Disclaimer: I do not own either Ranma or Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi has that honour. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

"So," Ranma stiffened a little more at the cool, detached voice behind him, turning to see a man standing there, his eyes fixed on the teen, "you are the whelp my little brother has taken interest in."

Ranma couldn't help but stare at the youkai behind him. With his long silver hair, brilliant amber eyes, pointed ears and striking facial markings there was no doubt who he was.

Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha's older brother.

Kagome had been right when she had pointed out the similarities between Inuyasha and his brother. There was no doubt that they were siblings. But she hadn't mentioned how different they were at the same time. While he had gotten used to Inuyasha's aura, recognising it when he came into contact with it, Sesshomaru's was completely different. Though there was something about it that seemed familiar, he reasoned that it may be that he was related to Inuyasha and due to his familiarity with the hanyou's aura, his brothers would not be dissimilar.

However, while Inuyasha was approachable, Sesshomaru screamed danger.

"Come on, Sess," Inuyasha rolled his eyes at his older brother, well used to his attitude after the centuries. "You're scaring the shit out of the poor kid. And who uses the word 'whelp' anymore?"

Sesshomaru looked away from Ranma to raise an eyebrow at his little brother, the hanyou he had once so despised. If someone had told him all those centuries ago that he and Inuyasha would one day embrace the other as family, they would have been dead where they stood.

He had despised his half-blood brother for so long that he didn't know any other way to feel towards the hanyou. The only way he could reason his lessening hatred for his baby brother was the influence Rin had had on him. Once she had come into his life, he had found himself doing things that he never would have dreamed. She brought out a lighter side to the youkai, one no one, not even Sesshomaru himself had known was there.

Once she had come into his life, his image of his brother had begun to change. Not that he would have ever admitted that to anyone. He had never allowed himself to think of humans as anything other than fodder, baseless creatures that were merely in his way. Rin had opened his eyes to how they could be.

Rin had opened his eyes and shown through her unquestioning loyalty that there had been more to humans than he had first thought. When he had impressed what Rin had shown him through her words and actions onto Inuyasha, he came to realise that it was in part, his human blood that made him so formidable. It was that part of him that gave him the strength to keep fighting and not give up.

As always, that train of thought led him to the memory of when he had attempted to take the Tessaiga using the human arm and jewel shard provided by Naraku. Even with a hole through his torso, the hanyou had not given up and Sesshomaru himself had known better than to continue.

It hadn't been until after the final battle with Naraku and the girl had been forced down the well for the last time that Sesshomaru had truly begun to accept his brother. He had found the hanyou sitting by the well, leaning against the ancient wood, Tessaiga cradled to his chest as it so often was. There was no doubt the hanyou had heard his approach, his ears swiveling in the direction Sesshomaru was coming from but he made no other sign until the youkai Lord was directly in front of him.

It was then that Sesshomaru had noticed the markings Inuyasha now sported. The purple cheek stripes, decidedly less jagged than they had been before. Noticing his brother's confusion, Inuyasha had shrugged stating that they hadn't disappeared since the confrontation with Naraku. When he had enquired about the miko, Inuyasha had looked away simply whispering that she was gone.

It was in that moment that Sesshomaru had decided he would not kill his baby brother.

He had left Rin in the same village Inuyasha and his companions resided in, knowing they would not allow any harm to come to the girl. He visited regularly, seeing the little girl and by default his brother. Even though it had taken them over two centuries, things were changing for the brothers. And neither of them seemed inclined to stop it.

Sesshomaru's first true discovery of how Inuyasha's attitude and trust towards his older brother had changed was after he had heard rumours of the miko's return, heading to the village to investigate for himself. He had come across the two of them outside of the small house they shared on the outskirts of the small village. The two of them had been resting in the sun and he saw that the hanyou was not immune to the Inu predilection of having a nap in the warmth of the sun.

