight as Botan pounced over the bushes at them.

XxXxXxXx

Kuwabara considered himself a gentleman, someone who would never hit a girl. But when he saw his friend attacked by what he believed was a sword wielding psycho, he lost it. His first punch had thrown her across the room, where she laid, dazed by the unexpected attack. As he appeared over her, looking to curb stomp her, the dazed look vanished and was replaced with a pleased grin. She rolled away and looked around for her sword, spotting it across the warehouse where she had dropped it when the larger boy had hit her.

Making to go at the sword, Kuwabara tackled her. As they rolled across the floor, Ranma was able to throw him off only to come face to fist with Okubo, who was mostly recovered. It as a solid punch that would have floored almost anyone else, but it merely snapped Ranma's head to the side. Her retaliatory strike to the stomach sent him tumbling backwards. Sawamura and Kirishima charge in at her sides, but the found themselves narrowly avoiding each other as the girl disappeared again.

The ring of metal let them know she had the sword again as Kuwabara yelped in fright. The three boys turned to look as they saw Kuwabara struggling to hold Ranma's arms away from him so she couldn't just drop the sword on him. But then Ranma grinned, and the blade suddenly turned in her hands. Kuwabara howled in pain as the blade pierced his arm.

XxXxXxXx

Atsuko sighed as she followed the path before her to the large traditional home in the distance. She merely strolled forwards, taking in the scenery. She didn't worry about what she would face as it would cause pointless fretting. She could see what she was supposed to face, even at this distance.

The figure wore the traditional samurai armor of her birth clan, the Saotome Clan. Considering that Nodoka had made Genma marry into the family to keep it alive, it made since that her niece knew about the armor. The figure went through the motions of what seemed to be a daily ritual in cleaning the sword in its hands, a sword that bore resemblance to the family honor blade.

She stood at the edge of the small yard were the Samurai was facing outwards. The Samurai did not make any motion to acknowledge her and Atsuko was content to wait. She merely watched, observing the figure. After several minutes the figure stood, sheathing the blade before bowing slightly towards her.

"I thank you for not interrupting me. It shows that you do have some idea about why you are here."

Atsuko nodded, as she cupped her hands and lit her cigarette. The figure struck her as odd, the way it moved, the way it talked, , hell, even the way it sounded made her think that it had no gender. There was no inflection, no body language, or even tone that would lean one way or another.

"The test matters little to me, but I must follow through with the wishes of Ranma," the figure said, moving in front of her, "So here is my test, tell me, what am I?"

Atsuko stared at the figure before sighing, "You really don't care about this test do you? You're an ideal that has become so ingrained within my niece's life that you've become a part of her. You are Ranma's Aspect of Honor."

"You are correct," the figure said as its form began to change. Its armor tarnished before her eyes. It drew the honor sword only for the blade to shatter as it left the sheath, "I am Ranma's Honor. You have passed the required test set before you by Ranma, but I have a request for you. As you can see, this is my truest state of being. Ever since Ranma was betrayed, I have slowly become what you see before her."

"And you want me to set her straight."

"Yes."

"Impossible, Ranma is the only on that can decide what honor means to her." Atsuko said as she turned back down the path, "Besides, I'm the last person you should be asking for help."

"But that is what Ranma must learn. She still subconsciously believes that the definition of honor that was force fed to her during her entire life is what honor means."

Atsuko paused before exhaling a cloud of smoke, "I make no promises, but I'll see what I can do."

"This is all I ask." The figure said as it watched her walk away, "And thank you for hearing me out."

Atsuko sighed as she exited the door she had come through, "It seems like life is going to get more complicated from here on out."

XxXxXxXx

As Kuwabara cradled the stab wound, Ranma seemed to cock her head to the side. Ranma started to chuckle, muttering something about the test being over before turning to the four boys, "It looks like you weren't able to get away after all. All four of you should be experiencing the awakening of your true potential. If you want any more information, asking Urameshi."

Kuwabara gritted his teeth as the girl disappeared. He didn't know why she had attacked them, but if that punk Urameshi knew, he would find out as soon as they found him. The other three seemed to be of the same thought.

XxXxXxXx

Yusuke looked at the redhead as she stared back at him, grinning. He knew she knew what had happened, and she was laughing at him about it.

"Alright, you pass, I give." Ranma said as she held her hands up in surrender. The four of them had woken up in the lobby of the building that Ranma had been staying in, wary of the redheaded girl in front of them. Botan seemed to be shaking as she handcuffed Ranma, but she didn't resist as she was told to hold on and hauled off to the afterlife for her sentencing.

