Ranma woke up earlier than usual that morning. He made it a habit to wake up before his father, now. Today would be the day. Today...
"RISE AND SHINE, YUSUKE!" Ranma shouted, picking Yusuke up out of bed and throwing him outside.
Yusuke flipped over and fell on the ground unsteadily. He yawned and glared at Ranma, "Will you cut it out? What do I have to do to get some sleep around here when you keep throwing me out of bed at three in the morning?"
"I'll only quit if you show me how you did that spirit gun thing!"
"Get a life!" Yusuke shouted.
They ran at each other. It had been almost a couple of weeks after Yusuke's weekend visit to his home city. The moment Yusuke arrived back in Nerima, Ranma absolutely insisted that Yusuke train him. And when Yusuke refused... Well, Ranma wasn't one to give up when it came to learning a new technique. Akane glared at the ceiling from her bed.
'Are they at it again? What do I have to do to get some sleep around here?'
She covered her ears with her pillow. It didn't work. She gritted her teeth, got out of bed, and opened her window. She stared blearily at the two fighting boys in sleepy contempt. She opened up her closet and picked up a barbell. She walked back to the window and chucked the barbell outside. Ranma swung to the side and laughed triumphantly, "HA! You missed this time, Akane!"
SLAM!
Ranma's eyes spiraled with the blow Yusuke delivered and he fell unconscious.
"Ha. Looks like I didn't miss." Yusuke turned and walked back inside. He slid under his covers and fell to sleep.
Ryouga sighed and stopped walking. Yaya turned and looked at him questioningly, "What's the matter?"
"We've been walking for such a long time and nothing has happened! I'm never going to get through this ordeal because I'm so lost! I think we passed that cloud a thousand times!"
"Nonsense! You just need to learn some patience. Something will happen, eventually. We just have to keep walking."
Ryouga sighed again and resumed walking alongside his spirit beast.
Kurama stretched and opened his tent to greet the rising sun. He set about packing up his tent and wondered briefly where Chao, the sponsor of the contest, was. Chao Tiq had an odd habit of disappearing and reappearing. Often, the sponsor would tell him to go exploring without him. Kurama found it odd, how the man didn't have any activities or set schedule lined up for him. But then, Chao was an odd man.
"Ah! Shuichi, you're awake! Want some breakfast?" Chao asked, his yellow eyes sparkling like the dew on the grass.
Kurama looked at the plate of eggs and bacon Chao offered him.
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
He sat and ate the food. Chao grinned and ate his own meal quickly.
"Shuichi..."
Kurama finished off his food and looked to him, "Yes?"
"I have some business matters to attend to, but don't worry, you don't have to just sit here and be bored all day!"
He handed Kurama a slip of paper. The paper contained notes about a local village, a nearby training ground, and some "awesome" mountains. Kurama blinked and looked back at Chao, "You're leaving me alone, again?"
"Yes, yes. You're fifteen. You can take care of yourself, boy! Just remember to return here before 10:00 P.M. and everything will be fine."
Kurama frowned as Chao left the campsite. He looked back at the slip of paper and sighed.
'It is almost as if he wants me to get into some sort of trouble. This whole thing is suspicious. But I do not sense any demonic energy in him. His energy makes him appear... well-intentioned. Still, I mustn't let my guard down.'
He stood and folded the piece of paper to put in his pocket. Then, he headed towards the village known as Joketsuzoku.
Ranma glanced at Yusuke while walking on the fence to school. Akane yawned, "You guys really need to stop fighting so early in the morning. If this keeps up, I'm going to fall asleep in class."
"Hey, don't blame me. Girlie boy over there is the one who keeps throwing me out of bed," Yusuke said.
Ranma glared at him, "Well, maybe I wouldn't have to if you'd quit being so stubborn and just show me how you did that spirit gun thing."
"You can't tell me what to do!"
"No, but I can make ya..."
