Ch. 2 Inu-Yasha has entered the building
Ranma blinked his eyes as he stared at the stone above him. He tipped his head up and squinted. The rays of the setting sun pierced through the cave entrance. Pushing himself to a sitting position, he let out a loud groan. "Oh man." Maybe he'd slept on a rock, or two, or three. He ached to his bones.
Ranma clasped his right hand to his chest, leaned forward and pulled in a few deep breaths of air. Searching within, he found that the demon half of his soul had been weakened from the full joining. Frowning Ranma began to think (no comments from the peanut gallery). Food might be a temporary solution, but last he checked they hadn't brought a whole lot with them. Besides, what little had been left his father had probably finished off while he was in the cave.
What could rebuild demonic energy? Ranma quickly sorted through and rejected several ideas that came to mind - some of them quite grizzly. Finally - "Magic. I can use sources of magic energy to rebuild my strength. But where . . ." A grin began to spread across Ranma's face. He had an idea. A deliciously evil idea.
* * * *
Genma shot an uneasy glance at his son as they hiked back down the mountainside. Upon exiting the cave, the boy had refused to divulge any information about what had happened to him. Furthermore, except for yelling at him for eating all the food (like the boy should expect him to wait that long), Ranma seemed downright cheerful. Genma began to sweat as, a half an hour down the trail, Ranma started whistling. Something must be up. A content Ranma, in Genma's book, was not a good thing.
Ranma had to repress the urge to leap about and do flips through the air. No need to clue people in too early. Besides, if he was right his demon side would have done more then just get rid of his Jusenkyo curse (heh heh), but it would have consumed every potion/curse and/or magical spell he'd ever drank/smelled/ or been dropped into. (Suppress the urge to yodel.)
Locking his fingers behind his head and leaning back a bit, Ranma's mind turned to a different train of thought. He furrowed his brow. He thought at first it was because his demon side had been weakened, simulating the weakened state previously experienced during the effects of the new moon. Yet now that his demonic powers had recovered, he had stayed human.
There's no way he could get that lucky. What if he could control it?! It had consumed the power of the Jusenkyo curse. He frowned again. Maybe he would turn into a dog demon with cold water. Or worse yet, a female dog demon. Ranma wrinkled his nose in disgust. He needed to experiment. He cast a sidelong glance at his father and sighed. Later. This was definitely something he needed to do in private.
* * * *
Ranma looked rather pleased with himself as they trudged up to the gates of the Tendo Dojo. So far he'd dodged a hose, a washing tin, two glasses of water and the ladle lady.
His father, now a sopping panda, held up a sign - "What's gotten into you boy?"
"You're just getting slow in your old age."
Flip. "I'm not that old."
"Tadaima," Ranma called, changing his shoes to slippers in the entryway.
"Ranma-kun?" a familiar voice calls out.
Going round the hall to the living area, Ranma spotted Kasumi standing with a rather strained smile on her face. He quickly saw why when he looked behind her. Seated around the table was his "finacee" club. Ranma's cheerful mood sunk like a rock through oatmeal. And since Ranma didn't have exactly what you'd call a poker face, this was not lost on the girls.
Ukyo was the first to recover. "So Ranma-honey, how did it go?"
"Airen make progress in mastering cat-fist, yes?" Shampoo's anxious look was actually genuine. She would have a much easier time wooing Ranma to her side if he wasn't afraid of her cursed form.
"Humph. What do I care what that pervert's been doing. Probably been out peeping at bathhouses with that degenerate father of his."
"Akane! Now be nice. No doubt Ranma and his father are tired from their long trip." Turning to the aforementioned pair, she smiled sweetly, stating "Why don't you two go wash up and prepare for dinner."
Ranma shot Kasumi a thankful look. As the panda headed up the stairs, Ranma trailed behind, feeling three hard stares aimed at his back. As they reached the top, Ranma quickly leaned down the rail and admonished "and no peeking!"
Two girls flushed in embarrassment (their thoughts had been headed along those lines) and the third in anger.
Genma growfed in agreement and they turned from red to green. No one was going to walk in on Genma in the bathtub.
"Perhaps you girls should come back tomorrow when Ranma's had a chance to rest up from his trip," Kasumi stated politely yet firmly. Ukyo and Shampoo muttered under their breath but complied, shooting envious glances at Akane. Akane just tossed her head as if to say "As if I care about that baka anyway" and left to go smash cinder blocks in the dojo.
* * * *
Ranma sat down in the furough with a sigh. Cupping the warm water in his hands, he seemed to ponder it, as his father's entering bulk sloshed the water about. "So, Ranma, tell me what happened." Ranma turned his palms back down, dumping the water back into the tub, and flexed his fingers. Genma suddenly felt the little hairs on the back of his neck stand up, as, for a fleeting second, it seemed as if Ranma's hands had sported claws.