Atsuko watched as she lit her cigarette and sighed, "I'm going for a drink, you're on your own for dinner."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go over to Keiko's." Yusuke said as he waved her off, "You coming Kurama or do you have something else to do?"

"I could use something to eat," Kurama admitted as he followed Yusuke out. He knew Ranma wasn't going to be gone long, so why did he feel anxious over her absence? It wasn't like Enma could really do anything to her if what Koenma said was correct.

XxXxXxXx

Later That Evening

XxXxXxXx

Ranma didn't put up a fight as she was escorted from her cell by two ogres as she was lead down the hall to Lord Enma's office for her sentencing. She grinned as the doors open, Enma was grimacing. He knew that this was a farce and there was nothing he could really do thanks to the journal.

"Retrieve her possessions and leave them at the door," He said as the ogres bowed and left. Turning to her, Enma growled, "Your punishment, if we can really call it such, is that you are going to be put under house arrest. Like your cohorts, Hiei and Kurama, you will be required to assist the current Spirit Detective, one Yusuke Urameshi, with any case he requests your assistance with."

"So it's everything that we agreed on. Why did you even throw me in a cell? I haven't changed anything." Ranma snarked, if he really wanted to punish her he would have left her in the cell for a while longer.

"It is true that you haven't deviated from the plans you created, but you are only obeying the letter of our agreement, not the spirit." Enma said as Ranma felt something shift in her body. As she panicked, he continued, "Besides, being fourteen again will allow you to be on hand when Mr. Urameshi needs your assistance."

Ranma glared at the deity as he ignored her. Her clothes, which had been merely baggy, were now gigantic on her. She was swimming in the clothes, and Enma seemingly ignored that as he continued, "As for your new identity and where you'll be staying…"

XxXxXxXx

The Next Day

XxXxXxXx

Yusuke yawned as he walked through the door, bored and well rested after a long day of school. Today had been especially aggravating with the teachers giving him weird looks and asking if he knew about any new students were going to be coming soon. He told them he didn't know anything about that and skipped the last period to take a nap. He walked into the apartment, dropping his school bag at the door, and got a glass of water from the kitchen. Hearing the TV going in the living room, he figured his mom was home and tuned around. He ended up spraying his water all over the place when his saw a small red headed girl lounging on the couch next to his mom, glaring at the Sarayashiki Middle Girl's Uniform in her hand.

"What the hell is she doing here?!" Yusuke yelled, not afraid to admit she scare the shit out of him. Her male form pulverized him in that weird test of hers after all.

"I'm under house arrest, and since I'm required to be near you, that bastard Enma stuck me here," Ranma groused.

Noticing something off about her face, Yusuke leaned in close. Ranma growled and waved her smaller fist under his nose, "You try to kiss me and you'll get a beating worse than the last one."

Yusuke blinked, "Holy shit! Did you get younger? Or did you just shrink?"

That set Ranma off as she launched herself at Yusuke. The still younger boy yelped as she put him in a choke hold, "It's that bastard Enma's fault!"

All Atsuko could do was laugh as her son struggled to free himself from his much smaller cousin's grip. At least things would be lively around here and Yusuke had some who could pull his ass out of the fire. Looking over to where Ranma had just suplexed her delinquent son, all she could think of was the reaction of the school when they realized that the newest Urameshi was even worse than the first. The scene got even funnier when some of Yusuke's friends stopped in.

"Hey Urameshi! You said you would explain that weird shit after school, so we need to… WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE?!"

"Oh, it's the Carrot Top and his band of misfit goons."

"Damn it Kuwabara! Stop standing there and help get her off of me!"

Atsuko was positive that she would be in the hospital for bursting a blood vessel later, mainly because she was laughing hard enough to pop a couple at the sight of one tiny girl manhandling five larger boys with ease. Life was going to be more interesting in this household from here on out.

XxXxXxXx

Author's Note: I promised this would be out by the end of the month to a reader, and man I'm cutting it close. Couldn't really write the Atsuko and Botan scenes for the test, spent most of my time beating myself up on them, AND Microsoft Word is the epitome of stupidity when checking verbs tenses because it doesn't know how to read. Hell, having Ranma 'hunt' Kuwabara and his gang was the easiest part of this chapter to write! Pretty much I had everything but those two scenes written by the beginning of the month, but those two scenes refused to be written. I'm still not happy with either of them. Meh, maybe I can't hammer those out like I can a fight scene or odd humor. Anyone else shadow box a scene they're writing? Any ways, might have some other stories to update soon, depends on how life goes, so meh. Please, Read and Review!