Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma or Inu yasha.
Chapter 12Ranma shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Not that the seat itself was uncomfortable, actually it was quite the opposite, but the situation was a strange one.
Ukyo hadn't wasted much time in taking them across Nerima to an unfamiliar part of the district. She had led them to a building with an inconspicuous appearance; it was neither old, nor new, it was painted a bland color, and it was not too tall. The only thing Ranma could really say about it was that it was a fairly large building, but not one that would stand out in anybodies mind. Besides the fact that it was obviously not meant to be remembered, there were a couple other things that made Ranma uneasy about the place. The first thing being that he had been given hot water upon entering, and he hadn't asked for it. The second thing being what Ukyo said just before she took them here.
"The Lord of the Western Lands wishes to see you."
Ranma started at the sound of the secretary's voice, and looked up. Upon coming in he had noted that she was a hanyou as well, and she gave a friendly smile to Akane and him as they passed her metallic desk. The entire room was cold and spotless, it was not comforting and the woman behind the desk seemed aware of that. She waved them to a nearby door that was opening in front of them. Ukyo stepped out, but she didn't acknowledge either of them and continued out the door at a fast pace and with a business-like air around her.
Ranma and Akane shared a glance, and Ranma tried to look as if he wasn't nervous. Akane's lips turned up just slightly, and she looked amused and worried and surprised and many other things all at once. The doors were closed behind them with a dull thump that resounded in the long hall before them.
As far away as the door seemed from them, it took only seconds to reach it, and in unison they took a deep breath, and then glanced at each other, and then opened the door and stepped into an elaborate office. Their attention was not on their surroundings, however. It was taken by a door across the room, and the sounds from behind it.
"You! Come back here!" It was a woman's voice, soft and pleasant, but tinged with annoyance and exasperation. A splash was heard and then a male voice filled with age and mischief.
"Why? So you can change me back?"
"No, so we can take a nice, hot bath…"
Ranma's eyes widened, and he didn't think it would be a good idea to listen any further, but nothing could stop him from hearing the old man's cry of 'Sweeto!' and the loud splash that followed. Then there was silence.
Ranma turned to Akane, who looked just as shocked and disgusted as he was sure he had. She looked at him wide-eyed, and they wordlessly took the two chairs in the room. They didn't have to wait long before the door that had occupied their attention slid open, and a woman, the one who had been speaking, came out, closing the door behind her.
She looked like a confident, capable businesswoman, with a simple outfit and her hair held back. Her sharp heels clacked on the marble floor as she moved towards them with all the grace of a dancer and a martial artist combined. A smile stole across her features, and her deep hazel eyes softened as she approached.
"Hello, Akane, Ranma," she said pleasantly, as if she had never had to deal with uncooperative old men. "My name is Rin."
Ranma and Akane nodded, and greeted her as politely as they could. Ranma wasn't entirely sure who she was, and was wondering if he should say anything about the noise behind the door when that very door was opened once more. This time by someone both Akane and Ranma knew, though they had never met him.
He was tall, and he stood as if he had never slouched in his life. Cropped silver hair hung just above his golden eyes, and demon markings adorned the sides of his face like open wounds and his forehead in the shape of a crescent. He picked his way over to them in a casual suit, with an expression of barely softened indifference. And Ranma wondered just how he managed to look so intimidating when his features were decidedly more feminine.
"I'm sorry if you noticed any disturbance." He didn't need to introduce himself. He was Sesshoumaru, and there wasn't a demon alive that hadn't heard his name. "Allow me to explain. I paid a visit, some time ago, to a place I am sure you are familiar with: The cursed springs of Jusenkyou. I won't go into detail, but while under the curse I am not in my right mind, and" –
He was interrupted by the sound of laughter like bells, and Ranma turned to see Rin giggling behind a hand. She looked at Sesshoumaru, and her words were taunting, but her tone was warm as she said: "Why don't you tell them, that you are reduced to nothing but a, ah… 'Raging hentai'?"
"My dear Rin," said Sesshoumaru, sighing, although he clearly wasn't very irritated. "Perhaps you don't understand that I do not want the unfortunate nature of my curse advertised?"
Ranma watched this exchange with a growing ease. Rin was a human, but he could tell by the way they talked and smelled and looked at each other that she and Sesshoumaru were mated. Now that he met them, he was fairly sure that the woman behind the desk was their daughter, and it made things seem less awkward to know that the Lord of the Western lands had a family and the same problem Ranma had to deal with himself. He glanced at Akane to find that, if anything, she was more uncomfortable than before.
