Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½.

Author's Notes: I'm going to slow things down a little bit. One of my reviewers pointed out that the story seemed to flying along too quickly (Thanks dogbertcarrol). This chapter will be more along the lines of plot development. After all, they need to rest sometime, right? I hope you enjoy this slightly more sedate chapter.

Demon's Crossing

Chapter 6

Tendo household…

The morning breakfast ritual had to be altered somewhat. Their father's appearance last night carrying a gleefully smiling Nabiki had been a surprise. Kasumi couldn't quite put her finger on it, but he certainly seemed different. The youngest, Akane, recognized the look in his eyes immediately. After all, he had favored her with those looks the most when she was little. He had said that he was a little tired, but would explain everything at breakfast. Hence, the tense atmosphere. The eldest Tendo girl was putting the finishing touches on breakfast as Daddy finished up his training with Akane. Nabiki was already wide awake and at the table unlike her usual zombie/sleepwalker appearance. The gentle girl smiled at the implications of their father training. After mother had died he had seemed to die as well. She had never felt so alone, but had to forget her own needs in the face of the family. The girl had to be mother and homemaker all these long years, but it looks as if she will finally have help now. Father is back and seems to be the same as he was before mother died. With a final prayer to mother, she took the food out.

Nabiki's thoughts were on the night before as well. She was the only one who had seen their father fight the former Saotome. It was amazing to see and the memory was all hers. She had so few just Nabiki and Daddy memories that even though it was a fight, she would treasure it. It was also something funny as well. Ranma had been totally speechless over the spectacle. It was obvious he wanted to know how to do the Gaia's Hammer, but he instead decided to let them have some alone time. Her father had seemed different though, not because he was actually back to normal, but because of the way the fight went. She knew he had sealed the technique because of its power. Not that she was complaining, but this was going to take some getting used to. Ranma becoming a hanyou was still in her mind as well. She had yet to tell her siblings that tasty piece of info. It certainly figured prominently in her thoughts. She felt a warm flush as she thought of how handsome he had become and those cat ears were cute, too.

Akane sat in the furo with a blissful smile on her face. Daddy was home and had begun training her again. The man she thought had been lost was back again. She wasn't ashamed to admit that she was a "Daddy's girl". Despite these pleasant thoughts, however, she couldn't help but scowl at Genma's actions. Her usual "blame everything on Ranma" attitude had been revised drastically when she saw first hand what kind of hell his life is. She usually ignored the fat panda's actions, but when he attacked his own son and his sister, it opened her eyes. To see her father going along with that crap was too much for her to stomach. Whatever happened last night had changed her father considerably. The two fathers had gone over to the Saotome house to confront Ranma, but her Daddy had come home a changed man. Maybe Ranma wasn't so bad after all, she thought. If his father was the only role model he'd had for ten years then it wasn't all his fault. The idea actually felt good. With that on her mind, she finished bathing and got ready for breakfast.

Soun, the head of the Tendo household, sat at the table without his usual morning paper. His thoughts were on past days. The Tendo patriarch could still remember the night his old friend had arrived on his doorstep shortly after Kyoko's birth. Genma was almost incoherent with rage and a strange fear. When questioned about it he had explained to his friend a version that had become truth to the more naïve man. The tale was of an evil neko youma that had raped the poor woman and convinced her that it was out of love. The child must be disposed of to save the mother so the two began to plot. The plan was to take the child and destroy it in the woods after convincing Nodoka that the girl would be safe. He couldn't go through with it in the end and managed to convince Genma that he would finish the deed. The man should be with his wife so soon after such a traumatic event. The fool had no reason to doubt his friend. In the time he had held the child; he felt the goodness in her and realized he had made the right choice. Still, he must get the child away from Genma and left her on the doorstep of a nice young couple who had just lost a child. His duty as a martial artist fulfilled, he went home to his wife and children. The day before was a terrible mistake that he still had trouble stomaching. How had he allowed himself to become so weak-willed? He had almost destroyed his own child to hold onto something that wasn't even his. Soon his children would all be here and he would tell them everything. It was time to come clean with the whole story.

Breakfast was a relatively tense affair as Soun related the story to his daughters. He knew in his heart that he didn't deserve forgiveness for abandoning them as he had done and was glad that they still loved him. When he mentioned what happened with Ranma, he found he had undivided attention. The focus of the three girls was almost frightening. Kasumi's eyes had glazed slightly and let out a hushed "Oh my", Akane had turned faintly red and refused to look at anyone, and Nabiki was still somewhat shell shocked. Kasumi was the first to speak.

"Quite a bit has changed, it appears." She remarked softly. Nabiki's eyebrow rose.

"He also has the power to cancel the engagements because they were made with the assumption that Genma was the head of the family." The mercenary girl replied.

"The baka wouldn't really end it, would he?" Akane half pleaded, painfully aware of how she abused him. Her little Akane still kept chanting squash the perverts, but her common sense and logic returned to clobber her into submission. Her internal battle went largely unnoticed. The girls looked to their father as if he held all the answers.

"I really have no idea. The whole fiancée mess was a terrible thing to inflict on you, Akane, but it was also terrible to do to Ranma. We should have allowed you to be friends. The chance is still there, if you truly wish to be his fiancée then be his friend first." He said to her. The young girl looked at her father before bursting into tears. Nabiki was faster then Kasumi, surprisingly, and pulled her little sister in for a warm hug. The poor girl cried her heart out over lost chances and stupid choices. Kasumi looked to their father, her posture straight. If her sister wanted finally realized what she had done, then she would help her with all her heart. Nabiki was feeling vaguely guilty, while she loved Akane, she had hoped the girl would have remained clueless. The Ice Queen was now a mere puddle on the floor as she once again emerged from her cold sleep. Their father watched with a mixture of pride and sorrow. Whatever Ranma chose, people would still be hurt.

