Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Ranma ½ or Inuyasha! They are humbly borrowed from Rumiko Takahashi, to whom I'm eternally thankful.
The More the Merrier
(A crossover fanfic by allergi)
Chapter 2: Introductions
Kagome's heart was pounding. She turned the last corner and saw Akane backing away from the well.
"Watch out! There's something in the well!" Akane cried.
Kagome froze. 'No! NOOO! He wouldn't...'
"A..are you sure Akane?" she asked, her voice shaking.
"There's something in there! I saw it's golden eyes!"
"Golden eyes!" Kagome groaned. 'That idiot! What's he doing here?' she thought angrily.
"Um...Akane, it's, uh, probably just a cat!"
A low growl echoed from the well. Both girls jumped.
"No way that's a cat!" Akane picked up a large brick.
"W ... Wait! WAIT! What are you doing!" cried Kagome. With a shout, Akane flung the brick down the well.
WHACK!
"OW!"
"Whoa! K...Kagome! Did you hear that!" she whispered fearfully.
Kagome tensed. "Um ... No."
"But there's - "
"No … No, I'm sure it's a cat!"
"But that thing SAID something! I sure of it!"
"Uh ... Why don't we go inside!" said Kagome cheerfully. She stepped in front of Akane and firmly pushed her towards the house. But the young martial artist kept her eyes glued to the well.
"W..wait! There's still..." Akane's voice faded. Kagome turned around and saw a clawed hand gripping the edge of the well.
"Look out!" In a flash, Akane lunged forward and threw a large mallet down the well.
"Akane! NO!"
SMACK!
"OW! Damn it!"
"(gasp) Inuyasha!"
Akane looked sharply at Kagome, then back at the well. "W...what did you say!" she stammered.
"Umm..." Kagome bit her lip, thinking desperately for an excuse. 'What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?'
Loud muttering could be heard from the well. She watched in horror as Akane reached for another mallet. She quickly put a restraining hand on Akane's arm. The other girl threw her a puzzled look. Kagome smiled apologetically.
'Oh well, there's no way out of this now!' Heaving a big sigh, the raven-haired girl turned towards the well.
"Look ... Just come out of there!" she called out. The muttering abruptly stopped. Silence filled the small garden and for a moment, Akane wondered if it really was a cat. Then she heard a slight cough. Akane tightened her grip on the mallet.
Finally a low voice spoke. "Are you sure?"
Akane gasped.
"Well there's no hiding now is there?" said Kagome wearily.
More grumbling could be heard. And then silence. Slowly a pair of clawed hands reached up and gripped the edge of the well. A silver head emerged followed by a rustle of red cloth. Finally, he stood, glaring down at the girls with two gleaming amber eyes.
Akane blinked. She couldn't believe it. The mallet dropped from her nervous hands. "You...you mean...THAT is Inuyasha!"
Kagome nodded. "Uh…Akane...um, I can explain…" she began.
"Explain what, wench!" he snarled.
"What the hell do you think!" she snapped back. "And just WHAT are you doing here?"
Inuyasha crossed his arms impatiently. "I came…to check on you."
"To check on me! I said I'd be back in a few days!" The hanyou kept his eyes on the ground. "Honestly Inuyasha, can't you see I have company?"
"Well I didn't expect her to be by the well, DID I?" he retorted.
"You shouldn't have come! You KNEW my friend was coming!"
"YOU didn't tell me what time she'd arrive!"
"WHAT! Why should I've told you!"
"So then I wouldn't have surprised her!"
Kagome wanted to tear her hair out. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?"
"Um …Kagome?"
They both turned towards the Akane, who was looking utterly confused.
"What's going on?"
Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who shrugged nonchalantly. The young priestess took a deep breath "THIS is Inuyasha. He's...He's a half - demon from Feudal Japan."
Akane's eyes grew wider.
"Wha - !."
"Yeah…I know ... I know this looks crazy, but it's true." said Kagome.
"Feh."
