Disclaimer: No, they're not mine, though I wish I had Ryoga and Miroku ^-^

Kiyomisa: Hey they kept reading! I'm so happy ;^-^;

* * *

When Ryoga and Inu-Yasha returned from their sparring, Inu-Yasha was immediately given an enthusiastic greeting from Shampoo. Not nearly as glompish as when she greeted Ranma, but still much more affectionate than the young demon was comfortable with.

"Airen!"

"Gah! Get offa me!" and he promptly dumped her on her behind.

She glared up at him petulantly. "What wrong with airen?"

Inu-Yasha glared back. "I'm not your airen, and I don't want you jumping on me, got it?" he snapped. He was unimpressed by the murderous look he received in return.

"Shampoo understand. No like, but understand," she told him coldly.

"Hey, how come you listen to him, but not to me?" Ranma whined. That was a mistake, as it brought Shampoo's attention immediately back to him and he was amply glomped.

"Because she knows I'll do more than just shove her off next time," Inu-Yasha growled, flexing his claws.

Kagome noticed Akane's furious expression, and she placed a restraining hand on her cousin's arm. "Remember Akane, Shampoo's the one hanging on him, and Ranma hasn't done anything to encourage her."

With great control, Akane stopped shaking and the fire in her eyes dimmed a little. She took a deep breath and ignored the spectacle before her. But Kaede lost a teacup to the girl's strong grip and Kagome had to spend the rest of the morning tending to Akane's burned hand.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Ukyo was explaining her special mix of spices to Mousse, who in turn was explaining how he made his pepper bombs when Kagome and Inu-Yasha whipped their heads toward the north end of town.

"Smells like blood," Inu-Yasha said seriously, while Kagome said, "There's a shard over there!"

That was all that needed to be said. The entire group immediately rushed northwards.

Standing amid dozens of bodies, were two large creatures, spotted with blood. Their legs were long, like a gazell's, but their faces looked more like hares, with the exception of the sharp carnivorous teeth. Their paws each sported large claws.

"MORE …BLOOD…" one of them said in a broken voice before they attacked. The group dodged easily. Sango threw her boomerang, and when the closest one dodged even closer, Mousse tangled its legs with his chains, knocking it to the ground.

"Ryoga! The shard's in its chest, near its heart!" Kagome called out. Ryoga nodded and punched into the demon's chest and withdrew the shard. The demon shrank back into a small hare, which kicked its back legs weakly as it died.

Ryoga looked like he was going to be sick, and he thrust the shard into Kagome's grasp as he turned away from the battle with a pale face.

Meanwhile, Shampoo Ranma and Ukyo had broken three of the other beast's legs, giving Inu-Yasha an unmoving target and he sliced through its neck with the Tetsusaiga.

"Kagome, where's the shard?" Miroku called as the flesh on the creature began to knit much to the surprise of the modern warriors.

"In its neck, close to the head!"

"Hya!" Shampoo thrust in with her hand and came up with the shard, and the pieces of the demon's body reverted to a hare's.

Only now, did they have time to take in the carnage, and Akane's eyes were wide with horror. Ukyo and Ranma glared at the scene, swearing to die before letting another thing like this happen. Mousse stoically took it in, though he was pale in the face. Shampoo was mechanically observing how each person had died, her mind numbing itself to the horror in front of her.

"Tch. What's wrong with them?" Inu-Yasha griped to Kagome.

She threw him an irritated look. "This is the first time they've ever seen anything like this," she explained.

Kagome and Akane noticed that Ryoga was shaking. So did Mousse and Inu-Yasha. They gathered around him asking what was wrong. He shoved them off angrily. "Go away and leave me alone!" he snapped, breathing heavily. Startled, they backed off. Ryoga began to stumble his way back to Kaede's house, only he was heading further into the wilderness.

"Ucchan, could you go get him before he gets lost?" Ranma asked the cook.

The brunette blinked. "Me?"

"Please? Something's not right with him," Akane added.

Ukyo looked after him and nodded. "You're right. He looks like he could do the full Shishi Hokodan twice over," she said and raced after him.

When she caught up with him, she didn't say anything for a moment. "Umm…Ryo-chan, the village is back the other way," she pointed out gently. When he didn't answer, Ukyo looked at him, and was surprised to see silent tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Ryoga! What's wrong?" Ukyo asked worriedly, stopping him with hands on his shoulders. He looked at her with glistening eyes.

