A/N: I'm back! Sorry for taking so long, but I really wanted to get the 6th chapter of Phantoms, Powers and Prophecies finished before I worked on anything else. After I did finish it, I completed this chapter rather quickly…hopefully I get through the next chapter quickly. If you have any questions you'd like to ask, feel free to write them in your review or send me a PM. I love hearing from readers!

We had a huge storm here a month ago and it fried our modem, filter/splitter, phone cord and Network Adapter card. We only (FINALLY!) managed to re-establish the Internet earlier today. I am so, so sorry for the extra wait but it could not be helped.

Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Great news! My sister and I now own all seven seasons of Ranma ½! I do own the first movie, but I want it on DVD as the video's kinda old. Just the movies and the OVA's to go! (I own 2 OVA's as it is, but they're on video, too.) As wonderful as that is, I don't own to the rights to them. Or InuYasha.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Wolf speak/other"

Recap:

"Ryoga, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Kagome asked, shooting a hesitant glance at her silver-haired companion. He said nothing, so she went ahead with her plan.

Ryoga had a baffled but curious expression as he agreed to the request. He followed the young priestess around the corner of the house. When she stopped, he gazed at her expectantly.

"Sorry to drag you off like that, but there's something I want to ask you," she said, getting straight down to business.

"What is it?"

"I'm guessing you have a lot of questions about being half-demon, am I right?" Ryoga nodded an affirmative. "Well, Inuyasha and I could tell you a whole lot but we have to go back to do something very important, so we don't have the time. I think I may have found a way around that, but it might not work. Do you want to hear my idea?"

Ryoga, now paying rapt attention, was instantly intrigued. "Yes, I do."

"Okay, well, here goes…"

Chapter Three: A Dog-Eat-Dog World

Ryoga waited as patiently as he could; tail slowly swishing back and forth.

Finally, Kagome spoke. "Well, I thought about it and here's what I came up with. If you want, you could see if you can come with us. See, Inuyasha is actually from five hundred years in the past. There's a well on the shrine grounds that links this time to the Feudal Era. Some crazy demon burst out of it and dragged me down there on my fifteenth birthday. I've been going back and forth between times ever since." She stopped there, awaiting his reaction to her tale.

The bandanna-clad boy stood there, not quite knowing what to say. "Really? I knew his clothes looked really old-fashioned, but…"

"But you never thought that such a reason was behind it?" Kagome supplied.

"Uh, yeah…"

"I can see why you'd think that. It took me a while to get used to the idea myself. Only Inuyasha and I can pass through the well though so, even if you like my idea, it might not let you through."

"Well, it sounds like a good idea to me. That way, you two can do whatever is you do back in…the Feudal Era…and I can learn whatever I need to!" Ryoga replied, smiling at Kagome. "As for this well…I guess we won't know if I can go through it or not until I try, right?"

"Right!" Kagome chirped, smiling back. "Now I just have to ask Inuyasha if he agrees…" Leaving Ryoga there, Kagome walked back around the corner to confront her half-dog friend.

"WHAT?" Inuyasha exploded, staring at Kagome as if she was crazy; which, at that moment, he thought she was.

"Would you just listen to the whole thing before you -"

"You wanna drag some guy we practically know nothin' about back with us? You don't even know if he can get through!"

"Would you please just -"

"He'd slow us down; get in the way! He has no idea how to use his demon powers! He'd be of no use to us at all!" Inuyasha continued, drowning out Kagome's voice.

Drawing a deep breath, Kagome shouted, "SIT BOY!" and watched with satisfaction as it effectively shut him up long enough for her to get a word in edgewise. "Good, now pay attention. I'm not sure if he'll be able to cross through the well, so we'll just have to wait and see. If he can, don't worry about him not being able to fight. I've seen him practising in my yard and he's just as good, if not maybe a little better, than Sango."

Inuyasha sent her a disbelieving look.

"Come on, Inuyasha, please? If he can't go through the well, I won't bring this up again because there'll be no point. But if he can…just consider it, okay? I know he's a good fighter if he fights as well as he practices," Kagome continued in a wheedling manner.

"Fine," Inuyasha snarled. "I'll consider it IF, and only IF, he can."

Kagome flashed him a winning smile and bounced away to tell Ryoga.

'Why do I suddenly get the feeling that this is going to become a little complicated?' the silver-haired warrior thought with a sigh.

Crouching on the roof like a cat tensing itself up to jump down, Ranma's mind began processing all the information it had just received. 'A well that leads five hundred years into the past? And that dog guy is from that time? Now that priestess girl wants Ryoga to go back there with them. That Inuyasha guy is even gonna teach Ryoga how to use some supposed powers he now has!' Ranma thought in indignation. 'Ryoga's gonna outstrip me for sure if he trains with them! I have to follow, watch what he learns so I can counter it…' That decided Ranma silently slipped off the roof - already planning ways to follow along without being caught.

