The sun shone brightly from the sky of flawless blue upon the Higurashi shrine. It was a pleasant-looking place, with a painted wooden gate in front of a long flight of stairs beginning at the sidewalk. A wood and stone fence spread a short distance from the sides of the gate before being shrouded in the foliage that covered the hillside. The entire thing made a quaint and charming picture. Akane couldn't help but wish that it were more suited to her dismal mood.
She wished she were with Ranma, but that wouldn't help him in his current state. If she did stay it would be for her own piece of mind, rather than any actual benefit on Ranma's behalf and she couldn't afford to be selfish now. If it wasn't for me, Ranma would…Akane sighed and glanced at Doctor Tofu.
He had come because he was the one that suggested coming here in the first place. He knew more about the Higurashis than anyone else, so it was only logical for him to go. Tofu had asked Akane to come, for reasons unknown to her, and she felt that she needed to do something for Ranma. Nodoka and Genma were keeping Soun away from the house. Nodoka's motives for helping them were unclear to Akane, but if she was keeping Soun away she was keeping herself away too. That left Kasumi to make sure nothing happened to Ranma.
Akane didn't completely trust Kasumi…but she's my sister, Akane told herself fiercely, and she has never betrayed me… Well, she had sort of betrayed her by keeping her abilities a secret, but that was because she thought her family would treat her differently. And so far Akane was ashamed to be proving her right.
Tofu began up the shaded steps with Akane trailing behind. She had called Rin, but she wouldn't pick up on her private line and her secretaries all said she was busy. It made Akane feel uneasy, and while her thoughts were – for the most part – on Ranma, she couldn't help but wonder if Rin was in any sort of trouble. They reached the top of the stairs, and Akane almost stumbled backwards in surprise.
The shrine had been marked by another hanyou. The scent was everywhere, and it was so staggering Akane nearly feared to set foot on his territory. She could tell that he was of the same bloodline as Sesshomarou, and that – like Sesshomarou – he was centuries old, and at least one of those centuries was spent here. She hadn't even known hanyous existed that far back. The only other thing she could tell, and perhaps the most surprising of all, was that the very hanyou that had marked the shrine was a few yards off, and he seemed to be sweeping the shrine with much more force than necessary. He also seemed to be quite adept at cursing.
"Fucking bitch, she damn well knows I – "he ceased his grumbling, and glanced up at them irritably. "What?"
"This is the Higurashi shrine, correct?" Tofu asked, blinking in surprise. The hanyou stared at him pointedly, and it was silent for a prolonged moment, then he sighed and looked slightly less annoyed.
"You want to see Kagome, right?" he turned and began walking before they could answer. "Follow me."
Akane took a moment to study the hanyou as she and Tofu followed him to the other side of the shrine, in the direction of a two-story house. He was dressed normally, in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and he looked to be in his late twenties, although Akane could tell otherwise. His eyes were a strange shade of purple, and she could see the age and wisdom behind them despite his seeming immaturity. The loosely tied hair that fell to his waist was a lustrous black, and Akane wondered if it was really silver like Sesshomarou's.
He stopped in front of what looked like the back door to the house, and shouted: "Oi! Kagome!"
Akane's ears picked up footsteps from inside the house, and then the door opened and a woman stepped out. Her hair was black and fell to mid-back, framing a youthful face with a scent just as ancient as the hanyou's. Her blue eyes twitched in agitation, reminding Akane painfully of Ranma.
"Inu-Yasha! If you think– " she cut off abruptly and glanced at Doctor Tofu and Akane in surprise. There was a short silence before she cleared her throat and said: "Welcome to the Higurashi shrine! I'm Kagome, and I'm sure Inu-Yasha has already introduced himself…" she slide her eyes to the hanyou next to her who snorted and crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly in a way that clearly said he had not.
There was such familiarity in the way the two mates argued – for Akane could tell that they were mates – that she wondered if it could be considered arguing at all. They said each word as if they could already judge the other's reaction, and it was similar to the way Rin and Sesshomarou behaved, while still being very different. She wondered if anyone would ever make that observation of her and Ranma before deciding her shoes were the most interesting things she had ever seen when she realized just what that would entail.
"Well, what can we do for you?"
Akane nearly started at Kagome's question and Inu-Yasha's muttered, 'we?' Tofu, however, seemed unfazed as he asked if she was the miko of this shrine and she answered with a nod. Akane looked from the hanyou to the miko, and could only think of Kasumi with more than a little guilt. This was probably one of the very first hanyous, and here he was mated to a miko. They were history, she realized, centuries of harmony between a demon and a priestess. And she had judged Kasumi, her own sister, just because of rumor and her own bad experience. I'm…just like Daddy…Akane bit her lip and brought her attention back to the present.
"Sealed?" Kagome asked, incredulous. Inu-Yasha's expression was somewhere between surprise and anger. It quickly settled on the latter, and Kagome's followed, her brows furrowing. "By who?"
"Ah," Doctor Tofu sighed sadly, "It was a miko from China. There are still entire villages of demon hunters in that area." Kagome clenched a fist and Inu-Yasha placed a hand on her shoulder. Akane couldn't help but think of Ranma with a painful wrenching in her stomach when they shared a glance that meant something only between the two of them.
"Things are completely out of control over there," said Kagome, frowning, her eyes burning with indignation. "And no one's doing a thing about it!"