What had astonished him – although he had managed to keep his facial expression neutral – was the fact that Inuyasha didn't stir when he approached. Not a muscle twitched as he approached the couple and he couldn't help but admire how young his brother looked. Considering his actual age, he was still considered a pup. Not that anyone would say that to the hanyou or risk losing a limb.

In complete contradiction, the markings now adorning his cheeks made him look so much like their father.

He had planned on leaving as soon as he had determined whether the rumours were true and seeing as Inuyasha had his head resting in the miko's lap, it was clear that they were. But he found himself drawn into conversation with the young girl who had seemed to grow up exponentially even though only a short amount of time had passed.

She had voiced the instincts he had always had when it came to the hanyou. She had been absolutely right when she had queried the Inu need for family and that being why neither he nor Inuyasha had been able to end the other's life. Sesshomaru had stated he had every intention of killing the hanyou each time they met but even a Lord such as himself could not fight his most base instincts. And judging by the smile on her face, she was pleased to hear that.

Well, he hadn't killed her mate, so he surmised she would be.

Standing there, looking down at the teenager sitting with his brother and his mate, he noticed Inuyasha stiffen slightly as his ears flattened minutely, amber eyes not leaving the youkai in front of him. Inuyasha would defend the boy if needs be. There was no doubt about that.

"Calm yourself, Inuyasha," he was met with an aggravated snort from the hanyou as he walked around the table, settling himself next to his sibling, "I merely wanted to meet the human that has been leaving his scent all over the shrine."

Ranma gulped slightly, glancing at Kagome who gave him an encouraging smile. He glanced over to the daiyoukai, noticing how he also had a cup in front of him. Kagome had to have known he was there to have brought four cups instead of three. He narrowed his eyes at her and she grinned innocently.

Turning back to Sesshomaru, Ranma moved into a low bow, recognising the power of the youkai in front of him. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sesshomaru-sama."

Inuyasha and Kagome glanced at each other, amused at Sesshomaru's pleased smile. While he was the Alpha where Inuyasha was concerned, his brother didn't defer to him in that way. Sesshomaru had given up on trying to get anything resembling that kind of respect out of his little brother. Kagome had likened it to 'trying to teach an old dog new tricks'. The both of them had been mildly offended at the line but had quickly shrugged it off causing the miko to giggle, saying that they were, in some cases, extremely similar.

"So," Inuyasha took another sip of his tea, "how's everything at the fortress?"

"Much the same," Sesshomaru picked up his own cup, settling it in the palm of his hand. "We have a new round of cadets which contain more kitsune's than the last group."

"That should be fun," Inuyasha grinned, a gleam in his eye.

"Well, maybe your kit should explain to them what happens to those that pull pranks while on guard duty." Sesshomaru sniffed and Inuyasha chuckled at the memory. Shippo and another kitsune had decided that their bout of guard duty – something Sesshomaru had insisted Shippo partake in when at the fortress – had become too boring and wanted to liven things up. He was sure the two of them had hidden for a week after the reaming out and punishment they had received from the captain of the guard.

"Come on, you know that it wouldn't do any good. It's practically woven into their DNA to cause trouble," Inuyasha shrugged and Kagome nodded, grinning. "Besides, you can hardly call Shippo-kun a kit anymore. He's got kits of his own."

"Speaking of, Izumi wishes to know if the two of you are going to be attending the Autumn Gathering this year." Sesshomaru turned to face the couple, seeing the smiles on their faces at the thought of their first born.

"Of course we'll be there." Kagome answered for the both of them. "We haven't missed a year yet, have we?"

"Apart from that one year-"

"Sess!" Inuyasha growled, his ears flattening into his hair. Ranma was startled at the snarl that had come out of the hanyou. Apparently, his older brother had said something that had upset Inuyasha greatly. Sesshomaru paid no mind to the younger Inu, sipping on his tea in a dignified manner.