Akane stared at Inuyasha. She had never seen anyone like him before. With silver hair and a blood red kimono, he looked menacing despite his indifferent expression. His eyes blazed, betraying the inner rage that seemed barely in check. Akane shivered despite herself.
"So, you're a half- demon … and you live in the well?" Akane carefully began.
Inuyasha snorted. "Feh. I don't live in the well!"
Though nervous, Akane continued. "So, you hide in the well?"
"I wasn't hiding!" he snarled.
"Yes you were!" retorted Kagome.
Inuyasha's anger flared. "Well I had to! I could smell her since she was standing near the well!"
"Well you failed to actually do any hiding!"
"Hey! I wasn't expecting anyone to be looking INTO the well when I arrived!"
"AHEM!"
Both jumped at Akane's voice. She moved to stand closer to the hanyou.
"I'm Tendo Akane. I'm a friend of Kagome's." She looked directly at hanyou. "Umm ... Look, sorry about what happened back there!"
Inuyasha froze in surprise. He wasn't expecting this.
Neither was Kagome. "A..Akane!"
"I've seen weirder." she said simply. Kagome's jaw dropped.
"Weird! Feh. What do you know!" he snorted, recovering from his initial shock.
"A hell of a lot and more!" she shot back. Akane opened her mouth for another reply when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"He's … like this." said Kagome.
Inuyasha bristled. "Like what?"
Ignoring him, she continued. "Well, since we've come this far, would you like to know the rest of the story?"
"There's more?"
Kagome nodded. "Yep. How about I show you?"
"What! No way!" he growled.
She glanced at the hanyou. "It'll be fine! Besides, we could use the help."
Inuyasha looked up and down at Akane. "Feh. She's a mortal, so what?"
Akane was indignant. "Excuse me!"
"Look, just don't mind him! He's always like this."
"Like what!" he demanded.
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Akane – let's go get our stuff! And Inuyasha - don't move!"
"Hurry up then." he growled.
She stomped after Kagome. 'He's as bad as Ranma!'
A few minutes later they returned with heavy packs on their backs.
"What are we doing?" asked Akane as they approached the well.
"You'll see."
Inuyasha impatiently watched the two girls. He didn't like the idea of taking this strange mortal girl back though the well. The hanyou gave a low growl. "Kagome it's not a holiday y'know."
The other nodded. "I know! But she the only one of my friends who's had any formal training. She can fight."
Inuyasha looked doubtfully at Akane. "Even if she can, she'll be jelly if she tried to take on demon!"
"You don't know that!" replied the martial artist.
"Feh. You're a weak mortal! You'd be killed easily!"
"I'm not as weak as you think!"
"Yes you are! Even your training won't save you from what's ahead!"
"How dare you!" Furious, Akane rose to her full height. "I have faced demons, spirits, murdering wannabe fiancées, hoards of stupid love-sick boys and a 500 year old lecher ALL IN ONE DAY." Akane levelled her gaze. "I don't know what's going on or where we're going. But I'll tell you one thing - I'm no stranger to life or death situations. So don't you think for a minute that I can't put up a fight."
The hanyou raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. 'Hmm. She's got more guts than I gave her credit for.'
"Fine! You're on your own!" He turned and jumped into the well.
The young martial artist stared angrily after the hanyou. She had never felt so insulted. Akane felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Akane ... I'm sorry. Inuyasha is -"
"Obnoxious, unbelievably rude ... "
Kagome smiled awkwardly. "Yeah that too ... but he's got good reason to be cautious. He's saved my life, and the lives of others, countless times before."
The anger Akane felt vanished when she saw her friend's concern. "It's that dangerous then?"
"It is." Kagome replied.
Akane looked at the well, then back to the young priestess. "Like I told Inuyasha," she began, "I'm no stranger to life or death situations. If you need my help Kagome, I'll go."
Kagome saw the look of resolve in her friend. She smiled gratefully. "Nothing really surprises you, does it?"
