Disclaimer: Nope...still don't own Ranma or Inuyasha.

A/N: The read and reviews...I'm very grateful for the encouragement. Thankyoumuchly. (Bows very low).

Dark Ganna - You're so right about Sota! But wasn't it when Inuyasha fought the mask of flesh? Anyhow thanks for the reminder! Uh...what I REALLY meant was this was his first time seeing Inuyasha fight another human...yeah, that's it...(sheepishly goes back to standing in the corner).

Maximara - Thanks for the correction and the really thorough reminder! Um...what I REALLY meant to write was...(sighs, then proceeds to bang her head while staying in her corner)

Anyhow, in developing this crossover fic, it was either have the Ranma characters effect the Inuyasha world or the Inu's gang effect Nermia. I chose to go with the former in hopes to add a little of that Ranma zaniness to the already magical world Inuyasha. So as a result, some of the characters may not seem totally themselves when they react to what's happening ... as you may find in the next chapter.

At any rate, enjoy!

Chapter 6: Rivals and Roast

The sun swiftly descended over the hills, casting a deep orange glow on the clouds that littered the sky. The forest prepared itself for the evening in the shadows that had begun to stretch. It was twilight when the four companions emerged from the well.

"Hmm...it's getting dark!" remarked Kagome, glazing up at the sky. Akane joined her, drinking up the magnificent view. Ranma walked over to retrieve his backpack from the field. As he lifted it, he noticed the slight change in weight.

"Funny..." He weighed his backpack in each hand. "I thought I brought more..."

Inuyasha stood a little ways from the others, listening to sounds in the distance. Suddenly his head snapped up.

"Inuyasha! What is it?" asked Kagome.

"It's the village!" he replied. "The people are fleeing!"

"Oh no! Those demons are back!" cried Akane and followed the hanyou and Kagome down the path. Dismissing his unease, Ranma threw his backpack over his shoulder and ran after them.

In a few short minutes, they arrived to find the village in total mayhem. There were groups of women and children running down the road towards the neighbouring village. Others scurried away, carrying weapons. Several men ran past with blazing torches.

"It's under attack!" cried Kagome, alarmed.

"Kagome! Inuyasha!" A girl dressed in light armour ran up to them, her katana unsheathed. "A...Akane! You're here too!"

"Sango – what's going on?" asked Kagome. She caught the girl's puzzled glance at Ranma. "Oh...I'll have to explain later! This is Ranma..."

Sango raised her eyebrows in surprise, but nodded quickly in greeting and then turned back to Kagome. "There may be another demon in the village."

"WHAT!" The priestess came to a halt. "Um... Wait … What do you mean by maybe?"

The demon hunter shrugged. "I'm not sure myself! Lady Kaede had caught something in one of the hunting traps and brought it home. Then apparently Shippo threw water on it and it suddenly turned into a man!"

Ranma froze. "W...what did you just say?"

"Um...It changed into a man!"

"No, no, NO!... Before that!"

"Um...Shippo accidentally threw water on it!"

Ranma looked at Akane in alarm. "This sounds way too familiar!" he muttered.

'It can't be a ... Jusenkyo curse...can it?' Akane thought as her brown eyes met his trouble grey ones.

"Ranma, what are you talking about?" asked Kagome, frowning.

The pig tailed fighter looked quickly away. "Uh...nothing!" he mumbled to Kagome, "Um...it just sounds...too weird to be true!"

"Well it's the truth!" said Sango curtly. "You can ask Shippo! Here they are!"

Ahead appeared a young monk and a small orange ball that seemed to be sitting on his right shoulder. As the monk approached, the little ball jumped down and sprinted towards them.

"Kagome!" he cried happily. The priestess caught him in a tight hug.

"Shippo! Are you alright?" she asked.

The little kitsune nodded. "Yeah! I'm ok! But you shoulda seen Lady Kaede! She was soooooo surprised!"