Ranma jumped off the fence, ready to come at Yusuke, but Akane blocked him.
"You idiot! We have to go to school!"
Ranma grumbled under his breath, "Yeah, yeah. But after school, be prepared to fight, Yusuke."
Akane rolled her eyes, "It's like all you think about is food and fighting."
"Is there anything else?"
Yusuke smirked, "Well, Ranma don't forget doing your make-up and going shopping and all those other girlie things you like to do."
Ranma gritted his teeth, "You're really asking for it..."
Akane sighed in exasperation and was glad when Yusuke turned to go to the junior high school. She turned to scold Ranma for picking on her younger brother.
'I don't know why she's always defending him! He's the jerk, not me!' Ranma thought, seething with jealousy.
Yusuke debated on whether or not he would actually go to the school. The arcade nearby had become one of his favorite hang-outs in Nerima. None of the insane Neriman residents went there. He stopped walking towards the school, even though he hadn't concluded his debate. His eyes narrowed, 'Hmm. Someone is following me.'
He turned and looked around, trying to find clue to where his follower might be. He blinked and stared at a seemingly harmless bush closely.
'Was that bush there a few minutes ago?'
The bush didn't move at all. Yusuke frowned, turned, and began heading towards the junior high school again.
'What kind of moron would choose a bush as a disguise, anyway? They only do that on cartoons.'
He stopped again. He was still being followed. He turned again and found to his surprise, that the bush was gone. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary behind him, he turned to walk to school... and found a trash can directly in the middle of his path. The lid opened with a pop and a young girl's pony-tailed head came up from the trash can. She looked at him curiously, not saying anything. Yusuke stared right back at her, unable to think of anything to say. Eventually, he recovered from the mind blank and crossed his arms.
"What are you looking at?"
The girl shrugged, "I don't know. You looked like a new face and I was just wondering who you were."
Yusuke frowned and narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "What's it to you? If you're looking for some kind of fiance or whatever, you can forget it. I'm taken. I..."
The girl's eyes opened wide, "Taken? By who? Not Ukyou, right?"
"No. I barely know her." Yusuke rose an eyebrow at the strange girl in puzzlement. Something was really strange about her. Besides the obvious part of her dressed up as a trash can, of course...
The girl relaxed, "Good, because if you were trying to start something with MY Ukyou, I'd have to come after you, too. And that'd be a hassle because it gets hard enough going after that accursed Ranma Saotome..."
Yusuke stared at the girl blankly, "Did you just say your Ukyou?"
The girl nodded happily, "Yes! One day, Ukyou will realize her love for me and we will live happily ever after!"
She sighed in a dreamy, girlish way. Yusuke sweatdropped, 'She's a... a lesbian?'
He shrugged off his momentary shock, 'What do I care? Hmm. Says she doesn't like Ranma, though.'
As much as Yusuke loved fighting and beating people up, Ranma attacking him all the time was getting old. It was different when it was just Kuwabara attacking him all the time. He actually considered Kuwabara something of a friend, even before that time he died. Ranma... Well, Ranma just ticked him off. From the moment the pig-tailed boy had pointed at him, Yusuke knew he wasn't going to like him. He had become absolutely certain that he didn't like Ranma when he threatened him and the girly boy went all Mr. Goody Two Shoes Heroic.
"That reminds me! I need to be at Furinkan High, so that I can meet my Ukyou when she gets off of school and of course, DESTROY RANMA SAOTOME!" the girl shouted.
A look of determination crossed the girl's delicate features. Yusuke could've sworn for a second that she almost looked like a guy... but that was absurd.
"So, you don't like Ranma, either, huh?"
The girl's eyes lit up with excitement at meeting a possible ally, "You're absolutely right! I, Tsubasa, hate Ranma with a passion that almost burns as deeply as the passionate love I feel for my darling Ukyou."
'Ugh, Ukyou this, Ukyou that. What does she plan to do? Talk about how great Ukyou is until Ranma knocks himself out in an attempt to relieve his boredom?'