Ryoga had meandered away from where Kagome had dragged him and was now sitting in front of the koi pond, staring at the water as if it would fix all of his troubles. If the well let him through, it might very well change his life. 'Am I ready to face what comes?' he silently asked his reflection. He could see his emotions staring fixedly back at him from the reflection of his eyes. Confusion, worry and anxiousness were all present. He could also discern a small glimmer of hope. 'Maybe this is just what I need to get out of this rut I seem to be stuck in?' His musings were interrupted as Kasumi and Mrs. Higurashi announced that breakfast was ready. He pushed his earlier train of thought to the back of his mind and stood up. "Coming!"

Breakfast was a comfortable affair for the most part. A couple of people, mostly Nabiki, kept flicking their gazes towards Ryoga. He tried his best to ignore the surreptitious glances, but they made him nervous and he started getting fidgety.

Yakume had noticed and decided to take pity on the teen. She tried to draw Nabiki's attention towards herself instead. "So, I guess we will be heading back today. Thankyou for all your hospitality, we are very grateful. We never did discuss how much the payment would be, did we?" she said, directing the question at the middle Tendo daughter.

"No, we didn't," Nabiki said, her eyes now on Yakume and a small notepad that was lying on the table in front of her. "For only one night, and no damages, the total comes to fifteen thousand yen. Is that acceptable?" she asked in a brusque, business-like tone.

Yakume blinked and weighed this amount in her head. "With meals and baths included, that seems like a reasonable price. Here you are." Smiling gently, she dug through her purse, pulled out a small bundle of notes and set them on the table.

Nabiki thumbed through them, double-checking the amount. "All in order. We were glad to have you here."

As this verbal and monetary exchange was taking place, Kagome just realised that she hadn't informed her mother of her plan. 'Oops,' she thought, mentally admonishing herself for overlooking such a thing. "Oh, mum?" she said, wondering how to word this.

"Yes, what is it, dear?"

"Well…see, I had this idea. I thought it would be really good for Ryoga to learn how to use his demonic powers. If he tried to learn them by himself, it could end badly! So, I thought maybe he could come back to the shrine with us for a while. You know, while Inuyasha's visiting and all?" she finished tentatively, wondering if her mother would pick up the hidden message behind her words.

Yakume knew there must be an underlying message, but she felt at sea when trying to figure out exactly what it was. 'Does she mean she wants to take Ryoga through the well? Or does she intend to have Inuyasha stay for a few days to teach him?' Thinking it would be a lot safer to just go along for the moment, she nodded. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, honey! You can come back with us in the car; I don't want you doing anything too strenuous for a while just in case you have a relapse. I don't want to take any chances, is that understood young man?" she finished with a motherly tone of finality.

"Yes, ma'am!" the Lost Boy said, almost squeaking it out. He wasn't used to being spoken to by a motherly figure in such a way. At least, he hadn't in many, many months since the last time he had seen his own mother.

"Very good. We'll be taking our leave as soon as you're ready, Ryoga," she said, smiling in satisfaction.

"Hmm? Oh, okay, I'll have all my things packed in a minute. Be right back!" he said. He was headed for the doorway when he stopped and turned to his left. He flashed an embarrassed grin as he heaved his backpack on. Nobody had moved it from where he had set it down, so it was still by the doorway. Ryoga had thought someone must have taken it to the room he had been in so he had headed there, not noticing his pack until he had just stepped past it.

Ranma was trying, but failing, to contain his laughter. He did manage to muffle it a bit though. Ryoga glared at him, willing the pig-tailed boy to spontaneously combust. Ranma, as he was glaring back, noticed something was a little off about Ryoga's face; and he didn't mean the ears. "Hey, I thought your eyes were dull, greyish-hued brown?"

Ryoga's glare quickly melted away. He simply stared instead. "Yeah, what of it?" he brusquely replied.

"Well, your eyes aren't a dull brown anymore, man." At this, Ryoga's ears pricked up with curiosity as everyone else suddenly looked at his eyes.

"Eyes don't just change colour like that! What d'you mean, exactly?" the half-demon snapped, trying to ignore the collective gazes focused on him. He suddenly felt like someone had turned a bright spotlight on him and it didn't sit well with him.

"Hey, Ranma's right!" Akane said after a few seconds.

"Oh, I just knew it!" Mrs. Higurashi exclaimed, smiling at the now-flustered boy.

Ranma smirked at having the upper hand over his rival. "Well," he said, drawing the word out unnecessarily, "what I mean is, they're still brown, but they don't have that dull, greyish hue to them anymore. They have a…yellow…hue to them…? Yellow?" he dumbly repeated, now frowning in confusion while looking at Inuyasha for answers. After confirming Inuyasha had amber-coloured eyes, Ranma concluded that it must be another demon thing.

"Yellow?" Ryoga repeated, also glancing at Inuyasha for answers.

Inuyasha didn't answer him; being occupied with trying to ignore people, but Yakume did. "Why, yes dear. They're quite a beautiful shade of honey-brown."

"Honey-brown? Are you serious?" if it had just been Ranma claiming such a thing, he would have dismissed it entirely. He trusted Yakume, however, so if she said it was true, then it must be. He had the sudden, irresistible urge to look in a mirror to see for himself.

