Chapter 24 The Search
Kuno, Tofu and Higurashi were searching the Kuno estate for the doll and necklace used in the possession of Kodachi. They had already been through most of the house, when Kuno realized that he hadn't talked to Sasuke about the situation. He went looking for the small ninja who had been his servant since Kuno was a child. Sasuke had been the closest thing to a father figure that Kuno had growing up once his crazy father deserted him, which of course went a long way to explain why Kuno was Kuno. Though, most people who remembered his father were glad that Sasuke had raised him after all. They all shuddered to think what Kuno would have been like if indeed his warped father had stayed around. Anyway, Kuno found Sasuke in the dojo practicing one of his ninja techniques. Kuno interrupted him to ask, "Sasuke, we are searching for a clay doll and a necklace that my twisted sister received around a month ago. Have you perchance seen them recently?"
"No, Master Kuno, I can't say that I have," Sasuke replied.
Tofu, Higurashi, and Kuno continued the search, but couldn't find anything. Higurashi said to the discouraged searchers, "You know I have some theoretical knowledge of demons, their habits and weaknesses but I don't have any practical experience combating them. Demons are very rare in our time, in fact, until a few years ago, I didn't believe they still existed. He thought carefully for a moment, and then continued, "My granddaughter is training to be a Miko. We come from a long line of priests and priestesses, and she is continuing in that tradition." He paused, and then said, "She has met several friends who have more practical knowledge of demons than I have. If you like, I will ask her to consult with them. Together they may have better luck."
Kuno said, "Bring in anyone who has any chance of helping my sister. Spare no expense."
"I will try to get in touch with my granddaughter and ask for her help. I never know these days when she will be at home. Her schedule of training is somewhat erratic," Higurashi said.
"I can drop you off on my way home, sensei," said Tofu, "I strongly suggest you attempt to rest Tachi, at least until Nabiki gets home. I know this has been hard on you, but you won't be doing your sister any good if you stress yourself out like you are doing." Kuno agreed without showing any enthusiasm. They said their goodbyes and the older two men left.
As luck would have it, his granddaughter was at home when Higurashi arrived. "Oh, hello granddaughter," he greeted, "Just who I needed to see. I am sure that you remember my friend Tofu Ono from the hospital. Again, thank you for getting that information from the shrine and bringing it to the hospital. We are still trying to determine a cure for his sister-in-law."
She nodded. That was only a few days ago after all. "Of course I remember, I am not getting senile like I'm sure you've told my friend by now," she growled at her grandfather, "Why can't you come up with less embarrassing excuses for my absences? I'm not even old enough for most of them!"
"Now granddaughter, this is more important than that," he placated, "I need your help. I haven't had any luck finding the artifacts that I am sure must be at the Kuno estate. The information you provided is valuable but it unfortunately didn't have anything but vague clues as to how to remove the demon." He paused and took a deep breath. "I was hoping you could ask some of your friends if they have any suggestions. I know they have much more experience fighting demons, especially your boyfriend," he said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye, gauging her reaction.
"He's not my boyfriend!!" she exclaimed. She took a deep cleansing breath, regaining her composure. "You know," she said excitedly, "the ones to ask about dealing with demon possession are Kaede and Miroku. She is a miko and Miroku is a monk who has extensive knowledge of spiritual matters, especially involving demons. He told us about an exorcism that he performed just before he met us. It involved ridding a young princess of a weasel demon."
"By all means, please go and ask their advice," said Tofu, "Any help that you can obtain in ridding my sister-in-law of the demon that possessed her will be appreciated. It would be more than we know now. I can tell you what little we know."
"I can also ask Sango. She has been training all her life to be a demon exterminator. She mostly defeats them in battle, but she may have some suggestions as well. I will leave tonight to find them," Kagome replied.
Tofu thanked her and began recounting all that they had discovered so far, including the auras that they had read, and as complete a description of Kodachi's symptoms and recent behavior as he could. Once that was complete, he thanked them for their assistance, took his leave and headed home to his family.
Ranma slowly approached the door to his mother's house. He had been avoinding this meeting for weeks, ever since the announcement of the engagement. He had been so glad then that his mother had managed to find happiness with a man he had begun to respect, only to see his happiness turned to ashes when his father showed up that evening. He knocked on the door and waited. After what seemed like an eternity to his stretched out nerves, Ling-ling answered the door.
