Disclaimer: Please don't make me say it again, please! Oh all right. I don't own Ranma ½ and never will so STOP BOTHERING ME WITH THESE DISLAIMERS! Whew, that's better.

Author's Notes: They finally reach the Tendo house and things are heating up! Don't think that Shampoo has given up either. Far from it! Well, before I spoil anything else, on with the show! Always remember to tip your waitress! (A male scream is heard this time and the waitress is seen holding a baseball bat) Great shot!

Demon's Crossing

Chapter 3

To Kyoko's eye the Tendo dojo appeared as any other fighting institution in Tokyo. The sign proclaiming brutal combat through rear entrance was ridiculous. Her brother sighed as he thought about the reception she was going to receive, but went inside anyway with his sister close behind.

"I'm home!" he called out. Kasumi entered the room with her usual smile, but it seemed to turn warmer and more genuine when she saw Ranma. The green-eyed girl certainly didn't miss that, but kept her mouth shut. If her bro didn't notice by now then he was denser then a lead weight. Her fears were confirmed when he just gave her a greeting smile and a wave. Yep, more dense then a truckload of lead weights.

"Where's Pops?" he asked, tone turning just slightly chillier. The eldest Tendo girl seemed to think a moment.

"I believe he is out back, Ranma-kun. Grandfather Happosai came for a visit." She said cheerfully, but as she mentioned Happosai, if one didn't know her better they could swear she bit the name off savagely. Apparently this Happosai guy was bad news, thought the Demon Hunter girl as Ranma suddenly realized he hadn't introduced the girl behind him yet.

"Oh, hey Kasumi! I'm sorry, I meant ta introduce ya to Kyoko. My long lost big sister." He grinned as he said it and was actually shocked to see the normally serene girl stiffen up and grab the smaller girl, holding her close. Kyoko actually was seeing funny little spots before her eyes as the girl buried her face in her shoulder and wept. Tears of joy and pain soaked into her shoulder.

"Whoa Kasumi-chan! W-what's wrong? I-I think Kyoko's turnin' blue…" he stammered. The girl loosened her death grip but still held on. Her eyes on the startled face as she smoothed her bangs back.

"Hai, I remember you Kyoko-chan. I was here w-when my f-father convinced that fat fool to give you up. Oh Kami-sama…A-at least you're back with family, right?" the girl said tearfully. The green-eyed girl blinked at that revelation! There were two people in on it! She felt the temperature drop a sharp thirty degrees and looked to where Ranma was using the Soul of Ice so furiously that it frosted the floor. Kasumi looked momentarily horrified as his normally warm eyes turned ice hard and diamond bright. The brown-haired girl pulled away from the crying girl and slapped her brother, hard, and almost howled in pain. It felt she had smacked a boulder! At least it surprised him enough that he calmed down, marginally.

"You're scaring Kasumi ya dumb jock! I thought she was like, your fiancée or somethin'." The irate girl demanded. Ranma and Kasumi both turned bright red.

"H-he's to marry Akane" "I'm supposed ta marry Akane." They said at the same time, but a look passed quickly between them. The seeds were sown, but they had other business. She grabbed Ranma and asked the eldest girl to show them to the two idiots. They came upon the two groveling in the backyard in the direction of the filthiest little man that Kyoko had ever seen in her life. The reek from this guy made most demons look like infant cherubs. She felt herself unconsciously slipping into hunter mode before Ranma set a hand on her shoulder. The battle ready girl let her aura bleed off gradually, but they already had the attention of the two baka wimps and the old pervert. Something in Ranma and Kyoko's eyes told him that a cry of "Sweeto" would result in pain beyond imagining. Genma and Soun were smiling in obvious relief as they saw the Saotome heir, ready to square of with his (literally) ancient nemesis and free them from their torture.

"Happosai. You have done nothing wrong that I see so just leave." The boy grated out in a dreadful voice. The Grandmaster didn't need to need to be told twice as, with a last pop to his students' heads, took off over the wall. As the two "men" got up and went over to thank Ranma, he pinned them with a doom-filled glare that threatened to start a blizzard.