Nabiki, correctly guessing his thoughts, pulled a small make-up mirror from her pocket. As to why she, of all people, had such a thing, no one was quite sure. Nabiki opened it and wordlessly stood in front of the Lost Boy, holding it at eye-level.

Gazing into the small mirror, Ryoga realised they were right. His eyes were still brown, but they had an amber hue, much like Inuyasha's, to them instead of a greyish one. They were, indeed, honey-brown. This had only just begun to sink in when Nabiki snapped the mirror shut and resumed her seat.

"Oh…" he lamely offered.

"You know, I coulda swore that your eyes were completely yellow when you were a wolf…" Ranma said, shattering the awkward moment. "I wasn't paying all that much attention 'cause I was tryin' to figure out what happened to you. But, yeah, now that I think back, they were just yellow."

Ryoga was now more inclined to listen to Ranma, so did not dismiss that piece of information. He, instead, filed it away for later perusal. "Hey, did you put everything back where you found it?" he said, suddenly switching topics as he rounded on Nabiki, fixing her with a flat, unhappy glare.

"Yes, I did. I only removed the box in the right-side pocket. I placed the phone number back in the box and packed it away again after I called the Higurashi Shrine," Nabiki, unruffled by the look, replied in a calm, even manner.

With the wind taken out of his sails, Ryoga let the matter rest. "Alright then, I'm ready."

Yakume nodded and stood, Kagome and Inuyasha following her lead. "Good, good. We'll be going now, then. Thankyou again for your hospitality. Farewell and may good fortune stay with you all." That said, she allowed Kasumi to accompany them to the front gate. They all said one last goodbye to the eldest Tendo daughter and headed for the car, Ryoga following the others.

They had just reached it when a figure came dashing down the street. When the mysterious person came closer, Ryoga instantly recognised her. He tried to lay his ears as flat against his head as they would go, hopefully they were hidden by his hair, and moved his legs together to hide his tail. After the girl had spotted them and walked over, he realised it was a futile effort. 'Ranma and the Tendo's would end up telling her anyway.'

"Hey sugar, haven't seen you in a while. You haven't been fighting with my Ran-chan have you?" Ukyo asked, managing to sound friendly yet firm at once.

"Not really…I mean, we had a small scuffle yesterday, but that ended quickly after we both fell in the canal," he said, managing to put on a slightly affronted expression, as though Ukyo's question had offended him.

"You don't look hurt, so I guess it wasn't serious or you'd have a lot of bumps and bruises," the chef happily chirped.

"Hey!" Ryoga cried in outrage, now offended for real. Unfortunately, this had the side effect of raising his ears stiffly in response to his anger. What was fortunate for him was that Ukyo didn't notice as she was looking at the three people he was with.

"Sugar, you're a little lacking at the intros. Hello, I'm Ukyo Kuonji, I run Ucchan's Okonomiyaki," she cheerfully announced, giving a small, polite bow.

"Your own business? My, what is it with you young people and your desire to do things yourself? That's very impressive all the same, Miss Kuonji. I'm Yakume Higurashi, this is my daughter Kagome and her friend Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi replied, polite but exasperated by the attitudes of teenagers.

"Sugar?" Inuyasha whispered to Kagome in complete bafflement. "Why is she calling him that?"

"I have no idea," the priestess whispered back. "It might be just something she calls her friends or some kind of pet name. Funny, I don't remember Ryoga saying he had a girlfriend…"

Ryoga, with his new, sharp hearing, had caught every word. "Ukyo calls lots of people that, not just me. Also, I don't have a girlfriend, Ukyo is one of Ranma's fiancées," he said in a low voice that was still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Oh, oops…sorry, Ryoga," Kagome said sheepishly, a guilty look on her face. She elbowed Inuyasha in the ribs, prompting him to apologise also.

"Feh!"

Yakume was bursting to ask Ryoga about his new senses, as she doubted that Inuyasha would tell her, but she held her tongue as Ukyo was still standing there.

The chef was looking a little lost midst that last exchange, however. She was puzzled, as she hadn't heard the whispers and so thought that Ryoga was simply speaking out. "One of?" she huffed, trying to regain her composure, "there may be three of us, but I am Ranma-honey's true fiancée!" she fiercely declared. "Are you saying that Akane or that Chinese hussy have moved in on MY Ran-chan? Well?"

Ryoga knew that he was treading extremely dangerous waters. One wrong word could result in disaster. 'Where do girls get these crazy ideas? They seem to pull them out of thin air! I never once mentioned Akane or Shampoo!'

As Ryoga was engaged in the futile effort of trying to figure out how girls' minds worked, Ukyo took his silence as a confirmation of her worst fears. "Oh no, they didn't! Where's Ranma now? Dammit Ryoga, you better tell me where Ran-chan is or so help me, you jackass…!" She set down the box she had been carrying and grabbed her battle spatula off her back. She held it in front of herself and glared at Ryoga threateningly.