"Today is the day," Tsubasa whispered, "I will beat Ranma down... Because I have a secret weapon!"
Yusuke looked at her curiously, 'Secret weapon? I could always defeat Ranma myself. I have before, but... maybe if this girl is distracting him, he'll forget all about fighting me and I can get some sleep or something.'
"What secret weapon?"
Tsubasa blinked and turned to stare at him, "You're still here?"
Yusuke's eyes slanted in annoyance, "Yeah."
Tsubasa studied him carefully, "Hmm... Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you since you don't like Ranma, either. But I warn you, try and make off with my secret weapon and you'll be in a world of pain!"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just show me your secret weapon already."
Tsubasa glanced from side to side and moved closer to him. Then, she pulled out a small stone statue of a snake and showed it to him. Yusuke stared at it, "You're going to konk him on the head with a snake statue?"
Tsubasa glared, "It's not a snake! It's a dragon! DRAGON! And this statue is more than what it seems. Housed within it is great power that has been passed down for generations and generations in my family. By saying the ancient password, the power will be unleashed and transform me into my greatest and most powerful costume ever! I will be unstoppable! I'll destroy Ranma! Then Ukyou will be ALL MINE!"
Yusuke waited for the maniacal laughter, but surprisingly, none came. He shrugged and took some time to examine the dragon statue. After close examination, Yusuke found that he was able to sense a lot of power in the statue.
'Hmm. She probably could defeat Ranma if she had this much power, still... there's a chance she'd lose, too. Maybe if I...'
"Hey, can you hand the statue over for a second?"
Tsubasa hugged the statue protectively, "Why? What are you going to do?"
"I can make it's power even more powerful. All you gotta do is trust me."
Tsubasa gazed at Yusuke warily. She frowned, but handed the statue over. Yusuke concentrated and transferred a small amount of his spirit energy into the statue. He smirked and handed it back to Tsubasa, 'Now, there's no way Ranma can win.'
Kurama avoided the almost predatory gazes of the Amazons in the village, Joketsuzoku.
'Perhaps it was a bad idea to come here.'
(Welcome to our village, male visitor.)
A young Amazon woman with long, green hair and blue eyes approached him and walked by his side.
(Do you visit for a reason?)
It took Kurama a moment to register the Chinese, but he nodded to indicate his understanding. He spoke as clearly as he could in Chinese, (I'm here for educational purposes. I would very much appreciate a guide to understand the particular culture of this village. I haven't seen a single man here.)
The Amazon woman laughed, (This is an Amazon village. I can tell from your accent that China is not your place of origin. You best be careful here. You're liable to end up a slave if you're not.)
'That would not be pleasant,' Kurama thought.
(Thank you for the warning...)
(Ped Le. And you are?)
(Shuichi. Shuichi Minamino.)
(Well, Shuichi, if you are looking for a guide, the one at Jusenkyo is very helpful. Heed his warnings.)
Kurama tried to refrain from bowing because he did not know whether or not it was appropriate in the Amazon village.
(Thank you very much.)
He was glad to leave that village. The look that Ped Le had given him was tame compared to the others, but he still felt like he was being looked at like a piece of meat to a hungry wolf. The training grounds of the Jusenkyo Springs hadn't been as far away as he had originally thought. The guide greeted him at the gate, (Ah, hello! Welcome to Jusenkyo!)
Kurama smiled, (Thank you. I heard from a villager in Joketsuzoku that you were an excellent guide and I was wondering...)
(Ah, sir. You speak Chinese awkwardly.)
Kurama nodded, (I am sorry if I'm butchering it. I have studied the language quite extensively, but this trip to China is the first time I have actually used it in a conversation with people who are Chinese.)
The guide stroked his chin thoughtfully, (If you would feel more comfortable, I could speak Japanese for you.)
(Oh, I didn't realize you could speak Japanese.)