"Rin," Akane said, and her voice was both grave and melancholy. "You are daddy's daughter, aren't you?"
Rin's face filled with what looked like regret and she nodded. "I am."
"I trained your father," Sesshoumaru spoke up. "I'm sorry."
"You wanted to apologize?" Akane asked accusingly.
"Of course, but that's not why I wished to see you."
"You killed an innocent woman, and ruined someone's life," her voice dropped to a whisper. Sesshoumaru almost looked ashamed, but still he regarded Akane with an unwavering gaze.
"It was not my intention to kill her, but I doubt that matters now. As for your father, is his life so awful?"
"Would yours be if Rin were killed?"
Sesshoumaru's eyes flickered to Rin, who only looked more miserable, and then he really did look ashamed. His voice was low as he told them that Rin was killed, and that she was reincarnated into Soun Tendo's daughter. He told them that it was shortly after her death that he came to Jusenkyou. He lost himself in the curse and for years he did only what he pleased. Most of it, he told them, he could not remember. During the years that he went by the name Happosai, in his cursed form, he trained Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo. The two trained under him for a while, but then he made a mistake, and his disciples sealed him in a cave. It didn't take him more than a year to escape, and he made his way to the Tendo dojo, as it was back then. He only needed to see Soun's daughter once to know who she was, and while he probably didn't understand why in his cursed form, he knew he needed her. He didn't remember going to the dojo, or harming the Tendo's. He only remembered coming to in his real form with Rin nearby.
Then he fell silent and Rin began to speak.
"Physically, I am a Tendo. Spiritually and mentally, I am both the Rin of the past and the Rin that was reborn. Legally, I don't exist under any constant name," she said. "But my place is always at Sesshoumaru's side."
Akane seemed to relax, and she nodded and said: "I… understand, but… it's better that daddy doesn't know."
"Yes," said Rin, sadly. "It would only hurt him more, I think." The issue seemed to be resolved and she turned to Ranma. "Today was the first time in years that Sesshoumaru has changed like that. It doesn't happen often, anymore. I think that having another cursed individual nearby was what made the curse react."
Ranma's face lit up and he asked quickly if that meant there was a cure. Rin shook her head, and Ranma sunk dejectedly into his seat.
"There is no direct cure," Sesshoumaru said, watching this performance. "But I believe that each curse is bestowed for a purpose. Once that purpose is achieved, the curse begins to fade. I don't know if this is true, but if I was not cursed I would not have found Rin so easily, if at all."
Ranma looked even more despondent, as he sighed. "Great. Why would I ever need to be a girl? I'll never be cured."
"Ranma," Akane said. "Why would the Lord of the Western lands need to be a perverted old martial arts master? Don't give up so easily."
"You know I never give up," Ranma smiled at her before turning to Rin and Sesshoumaru. "Well, why'd you want to see us?" he asked, and knew Akane would be exasperated with his lack of tact.
"Ukyo informed us of the incident at Furinkan high. That kind of power is dangerous," said Sesshoumaru. "I recommend you seal your demon blood, in case it takes control of you. This doesn't happen often to half-breeds, but the consequences are great when it does."
"Umm… seal?" Ranma asked intelligently. He was a little bit lost in the conversation, but Rin looked amused by it and she moved behind the desk and took a box from one of the drawers. She held it out to Ranma, and inside it he found… a string. It was a perfectly simple string. He raised his eyebrows, and was about to comment when Rin explained.
"You always wear your hair in a pigtail, right? Well, this string has sealing properties; just make sure you always wear it. It won't affect you normally, but if you go into neko-ken or a similar state it will keep you from becoming a full demon."
Ranma looked nonplussed. "I can do that?"
"I saw you, when you were in neko-ken. It didn't last long, but while you were fighting Ukyo and your father, you were… more than half-blooded," Akane told him.
So, Ranma accepted the seal, and that being done, they didn't stay much longer. But just as they were leaving, Rin said to them, with only sincerity in her eyes, that she would keep in touch. And after that, Ranma could read in her movements that Akane was finally relaxed, as she had not been since Ukyo approached them. Then they headed back to the Tendo shrine where Nabiki was waiting.
A/N: The string thing is kind of like the dragon's whisker. I'm just going to pretend that the Dragon's whisker thing never happened. Also, Rin is about 18. Their daughter in the office was from the original Rin, Ok? Sorry, if they were OOC, but I don't have much experience with Sesshoumaru and Rin. They won't be in the story too much so don't worry if you didn't like this chapter. Well, please REVIEW, thanks, bye.