The half wolf-demon raised his hands in a warding gesture as his mind raced to find words that would hopefully pacify the irate chef. "Wait, Ukyo, you've got it all wrong! I never said anything of the sort! I haven't seen Shampoo since I got back yesterday and Ranma's at the Tendo's right now! Akane IS with him, but she lives there, so it's no different from usual. Ranma's relationships haven't gone any further than they've ever been. There, are you happy now?" he finished, slumping a little after his outburst.

"Oh," she responded, getting out of her battle-ready stance and strapping her weapon back in place. She picked up her box and smiled at him. "Sorry about that, sugar. Guess I got a little carried away…I only came to bring Ranma-honey some of my okonomiyaki for lunch. Better do that before it gets any colder. It was nice seeing you again, Ryoga. Oh! And it was nice to meet you three. Bye!" Ukyo quickly went through the front gate, her cheeks stained red.

"Is everyone from this time weird?" Inuyasha muttered disbelievingly.

"Hey, speak for yourself! At least I've never come across a pervert like Miroku in this time!" Kagome retorted playfully.

Ryoga's eye twitched. "Pervert? Yes, you have, Kagome. Ranma's a pervert."

"Ranma?"

"Are you sure, dear? He didn't seem like one to me," Yakume added, frowning.

"Ha! That's just because you've never seen him cross-dressing or peeping!"

"What?" Kagome shrieked. Inuyasha was looking decidedly thunderous.

Ryoga gave her a sheepish grin. "Don't worry; you were safe because you paid to stay. Nabiki would have wrung him out and left him to dry if he did anything to you."

Kagome grumbled under her breath for a few seconds before accepting what he was saying. Nabiki had certainly struck her as the type that would do just that.

"You were lucky, though. It seems Happosai was missing. If he had been there, I can guarantee that you would not have left without being groped," he went on to finish solemnly. Kagome paled slightly and opened her mouth, perhaps to ask if he was joking, or perhaps to thank her lucky stars. She never said anything, though, but simply closed her mouth, walked around to the other side of the car and got into the front passenger seat.

Everyone took their cue from this and followed suit, Yakume driving and the two half-demons in the back.

"Hey, hey, look Grandpa, they're back!" Sota exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He had raced all the way home from school, eager to play with Inuyasha. It took all his will power not to dash to the car and ask his hero a million questions about what they had been doing while they were away. It was a good thing he didn't, as Inuyasha wasn't in the best of moods.

He hadn't said two words together since they had first gotten in the car. Ryoga had asked him a couple of questions about his new half-demon status, but he had only replied with a simple 'yes', 'no' or an unintelligible grunt. Ryoga had given up after several minutes of painfully one-sided conversation.

Kagome wasn't too worried about her dog-eared companion. 'He's never exactly been a great conversationalist. Still, he was a little more generous with his answers than he's being to Ryoga…' This thought had shed some light on the situation for the time-travelling girl. 'That must be it! Ryoga reminds him of Koga, so maybe he thinks that Ryoga will chase after me too. I doubt he would. I mean, he was living with me for an entire weekend and never went beyond any boundaries.' She had long since abandoned any thoughts of trying to understand what put Inuyasha in his current mood beyond that idea when they pulled into the driveway.

Kagome herself had been conversing with her mother for the majority of the trip. Yakume had recounted to her daughter all that Ranma and the Tendo's had told her. It was mostly about Jusenkyo, but that was fine by Kagome. It was a very enthralling subject and she was eager to witness Ryoga's transformation for herself. It had been a shock to see Ranma switch from female to male, and she knew Ranma's father switched from panda to human, and even that two others switched between human, duck and cat. As she had only seen Ranma transform, and only between human forms, it made Ryoga's transformation into a wolf that much more interesting to the priestess.

Kagome and her mother gladly left the confines of the car, eager to move their flaccid legs. Ryoga followed straight away. He had never been fond of cars. 'Too many accidents and tragedies occur with cars and other vehicles. You can't fatally injure someone by walking into them.' Inuyasha exited the car with nary a change in countenance.

After exchanging the usual greetings, the Higurashi's, one Hibiki and Inuyasha all went indoors.

"What brings you back here, demon?" Grandpa demanded rather rudely once they had seated themselves comfortably in the lounge room.

"Father!" Yakume exclaimed in horror.

"Can you not see him? He arrived here the first time with fangs…now he returns looking even more animal than him!" the old man cried, pointing an accusing finger at Inuyasha. The half dog-demon glared, baring his fangs proudly, but remained silent after a warning look was shot at him courtesy of Kagome.

"Excuse me, sir, but I am only half-demon. What grudge do you bear against Ryoga Hibiki?" Ryoga asked in a politely restrained voice.

"Grandpa, leave Ryoga alone! He has done nothing to you, so why are you being like this?" Kagome loudly said, ashamed of his behaviour towards their guest. "You're not like this with Inuyasha! What makes Ryoga so different?"