"Sorry, Ranma," he turned to look at Kagome who had an apologetic look on her face, glancing at the two brothers. "They get like this sometimes. They always know what buttons to push. Just feel lucky they're not trying to kill each other anymore." Ranma's eyebrows flew up, looking towards the pair. He had seen the Tendo girls go at it so he had seen first-hand how fiery sibling relationships could be, despite being an only child himself. But he didn't think the girls would actually hurt each other. Maybe it wasn't the same for Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. "Oh, yeah, it could get pretty scary actually. You never knew what was going to happen when these two were in the same vicinity. I think there was only one or two times where the interaction didn't end with them trying to take a chunk out of the other."

"That bad, huh?" Kagome nodded.

"Thankfully they haven't tried to do that over the last five centuries or so." Kagome smiled at the brothers who both seemed to be astutely ignoring the conversation happening next to them. "They grew closer over the years but there was still some tension, as there would be after fighting for that long. It was only when Izumi was born that everything kind of just . . . faded away."

"Izumi was the first pup born into the Western Lands for over three hundred years," Sesshomaru interjected, causing the three of them to turn to look at him. "Her birth was greatly celebrated."

"That was not fun," Kagome shook her head, dispelling the memories of her first labour. While her pregnancy had been relatively easy, if not faster than she had been expecting – thank you youkai genes – her labour had not. Apparently, Inuyasha had been beside himself while she was giving birth, Sesshomaru having to restrain his brother himself as he had not been allowed into the birthing rooms.

"You have kids?" Ranma heard the shocked tone himself, mentally smacking himself in the face. They had been together for five hundred years. It would have been harder to believe that they didn't have children together. Sometimes it was easy to forget how old they were by looking at them.

"We have three," Kagome looked at Inuyasha, a sad glint in her eyes as he reached over and took her hand.

"So are they . . . quarter Inu's?" Ranma asked and Inuyasha smirked, shaking his head.

"Half." Ranma's brow furrowed, trying to work out how that happened. Kagome was human and Inuyasha was half human so that would have meant there would be more human than youkai in their children. His math wasn't that bad. "Relax, kid."

"I know it sounds weird and basic math would support what you're obviously thinking but when it comes to youkai blood, nothing is simple." Kagome giggled and Inuyasha rolled his eyes, a soft snort coming from Sesshomaru. "You see; the reason our pups are half rather than quarter is due to Inuyasha's youkai blood. It's a lot stronger than human blood so while it comes to a balance when one parent is youkai and the other human," Inuyasha let out a snort at her words, clearly not agreeing with the 'balanced' part, "when it comes to anything else, the youkai blood will always overpower the human."

"So even though there's more human blood, the youkai blood will always end up with it being a half and half split within any children you have?" Kagome nodded, smiling as he caught on. "But if there was more youkai blood . . . it would end up being three quarters youkai?" She nodded again. "Huh. Human blood doesn't really stand a chance, does it?"

"Not when compared to youkai," Kagome squeezed Inuyasha's hand once again. "Especially when it comes to Inu's. Their bloodline is impressively strong."

Ranma looked to Inuyasha, noting that, other than the small snort he gave, he had been quiet during Kagome's explanation.

"Doesn't always make a difference, though." He said softly, looking towards his wife. He glanced towards Ranma, taking a breath. "Inu's may be strong but we're not infallible."

Sesshomaru placed a hand on the back of Inuyasha's head, the hanyou leaning into his brother's touch, a show of support that Ranma didn't quite understand. The daiyoukai looked over towards the teen who was watching them closely.

"Roughly three centuries ago, we lost a number of Inu's to a large group of hunters." Sesshomaru explained quietly and Ranma noticed a slight twitch in his hand, indicating that he was running his fingers along the back of Inuyasha's head. "They killed males, females, pups, it didn't matter. By this point, the Feudal Era had come to an end and there was relative peace, especially throughout the West. There had always been hunters, they themselves were nothing new. However, usually a hunter would not randomly attack. They were defenders of humans."