"And that where you wrong," the guide said cheerfully.
"That's very good. Thank you. Anyway, I was wondering if you would like to be my guide. I am very interested in the culture around here. These springs... I hear they're cursed."
"Ah, very wise, sir. Jusenkyo Springs very very cursed. Those who fall in cursed springs, come out and transform into very cursed and very different being."
"I see. Could you explain further?" Kurama asked.
The guide nodded and led Kurama to the springs near the entrance.
"Take this spring here, for example. Yaazuniichuan. It's the Spring of Drowned Duck. Very cursed spring. Very tragic story of duck that drowned there... 1300 year ago. Now, whoever fall in take on the body of a duck. Like that strange boy from the Joketsuzoku village. He just walk in, fall in, and come out a duck! I try and warn him, sir, but he did not listen."
A bewildered look came across Kurama's face, "How is it that a duck can drown?"
The guide simply shook his head, "That why it tragic story, sir."
"Is there any cure?" Kurama asked.
The guide frowned and thought carefully, "Well, if boy or man fall into spring he could always try and dunk himself into Nannichuan. Spring of Drowned Man. Hmm. But hot water can temporarily change person back into their true form. But only until they get splashed with cold water. I hear cursed ones attract cold water a lot."
"Hmm. These springs sound very cursed, indeed. Do you know how this ground got this way? Ordinarily, someone who drowns in a spring does not leave it cursed..."
The guide was taken aback, "You ask good question, sir. No one else ask that."
The guide sighed and adjusted his green hat, "I very sorry, but that tragic story got lost many, many year ago. It fell into spring... Now, whoever fall into that spring turn into very long scroll depicting the story of how the Jusenkyo Springs came to be."
Kurama sweatdropped, "I... see. Would you mind if I looked around a bit, then?"
The guide frowned, "No, but be very very careful, sir. Springs very cursed. You might fall in..."
"I promise I'll be careful."
He headed into the fog shrouded training ground, curious as to what he might discover. His spirit senses stretched out before him and he focused on finding a source to the curse that fueled the Jusenkyo Springs.
Ranma walked alongside Akane as they exited the school.
"Look, Akane. It's no big deal. So, I flunked the math test. So, I flunked the literature test. But look on the bright side, at least I made a D+ on my science test."
Akane sweatdropped, "I keep telling you, none of that is a good thing! You better start doing some studying, Ranma or you're going to be in high school for the rest of your life."
"But Ukyou, I brought flowers! And I wrote you a poem! Erhm... My darling Ukyou, what words can describe the..."
WHAM!
"ACK!"
In the middle of a student crowd, a street sign had been attempting to gain the affections of a certain okonomiyaki chef, who upon tiring of the attention, whacked her suitor with her giant spatula. Ranma sighed heavily, "Maybe we can sneak out the back way, Akane."
"What do you mean we? Tsubasa isn't looking to attack me," she said.
Ranma sweatdropped and narrowed his eyes, "Thanks for the support..."
Tsubasa spotted Ranma through the crowd in an instant. She jumped through the dispersing crowd, "There you are, Ranma Saotome! You will not escape me!"
"Don't you have better things to do?"
Tsubasa thought for a moment and then shook her head, "Nope!"
Ranma sweatdropped, 'Should've seen that coming... You'd think someone around here would have a hobby that was something other than chasing me around.'
"You will meet your doom today, Ranma! For today, I have brought... MY SECRET WEAPON!"
Ranma frowned and quickly got into his fighting stance, "Yeah?"
Ukyou looked at Tsubasa puzzledly, 'Secret weapon? What's he babbling on about?'
Tsubasa smirked and pulled out the dragon statue. Ranma stared at it in confusion, "You're going to try and konk me on the head with a snake statue?"
Tsubasa growled and shouted defiantly, "DRAGON! It's a DRAGON!"
She grumbled under her breath, "Sheesh, doesn't anyone know what a dragon looks like, anymore?"