"They-they were all killed so-so…and then I-I killed-" he broke down and began sobbing into her shoulder.

"Oh Ryoga," Ukyo said and held him close, petting his hair as she imagined a mother would. "Shh, shh. It's all right," she assured him, even though she felt queasy herself at the sight the villagers had presented. "This is the first time you-any of us has seen anything like this, it's okay to cry," she told him.

Ukyo should have known what seeing something like that would have done to Ryoga. His heart was so big, and fragile. He didn't like seeing anyone get hurt, not even Mousse or Ranma, as much as he picked fights with them.

When his tears ran out, Ukyo still held him comfortingly.

"Thanks…Ucchan," he murmured into her shoulder, the warm air of his breath moving along her neck. Ukyo felt herself blushing, but she gave him a comforting bweeze before stepping back a little.

"Feeling better?" she asked him. He nodded and rubbed at his eyes with a fist, making himself look like a very young boy.

She smiled warmly at him. "C'mon then. Let's go back. We'll go through the woods so we don't have to go through the village," she offered and took hold of his arm. Otherwise, she'd end up unconsciously following him and getting lost. Ryoga meekly let himself be led back.

* * *

"You mean you see stuff like this all the time?" Akane asked Kagome incredulously.

"Unfortunately, yes," Miroku answered for her.

"All the more reason to kill them," Sango added with a ferocious fire in her burgundy eyes.

"Sango-chan, you know that not all demons act like that. Besides, these were just some hares that Naraku put some shards in," Kagome pointed out.

The look she received from the exterminator said plainly that she didn't agree with Kagome.

"Ohiyo everyone," Ukyo called out as she led Ryoga up to the group.

Inu-Yasha went over to Ryoga and studied him a bit. "You okay?" he asked gruffly. Ryoga nodded, his eyes still clearly troubled, but grateful for his new friend's concern.

Inu-Yasha didn't believe him, but left him alone, not wanting to get all mushy.

"All right. The last we heard, Naraku was heading north. So we should set out tomorrow, " Miroku began.

"But we don't have any supplies," Mousse pointed out.

"I can provide those for your group," Kaede assured him.

"Well then, let's go get Naraku!" Ranma said enthusiastically.

Akane blinked at him in surprise, and Kagome clapped her hands joyfully. "So you mean you'll help us?"

"Of course. From what you've told me, Naraku's the worst kind of bully there is," Ranma told the two cousins.

"I will go," Ryoga said, his teeth clenched angrily together. Ukyo placed a friendly hand on his arm, before adding her support as well.

"If airens go, Shampoo go too," the amazon said, switching her looks between Ranma and Inu-Yasha.

"Then I will accompany you as well," Mousse said with a resigned look.

"Tomorrow we leave then," Miroku said. "Get as much sleep as you can."

* * *

"It would have to rain!" Ranma complained as she strode down the pathway. The rain drizzled lightly down, cooling everyone off after the hot day before. Kagome walked next to Inu-Yasha, who was partly shielding her with his large sleeve, Shippo in her arms. Sango and Miroku walked, holding her boomerang above their heads, while Ryoga shared his umbrella with Ukyo. Akane held a cape above herself, and Mousse had pulled an umbrella from within his coat and used it to cover himself and Shampoo.

Shampoo was walking sullenly. She used to love the rain, and would have been walking in it happily, but for her curse. She was tempted to any way, but Ranma was deathly afraid of cats, and wet fur wasn't much fun. Meanwhile, she was trying to think what she was supposed to do.

Never had an amazon been betrothed to two outsiders before, and Shampoo was confused as to which she was supposed to lavish her affections on. Inu-Yasha had made it plain that she wasn't to touch him again, and he looked quite capable of making sure that she wouldn't be able to touch anyone if she tried. Besides, he was with Kagome, even though the two had never said it out loud. The way they were almost always touching each other and the affectionate glances they stole told her as much. She wasn't as dense as some people thought. It was just difficult for her to speak Japanese, and she was extremely stubborn. And then there was Mousse, who she was trying ignore. She'd never really been so close to him for such long periods of time before and his proximity was making her nervous. True, he hadn't tried to hug her yet, or declare his undying love…but she was sure that it wouldn't be long.

Shampoo thought back to when they were younger. He'd been her best friend, and she'd never hung around anyone else. Then, when he was seven, he had gotten that fever. She'd stayed by his side the whole time, telling him stories that she'd just made up on the spot. But when the fever died, it left its mark on his eyesight.