"Not where I come from."
"What you told Inuyasha ... has all that really happened to you?" Kagome asked.
The short haired beauty sighed. "More often than I'd like."
"Wow ... So, your fiancé is the least of you problems?"
"No, he's actually the root of everything." Akane replied wryly.
'Who is this Ranma?' Kagome wondered. "Y'know, you could have written in a little more detail ..." she began.
Akane laughed lightly. "I know … But sometimes it's just too much to explain...kinda like this." She pointed to the well. Kagome nodded in agreement. Both girls smiled knowingly at each other, and a new understanding was formed. Each had finally found someone they could relate to.
"Well, shall we?" the priestess hefted her pack. Akane warily eyed the well.
Kagome smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, it'll all make sense."
Akane hesitantly sat on the edge of the well and looked into the deep hole beneath her. She looked back at Kagome, who nodded. Taking a deep breath, Akane jumped.
She fell, expecting the bottom, but instead felt like she'd been flipped upside-down. Before she could panic, her feet landed solidly on a dirt floor.
"Well hurry up!" called a voice from above.
"We're coming!" yelled Kagome, who had just landed. She took hold of the long vines growing along the sides and began climbing. Akane nervously followed.
She emerged and gasped in surprise. Gone was the garden and the stone steps they sat on. Instead Akane found herself in the middle of a small grassy clearing. There was no sound of traffic in the distance, no temple bells, no voices. Only the rustle of the trees greeted her ears. The sky was the same deep orange as before, but somehow it seemed ... older.
Kagome watched her friend look slowly around her. She smiled slightly, remembering her own confusion when she first fell down the well. Inuyasha stood a ways, curiously watching the girls from the corner of his eye.
"Kagome...where? ...What..."
"Akane, see that tree." Kagome pointed to the huge tree beside the well. The young martial artist glanced at the tree, and then looked again. "That's the same tree in MY time." Akane's expression changed as the truth dawned on her.
"See Akane," said the raven-haired girl. "This well is a gateway between the past and the present...so, right now, we're 500 years in the past."
Akane stared hard at Kagome, her mind reeling. '500 years in the past! Impossible!' she thought, looking back around her. Her eyes settled on the hanyou, who was watching her with a smirk. 'Or is it?' Akane returned his gaze. She wasn't all that surprised at the sight of Inuyasha, after all, she had her share of bizarre sights back at home.
The hanyou watched as Akane expression relaxed. Inuyasha wondered was this strange girl was thinking about.
Kagome, however, grew nervous at Akane's silence. "Uh...Are you … " she began gently.
The shorthaired girl smiled. "Kagome...why didn't you tell me?"
"Eh!"
"I mean this is amazing! And ...And you never told me!" exclaimed Akane.
Kagome couldn't believe her ears. "WHAT! Tell you! … How could I? I mean, even if I did, would you have believed me!"
"Y'know … I probably would of!"
Kagome gave her friend an odd look. Seeing her expression, Akane laughed, making the other girl relax. "It's strange Kagome, but everything you've told me ... and the things that have happened … it all makes sense."
"Really?"
"Really! It does … Well, where I live, you get used to the impossible."
Kagome eyes widened in amazement. "Eh!"
"C'mon it's getting dark." muttered the hanyou. The sky had turned from orange to a dark red. He wanted to get out of the woods, despite his curiosity to hear more.
"We're heading to the nearby village. You can meet the rest there." said Kagome.
"There's more…of him?" asked Akane, eyeing Inuyasha.
Kagome giggled. "Well no. Ok, just one other. And a few mortals."
Akane nodded. With that, trio walked towards the village.
A/N: Thanks to all those who sent a review - it is really, REALLY appreciated. I know it's not a new crossover and that there are loads of similar stories posted. I guess I wanted to write my version of 'what if'. It's been quite the challenge conveying Akane's character when she's thrown into the world of Inuyasha, so, she may seem a bit OC. Just remember, Ranma's not around ...