Grandpa gave a loud huff and attempted to give his granddaughter a stern glare. The effect made him look more as if he was pouting than anything. "My dear Kagome, you don't understand… I'm merely trying to protect you from harm! Inuyasha has never appeared to be anything more than he is. This Hibiki boy, on the other hand, has. He told us he simply travelled a lot and got lost. What if that was just a clever lie to hide the fact that he goes around attacking shrines because they pose a threat to his demonic blood? You and I are very powerful spiritual beings! Together, you and I can easily wipe him out and that makes him afraid… So, in a clever ploy, he planned to befriend us, slowly bewitching our minds to believe whatever he says so he can destroy us when we let our guards down!"

Sota, who had been sitting there simply absorbing the conversation, looked aghast. The young boy whipped his head back and forth between his family members, their strange guest and his hero. It had been quite a sight to see when he realised that Ryoga was now like Inuyasha only with a tail as well. It had made him feel quite smug, as he had suggested that it was the truth behind his fangs shortly after Ryoga left.

"Father, how dare you say such slanderous things to our guest? You will apologise to him at once for accusing him of such outrageous acts!" Yakume half-shouted, not wanting this to dissolve into a shouting match.

"Stop," came a quiet, yet firm, command that was heard by all despite how low it was spoken. "I appreciate you defending me, but I can stand on my own two feet." Ryoga had his head bowed and his hair had fallen down over his eyes so no one could see his expression. "If you wish for me to leave," he said, rasing his honey-brown eyes to meet those of Kagome's grandfather, "you have only to say so and I will bother you no further."

"Ryoga!" Kagome gasped.

Inuyasha said nothing as he saw the raw determination in those eyes and knew Ryoga would keep his word. Being adept himself at hiding pain, he managed to catch the brief flicker of hurt that flashed across Ryoga's eyes. 'Why does he feel the need for the old coot's approval? The guy's senile, so why should his opinion matter so much to you?'

"No, you can't be serious!" Yakume exclaimed, almost on the verge of tears. It pained her to see her father, and someone she practically considered another son, fighting like this.

"I can see that taking that course of action would upset my family. I want to keep them safe AND happy. To that end, you may stay. But…I will be watching you very closely, boy!"

Ryoga said nothing in reply, but bowed his head once more, deliberately hiding his face this time.

Kagome, too upset at her grandfather to barely speak, instead turned to her mother. "We'll be outside if you need us. I just need to get my backpack." After her mother nodded, she headed up to her room to fetch her large, yellow pack.

"So," Mrs. Higurashi started, focusing on the two half-demons. "Are you attempting to try going through the well?"

"Uh, yes…Kagome thought it would be the best way for me to learn about my demon half. She said that this way, she and Inuyasha can continue doing what they do there and I'll still be able to have Inuyasha teach me. If the well won't let me through, that's okay, I'll just go back to travelling. I should probably try and find my parents and ask them about this…" Ryoga trailed off, just realising that his parents should know about this. 'Inuyasha and Kagome said that for me to be half-demon, that means that one of my parents is human and the other is a full demon… If that's true, then why didn't they tell me?'

Oblivious to Ryoga's inner turmoil, Inuyasha gave a soft, "Feh," and stood. Kagome had returned, backpack on, and he was eager to get back. He was uncomfortable in this era, no matter how many times he had visited. This visit had been especially strange and he did not wish to repeat the experience.

"I'm ready," was all Kagome uttered. Ryoga rose and followed her, giving Yakume a grateful smile as he passed. Inuyasha brought up the rear. Sota scrambled after them, not wanting to be left out of what was happening.

Kagome paused to slide open the door that led to the well. She ushered the others inside, not surprised to see her little brother among them. "Well, here it is. You go first, Inuyasha and Ryoga; you go next. If he doesn't appear on your side, wait a couple of minutes and jump back through, okay?" she finished, directing the last bit solely to Inuyasha.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya," he grumbled half-heartedly. Kagome handed him her backpack, which he accepted without complaint. Without glancing back, he leapt into the air, disappearing rapidly into the darkness until, to Ryoga's astonishment, a blue glow flared to life.

After the glow faded away, Ryoga peered over the lip of the wooden structure. He could find no trace of Inuyasha. 'That light must be what moves them back and forth through time,' he thought, fascinated by the phenomenon.

"You're up," Kagome said cheerily. Despite her tone, she was nervous. 'Will he make it through?' Sota was wondering much the same thing.

"Okay, here goes nothing," Ryoga said, swallowing reflexively out of nervous habit. Gripping the straps of his pack until his knuckles turned white, he put one hand on the edge closest to him. Taking a deep breath, he vaulted over it. With the wind whistling in his ears, he frantically prayed to whatever deities were listening that the well granted him passage. A faint light was shining against his eyelids. The curiosity overwhelmed him and he opened his eyes. All around him was blue light, streaked with lines of bright white. Before his mind could fully wrap itself around the experience, the light faded and his feet gently came down to make contact with the ground. A sudden bout of light-headedness hit him and he hastily sucked in a breath, feeling stupid for not noticing that he was still holding it. He heard a small chorus of birdsong and looked up. Inuyasha's inquiring, surprised face was poking over the edge of the well. Beyond that, he could clearly see blue sky. He almost sagged with giddy relief. 'The well let me pass!' he thought joyfully.