"Yo, Ling-ling, is my Mom here? I need to talk to her," he said dully.
"Nihao, Big Brother Ranma, Mother is home. Please come in," she answered.
"Your Japanese is getting much better, little sis," Ranma complimented.
Ling-ling led him into the kitchen, where Nodoka was talking to her fiancé. "Ranma!" his mother exclaimed, "What a pleasant surprise. I thought you had classes to teach?"
"Mom, Soun, we need to talk," Ranma said. Nodoka's face paled as she finally saw the expression on his face. Ling-ling felt the tension in the air and decided she needed to practice martial arts, far away. "Pop came back and he's staying with us for a while. I couldn't just turn him away. I needed to tell you that," Ranma said, "We never have had that talk I promised ya at your announcement party. I think it's time now. I want ya both ta know that I'm disappointed in ya. Selling him ta a zoo was a bit too much."
"After you broke all of the engagements and moved in with your mother, he still kept trying to come up with plans to get you married. I saw how much better you and Akane were getting along, without all that pressure and I didn't want that ruined," Soun said, somewhat defensively.
Nodoka added, "It was the only way that Nabiki and I could think to keep him from interfering with your life. I guess the last straw was when he came by while you were out one day to demand that I stop helping you to adjust to being a girl. He kept insisting that was going to weaken you. He didn't want to understand that it was your way of coming to terms with being cursed. He was going to take you away. I couldn't let him hurt you or Akane again. That night, he went to the zoo. Nabiki helped set it up, with my help. Soun didn't know about it until after Nabiki freed him."
Ranma sighed. "I thought it might have been something like that. I guess Nabiki finally let him out once I was gone long enough that she thought he wouldn't be able to find me," Ranma said.
"Yes, that's what she told me. Then after he came here and we argued again over you, I discovered that whatever I had felt for him had died. Between that and the dishonor that he had brought on my family name, I decided on the divorce. He didn't much like it, but he definitely didn't like the other option I gave him. He took the Saotome name and dishonored it, so he could either leave my clan name behind through divorce, or he could restore it by committing seppuku. I'm not real proud of that now, and I'm sure that's why he's so bitter. He didn't fool me when we met the last time, I could tell he was angry with me," Nodoka said.
"Do you think he will talk to me, Ranma? I know that I've damaged out friendship, maybe even destroyed it, but you're his son, Akane is his daughter-in-law, and we have grandchildren in common. I want to make peace with him for your sake, so that we don't cause you anymore trouble," said Soun.
"Maybe," Ranma said slowly, "He wanted to know when you were going to be at the dojo so he could avoid ya. I can get him ta talk ta ya, but I don't know that he'll listen."
"How's Akane taking it?" Nodoka asked.
"She's not real happy at all. He's mouthed off a couple a times already, so he knows he's on real thin ice right now. I told him that if he did it again, there wouldn't be much left of him when I was done, so maybe he'll learn," Ranma replied, "I did after all, finally, but I don't think he will."
"I'm sorry this is so awkward for you two, I wish there could be a happy ending for all of us," Nodoka said.
"Mom, this is the path that Pop chose ta go down. He's the one that decided to be less than honorable. I'm just glad that ya have a chance ta be happy. Ya can't help that you two fell in love; it just happened. I should know, remember?" Ranma replied.
"Well, on a much happier note, Ryoga asked Shampoo to marry him last night, and she accepted. Of course, I wasn't real thrilled about how I found out about it this morning," Nodoka said.
"Hey, that's great. When are they getting married?" Ranma asked.
"Soon, I suspect," Nodoka replied dryly, "I don't think she was planning on waiting a long time."
"I can't wait ta tell Akane. I think I'll head on home and surprise her with that news. Soun, if you want to come by later today, Pop will be around just before dinnertime. I have him down at Ucchan's working," Ranma said. His mother kissed him and he hurried off.
Author's note: Yes, this turned into a crossover with InuYasha. I mean really, wouldn't you want to get a set of experts on demons working with you if you had a case of demon possession.
Obligatory disclaimer, InuYasha is copyright by Rumiko Takahashi. I have no ownership to these characters, or names. This fiction is just for my amusement, and the amusement of you the reader.