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

Sorry this has taken a little while but unfortunately life got in the way a little bit. This chapter has been rewritten a couple of times and I'm still not completely happy with it so let me know what you think.

Over the next week or so, Inuyasha worked closely with Ranma, getting him used to the new strength his body possessed. He had enlisted Akane's help due to her martial arts training which had proved useful. She knew how Ranma had moved and trained as a human and she would be able to see exactly how his movements and strength had changed. It also didn't hurt that she was able to get some training in. The new, Inu-hanyou Ranma didn't seem to have the same hold-ups about fighting against a girl that he had when he was human, despite his increased strength and speed.

Kagome had been aiding them with her spiritual powers, allowing Ranma to see how he faired against light barriers and the like. She wondered if, like Inuyasha, he was motivated enough, would he be able to force his way through a barrier. She immediately remembered their confrontation with Tsubaki and how he had only been slowed down for a few moments while forcing his way through the barrier leading to the shrine she was hiding in.

Though there had been a few bumps to begin with – such as when Ranma had overshot a landing and nearly rolled down the steps leading to the shrine – he had begun to understand his new strength quickly. Akane had mentioned to Kagome that he always had an affinity to pick things up extremely quickly, which was one of the reasons he was such a formidable martial artist.

Inuyasha had been holding back though. He didn't want to put too much strain on Ranma's youkai blood. Like he had been before he had been able to get more of a handle on his youkai side, Ranma wasn't in control of his blood. He didn't want to risk the youkai being released, especially not so soon. He had been disturbed when he had lost control and his youkai had pushed to the surface and he had been hanyou from birth. He didn't want to find out how Ranma would react to such a loss of control. Inuyasha remembered the helpless feeling he'd had when he had come back from his transformation. The knowledge that he had killed humans, trying to wash the blood off of his claws, seeing it there long after the water of the river had washed it away had haunted him.

He wouldn't put Ranma through that.

He wouldn't be able to challenge Ranma properly until Totosai had returned. Ranma had caught on that Inuyasha was holding back and hadn't been happy about it. Inuyasha explained that once Totosai had come back he would explain everything to the teenager. He had huffed but after some griping and a dominant growl from Inuyasha he had left it alone.

And annoyingly for Ranma and Inuyasha, Totosai was supposed to return two days ago.

Kagome had laughed at the irritation both males had shown, reasoning with Inuyasha that he should know what Totosai was like. He had been dealing with him for long enough. She had explained to Ranma that Totosai worked to his own schedule, whatever that may be and turned up when he was ready. He didn't always remember the timeframes he had set so was often late. It was his skill as a swordsmith that caused youkai to keep coming back to him. It sure as hell wasn't anything else.

Kagome and Akane had spent a lot of time talking and bonding while the two Inu's trained. While there had been trepidation to begin with, Kagome had found that, despite the temper Ranma said she had, the girl was actually very sweet and cared about Ranma a great deal.

"Akane," she nodded for the girl to follow her into the kitchen where she sat at the small table they had in there. She gave her a small smile to try and get the worried look off the girl's face.

"Is everything okay?" Akane asked as she lowered herself into the seat across from Kagome.

"There's something I need to ask you," she started, hoping the girl wouldn't get the wrong idea about what she was asking. "What are your feelings towards Ranma?"

"What?" Akane blinked, utterly confused at the woman's question. Was she trying to figure out her feelings so she could determine whether she was good enough for Ranma? Or was it because she thought she wasn't good enough.

"This is really important, Akane," Kagome sighed, looking out of the window that looked out onto the shrine. "Ranma's a hanyou now. An Inu-hanyou." Akane nodded, wondering what she meant. "Inu mate for life, Akane. And as you've seen, they have long lives."

Akane blinked, understanding what Kagome was talking about. She needed Akane to figure out what she wanted from Ranma and if she actually wanted to be with him. She couldn't deny that through the time they had spent together, before and after Ranma's change, she had felt an attraction to the other martial artist. She had tried to brush it off but whenever she looked at him, she couldn't deny the way her stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies.

"How did you know?" She whispered, following Kagome's gaze out of the window.

"Hmm?" The older woman turned to look at Akane, who in many ways reminded her as herself at that age. She was headstrong and fiery, stubborn but at heart, she was a sweet and kind girl. For a reason unknown to Kagome, she hid it from the world. And she hid it well.

"How did you know that Inuyasha was the one you wanted to be with?" Akane turned to look at Kagome, watching as the older woman's expression softened, her dark eyes shining with memories.

"Don't get me wrong, when we first met, Inuyasha and I couldn't stand each other." Akane blinked, not expecting that. She had a hard time wrapping her head around the thought that Inuyasha and Kagome didn't get along. She could practically feel the love coming off of the two of them, it was so strong. Kagome giggled upon seeing Akane's expression. "Oh yeah, after I released him from the tree, Inuyasha tried to take my head off."

Akane's jaw dropped. She had not heard that part of the story. She had been told about how Kagome had fallen down the creepy well that was on the grounds of the shrine and that when she had first seen Inuyasha he had been pinned to the Goshinboku that also resided on the grounds of the shrine. They had told her about how she had released the trapped hanyou – having woken by that point – and how he had destroyed the youkai that had tried to kill Kagome for the Shikon Jewel she didn't know she had but they hadn't mentioned that he, in turn had tried to kill her.