And Mousse, she found out, was just as stubborn as Shampoo. He never wore his glasses, even though he was practically blind without them. And years of seeing him hug different people (and inanimate objects) while saying her name, had distanced her. It had been painful to watch.

So now, there they were. Mousse trying his best to catch her, and Shampoo, trying her best to follow Amazonian law, pushed him away in favor of Ranma. She did feel a deep affection for Ranma…but she wasn't as in love with him as she tried to make everyone believe. If it weren't for her great-grandmother, she would have happily tried to get him with Akane, as it was just as obvious that those two liked each other. But, the law was the law, and she had to keep trying to get Ranma until another man who wasn't taken beat her in a fight, or until Ranma got married.

Shampoo grimaced as she remembered the almost wedding. When she had first heard, she'd felt…a sense of relief that she'd be able to go home…but her great-grandmother had been adamant about the law, and Shampoo had attacked during the wedding. So had Ukyo, but the cook really had been jealous over the wedding. But no sooner had Ukyo left, than she had locked herself away in her shop and cried her eyes out. Two days later Ranma and Akane had dragged her out again, assuring her that they didn't hate her.

Shampoo sighed.

"Shampoo?" Mousse inquired curiously, looking at her.

Shampoo waved her hand at him. "It's nothing," she said in Mandarin.

"Are you sure? You've been quiet all morning," he replied.

Shampoo glared at him. "Yes I'm fine! Stop acting like you care about me!" she snapped.

The hurt look in his eyes almost made her regret saying it to him. Almost.

"But I do care about you, Xian Phu."

"Shut up, Mu Tsu," she growled.

With an injured air, Mousse went back to silently walking.

"Stupid Mousse," Shampoo muttered.

Meanwhile, Sango was having her own problems. She was walking tensely, waiting for the moment when Miroku would grab his chance. Literally.

"What the matter, Sango-sama?" Miroku asked. Sango glanced up at him. He had a concerned expression on his face.

"What do you mean?" she replied blithely.

"You. You're all tense," he elaborated.

Sango huffed and tossed her head to the side. "I am not."

"Yes, you are," Miroku insisted, laying a hand on her shoulder, making her tense even more.

"Kindly remove your hand. My boomerang is not light enough for me to carry on my own for long periods of time," Sango informed him neutrally.

Miroku sighed and put his hand back under the boomerang. "Sango-sama, if you ever wish to confide in me what is bothering you, I am always ready to hear you."

He noticed that her expression softened slightly, and a guilty blush spread across her cheeks. Miroku allowed himself a small smile. Sango looked so…appealing, when she blushed.

* * *

"Here you go Ranma," Akane said and handed her a steaming kettle.

Ranma looked up from the fire and smiled. "Finally!" she said and reached for it. Akane pulled it a little out of reach. Ranma frowned slightly. "C'mon Akane!"

"Would it kill you to say thanks?" Akane retorted with a frown.

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Arigato. There, now give it to me."

Akane glared and swung the kettle down, breaking it over Ranma's head.

"Ow! What was that for!?" he yelled, rubbing his head. The others stirred in their sleep.

Miroku and Sango were the only other ones up.

Instead of answering him, Akane stormed back to her sleeping pallet and pulled the covers sharply over her head. "I'm going to bed!" she announced tersely.

"Kawaii-kune!" Ranma muttered under his breath.

"I'm beginning to see why Akane-sama is always upset with you," Miroku commented blandly.

Ranma glared at the monk. "What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Perhaps if you tried to be a little more aware of her feelings, she wouldn't get so angry," Miroku continued.

"Hey, she's always getting' mad at me for no reason at all!"

"It is only polite to thank someone when they give you something, and saying it in such a sulky manner only enhances the rudeness. Plus, teasing can only go so far before it becomes painful."

Ranma snorted. "Hurt that tomboy?"

"It's that attitude that hurts," Miroku scolded him, as Sango brushed out Kirara's fur.

"You treat her as if she weren't a woman at all," Sango explained, not looking up from her task. "And that is the worst thing you could do to a woman."

"But she always gets mad when I try to protect her-" Ranma started to protest.

"Women don't always need protection," Sango cut in.

"And telling the truth about their cooking isn't always the best thing to do," Miroku added, gaining an annoyed glance from Sango. "Compliment them on what they're good at, and encourage them to do better at things they're not. Never tell them "can't". That's like a challenge," the monk continued, his finger lifted in lecture.