"Don't just stand there or Kagome will land on you!" Inuyasha barked down at him. Too happy to yell back, Ryoga bent his legs and pushed against the ground. He had misjudged his new strength, however, and made a very undignified landing, face down with his limbs sprawled. "Graceful," Inuyasha sarcastically remarked.

"Ha-ha, shut up. I'm just not used to this yet!" came his reply, muffled somewhat by the ground. He had only gotten as far as propping himself up on his elbows when Kagome clambered out of the well, having used the ladder that she placed there some time ago. Ryoga, in his excitement, had not seen it.

"I can't believe it let you through, this is wonderful! Oh, I'll have to introduce you to everyone!" Kagome gushed out before bouncing away in the direction of the village, snatching her backpack from Inuyasha as she passed him.

"How can she be scary enough to subdue everyone at the Tendo's yet skip away smiling like all is right in the world?" Ryoga asked Inuyasha, thoroughly perplexed.

"You get used to it after a while. Come on, before she yells at us for being slow." Inuyasha had only taken two steps before he stopped and faced Ryoga. He had a predatory-like glint in his eyes. "How fast are you, Hibiki?"

"How fast?" Ryoga repeated, mentally calculating in his head. "Well, if I wasn't a half-demon I could answer that a lot easier. As I stand now, I have no idea."

"How about a race to find out? Miroku can keep up with me for a bit, but he's only human. I always outlast him. Think of this as a chance to practice!"

"You want to race? Well…" Ryoga made doubly sure he was facing the same direction Kagome had vanished before drawing level with Inuyasha and crouching slightly in answer. "You'll have to make sure I don't get lost as you eat my dust!"

"Deal! Just don't come crying to me when I leave you sitting in the dirt!" Inuyasha instantly fired back.

"Ha, fat chance!"

"Ready?" Inuyasha asked, matching Ryoga's pose. "Go!"

The two half-demons burst forward, leaving a dust cloud from their take-off. Having no running experience in his new form, Ryoga quickly found himself struggling to keep up. Glancing surreptitiously at Inuyasha, Ryoga quickly studied the way the half dog-demon moved. Analysing each movement, Ryoga made small adjustments to his running pattern. After only a couple of seconds, he picked up the right way to move his muscles to achieve the same effect as Inuyasha's quick strides. Pleased with his success, he pushed himself harder.

Inuyasha flicked his gaze to the side, having heard Ryoga faltering slightly, only to see the black-haired boy draw level with him. With a feral grin, Inuyasha put on an extra burst of speed, daring Ryoga to match him.

Accepting the silent challenge, Ryoga willed his excess ki to flow to his legs. Feeling the rush of energy, he focused upon reinforcing his muscles. A victorious cry tore from his throat as the energy propelled him far enough to overtake Inuyasha.

Giving a startled squawk of surprise, Inuyasha barely managed to skid to a halt before he collided with the front of Kaede's hut.

Ryoga, on the other hand, was not so fortunate. His cry of dismay was cut short as a meaty thud sounded through the air and the wall shook under the force of the impact.

"What on Earth was that?" Sango yelled in panic from inside the hut.

Miroku's suave voice reached them next. "Fear not, dear Sango, for I shall lay your fears to rest by investigating the source of that which has disturbed you!"

"Give it a rest, already!" followed the exasperated voice of Shippo.

"Not without me, you don't, monk!" Sango said, angrily marching out of the hut with Hiraikotsu clutched firmly by its strap in one hand and Kirara on her shoulder. Her anger washed away when she spotted Kagome standing there. Walking over to the reincarnated priestess, Sango saw that she had an expression composed partly of disbelief, partly of worry and partly of suppressed laughter. "Welcome back, Kagome! Is everything all right?"

"Kagome!" yelled a blur of blue and orange before it jumped into her arms.

"Ah, you have returned, Lady Kagome!" Miroku said, blissfully slap-mark free. He examined her expression and, frowning, turned to where she was looking. The others noticed and followed his cue. They saw a humanoid shape, with a backpack as large as Kagome's, flat against the wall.

Ryoga gave a pitiful groan and slid down the wall. Twisting his body before he fell flat on his back, he ended up on his hands and knees, facing the startled group.

"Who are ye? Speak up, demon!" Kaede demanded from her doorway, her notched arrow pointing at his ribs. She was the only one who had noticed his tail so far.

"Demon?" Sango echoed, instantly gripping her boomerang's straps tighter.

"Ah, yes, do you see? He has ears similar to Inuyasha," Miroku added, indicating the furry, black appendages to the demon slayer.

"Wait Kaede, don't shoot him!" Kagome cried out, rushing forward to stand beside the old priestess.

Kaede lowered her bow and let the string slacken. "Ye know him, child?" She would have received an answer, too, if Inuyasha had not ambled over and interrupted.