"Only going after youkai that had attacked humans," Ranma surmised and the daiyoukai nodded.

"Correct. These hunters however, seemed to have no such scruples. They killed any youkai they came across, no matter if they were causing harm." His free hand clenched into a fist, the only sign that he was upset. His face still fixed in a cool mask, his other hand still resting against the back of Inuyasha's head. "Once the attacks began, we of course had to fight back but their numbers only swelled."

"They were pretty much concentrated on the west," Inuyasha carried on quietly. "We didn't know if there were any others out there but we had an obligation to one of the Inu tribes in the North." He looked to Ranma, his gaze sad. "Kagome told you we have three pups, which is correct. We did have four."

Ranma sucked in a harsh breath not liking where the story was going. He looked to Kagome who had a death grip on Inuyasha's hand, looking down at the table.

"It was about a hundred and fifty years after the problems with the hunters started. We didn't want to go but it was something we couldn't avoid. Otherwise it could have cause conflicts between us and the Northern Inu clans and that wasn't something we could afford at that point. We were on our way back and had just crossed the border to the Western Lands when we were attacked," Inuyasha's voice was quiet but it didn't matter. You could have heard a pin drop from outside with the stillness in the air. "The guards only priority was to protect us, no matter the cost. And they all paid with their lives. You see by that time; humans had begun using firearms more than they had before. While crude by modern standards, they did the job. And not only that but they had monks and priestesses working with them so they were able to bless the projectiles, meaning they purified everything in their path. It was only because Kagome was able to create a barrier around us that we survived."

"Wait, the three of you were okay?" Ranma asked, letting out a sigh at Inuyasha's nod.

"We were the only ones that survived." Kagome whispered. "They tried to break through the barrier but they weren't able to. Eventually they gave up and left us."

"They didn't go far," Inuyasha carried on, "I could still hear them close by. They were waiting for us to drop the barrier and they were going to follow us to the fortress. If they had, it would have been a massacre. The casualties on both sides would have been immense."

"But what happened to . . ." Ranma trailed off remembering they hadn't mentioned their child's . . . pup's name.

"Honoka," Inuyasha smiled, his eyes closing for a moment as he leaned into his brother's hand. Seeing the two of them like that, Sesshomaru obviously lending comfort to his brother, Ranma couldn't see the truth in Kagome's words that they had tried to kill each other many times before now. He reasoned that if he saw them go at it, the opposite would probably be true. "We couldn't risk her, so we stayed inside the barrier. It wasn't long before Sesshomaru turned up. He has this neat little trick that means he can move people quickly."

"Did you go back to the fortress?" Ranma asked, wanting to know what had happened to the baby. If she had been their fourth but they only had three now, something had to have happened.

"No," Inuyasha shook his head, his ears drooping at the ends slightly. "We still couldn't risk it. Not with them around. It was the first time we'd used any kind of concealment spell. It was only supposed to be a temporary measure, until we could get rid of the hunters that were plaguing us but every time we wiped a group out, it seemed there were three more of the same size to take their place. The other three were older but Honoka was just a newborn. We managed to supress her youkai completely, forcing it down deep into her blood where it could never surface without one of us releasing it."

"You turned her human," Ranma whispered and Inuyasha nodded. "What happened?"

"We had heard of a noble family that took in children, raised them as their own. They were within the Western Lands so we could keep an eye on them." Sesshomaru explained, pressing his forehead to Inuyasha's temple, the younger Inu turning his head slightly, letting out a soft whine. Ranma remembered Kagome explaining that Inu's as a breed relied a lot on touch. She had told him that they could communicate almost completely through touch, sometimes not a word being said. She had also told him - when Inuyasha hadn't been around – of times when she had found the two Inu's curled up, asleep. She hadn't mentioned it to anyone before, not wanting to incur the wrath of her mate or her brother-in-law.

"You left her there." He said softly and Kagome nodded. Inuyasha pulled her to him, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Why didn't you claim her back once she was older."