"And don't grope them when they don't want you to," Sango added through pursed lips, her attention fully on Miroku.

"Hey! I don't do that! I'm a girl half the time, remember?" Ranma protested. Sango blinked at his outburst and blushed slightly as she went back to grooming Kirara. Ranma shook his head and stood up. "Well, whatever. I'm going to bed." And he found his own sleeping pallet.

Miroku sighed and looked back at the fire. "It'll take him forever to actually use our advice."

"He'll probably start acting nicer to her when he finds out that's what works," Sango murmured, petting the now sleeping, purring Kirara. "I guess we have the first watch," she observed, not looking at Miroku.

Miroku noticed her flex her shoulders, trying to get some kinks out. "You've been too tense all day, and now it's beginning to hurt," he told her knowingly. Sango glanced at him in surprise.

"I'm just a little stiff from walking so far," she replied evasively. Miroku shook his head. "You'll be even stiffer if you go to bed like that. Here, I can give you a massage-"

"No thanks," Sango cut in tersely.

Miroku held up his hands placatingly. "I promise not to let my hands wander where they're not supposed to," he assured her. However, the little smile on his lips did not reassure her at all.

Still…she really was stiff…and she'd been a warrior long enough to know that sleeping like that was only going to make it worse. She shot him a stern look. "You swear?"

Miroku nodded. "I swear."

"Oh all right. Where do you want me?"

"Here, lie down on my cloak," he instructed, spreading his cloak on the ground before the fire. Sango gently lifted Kirara to the ground and did so.

"Hmm…unwrap your top."

"Hentai!"

Miroku caught Sango's hand before she could slap him. He looked at her seriously. "I can't give you a proper massage through two layers of cloth," he pointed out with an indulgent smile.

Trembling, and with a furious, embarrassed blush, Sango turned away from him and let her top fall down around her hips. Then, keeping her front from his view, she lay on her stomach, propping her chin on her crossed wrists.

Miroku gently placed his hands on her shoulders, and she automatically tensed.

"Relax," he soothed in a low murmuring voice.

Sango tried to do as he said, but this was Miroku touching her bare skin. She knew that the monk wouldn't be able to resist the temptation.

Miroku simply began humming as he pressed his fingers along her back, carefully working the knots until they went away. Gradually, he felt Sango relax under his touch, and a satisfied smile played on his lips. He glanced at her face. She had turned her head to one side, resting on her cheek, and her lips were upturned slightly in contentment. Her eyes were closed, and as Miroku continued to study her, he almost expected her to start purring.

When there were no more tense knots in Sango's muscles, Miroku reluctantly pulled his hands away. Sango moaned softly in resentment and Miroku couldn't stop a small chuckle.

"I'm all done, Sango-chan," he murmured warmly. When she made no sign of moving, Miroku leaned closer and brushed her bangs from her eyes. "Sango?"

The smallest of snores was her answer and Miroku shook his head as he realized that she had fallen asleep under his ministrations. Finding her pallet, he took her blanket and covered her with it. "Sweet Dreams, Sango-chan."

Then, unable to resist, he gave her bottom the lightest of pats before slipping off to his own pallet.

* * *

"What's that?" Ukyo asked, peering down the path. Everyone else looked too.

"I dunno, but it smells like youkai," Inu-Yasha growled, drawing his Tetsusaiga. The others all got into fighting positions and Kirara transformed into her large form.

"Ca-cat cat!" Ranma stuttered, freezing up in fright at the sight of Kirara. Akane whipped out a blindfold and tied it over his eyes.

"What was that all about?" Kagome wanted to know.

"Ranma's afraid of cats," Akane informed her gently.

"Akaanee!" Ranma pleaded.

"They'd have to know sometime," she reasoned. She was about to say more, but the youkai attacked.

There were dozens of them. Among them were the poisonous insects, marking Naraku's incessant meddling.

"Houshi-sama! Don't use your Air Rip!" Sango called out as she took out a good chunk of the monsters.

Miroku grimaced. "I know!" and he used ofuda to cleanse the youkai into non-existence.

Shampoo literally smashed her way through the ranks, and Ryoga fried a good portion of them with his Shishi Hokodan while Ukyo and Mousse used their respective bombs to distract them, allowing for final attacks with their secondary weapons. Akane stayed close to Ranma, covering for him when his blindness hindered his movements, and Kirara did her share of clawing the demons to pieces.