"All right, fine. It's a dragon. I don't see how it's suppose to be some kind of secret weapon, though."
The smirk came back, "Oh, you'll see..."
Tsubasa's eyes focused on the statue, "For the ancient password..."
Yusuke sat against a tree in the Furinkan High schoolyard, watching the entire thing.
"I should've brought some popcorn."
"DRAGON, I SUMMON YOU!"
Yusuke fell over when he heard Tsubasa's words, 'That's the ancient password? That's dumb.'
Suddenly, the sky began to darken and clouds loomed overhead. Ranma glanced up worriedly, thinking what most Jusenkyo-cursed would think during such a situation, 'I hope it's not going to rain.'
Lightening flashed in the sky and the dragon statue glowed a brilliant yellow. A stream of that energy shot into the sky in the form of a roaring dragon, shining the darkened area with its awesome power. Everyone looked up at the sky in awe. Then, quick as the energy had illuminated the area, it was brought back to the ground and it struck Tsubasa. Tsubasa's form began to glow a mix of yellow and a little bit of blue. When the glow left, Tsubasa was standing in a completely different costume. She was wearing dragon scales and a headdress that was similar to the head of a horned dragon. The strangest thing about the change in Tsubasa was her eyes. Her eyes had gone completely red.
"I will grant your," her red eyes glowed, "DEATH WISH!"
Ranma would not be intimidated. The fight went underway while Ukyou and Akane watched from the sidelines and Yusuke watched from his spot against the tree.
Kurama traveled deeper and deeper into the shroud surrounding the springs. He stepped carefully as he didn't want to accidentally walk into one of the cursed springs that surrounded him. He sensed a great deal of spirit energy in the area.
'But where is the source?'
Kurama stopped, believing he had heard something. A quiet voice seemed to come from the haze over the Jusenkyo Springs.
"Drowned Cat. Spring of Drowned Caterpillar. Spring of..."
The voice stopped. Kurama listened for it closely, but heard no more of the voice. He moved forward slightly, "Is someone there?"
"It has been 1700 years since this one has seen the spirit of a fox demon."
Kurama paused and his eyes shifted from side to side slowly, "Who is there?"
"You will be cursed."
"Where are you?"
"You didn't notice."
Kurama stood on guard, "Notice what?"
"You slipped into the tongue of demons almost automatically when spoken to by this one. You hide. Hmm. Or you had yourself reincarnated or whatever other nonsense you fox demons pull."
'So, the voice belongs to a demon...'
"Tell me, demon, where are you? Who are you? Why are you here in this place?"
"This one cannot say who this one is. This one is cursed..."
Kurama reached out with his senses in an attempt to find a demonic presence, "Did you fall in a spring?"
"No. This one is all springs. This cursed ground is this one's curse."
"I do not understand."
"This one is cursed..."
"Yes. But how? Why?" Kurama asked.
"This one is a fool. This one wanted to possess this section of China. It's big section."
"You were stopped, obviously."
"Yes. This one was confronted by powerful, powerful man. He was Lo Ki. He weakened this one and this one fled. This one later gathered strength, but this one only attacked local villages. This one wanted nothing to do with taking over one section of China."
"You were stopped in that as well."
"A monk who said in so many words that he was the Quickening Striker of Evil, confronted this one on this ground. The monk was not powerful and by all standards, he was a fool, too. All he could talk about was winning the hand of his adorably strong goddess. Even when this one had him near death. But this one did not expect the surge of power that rose in him at that point. In his final breath, he sealed this one into the ground and promised to return to the world, like a bolt of lightening as he said, to bring justice to all evil. This one did not comprehend the full power of the seal. Years passed, this one was weakening from hunger. Until war came here..."
Kurama sighed and found where the topic was headed.
"You fed on the souls of those that had died?"