"We are going to stand right here and have us a lil' talk. Actually, I'm gonna talk n' your gonna listen." He fumed. His father really put his foot in it this time as his next words destroyed any chance of a somewhat reasonable talk that didn't involve too many broken bones.

"If that girl is another fiancée, I certainly don't remember her. Obviously she's just pretending and you shouldn't give it any more thought, boy." He said loftily. Soun, however, recognized her immediately even though she was older. The face and build were a dead giveaway. He began looking for escape routes, finally slumping in defeat as Ranma exploded in rage, his Soul of Ice turning his aura into a fifty foot area of cold that frosted the ground and nearly froze the koi pond.

"You bastard! Obviously ya don't recognize her! I bet you'll be happy to hear this ya dumb prick, I found someone last night. Her name is Kyoko," his father blanched at the name, "and she's my sister. When were ya gonna tell me?" his voice so cold that a plume of steam came out as he snarled, a half step below Neko-ken. His old man had the decency to blush, but somehow managed to find bravery in stupidity.

"She was a sin on our family's honor. There was no way that my wife was goin' to raise some other bastard's child!" he declared.

"No, just the bastard in front of me." Ranma deadpanned. Nabiki almost fell out of the window when she heard that actually witty retort come from Ranma of all people! The two men started spluttering as it soon became apparent that he had also found out about Soun's involvement.

"You! You're wife would be ashamed. Y'wanna know how I know that? An obviously kind and loving woman like her who had such wonderful girls would never approve." He snarled in hate. Soun looked even more defeated, but Genma was far from out as he launched himself at the pigtailed boy to teach his "worthless offspring" respect, but found himself stopped by Kyoko's eyes. Her eyes burned with fury equal to Ranma's just before the panda man found himself drilled in the gut by a blow worthy of his son. He gasped in pain, a rib or two must have snapped, as he staggered away, retching. Ranma flashed just the barest of smiles, good technique but there was always room for improvement. Akane had made it through the gate at the start of the altercation. She was furious at first at the girl who stood so close to Ranma, but stopped fuming when she heard him say she was his sister. Normally her first instinct is to discount it as another lie, but the girl's resemblance to Ranma's girl form was too uncanny to be dismissed. His father even confirmed it! What Ranma had said about their mother rang true with her. She could see Nabiki and Kasumi staring as Ranma gave the damn fool a dressing down.

"Pops.. No, Mr. Saotome. I want nothing more to do with you. Honor obviously is only something you use to your own benefit. I will be leaving for Mom's house. If I catch either of you around there I will beat you both within an inch of your life. I don't wanna be a Saotome. Anyone who would abandon a child is beneath my contempt." He spat out angrily. This was going too far for Kyoko. She hadn't wanted him to do that, but his mind was made up. He noticed the Tendo girls and nodded to them. Kasumi grabbed him a fierce hug, sobbing.

"Hey Kasumi-chan… Don't cry. Ya can come and visit. Tell that to Nabiki n' Akane too." He told her softly as he gently let go. Genma suddenly straightened up with a fierce growl and launched himself at the blue-eyed boy, using the Umi-Sen-Ken at the last second. He tried to defend, but found himself battered harshly by two people! When had Soun learned that technique? He found himself hard pressed to stop two invisible assailants. Kyoko tried to help, but found herself thrown to the winds, barely dodging several vacuum blades fired in her direction. She screamed in agony as cuts crisscrossed her body, she barely dodged the killing blows, but a kick found its way into her face. Kasumi was frantically trying to stop the fight, but no one was listening. She saw a tiny distortion in the air and the grass suddenly flatten as if by a great wind and charged Ranma, who was facing another direction. He turned just in time to see the girl running at him, panicked, before a sight burned itself into his retinas. Soun had appeared to release the vacuum blades and Kasumi was caught in the cross-fire. Ranma tried to move, but couldn't get there in time. Suddenly a chain hurtled from out of nowhere and snared the girl, pulling her out of the way just in time. His aura erupted from his body, dispersing the attack with sudden ferocity as he gathered in the power that made him a match for Saffron. His eyes were once again hardened ice as he flung his arms outward, his aura erupting outward from his body. The sudden frost outlined Genma's body clearly. Soun had collapsed to the ground in horror at what he had almost did, but no relief was in sight for him as Ranma suddenly seemed to teleport in front of him and unleash a punishing series of knee and fist strikes to sensitive flesh, dropping him quickly. He looked to the one who saved Kasumi with gratitude. Mousse gravelly held a hand aloft to him.