"Shippo! What happened?" Kagome held Shippo at arms length. "Where is Lady Kaede? Is she ok?"

"She's fine, Lady Kagome! She's at the nearby village with everyone else!" replied Miroku, who had just arrived. He smiled as he recognized the shorthaired beauty. "Lady Akane! You're back! We didn't expect your lovely presence so soon!"

"Hello again Miroku! " Akane caught some movement out of the corner of her eye. She smirked. "Say...how's your head!"

The young monk quickly withdrew his hand. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Um...yes, it's fine!" It was then that he noticed the pig tailed fighter standing beside Akane.

"Oh…this is Ranma...Ranma, Lord Miroku." Both young men looked at each other and bowed awkwardly.

"Look, explanations will come later! Right now just tell us about this demon!" Kagome demanded impatiently.

The young monk nodded. "It's a bit of a mystery I'm afraid. Seems that Shippo is the only one that saw it change."

Ranma stared in awe at the little kitsune as he jumped up and down in Kagome's arms. 'Whoa...that kid's got ears...and a tail!'

"Yeah! Yeah! It was really cool!" Shippo eagerly explained, "One minute he's a pig and the next minute he's a human!"

Ranma's jaw dropped. "P...p...PIG!" he stammered.

"Yeah! And all it took was a little water!" Shippo giggled merrily. "You shoulda seen the look on his face when Lady Kaede shot him!"

They gasped. "WHAT!"

Shippo squeaked in surprise. "No! Wait – he's not dead - she only got him on the side of the head! But he was REALLY scared!"

Kagome frowned. "Soooo ... where is it now?" she asked.

"We don't know! It may not sound like much, but we need to be careful!" Sango gripped her katana. "That demon we fought a few days ago may also still be in the area."

"Um ... Has this pig-demon attacked anyone?" asked Akane as she glanced at Ranma, who appeared very anxious to leave.

"No, it hasn't hurt anyone as far as we know," replied Miroku. "But we ought to track it, just to make sure. The villagers are still frightened from the last demon attack."

"Feh, we'll be able to find this pig-demon quick enough." Inuyasha growled. "If it smells anything like his twin."

The martial artist cracked his knuckles. "And maybe that damn nose of yours needs some adjustments!" he snapped.

The hanyou's eyes flashed dangerously. "You just fuckin' try!"

Sango, Shippo and Miroku watched in amazement as Ranma raised his fist to reply. But fortunately Akane smacked him on the side of his head.

"OW!"

"Enough! Both of you!" Akane shouted angrily.

"Ok...OK!" Kagome stepped between the two fighters. "How about this? We'll split up! Shippo and I will go with Inuyasha and take the north end of the village. Ranma and Akane can go with Sango and Miroku and approach from the south. Between our two groups we're bound to catch it."

Sango uneasily watched Ranma and Inuyasha glower at each other. "Good idea." she replied quickly, and began walking away. Miroku cast them a wary look, then followed after the demon hunter.

"Ranma! C'mon!" Akane pulled at his arm.

"Alright already! I'm comin'." He stomped off after her.

The hanyou snarled. "And don't come back!"

Kagome glared angrily at Inuyasha. "SIT!"

WHAM!

The two groups parted noisily as the shadows lengthened in the empty street

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Ryoga winched as he brought his hands to his head. It wasn't a deep cut, and the bleeding had already stopped by the time he cleared the back garden of the old woman. The animal trap he walked into should have been avoidable, had he not been staring at the kid ... with the tail, playing with some ...crayons. And it was that same kid that accidentally knocked the kettle onto the wooden cage he was in. Unfortunately the old woman just had to be making new arrows at that moment. But, fortunately the arrow she shot had only severed his bandana.

"...damn this curse..." he muttered for the millionth time.

A group of villagers approached and he quickly ducked behind a large cart full of hay. He waited until their footfalls disappeared before running across the dirt road and hiding behind a low wooden fence.

'….almost there….'

He glanced nervously from side to side. He crouched and strained his ears, listening for any sign of movement.