"Those who lived attempted to bury dead bodies in this ground here. This one had easy access to souls. This one ate plenty. Something went wrong. Those who lived were whisked away in battle and could not complete the burying. Then, it rained for many days and many nights. Filling the holes up with water. Restless souls made this one hurt inside with their resistance. This one could hear them before they faded... that this one could never eat again and that this one could never have identity again. They vowed revenge on all those living..."
"They were powerful enough to set a curse..." Kurama said.
"Many who came here from that point on drowned or nearly drowned in the springs. The tainted waters held reflections of their souls... and whoever fall into those springs become that reflection. Some of the springs now have not yet been fallen into, but they are still tainted..."
'That is the story of these Jusenkyo Springs,' Kurama thought.
"You will be cursed, too," the disembodied voice said.
"I am sure-footed. I will not fall into a spring."
"It doesn't matter. All who come here fall into the springs."
"Oh, but what about the guide?" Kurama asked.
"He does not disrupt the burial ground. Those who come here as you do, seeking answers, or those who come here seeking training or even those who come here to be punished disrupt the burial ground. They are the ones that make the curse most strong."
Kurama frowned, "I didn't wish to cause disturbance..."
"But you did. Now, you will be cursed."
"Nothing is certain."
"This one knows. This one can sense it."
Kurama heard the voice begin to fade as it carried on with its naming of the springs.
"Spring of Drowned Cow. Spring of Drowned Crab..."
He could no longer hear the voice. Kurama turned and attempted to find his way out of the mist that laid over the Jusenkyo Springs.
'I will find my way out eventually...'
He stopped quickly before he could walk into a spring. He glanced around him, 'There's so many here...'
He jumped carefully to the other ends of the springs. He was thankful for his grace, otherwise he would've surely fallen into one of them. The shroud was beginning to clear some.
'That shadow... I think it's the guide.'
Kurama felt the ground beneath his feet come out from under him. His eyes widened, 'Moss...'
SPLASH!
Much to his despair, he sank into the spring, 'Vengeful spirits, please do not put a curse on me...'
Somewhere, Kurama was certain he could hear laughing.
Ranma gritted his teeth as he tried to overcome his exhaustion, 'I don't get it. How could Tsubasa be so strong? What was in that statue?'
"FEAR MY RAW POWER!" Tsubasa shouted.
Ranma braced himself for the attack and dodged at just the right moment. Tsubasa's scaled fists sliced through the air, not once landing a hit. Ranma winced, feeling the sting of his old bruises and scrapes from before. He could not let Tsubasa get hits in. They parted from each other and once again found themselves in a stand-off. Each trying to predict the other's moves. Ranma shuddered involuntarily at Tsubasa's fierce eye-glowing gaze. He quickly regained his composure.
'I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts! I've defeated Tsubasa over and over and over again! Why will this fight be any different? He's changed costume, but he's still the same Tsubasa on the inside...'
"HEY, TSUBASA!" Ranma pointed behind Tsubasa, "Ukyou's smiling at you!"
Tsubasa's red eyes bulged and he turned quickly, "Oh, Ukyou!"
'Got him!' Ranma thought.
Summoning up the confidence only he could possess, Ranma pushed his fists together and released a wave of energy.
"MOKO TAKABISHA!"
Tsubasa turned, having been disappointed to find that Ukyou was actually smiling at Ranma, to his opponent in time to see the confidence energy streaming towards him. He frowned, "Hey, that was a cheap trick!"
WHAM!
Direct hit.
Yusuke shielded his eyes from the brightness of the energy blast.
'Never saw him do that before. Wonder why he wants to learn my attack so bad? Looks like his works just fine...'
The schoolyard debris stirred up as a result of the blast finally cleared. Tsubasa was still standing. Ranma's eyes widened, 'No way...'
Ukyou and Akane looked on anxiously.
'Ranma might lose this one,' Akane thought.
Ukyou muttered to herself, "No way Ranma is going to lose to that idiot... He'll come through. He always does."