"You're quick, I'll give you that. I dunno how you did it, but I gotta say…I think you need some practice at stopping!" Unable to hold it in any longer, both Inuyasha and Kagome burst out laughing.

"Yeah, you can laugh all you want…but I still beat you!" Ryoga said as he stood brushing off his clothes, grinning proudly despite the aches that the wall had seen fit to bestow upon him.

"I'm sorry for laughing, but I just couldn't help it! Are you okay, Ryoga?" Kagome managed to ask now that her laughter had subsided to sporadic giggling.

"Ryoga?" Miroku said, testing the name.

Sango had a look of dawning comprehension. "Wait, you mean the same Ryoga you told us you were going to try and help because of some curse?" Aforementioned boy blinked at this, but the fact that they knew didn't really bother him.

"Ye mean he is from your time, Kagome? The well let him through?" Kaede inquired, looking interested.

"Yes, he's from my time and yes, the well let him pass."

"Truly fascinating! To meet someone else from the future is interesting indeed, since only Inuyasha can go there…" Miroku said, trailing off as he walked around the bandanna-clad boy, examining him as if he was under a microscope. "A tail!" the monk suddenly exclaimed.

"Tail? Like Shippo's, you mean?"

"Not quite, my dear Sango. Like Koga's, actually."

"Koga? Wait, I've heard you two mention that name before…just who is Koga?" the Lost Boy asked, facing the only two he knew out of the group.

"Mangy wimp of a flea-ridden wolf…!" Inuyasha growled under his breath. Ryoga still heard it, though.

"A wolf?"

Kagome glared at Inuyasha, correctly guessing that he was mumbling some type of insult. "He's a full wolf-demon," she stated.

Kaede gave Ryoga an appraising once-over. "Ye are a half wolf-demon, are ye not?" Ryoga nodded in reply. "I would appreciate it if you refrained from attempting to topple my home," she said, sounding stern but smiling all the while.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that…" he chuckled nervously.

"Come in then, I'm sure ye all must want to talk. Ye be just in time. Shippo, run to the stream and fetch some water for our soup," the old woman asked, looking at the young fox-demon. He quickly scampered away, knowing that the sooner he did as he was bid, the sooner he could join the others. He was hoping to return before they really started talking.

After they had all settled themselves around the cooking fire in Kaede's hut, Kagome and Ryoga leaving their backpacks in a corner, Kirara jumped down from her perch. The little two-tailed cat-demon sauntered over to inspect the new arrival. After a few cautionary sniffs, she gave a pleased mew and jumped on his lap. The others had open mouths at this display, as the only male Kirara had been so affectionate to was Shippo.

"Uh, hey there…little…kitty?" Ryoga said, uncertain as to what he should call the small creature. He hesitantly reached out a hand and began to stroke Kirara's fur.

Sango swiftly regained her composure. 'If Kirara trusts him like that, then we mustn't have anything to fear,' she reasoned. "She's my two-tailed cat-demon. Her name is Kirara," Sango explained to the bewildered boy.

"Oh, thank you…uh…"

"Sango."

"Right, thank you, Sango. Kirara, huh? I can just imagine Ranma's reaction if he saw you…he'd scream and stutter and curl into a pathetic, quivering heap on the floor. I wish you could meet him," Ryoga sighed wistfully. The wicked grin that adorned his face ruined any illusion of innocence that his sentence might have had.

"Would Ranma really do that?" Kagome asked in disbelief.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "As much as I hate to admit this, he didn't seem like the type to be scared of a little cat."

"Are you kidding me? I'm being totally serious, you know. Ranma has quite the case of ailurophobia."

"A-loora-fo-bee-a…?" Sango mumbled, sounding out the strange, foreign-sounding word.

Ryoga, taking in the various looks of utter incomprehension, explained. "He's deathly afraid of any type of cat, even a common housecat."

The others were nodding in understanding when Shippo came running inside as fast as he could. Considering that the wooden pail he was using was about as big as he himself was, he couldn't see the ground in front of his footpaws. He let out a startled cry as he tripped on a pebble, the pail flying out of his grasp.

Ryoga, mouth open in a silent gasp, could only watch in morbid fascination as, in seemingly slow motion, the pail sailed straight at his head, curving gracefully in the air to dump its contents all over him. Screwing his eyes shut, he resigned himself to what would follow as he felt his body shift. Startled gasps and exclamations prompted him to open his eyes.

"Oh, so this is what Nabiki meant!" Kagome affirmed, mostly nodding to herself. She was staring at Ryoga with earnest interest, as were the others.

Kirara, who had had the good sense to jump clear of the water, mewed again. She stared inquisitively at the black wolf.

Ryoga, somehow, knew she was inquiring as to what happened. He could not understand her, but it came as more of an instinctual feeling. "It's okay, Kirara, it's still me," he said. To everyone else, however, it came across as a couple of soft barks. Kirara appeared reassured and bounded back over to him, rubbing against his left foreleg. Trying to ignore the others for as long as he could, he noticed his clothes piled around his paws. 'That didn't happen last time,' he thought, pondering the fickleness of Jusenkyo curses. He slowly rose to all fours and stepped out of his soaked clothes. Frowning, as well as a wolf can, he took each article of clothing in his teeth and laid it flat behind him to dry. He found the task easier than he ever did when he turned into a piglet. It helped being bigger and much less defenceless.