"Everyone stand back!" Inu-Yasha called out. The group immediately retreated into a tight cluster and Inu-Yasha let fly with a fierce sonic wave from the Tetsusaiga. "Cutting Wind!"

Bits of demon rained down on the party, much to everyone's disgust.

"Eeww!"

"Oh this is just great."

"My chains are all gooped up!"

"Shampoo's hair!!"

"Akane, what did I just step in?"

"Ranma!"

"I suggest that we find a place where we can bathe," Sango muttered, flicking the goop from her shoulder guards with a look of revulsion.

* * *

"But that's cold water!" Mousse cried in protest.

"It's the Warring States Era. Were you expecting hot running water everywhere?" Kagome snipped as she dried off Shampoo in cat form. Ranma had already fled the scene to the small pond just beyond the trees. Grumbling profusely, Mousse shoved his way through the foliage and soon the sound of a splash and irritated quacking announced his arrival at the water.

"C'mon Ryoga, you too," Akane prodded. The lost boy blushed slightly and muttered something about not wanting to be near Ranma or Mousse.

"C'mon Ryo-chan. You're beginning to stink!" Ukyo said as she dumped a bucket of water over him from behind. To their surprise, Ryoga disappeared from sight and all that was left was a small black piglet wearing his bandanna, standing in the pile of clothes.

"P-p-chan?" Akane stuttered incredulously.

"Your pet pig?" Kagome inquired curiously as the little pig began shivering in fright.

There was a blast of ki, and Kagome, Sango, Shampoo and Ukyo suddenly found themselves with a battle enraged Akane, mallet high overhead. "RY-O-GAAAAA!!!" she yelled and moved to attack. Ryoga ran about, frantically trying to avoid her mallet, but not for long. With a loud THWACK! the mallet connected with him solidly. When Akane lifted the mallet, Ryoga lay dazed inside a foot deep crater.

Akane raised the mallet to strike again, when Ukyo snatched the black pig up and clutched him to her chest. "Stop it Akane!"

"Let go of him, Ukyo," Akane said through clenched teeth as Miroku and Inu-Yasha rushed into the clearing, Ranma quickly behind, holding a ruffled Mousse in her arms.

"No! You've got to hear his side of the story!" Ukyo barked back.

"He slept in my bed!" Akane howled.

"So!?" Ukyo retorted. She was adamant, and Akane finally let the mallet go.

"So, Akane found out, hunh?" Ranma asked Kagome quietly. Akane still heard him. She rounded on him with righteous fury.

"You!! You knew!?"

"Of course I knew!" Ranma retorted with a sniff. "It wasn't particularly hard to guess, was it!?"

"You knew and you didn't tell me!?"

"Any time I tried, you yelled at me and told me 'honestly Ranma, he's not Ryoga'" Ranma mocked. "Besides, I gave him a warrior's oath not to reveal his secret."

Akane blinked, her anger vanished. "Y-you gave an oath?"

Ranma shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "Yeah, what of it?"

"And you didn't break it," she continued in a daze.

The redhead's face contorted angrily. "Yeah I kept it! I'm not my old man y'know!"

"Gomen, Ranma…" Akane said quietly, causing the other girl to stare.

"N-nani?"

"Gomen ne sai. For yelling at you. You were only keeping your word. Ryoga-RYOGA!" Akane whirled back on the object of her initial fury, who was still nestled securely in Ukyo's arms. He was struggling to escape her and run as far as he could, but Ukyo merely tightened her grip.

"You I'll deal with when you're human again!" she informed him with an ominous glare. Ryoga shivered and backed as far into Ukyo's chest as he could go.

With that said, Akane grabbed her pack and stormed down the pathway again, forcing the rest of the group to hurriedly gather their things before she got too far.

Inu-Yasha carried Ryoga's pack for him, and Kirara carried Shampoo's and Mousse's. Ukyo still held Ryoga protectively in her arms, assuring him that she wouldn't let Akane kill him.

"But you know, you do kind of deserve it," she said gently. Ryoga blushed and stared down remorsefully. "Bwee…"

"Don't worry. You're so tough, Akane probably can't do too much to you," Ukyo replied cheerfully and kissed the top of his head. She pretended not to see his full faced blush, or the way his little eyes had gotten slightly dazed.

* * *

Kiyomisa: Go ahead and review, I don't bite, I promise ^-^