"Now listen boy . . ." Genma began again, only to be interrupted this time when Ranma's head shot up. Ranma began sniffing the air. What was that? He smelled something - off. His danger sense began to tingle and he quickly dried, dressed and exited the bathroom window to investigate.
Ranma tried to concentrate on the smell. There! It had become much clearer. In fact, he could now locate the different residents of the Tendo household. Ranma began to panic as he realized that the strange sent he had detected earlier was one of Akane's concoctions, no doubt to "welcome" him home. Ranma re-entered the bathroom and started to pace. Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he froze, and slowly walked over. Rubbing a patch of steamy glass clear for a better view, Ranma was greeted by the sight of thick white hair, dog ears, and slitted golden eyes.
Blink. Ranma threw a quick glance around to make double sure that his father was no longer present, then he stepped over to the hot and cold water faucets on the wall.
Hot water, nothing. Cold water, nothing. Concentrate. Ranma could see the change, he was human again. Trembling, Ranma simply stared at the mirror for a minute. The sound of pans banging in the kitchen, followed by a miniature explosion, snapped him out of his reverie.
Escape! (Run away, run away!) Ranma's stomach rumbled. Somewhere with real food. Unfortunately, he couldn't fall back on his usual haunts, Shampoo and Ucchan would still want to know what had happened to him and he wasn't ready to talk to anyone yet. Kodatchi's was out of the question.
Kagome! How could he have forgotten! He bit his lip in frustration, then winced as he discovered that his line of thought had turned him into a hanyo again (and thus fangs). From what he could remember Kagome had come from a time very similar to his current one. His memories, however, were too vague to pinpoint where she had lived. He knew it was still in Japan, that much he was sure of. He could ask Nabiki for help but it would cost him. Plus she would in turn sell the information about his search to everyone. No, that wouldn't do.
"Ranma-kun, dinner time."
Run now, think later. Jumping out of the window again, he barely remembered to change back to his human form before taking to the rooftops. He might have just enough money in his pocket for some instant ramen. Then he would find a phone book.
I don't intend to make this an epoch - just 6-10 chapters long, max. So, if it seems like I'm rushing things, and you want me to fill in the little details more, just let me know.
Ranma blinked his eyes as he stared at the stone above him. He tipped his head up and squinted. The rays of the setting sun pierced through the cave entrance. Pushing himself to a sitting position, he let out a loud groan. "Oh man." Maybe he'd slept on a rock, or two, or three. He ached to his bones.
Ranma clasped his right hand to his chest, leaned forward and pulled in a few deep breaths of air. Searching within, he found that the demon half of his soul had been weakened from the full joining. Frowning Ranma began to think (no comments from the peanut gallery). Food might be a temporary solution, but last he checked they hadn't brought a whole lot with them. Besides, what little had been left his father had probably finished off while he was in the cave.
What could rebuild demonic energy? Ranma quickly sorted through and rejected several ideas that came to mind - some of them quite grizzly. Finally - "Magic. I can use sources of magic energy to rebuild my strength. But where . . ." A grin began to spread across Ranma's face. He had an idea. A deliciously evil idea.
* * * *
Genma shot an uneasy glance at his son as they hiked back down the mountainside. Upon exiting the cave, the boy had refused to divulge any information about what had happened to him. Furthermore, except for yelling at him for eating all the food (like the boy should expect him to wait that long), Ranma seemed downright cheerful. Genma began to sweat as, a half an hour down the trail, Ranma started whistling. Something must be up. A content Ranma, in Genma's book, was not a good thing.
Ranma had to repress the urge to leap about and do flips through the air. No need to clue people in too early. Besides, if he was right his demon side would have done more then just get rid of his Jusenkyo curse (heh heh), but it would have consumed every potion/curse and/or magical spell he'd ever drank/smelled/ or been dropped into. (Suppress the urge to yodel.)
Locking his fingers behind his head and leaning back a bit, Ranma's mind turned to a different train of thought. He furrowed his brow. He thought at first it was because his demon side had been weakened, simulating the weakened state previously experienced during the effects of the new moon. Yet now that his demonic powers had recovered, he had stayed human.
There's no way he could get that lucky. What if he could control it?! It had consumed the power of the Jusenkyo curse. He frowned again. Maybe he would turn into a dog demon with cold water. Or worse yet, a female dog demon. Ranma wrinkled his nose in disgust. He needed to experiment. He cast a sidelong glance at his father and sighed. Later. This was definitely something he needed to do in private.