"We would have done but we weren't the only ones watching the village which was more of a town at that point and growing all the time." Kagome said softly, resting her head on her mate's shoulder. "Several of the hunters had settled down there and would routinely launch purified ammunition anywhere to make sure there weren't any youkai around. If we had made any inclination towards her, there was no doubt she would have been killed. We couldn't risk it."

"What happened?" He dared to ask.

"She grew up, she got married, had a child of her own and he had a child . . ." And died. Ranma didn't need to hear the words. "She was eighty-four when she died. Which for a human was a long time, especially during the 1800's."

"We kept an eye on all of her descendants. It seemed that there would only be one child in a generation so that made it easier." Ranma's eyes flicked over to Sesshomaru as he spoke.

"What about the hunters?" He asked, wondering what had happened to them. He reasoned that with demons now using concealment spells, they would be harder to track down.

"Most of them were wiped out in the second World War." Ranma's eyebrows shot up, not having expected that answer. "We took care of the ones that weren't. Their numbers were low and their young men were being forced into the Japanese army to fight. The ones left behind were the ones with the brains not the brawn. They were easier to dispose of."

Ranma found that he wasn't disappointed to hear that. He could understand hunting youkai that were attacking humans. Inuyasha had admitted to doing so himself in the bits that he and Kagome had told him about their past. But to go around killing youkai for no reason, those that were trying to live peacefully was just wrong no matter what they were.

Every creature had the right to live in peace.

"It took a few decades but eventually, they were all wiped out." Sesshomaru sounded proud of the fact that those that had plagued them for so long had been destroyed and Ranma couldn't help but understand why.

"What about your descendants?" He asked, wanting to know about them more than anything else. "Did you tell them where they came from?"

"Not yet, no." Inuyasha shook his head, casting a meaningful look at Kagome who nodded, her eyes determined. "When the hunters had been dealt with, we found that our latest descendant was in pregnant." Ranma's eyebrows shot up again and he wondered if by the end of the tale he would lose them in his hair. "We kept a close eye planning on how we would introduce ourselves, explain everything, working everything out so that they had the choice of whether they wanted to embrace their youkai heritage or remain human. But we never got the chance."

"What do you mean?"

"As Sesshomaru mentioned earlier, every year there is an Autumn Gathering. There's also one for the Spring as well. As Inu nobility we are required to attend, else it be seen as a slight to the others in attendance. We'd been away for a week but when we returned, the boy and his father had disappeared. They had to have left just after we did because there was absolutely no scent trail. Not a trace. Which is hard with a two-year-old." Inuyasha's fist clenched, his voice gaining a small snarl at the mention of the father. His ears flattened once again, practically disappearing into his hair. Kagome placed a hand on his cheek, Sesshomaru's hand still on the back of his head, both clearly trying to calm the Inu.

"Did you find them?" Ranma had to admit, he was getting hopeful that they had. He wanted the couple that he had become close to over the last few weeks to get their happy ending when it came to their family. Call him a girl – though you might lose a few teeth in doing so – but the two of them had been through a lot from the sounds of it and they deserved to know where their family was.

"We did," Kagome smiled at him, a soft smile, her eyes shining with tears. "A few weeks ago. After fourteen years of searching, we found him. It didn't help that they never stayed in one place for long. We would search and there would be a whisper of his name but when we got there, nothing. But none of that matters now."

"Where is he?"

Looking to Inuyasha and getting a small nod from the hanyou, Kagome stood up, walking around the table, sitting next to Ranma, taking hold of his hand. "He's right here."

It took a few moments for Ranma's brain to catch up, flinging through all the possible scenarios before landing on the one they were implying. Were they saying that they thought he was the one that they were looking for. That he was their descendant. From the way Kagome was looking at him, that was all he could reason.

"Me?" He looked between the three of them and they nodded.