'Nobody...good. Just got to find something that fits-'

The scuffle of sandals running in the dirt startled the already frightened young man. Panicking, he reached up and grabbed the first thing his hand closed upon. Ryoga sprinted back towards the forest. He easily jumped up into a tree and hid himself in the higher branches. For several minutes, he stayed very still, listening carefully for sounds below. After a while, he sat down on the large branch and sighed, feeling the worst was over. But his relief was short lived.

Ryoga looked dismally at the little purple kimono in his hands.

"W...Why me?" he choked.

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Sango and Miroku walked south towards Kaede's hut, eyeing the forest for anything out of the ordinary. Akane and Ranma brought up the rear, looking carefully around them. But the remaining light was fading, making it harder for them to see deep into the forest. It was in the dim light that Ranma spotted it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that unmistakable strip of yellow and black lying forlornly on the ground.

And it was covered in blood.

Ranma felt like he was punched in the stomach. A sinking feeling of horror threatened to overwhelm him.

'…no...it can't be ...' He gingerly picked up the bloody bandana and bit back a cry of frustration.

Akane stepped towards him. "Ranma, what is it?"

Ignoring her, Ranma looked and saw a small trail of blood ahead of him. He looked back over his shoulder, carefully hiding the bandana. "Hey, just wait here with those two. There's something I gotta check." he hastily replied. Before she could protest, he leapt to the rooftops and sped away.

"W-Wait! Ranmaaaaaa!" called Akane.

Sango watched in amazement as he leapt from roof to roof. "How did he-?"

Miroku stared in turn. "Wow!" He turned to Akane, but found she had already run off after the martial artist.

"Akane!" called Miroku. Confused, he and Sango ran after her.

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Ranma's heart was pounding. 'Ryoga...hang on!' He leapt from roof to roof, searching vainly in the shadows below for any sign of the wanderer.

"Ryoga!" he cried out. His eyes fell on a splatter of blood near a fire burning up ahead. He jumped to ground level and warily approached the flames. A slight wind brought the smell of roasting meat to his nose. Appalled, Ranma stepped a little closer….

Amidst the blaze he saw a roasting pig.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

He ran towards the fire with his heart pounding in his ears. He skidded to a halt, and stared in utter disbelief.

"Oh my god...oh god….no…..NO!" He gave a strangled sob as he thrust his hands into the fire.

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Watching from the shadow of the trees, he heard a familiar yell. Curiously he edged his way towards the commotion. He soon saw the figure kneeling by the fire. His eyes widened as he recognized the red silk shirt and unmistakable pigtail.

"R ...Ranma?"

Holding the kimono closed, Ryoga stepped out from behind the trees.

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Kagome, Shippo and Inuyasha carefully walked past the row of abandoned houses. The occupants had already run to the nearby village in fear.

Inuyasha sniffed the air. "He's close…." he murmured. Kagome tightened the grip on her bow.

Suddenly they heard a loud scream.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

"C'mon!" Inuyasha snarled and broke into a run. Shippo tightened his grip on Kagome's shoulder as she ran after the hanyou.

"Inuyasha! Can you see anything?"

"It's near! The scent is strong!"

They rounded the last corner ...

... and stopped dead in their tracks.

Kagome had never seen anything so bizarre in her entire life.

Shippo just stared.

Inuyasha didn't know whether to laugh or attack.

Ranma was sobbing bitterly. In his hands he seemed to be cradling a roasted pig. But behind him, near the forest's edge, stood a young man barely dressed in a little purple kimono. He was loudly whispering at the distraught fighter.

"No, you useless fool! I'm here!"

"I know … I know!" sobbed Ranma, "I'm so …. sorry!"

"Dammit Saotome! Over HERE!"

Ranma's wailing only increased. "I know you're there...in hell ..." He choked back a sob, "I can hear your ... ghost ...oh my god. ... RYOGA!"