"You know they don't have a lord for the eastern lands right now," Inu-Yasha said, and he looked thoughtful, but still furious.
"That's no excuse!"
"You'll help us, won't you?" Akane cut in, and the two of them looked at her as if she had popped out of thin air.
"Of course we'll help," Kagome recovered first. Inu-Yasha snorted, whether it was because they were interrupted or because Kagome inadvertently used the word 'we' without his consent, Akane couldn't be sure.
"Feh."
It wasn't long before they returned to the Tendo shrine, with Inu-yash and Kagome in tow. Kasumi stood from her place on the shrine steps as they approached, releasing the shield that hid Ranma from sight. As soon as she could see Ranma was still in one piece, Akane realized just how worried she had been and her step felt substantially lighter.
"I thought this was supposed to be a guy."
Akane glared at Inu-Yasha. "He is," she growled, then glanced at the redhead. "Most of the time." She was sure that Kagome and Inu-Yasha were exchanging confused glances behind her back – because that's just what she would have done with Ranma – and tried to ignore the stab in her heart.
Kagome approached Ranma, greeting Kasumi with a nod, and knelt to examine the arrow just as Kasumi had first done. She had touched the shaft only briefly when Ranma's head shot up and her eyes flew open and the first word that was out of her mouth was a breathless, questioning "Akane?" Then her eyes met Akane's and relief passed between them, as Ranma visibly relaxed. The stunning electric blue of Ranma's eyes made Akane feel more at ease than she could remember being, and a smile broke over her face. She watched as Ranma saw the arrow and tensed again.
Kagome smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'm unsealing you. Now hold still."
There was no bright light, no rush of power that Akane could sense, although there might have been for Doctor Tofu and Kasumi. The only difference for Akane was the faint smell of magic in the air, a pure and airy scent like spring water. With one swift and entirely too simple movement Ranma was free of the arrow and on her feet in an instant. There was hardly a second's pause before she spoke.
"So…can I get some hot water?"
Akane wondered why she had worried in the first place.
Ranma was hard pressed to keep a goofy smile from his face as he sat at the table with Akane, Kasumi, Doctor Tofu, Kagome, and Inu-Yasha. It felt good to be alive. Especially when Akane's hand found his beneath the table, and her smile lit up the room. He didn't think anything was quite as lovely as her smile… unless it was her scent or her eyes or just all of her…. It felt as if he hadn't seen her in ages, and he was only too glad to have her beside him. If only they were alone… Ranma checked that thought and listened to the end of their explanation.
He and everyone else had already explained the curse to Kagome and Inu-Yasha. They actually hadn't seemed too surprised and he wondered if they had heard of Jusenkyou. He wouldn't be surprised if they knew of every curse in existence. They were certainly old enough to…
Now everyone else was explaining to him what had happened while he was 'sleeping.' He had been surprised to learn that both Kasumi and Doctor Tofu had miko abilities. He had a hard time seeing them as real threats, but that didn't keep his eyes from wandering to them warily from time to time.
"You're a martial artist, aren't you?"
Ranma glanced up at Inu-Yasha and smirked. He had been hoping to get a chance to fight the other hanyou, and it looked like this going to be it. If he was as experienced as he looked, the fight would be a real challenge.
"I'm heir to the Saotome School of indiscriminate grappling," Ranma tossed off casually. He doubted the hanyou would be impressed, but…
"Indiscriminate grappling?" Inu-Yasha raised his eyebrow in surprise. Nope, not impressed at all. "You practice anything-goes?"
Ranma didn't get a chance to answer as Soun burst into the room. His hair flew about him like a dark cloud, and he had a look of unbridled fury in his eyes as they darted about the room as if in frantic search of something. He passed them by without a glance and continued his wild search deeper into the house. A startled hush fell over the occupants of the room, their eyes had all widened in shock and fear of the patriarch's malevolence. Ranma felt Akane's nails dig into his hand, and he pulled her closer protectively.
Following Soun from the gaping door were the stoic figures of Genma and Nodoka. Or rather, Nodoka was stoic, and Genma was all out panicking. He visibly shook with fear, one of his eyes was blackened, and the other never left the direction Soun had disappeared in.
"Wha… what's wrong with Daddy?" asked Akane, her voice barely quavering. Genma made no pretense of trying to answer, and Nodoka turned her eyes on them. Her wintry gaze was tinged, only slightly, with what looked like real worry. The rest of her countenance was as stone hard as always, but her eyes, like Soun's and Genma's, betrayed her. She never did answer though, because Soun reentered the room before she had a chance to.
He was decked out in his intricate samurai armor, his hair was hidden inside the helmet and an ominous aura seemed to surround him like the cloud of his hair had earlier. His face was shadowed by the helmet, but the feral light in his eyes shown through the darkness. His every step reeked of vehemence, and he slung his bow across his back with a brutality none had seen before in him. One word plummeted from his lip like the vilest of curses, making his tongue appear snake-like in his grim-set mouth.
"Happosai."
A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay! I was really busy, I had all this school work ( actually I still have some left…) and I finished this as soon as I could. So I'll try to get the next chapter out faster. I hope I kept Kagome and Inu-Yasha in character. They'd be a little different since they're much older and the quest is done… um, I'll have more info on them later, promise. I'll try and make an Inu/Ranma fight scene too… actually it looks like they'll be around a little longer than I first intended. Um, for ShogunZX what surprise? I don't think I gave anything away… O well, please REVIEW, c ya next chap.