"So that's what you look like as a wolf, Hibiki? Not as bad as Koga's pack, at least. What is it with you wolves and your headbands?" Inuyasha said, blurting out the last sentence.

"Bandanna! Ban-dann-a!" Ryoga cried in outrage, jumping to his paws. Of course, it sounded like a half-growl, half-howl to the others. Headband sounded far too girly for Ryoga's liking. Also, in all fairness, it WAS a bandanna, not a headband.

Inuyasha simply sat there, looking amused at his little verbal tantrum. It did nothing to soothe Ryoga's ruffled fur.

Kagome was sitting there, mumbling things aloud. "Now, what was it that reverses this? Ah, yes! Hot water!" she triumphantly announced. Looking around, her eyes alighted upon the few small puddles of water that was all that remained. "Oh…guess I'll go fetch some more. Oh, Shippo, are you alright? You didn't hurt your foot, did you?"

"No, no…I'm okay," the young fox-demon hesitantly replied, too focused on staring at Ryoga.

"Okay, then. I'll be back shortly," she said, standing up. Instead of walking out the door, however, the schoolgirl went over to stand in front of Ryoga. She peered at him closely, making him fidget. "Ranma was right," she suddenly said, picking up the pail. "Your eyes are a yellow-gold colour, no brown at all." Having got what she wanted, she left the hut; leaving an awkward silence behind.

'Oh…so Ranma really WAS telling the truth. He lies to me so often that it's hard to discern when he actually IS being truthful to me,' Ryoga thought, bothered by that fact. He stayed silent, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. All he could do now was wait for Kagome to return and the water to become hot enough to trigger the change. 'I wonder what Inuyasha's going to teach me first? I know he was pretty adamant about me coming along, but he seems fine with it now. Wait, he's already taught me something! It's my ears that balance me when I'm running, not my arms. Moving them as I'm used to throws my centre off completely. I had to use my tail also…although Inuyasha can't teach me anything about it, as he doesn't have one. Who knew wolves relied so much on their tail as a kind of counterbalance? For changing direction, too. I'll have to get used to my tail in this form as well. I already know how to run on four legs from being a pig,' he thought, with a wry smile that being a pig helped him with anything.

Kagome re-entered the hut, the pail full once more and one of her drink bottles full, too. She handed the pail to Kaede, who poured the contents into the pot hanging over the fire, and crossed the floor until she was at her pack. Bending over, she rummaged inside it for something. Giving a happy, "Aha!" she sat back near the fire and set her little camping stove on the floor. Kagome poured the liquid into a small, metal cooking pot and set it on the stove, turning it on and grinning in a thoroughly pleased way.

Ryoga was suddenly filled with a bout of happiness. Wondering what brought about the feeling, he searched his mind. 'That must be it!' he mentally shouted, thinking back to when he was staring at the koi pond at the Tendo Dojo. 'I'm finally out of that seemingly endless rut! No more boring routine to inevitably follow!'

"Hmm, and that Ukyo girl said Ryoga was lacking at intros…oops. Everyone, this is Ryoga Hibiki. He'll be travelling with us while Inuyasha teaches him how to be a half-demon. Ryoga, this is Sango; she's a demon slayer and you've already met Kirara. That's Miroku; he's a monk as you might have guessed. You already know Inuyasha, but that's Shippo, he's a full fox-demon. This is Kaede, the priestess of this village," she finished, having pointed to each in turn.

Ryoga gave a canine version of a bow. 'Yes, things are definitely looking brighter than they have for a long time!'

A/N: Yes, still over 7000 words! Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter! I hope to hear from you again this chapter! -hugs-

15, 000 yen is roughly equivalent to 150 dollars in case anyone was wondering. I thought it seemed like a fair price.

You'd be surprised to find that the only thing in the chapter that was planned was Ryoga passing through the well. What possessed me to make Inuyasha issue a challenge for a race? Or for Ryoga to become close and personal with Kaede's wall? I have no idea, but I wish it'd stick around! I was laughing my head off as I wrote the wall-smacking scene.

I did want Ukyo to appear in this chapter, but the way I wrote it and they way I first planned it ended up quite different.

Did you notice the awful pun concerning the well scene? I didn't until I'd typed it. I'd stopped, re-read the couple of paragraphs I'd just typed, and almost banged my head on the desk once I got to it. It's actually quite hard to spot unless you're sharp at picking out details.

I have drawn Ryoga in his wolf form. All the pics are on my deviantART account. The links to each picture are in my profile.

To make things a little easier for my readers, I have a new section on my profile where I'll be posting my progress for all my fics. If you wish to know how much of the next chapter I've completed, simply head there and scroll down until you find it.

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Please review and tell what me you thought if you want more!

~FantomoDrako