They watched in wonder as the semi-naked youth marched over and punch Ranma soundly in the back of the head.

"Idiot! I AM HERE!" he screamed.

Ranma looked at him, dazed. "R...Ryoga?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I am ALIVE you moron! " Ryoga snapped.

Ranma looked back and forth between the roasted pig and Ryoga. He blinked twice, staring at the wanderer. "Y...You're alive!" Ranma leapt joyfully to his feet…..

….and soundly decked Ryoga in the face.

"Damn it Ryoga! What the hell's wrong with ya?"

Ryoga rubbed his jaw. "What's with me!" He pointed at the pig in Ranma's hands. "How stupid can you get?"

"Idiot! I thought this was you!" He angrily shoved the bloody bandana in his face. "Here! This was covered in your blood!"

"R….Ranma?" Kagome's timid voice brought the two martial artists back to their senses.

Ryoga's eyes widened at the sight of Inuyasha. 'So…this is the hanyou they're talking about…' he thought to himself. He spotted Shippo peeking over Kagome's shoulder. 'And it's that weird kid!'

"K…Kagome!" Ranma stared at her in surprise.

"Um…" At a loss for words, Kagome stared back, clearly disturbed. Only Inuyasha stood looking thoughtfully at the wanderer.

"So…it was YOU!" he growled.

"W…what?" Ryoga stepped back, surprised at being addressed by the hanyou.

"It wasn't that bastard that stinks…it was you all along!" Inuyasha mused.

Suddenly Ranma understood.

"You...YOU were in my back pack all this time!"

Ryoga tensed. "You were going to find Akane!"

Ranma glared angrily at his rival. "So? Why the hell are ya here for, P-Chan?"

"Shut up! I came to help!" Ryoga snapped.

"Oh yeah! Ya did a hell of a job! Not only do they think you're a demon-"

"D...Demon?"

" - but how are you going to explain this to Akane? She's out hunting for you too!"

The colour drained from Ryoga's face. "Oh no….Ranma! Ranma, what am I gonna do?" He lifted his hands to his face.

Kagome shrieked and quickly covered her eyes. Ryoga started, then looked down and promptly turned bright red.

"S…ss…sorry!" He frantically pulled the kimono closed.

Inuyasha smirked. "Feh. You're worse than the monk."

"Um ... I gotta go!" Ryoga turned to run into the forest.

But Ranma quickly stood in his way. "No, you idiot! You're just get lost!"

"Get out of my way! Akane's coming!"

"Hey wait!" Kagome kept her hands over her eyes. "Why can't Akane see you like this…no, I mean…y'know…." She started to blush. "I mean why can't she know you're here?"

"Cuz in his other form he's her pet pig!" said Ranma matter-of-factly.

"What? You...you mean you're really a demon?"

"NO!" Ryoga replied sharply. "I'm human! I'm just cursed!"

"Cursed?" She glanced over at Ranma. "I don't understand...what does this have to do with Akane?"

Ryoga looked helplessly at Ranma. The martial artist glared back. "Well, P-chan, what now!"

The wanderer looked back and forth between Ranma and the others. "Ok! Ok! Yes, as a pig I'm Akane's pet! " he blurted out. "But she doesn't know it's me! She can't EVER know!"

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha. The hanyou shrugged. "Fuckin' weirdos, the both of them."

She frowned. "I still don't understand why Akane can't-"

"There's no time! PLEASE, I beg you! Help!" Ryoga looked desperately at her.

Ranma let out a long sigh. 'Man…as if this isn't complicated enough.' He looked at Kagome. "Ryoga's an idiot, but it's true. He's a human with a curse. Look, I can't explain now –"

"Where have I heard that before?" muttered Shippo.

"-but Akane can't know that Ryoga is here!"

"Feh. It's their fuckin' problem, let them solve it!" snarled Inuyasha impatiently. He was getting very tired of waiting for all the explanations.

Shippo stared at Ryoga. "I think that naked human is gonna cry."