Watching her brother fight was amazing to say the least. He was getting beaten by two cowards who couldn't fight out in the open and was still holding his own. If Ranma heard her thoughts at that moment he'd be asking what fight she was watching. While it seemed one of the assailants was merely trying to injure him, the other was actively trying to kill her. Her aura sword wasn't ignited because she didn't have the time to focus, but she also had no time to worry as another vacuum blade nearly killed her. She wanted to cry at the sheer injustice of it all. She was just reunited with her brother and already she was getting separated from him. As in separated into many pieces. The blows struck heavily, but she weathered them. Her fear on the other hand was growing beyond her control; she felt a strange burning in her head. Her eyes turned to cat-slits as she gripped her head in pain, two furry protrusions stuck out from her head. Her head snapped up just a millisecond before the next strike decapitated her. Her suddenly enhanced senses kicked in and she proceeded to hammer her opponent. The subtle sound of cloth rustling, the soft panting for breath, and the trip-hammer heartbeat that spoke of fear. Before she could begin fighting again, Genma was struck by a blast of cold aura that froze him solid. She knew that she was in trouble if Ranma saw her. How would he react to "big sis" being a hanyou? A neko-yokai? With his fear of cats she didn't want to cause him any discomfort or pain. With a visible effort, she pulled in her ears and fixed her eyes. Time enough later for telling him about it.

Ranma was walking rather quickly down the street. His sister was practically jogging to keep up. "Damn people with longer legs!" she thought angrily, but followed resolutely. His massive pack seemed weighted down with rocks or something heavier. She really wished that he hadn't done what he did. Those girls practically cried when he left. Even the one with the short temper seemed like she was going to miss him. The one that had surprised her brother the most had to have been the middle girl, Nabiki. Kasumi cried into his shoulder, but the mercenary girl looked as if her heart were breaking. She didn't even try to hug him until he was almost ready to leave. She had wrapped her arms around him from behind, not even crying. She seemed so conflicted. Kyoko was forced to concentrate again as the rain began to fall and her brother (now sister) had taken off running. This wasn't the way for him to solve his problems. She was so tired from the earlier fight that the sad redhead had no trouble getting away. Her legs felt like rubber, she bent over in exhaustion. The rain falling on her neck seemed to have been cut off by someone with an umbrella. The green-eyed girl straightened up and stared in shock at a heavily panting Nabiki.

"Nabiki?" she panted. The other girl was panting slightly as well. She was wearing a raincoat, however, and had a backpack on her back as well. "What are you doing here?" the confused girl asked. The middle Tendo girl stared off into the distance before looking back to the one who asked her the question.

"We drew straws to see who would follow him and I got the short one." She quipped, but the joke not reaching her eyes. "Besides, he's not much, but he's all that's holding our family together." She said quietly. Kyoko gave the girl a hug, maybe she was wrong about how Kasumi felt, but it sure seemed like she liked him. Then again, here was a girl out in the pouring rain to chase a guy who could run like the wind, and not complain. Nabiki's eyes widened before she allowed herself to return the hug from the smaller girl. The two stood together in perfect understanding. The easy part was over. Now for the hard part. Finding a young martial artist who wouldn't want to be found.

The End

Author's Notes: You're probably wondering why the lengths for the chapters keep changing. The reason is simple. I promised no stupid filler that would detract from the story and I meant it. More fights shall ensue. For every problem that gets stomped down in Nerima, a dozen or so spring up in its place. We haven't heard the last of Shampoo or the baka fathers. (Even if we want to) Remember some characters may be OOC, but it was the way I saw them in the series. I also have a funny way of looking at situations. I tried to keep the tone light, but declaring yourself ronin doesn't lend itself well to humor. Oh well, thanks for reading this installment and ja ne!