Saotome household…

Ranma sat in the furo, his lengthened hair floating in the water. It resisted every effort to cut it, but it really didn't bother him too much. The hair just made a much longer braid, that's all. No sense worrying about things, he had to sort through one mystery before jumping to the next. What had infuriated him was that the demons kept thrashing him. His sister had explained what had happened. Apparently what she had unlocked would have been released in good time anyway. His was related to his eighteenth birthday when he finally came into his majority, but he was still suffering from the weak spells that hanyous get. The reason for that peculiarity was because of his rapid power growth. He was subtly tapping into his innate abilities unconsciously. She had informed him with a smirk that his "weak" state was linked to his girl curse. It counted that way because of a loss of strength when he changed. She didn't get a weak period because she had learned to repress her powers; hence they didn't wear down and need a recharge. She had been surprised when he got the concept immediately. Another thing to ponder was his engagements. Ukyou had come over this morning to find out if what Nabiki had said was true. The girl had trouble believing free information from the middle Tendo. When he had said yes, she actually sobbed in relief and begged forgiveness. The chef girl had been so afraid her father would disown her that she pursued him out of fear. She was actually coming over to say to hell with her dad and declare the engagement off. The strain between her and her best pal "Ranchan" hurt too much. Now that was something he hadn't expected to see in all his time in Nerima. There was too much going on in his skull right now to sort out comfortably, so he decided to finish his bath in peace and worry later. After breakfast.

Kyoko's morning began as it should, in her opinion, with meditation and a workout partner. Two people were out there with her this morning, much to her delight. Shampoo and Ukyou had at first been catty to each other, but once they realized the source of animosity was gone, they burst out laughing. Mom was understandably confused at the two "bitter rivals", but figured it was just more weirdness from son's life. The green-eyed girl was far from blind as she watched the two square off. Each incidental hit that would have leveled a normal person merely caused them to smile. If Ryoga had been here the vibes would have given him an instant nosebleed and the need of a transfusion. Last night was bizarre in her opinion, but her brother seemed strangely unsurprised. What kept him from being as perplexed as everyone else? Was it a new Zen technique or was he just playing? No, he wasn't that good of an actor. His heightened instincts may have given him the edge or his knowledge of Tendo. As it was, she knew who wanted Ranma the most. Nabiki, Kasumi, and Akane all wanted him. Maybe she should convince them to share? There was enough cat boy to go around. After all, her brother was the greatest martial artist in the world. If Nodoka had read some of her daughter's thoughts she would have frowned in disapproval. Merely because she didn't think of it first.

Nodoka was looking out the window as she cooked. Quite a few mouths to feed, but she could handle it easily. She could teach Nabiki a few moneymaking tricks. As it was, her sharp mind had a big pay off. Winning the lottery wouldn't have given her this much money. However, money doesn't buy family, it just keeps them fed. She was amazed at her son's ability, but also had heard the terrible price he had paid to be the best. That idiotic training trip and pledge stole her child, but she had the chance to get him back. Last night when Soun fought her fat ex-husband, she finally saw what Kimiko had seen in him. She chuckled at her own foolish thoughts. Didn't this line of thinking get her in trouble already? Oh well, her son was barreling down the stairs as Kyoko came in with their guests to breakfast.

Breakfast in the Saotome house looked like a demolition derby where the food was being demolished. Ranma and Kyoko arguably ate the most with Shampoo and Ukyou eating almost as much. They all thanked the matriarch for the food. Ukyo kept looking across at the Chinese girl when she thought no one was looking. The chef began suspecting that all that time pretending to be a boy had a bad effect on her, but couldn't fault her taste. The young Amazon was well aware of her admirer and, reluctantly, decided to wait on any experimentation. Saving her grandmother was more important then immediate pleasure. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the purple-haired girl missed the old ghoul. The blue-eyed boy smiled reassuringly at her.

"We'll get her back." Ranma said to her.

"Shampoo not see how. Grandmother trapped in village. Perfume control village. No can rescue." She said, disheartening herself. The chef girl wrapped an arm around the despairing girl's shoulders in a hug. It was meant to be comforting, but it caused Shampoo quite a bit of confusion. She leaned in; perhaps she could enjoy a little pleasure. Kyoko had a mysterious smile.

"Oh, Shampoo dear. A friend of yours, Mousse I think, stopped by. I sent him to find that other nice boy, Ryoga. If you wish to storm an Amazon village, don't you need warriors?" she asked innocently. Everyone at the table stared at her in open shock. The woman couldn't hold it in, she giggled like a much younger girl.

"I gotta hand it to ya Ma, great idea." Ranma said in wonder. His wonder turned to a wide grin. "She's right, we need warriors. I think it's time we got ready to go on the offensive. First stop is the Nekohanten." He said before a throat clearing interrupted him.

"Before we do that, could we perhaps get some breakfast? Ryoga hasn't had a thing to eat and I'm starving." Mousse said from out in the yard with the Lost Boy in tow. Kyoko began getting the suspicion that this seemed too easy. If only she knew how right she was.

End Chapter 6

Author's Notes: Whew, another chapter cleared! I tried to clear up a few problems with the last few chapters as well as explain Ranma's "weakness". Rather devious, ne? Oh well, next chapter brings the fight to the Nekohanten and the mummy of doom, Perfume. Please read and review, dear friends. Until next time! Ja ne!