Spirals suddenly replaced the red-glowing eyes Tsubasa had.
"Pain..." He wheezed.
Ranma felt his confidence return. He knew Tsubasa wouldn't have come out of that unscathed. Tsubasa shook his dragon-ish adorned head and glared at Ranma, "You think you have defeated me? I will never give up! Never!"
Ranma readied himself to unleash a massive assault. But then...
"ARRRGHH! FOUL BEAST, I WILL SLAY THEE! FOR I AM..."
Ranma resisted the overwhelming urge to facefault. Kuno jumped over him and threw something green at Tsubasa. Tsubasa caught it and blinked, "A watermelon?"
"THE CHIVALROUS WARRIOR OF FURINKAN HIGH!" Kuno shouted.
Fwip. WHAM! Fwip. WHAM! Fwip. WHAM!
Ranma stared as Kuno ceaselessly struck Tsubasa with his bokken. Tsubasa didn't have a chance to protest the unjustice of being attacked by someone other than the accursed Ranma Saotome. Nabiki creeped inbetween Akane and Ukyou.
"He's hopeless, isn't he?" she said, pocketing some money she had in her hand.
Akane sweatdropped, "Yep..."
Ukyou glanced at Nabiki, "Did you arrange this?"
"If by arrange, you mean tell Kuno a dragon was attacking two fair damsels in distress than, yes. I did. If you're talking about arranging a fight between Ranma and Tsubasa, you should by now that I don't have to," Nabiki said.
Then, a sly grin came to her face, "But if you're interested in knowing what a certain someone did to make Tsubasa powerful enough to stand up against Ranma, I might be obligated to give you some information."
Ukyou narrowed her eyes, "At what price?"
"Mm..." Nabiki thought, "How about... Oh, well, I'm feeling generous today. 3,000 yen."
Ukyou muttered under her breath and handed the money to her. Nabiki counted the money and pocketed it, "Yusuke Urameshi has a lot of explaining to do."
Akane blinked, 'Yusuke? He helped cause all of this?'
She suddenly felt someone grab her hand. Kuno held the hands of Ukyou and Akane, "Akane Tendo... and fair maiden whose beauty I had not yet realized until now. I have saved you both from the dragon creature. I would date with the both of thee... Sunday! And..."
Ukyou and Akane kicked him into orbit. Ukyou grumbled, "The nerve of that guy... It's one of the reasons why I dress up as a boy!"
Ranma walked over to the three girls, "Well, Tsubasa won't be in any condition to fight for a while. Kuno really did a number on him."
"Good. Maybe he'll stop pestering me for a change," Ukyou said.
Ranma nodded and yawned, "That was... tiring. I think I'm going to take a nap."
He fell to the ground. Ukyou and Akane rushed to his side to help him up. Yusuke watched, pleased with the turn of events.
'It worked! Good. I can finally rest easy without wondering when Ranma is going to start another one of his stupid fights,' he thought.
A small cheer reached Ukyou's ears. She glanced at the boy by the tree in the schoolyard and narrowed her eyes.
'That looks like Urameshi. If he had anything to do with this fight, I will make him pay.'
Kurama gasped for air and pulled himself out of the spring. He could only wonder what had happened to him. The Chinese guide emerged from the mist.
"Ah, very bad, sir. You fall in the Spring of Drowned Child. Legend say that child fall in there and drown 2, 200 year ago. Now, whoever fall in that spring become child again."
The Chinese guide's eyes widened, "Ah... uh... sir. You no tell me you were fox demon."
Kurama choked, whether on water or in surprise at the short man's statement, he didn't know. He peered at his reflection and saw a young, round face with white hair and pointed ears on top of his head.
"Oh no..." He gasped and covered his mouth. He sounded so... so young! The Chinese guide fidgeted.
"Ah, sir... You not mad? I did try and warn you..."
Kurama stared into the yellow eyes of his reflection, unable to say anything. How was he going to hide this from his mother?