The wanderer crouched, clutching his hair with white knuckled fear. Ranma, however, looked like he wanted to punch Ryoga, again.

Kagome groaned. "This is just waaaay too weird!" She was already tired from the last shard hunt, but instead of relaxing at home she had this to sort out. She sighed resignedly as she looked at Ryoga's miserable face. "Look just hide yourselves, and I'll try to find you some clothes."

Inuyasha snorted. "Oi, wench, what the hell are you thinking?"

Kagome shrugged. "Just go with it! Everyone, and I mean everyone has got a lot of explaining to do!"

The hanyou flicked his gaze to back to the two fighters. "So you gonna just leave them here?"

"Hmm…you're right, we can't just leave them alone…" Both her and the hanyou stared at Shippo.

He quickly jumped down. "No! No way! You can't leave me with those two lunatics!"

"Shippo, please!" begged Kagome, "I need you to keep an eye on them."

The kitsune shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't liking this one bit!

Kagome came and knelt beside him. "And I certainly can't leave Inuyasha with them!"

"Feh!"

"Please Shippo! They're not from this time!" She placed her hands together. "I'll be back before you know it!"

Shippo looked at the two fighters, then back to Kagome's pleading face. He sighed and nodded reluctantly. "O...okay."

Relieved, she scooped him up and gave him a big hug. "I'll make this up to you! I promise Shippo!"

She placed him on the ground and turned to leave. "We'll be back real soon!"

"How soon?" Shippo called.

"Soon!"

Inuyasha's ears twitched. "Someone's coming!"

"Hide!" hissed Ranma.

Immediately him and Ryoga ran into the forest. Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and leapt away with her on his back. Pouting, Shippo reluctantly followed the human pair.

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Coming to a small crossroad, Akane came to a staggered halt. The sky had now deepened to purple, making difficult to see as the houses and trees began to blend into the shadows.

"Lady Akane!" Miroku came to stand beside her. "Wh...What's going on? Where's Ranma?"

"Boy, he's fast!" said Sango as she caught up with Akane. "How does he do that?"

But the girl was anxiously scanning the rooftops. "Ranma! You idiot! Why did he run off like that?" she muttered crossly.

Suddenly four burning orbs appeared in the distance, flying swiftly in the sky.

"Kirara!" called Sango, recognizing her companion. But then, the demon hunter gasped. She watched as two hungry, red eyes loomed over the demon cat. As they neared, the three warriors could see the gleaming yellow mass that slithered towards them, it's huge twisted face snapping eagerly at Kirara.

"It's her! That snake-demon is back!" yelled Akane.

"It must have sensed the jewel shards when Kagome returned to the village." said Miroku.

"Oh no! That means Lady Kaede and the other village is under attack!" Sango readied the Hiraikotsu. "I left Kirara to watch over them."

"Lady Akane, I'm sorry but we must see to this!" said Miroku anxiously.

The martial artist nodded. "Hmph! That idiot can take care of himself! C'mon let's go!" All three broke into a sprint towards the two demons in the sky.

As she ran though the forest, Akane took one last glance over her shoulder. 'Ranma! Where are you?'

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Shippo didn't have to travel far. His own ears twitched as he heard voices high above him.

'How did they get up there?' he wondered. He made his way up the trees and sat watching them from another branch.

"Ryoga! What the hell were you thinking following me?" Ranma demanded.

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure Akane came back!" The wanderer angrily crossed his arms.

"Oh, so you don't trust me? Is that it?"

"No! Ranma...I just wanted to see her again!" He looked down at the purple kimono. "But not like this!" he moaned.

"Well, P-Chan, she's here and you got a lot of explaining to do!"

"What am I gonna do? ... oh, god..." He began to blubber miserably.

The pig-tailed fighter shook his head in disgust. "Ryoga….shut up."

'So that's his name!' The little kitsune edged curiously closer.