* * * *
Ranma looked rather pleased with himself as they trudged up to the gates of the Tendo Dojo. So far he'd dodged a hose, a washing tin, two glasses of water and the ladle lady.
His father, now a sopping panda, held up a sign - "What's gotten into you boy?"
"You're just getting slow in your old age."
Flip. "I'm not that old."
"Tadaima," Ranma called, changing his shoes to slippers in the entryway.
"Ranma-kun?" a familiar voice calls out.
Going round the hall to the living area, Ranma spotted Kasumi standing with a rather strained smile on her face. He quickly saw why when he looked behind her. Seated around the table was his "finacee" club. Ranma's cheerful mood sunk like a rock through oatmeal. And since Ranma didn't have exactly what you'd call a poker face, this was not lost on the girls.
Ukyo was the first to recover. "So Ranma-honey, how did it go?"
"Airen make progress in mastering cat-fist, yes?" Shampoo's anxious look was actually genuine. She would have a much easier time wooing Ranma to her side if he wasn't afraid of her cursed form.
"Humph. What do I care what that pervert's been doing. Probably been out peeping at bathhouses with that degenerate father of his."
"Akane! Now be nice. No doubt Ranma and his father are tired from their long trip." Turning to the aforementioned pair, she smiled sweetly, stating "Why don't you two go wash up and prepare for dinner."
Ranma shot Kasumi a thankful look. As the panda headed up the stairs, Ranma trailed behind, feeling three hard stares aimed at his back. As they reached the top, Ranma quickly leaned down the rail and admonished "and no peeking!"
Two girls flushed in embarrassment (their thoughts had been headed along those lines) and the third in anger.
Genma growfed in agreement and they turned from red to green. No one was going to walk in on Genma in the bathtub.
"Perhaps you girls should come back tomorrow when Ranma's had a chance to rest up from his trip," Kasumi stated politely yet firmly. Ukyo and Shampoo muttered under their breath but complied, shooting envious glances at Akane. Akane just tossed her head as if to say "As if I care about that baka anyway" and left to go smash cinder blocks in the dojo.
* * * *
Ranma sat down in the furough with a sigh. Cupping the warm water in his hands, he seemed to ponder it, as his father's entering bulk sloshed the water about. "So, Ranma, tell me what happened." Ranma turned his palms back down, dumping the water back into the tub, and flexed his fingers. Genma suddenly felt the little hairs on the back of his neck stand up, as, for a fleeting second, it seemed as if Ranma's hands had sported claws.
"Now listen boy . . ." Genma began again, only to be interrupted this time when Ranma's head shot up. Ranma began sniffing the air. What was that? He smelled something - off. His danger sense began to tingle and he quickly dried, dressed and exited the bathroom window to investigate.
Ranma tried to concentrate on the smell. There! It had become much clearer. In fact, he could now locate the different residents of the Tendo household. Ranma began to panic as he realized that the strange sent he had detected earlier was one of Akane's concoctions, no doubt to "welcome" him home. Ranma re-entered the bathroom and started to pace. Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he froze, and slowly walked over. Rubbing a patch of steamy glass clear for a better view, Ranma was greeted by the sight of thick white hair, dog ears, and slitted golden eyes.
Blink. Ranma threw a quick glance around to make double sure that his father was no longer present, then he stepped over to the hot and cold water faucets on the wall.
Hot water, nothing. Cold water, nothing. Concentrate. Ranma could see the change, he was human again. Trembling, Ranma simply stared at the mirror for a minute. The sound of pans banging in the kitchen, followed by a miniature explosion, snapped him out of his reverie.
Escape! (Run away, run away!) Ranma's stomach rumbled. Somewhere with real food. Unfortunately, he couldn't fall back on his usual haunts, Shampoo and Ucchan would still want to know what had happened to him and he wasn't ready to talk to anyone yet. Kodatchi's was out of the question.
Kagome! How could he have forgotten! He bit his lip in frustration, then winced as he discovered that his line of thought had turned him into a hanyo again (and thus fangs). From what he could remember Kagome had come from a time very similar to his current one. His memories, however, were too vague to pinpoint where she had lived. He knew it was still in Japan, that much he was sure of. He could ask Nabiki for help but it would cost him. Plus she would in turn sell the information about his search to everyone. No, that wouldn't do.
"Ranma-kun, dinner time."
Run now, think later. Jumping out of the window again, he barely remembered to change back to his human form before taking to the rooftops. He might have just enough money in his pocket for some instant ramen. Then he would find a phone book.
I don't intend to make this an epoch - just 6-10 chapters long, max. So, if it seems like I'm rushing things, and you want me to fill in the little details more, just let me know.