"I know it's a lot to take in and you probably don't believe us-"

"Now where would you get that idea?" He shot back, pulling his hand away from the woman, staring at the two Inu across the table. Kagome didn't look upset, slowly placing her hands on her lap. "I don't know what kick you're getting out of this but it's not funny!"

"You believe this to be a joke?" The ice in Sesshomaru's voice could have frozen the Sea of Japan as he addressed the youngster across from him.

"Sess, easy." Inuyasha said softly, not wanting his brother to lose it in front of the already skittish teenager. "How did you think he was going to react?"

The youki that had begun to swell around Sesshomaru reduced, settling back down as he heard Inuyasha's words. All the daiyoukai had been concerned with was that his little brother and his mate had finally found the one they had been searching for and it was being thrown back in their faces. Of course the boy wasn't going to accept it at face value.

"Though it has been buried for many of your human generations, the Inu blood of InuTaisho still runs through your veins." Ranma recognised part of that name as being the last name used by Inuyasha and Kagome. "It will still recognise the call of family and the call of the pack Alpha."

"What does that mean?" Ranma was prepared to bolt but having seen the speeds Inuyasha could reach, which far surpassed his own, he had no idea if he could get out without being grabbed.

Not saying a word, Sesshomaru straightened up, his eyes fixed on Ranma as he took a deep inhale. Watching Sesshomaru intently, prepared for an attack of any kind, he didn't notice Kagome cover her ears next to him.

What he was not prepared for however was the low rumble that rolled from Sesshomaru's chest followed by an almighty bark which sounded more like a roar to his ears. He noticed Inuyasha sit up straight, his ears focused forward and his eyes wide as though he had been called to attention. What he was also not prepared for what the same response from his own body. He found himself sitting up straighter, eyes fixed on the daiyoukai, unable to look away, the need to defer to him flowing through him without him knowing why. It was like his body was a live-wire, sparking with energy that he hadn't been feeling moments before.

What the hell was that?

Sesshomaru sat, a smug smirk on his face at the boy's reaction. He had known Inuyasha's reaction would be the same. Argue he might but when Sesshomaru voiced the Alpha's call, his instincts took over. He heard Inuyasha give a soft bark in response followed by a low snort, shaking his head as he pushed those instincts back and Sesshomaru knew he was being given a glare that would make anyone else quiver in the corner.

"A little warning next time you feel the need to do that." He grumbled but did not lean away from his brother's touch, his hand still gently rubbing the back of his head as he had been since they had started telling Ranma everything.

"I agree," Kagome added, shaking her head probably trying to clear out the ringing she had stated occurred whenever he did that in her vicinity. It was loud but then again it had to be. Essentially it was a call to gain the immediate attention of all of his pack. And it had worked.

Ranma was clearly confused at his body's response to the sound that had come from Sesshomaru, not understanding the reactions and it seemed to be frightening him a little. He could understand. As a martial artist, he needed to know everything about his own body. He was required to know his body's responses to any kind of stimulus and the fact that it changed from male to female with something as simple as cold water was enough of a danger to him. Now, here were these people, youkai, telling him that they were in fact his ancestors and he had youkai blood buried within him.

It wasn't any wonder why he was – in Inuyasha terms – freaking out.

"What was that?" Ranma whispered, his muscles finally relaxing.

"That was the call of an Inu Alpha," Kagome explained quietly. "It's designed to get the attention of everyone in the pack. If everything we'd said wasn't true, your body wouldn't have reacted the way it did." Her voice was soft, trying not to overwhelm the teen more than he already had been. "It's the instinct to respond when the Alpha calls. Even Inuyasha can't help it." He flicked an ear, nodding when Ranma looked up at him.

"I . . ." he swallowed, his mouth bone dry, "I don't . . ." He looked around to those sat in the room with him. "I need to think about this."

And he was gone.

So while I had always planned this for Ranma, this chapter basically wrote itself. Wasn't what I had planned but hey, there we go.