'Hmm ... THAT'S Akane's mate?' He watched as Ranma threw his hands in the air, angrily shouting at the other human. 'But he's crazy! I mean, a human wanting to fight Inuyasha...and then he goes and cries over food …'

He looked over at Ryoga 'Funny, he doesn't seem like a demon!' He watched as Ryoga struggled to keep the kimono closed. Shippo giggled in spite of himself.

Suddenly both heads turned in his direction.

"Uh oh!" he squeaked, unnerved by the attention.

"It talks!" exclaimed Ryoga.

"Stupid! Didn't you hear him talk to Kagome?"

"Oh you mean that long haired girl?" asked Ryoga.

"Um...yeah...that's Kagome, and the big ugly one is Inuyasha." piped Shippo. He edged a little closer to the pair.

Ranma peered back at him. "Hey…you got ears!"

Shippo's ears tweaked in reply. "Of course! I'm a fox demon!"

"You're ... a demon?"

"Yeah! Watch!" With a pop, Ranma was face to face with an exact replica of himself, but with a large orange tail.

"Wow! That's an improvement!" remarked Ryoga. Shippo burst out laughing and pop, returned to his original form.

"Like being a pig must be a step up for YOU!" said Ranma. He jumped to avoid Ryoga's angry side kick.

"So…what else can you change into?" asked Shippo. Both fighters stopped to look at him.

"Um…I can't change into anything else!" replied the wanderer.

"But aren't you a demon?"

Ryoga's eyes widened. "N…no! I'm human but I have a curse…"

Shippo scratched his head. "Curse?"

"Yes. This terrible curse which was all HIS fault!" he glared furiously at his rival.

"Shut up!" snapped Ranma, as he sat down on the branch. "Y'know the water that you threw on him? It was hot, right?" he asked Shippo.

"Well…yeah! How'd you know?"

"Cuz that's how the curse works. Cold water makes him a pig, hot makes him a human. I've seen it a million times!"

But the wanderer sneered at Ranma. "Well a pig's not as bad as being a-"

"Shut up!" Ranma's fist broke the branch that Ryoga was on. The wanderer had gracefully flipped onto a higher branch.

From his new perch, Ryoga stared hard at his rival. Soon, a slow smile crept onto his face. "Sooooo Saotome … they don't know, do they?"

Ranma began to sweat nervously. "Shut. Up. Ryoga."

"Know what? What?" asked Shippo.

Ryoga smiled triumphantly. "Oh, Ranma didn't tell you about –"

"Shut it!" Ranma threw him a punch that split Ryoga's tree in two.

The wanderer gleefully jumped away. "They don't know about HER! Do they?" he taunted.

Shippo watched in alarm as Ranma levelled the forest in his wake. "Stop! Stop it!" he cried after them.

Suddenly, a loud roar pierced the still air. The two rivals stopped and turned to see four burning orbs in the purple sky.

"Kirara!" cried Shippo. "It's Kirara!"

"Kira-wha..." Ranma's voice trailed away. He looked up horror to see the biggest snake he had ever seen loom above the fire that flew in the distance.

"No! It's her! That demon is back!" the young fox demon cried, "We have to tell Kagome and Inuyasha!"

"Her...back! What are you talking about!" Ryoga demanded, not taking his eyes off the oozing yellow mass

"There's no time! C'mon!" cried Shippo anxiously.

"Ryoga, let's go!" cried Ranma as he scooped the little kitsune up in his arms. "Akane's out there too!"

With Shippo in tow, he and Ryoga leapt swiftly through the trees and towards the battle ahead.

A/N: Oh my goodness, this narrative is really choppy, I admit, but I had to update it before I changed my mind, AGAIN! This is by far the hardest chapter to organize in terms of plot and pacing. If you have any helpful suggestions to improve this chapter please let me know! And don't worry dear reader, things will be explained...eventually. Like most situations in Nermia, there are a lot of misunderstood events that help to create that chaos that follows Ranma. If you thought this was chaotic, just wait until next chapter ...