"There's a whole other story behind that one, which we won't go into now but Inuyasha and I really didn't like each other when we first met," Akane swallowed, looking back out the window to the shrine. "Much like you and Ranma, am I right?"

Akane blinked and Kagome smiled at the girl. The two of them had spoken at length and she had confided in how she and Ranma had gotten off on the wrong foot when she had found him in the bathroom. Well, once Kagome had stopped laughing that is. Once that initial foundation had been laid, neither of them had really given the other room to break through the boundaries that had been set.

Kagome reasoned that the name calling that went on between the two of them – Ranma calling Akane un-cute and Akane throwing the word pervert at Ranma in return – had been a defence the two of them had easily fallen into. Akane hadn't thought about it like that before. She knew that Ranma wasn't a pervert. In fact, he was probably the most honourable person she knew.

But for some reason the insult just easily fell from her lips.

"It's okay," Kagome smiled at Akane as the girl turned to look at her again. "It took Inuyasha and I a long time to get to like each other. While we were thrown together in this situation that neither of us wanted to be in, we didn't have a choice. He was rude, he was crude and honestly, he acted like a child but then again, so did I. Because that's what we were."

Akane blinked, a little confused. She quickly did the math in her head, knowing that Inuyasha and Kagome had met five hundred years ago but that Inuyasha was over seven hundred years old. Which meant that Inuyasha had to have been at least two hundred when they met. He couldn't have been a child. "Wait. I'm a little confused." Kagome tilted her head in a move that was reminiscent of Inuyasha when he was curious about something. "How could Inuyasha be a child when-"

"When he was over two hundred years old when we met?" Kagome finished and Akane nodded. "Well, in Inu-youkai terms, he was still a pup. Inu's aren't considered adults until they're at least three hundred or so. Being two fifty at the most, Inuyasha was still very much a pup, maybe considered an adolescent."

"But why so old?" Akane wondered and Kagome smiled at her again.

"Inu's age slower than other youkai do. No one really knows why but when an Inu is, say in their thirties, while to humans, they're clearly adults, to an Inu they're only just out of infancy."

"Wow," Akane breathed and Kagome nodded, seeing that the information that had been flung at the girl over the last week or so was starting to overwhelm her. "So you really didn't get along?"

Kagome shook her head. "It took three, almost four whole days before Inuyasha even said my name. Before then it was 'you' or 'wench' was his favourite one. He still uses that from time to time but if only to annoy me. It took a long time for Inuyasha to really open up to me. The only people he'd opened up to before were his mother and another priestess. His mother had died when he was very young, leaving him alone and the other priestess was the one who sealed him to the Goshinboku."

"Trust issues, then?" Akane could kind of relate in a way. Not to that extent obviously but once she had started at Furinkan, her trust in people had gone down. While yes, it was mostly the boys she disliked at the school, some of the girls had been nasty once Kuno had made his little speech. Apart from Yuka and Sayuri, she didn't really have any friends. Akane was often distrustful of her own sister, never trusting that Nabiki wasn't looking to get some kind of profit out of whatever mess was happening at the time.

"Most definitely and once I learned more and more about his past, I could understand why he was unwilling to let people in." Kagome sighed gently, remembering Inuyasha's words once they had left Jinenji's village. She remembered the soft tone of his voice when he said that he didn't have a place amongst humans or youkai. She smiled at the memory, remembering it as the first time Inuyasha had truly let her in, whether he realised it or not. Of course after that, he had gone back to being the gruff hanyou she knew but that small insight had been enough for her at the time. "It took us a while to get closer and there were a lot of things that I won't go into now that helped us along the way but it happened. We've been together through everything for the last five hundred years. And there isn't anyone I would rather have shared that time with."

Akane sat silently, thinking about the woman's words. Though she looked to be in her early twenties, and her ID stated that she was twenty-four, she was much older and wiser than anyone else would know. Akane understood now why she was asking her the things she was.

Could Akane handle being with Ranma for as long as Kagome had been with Inuyasha?

"I . . ." Akane bit her lip, looking down at the table.

"It's a lot to think about, I know." Kagome reached over the table, grasping Akane's hand in her own. "But Akane, it's something you need to think about. Inu-youkai are an extremely territorial and possessive breed. If Ranma has claimed you as his, even in his own mind, you need to be careful around other males. He'll be extremely protective of you and he won't want any other males around you."

"Is Inuyasha the same?"

"Not so much now because we've been together so long but even so, if we're out buying groceries and a male cashier lingers too long in handing back my change, or even something else as simple, his hackles start to go up. Sesshomaru is the same with Rin." Akane nodded. She hadn't yet met Inuyasha's brother as he had been back at the Western fortress, or so she'd been told by Inuyasha, she had heard the two of them talk about him.

And she thought there was sibling rivalry in her house.

"But you should have seen Inuyasha even before we were mated." Kagome giggled as some amusing memories came to the front of her mind. "But in all seriousness, you need to make a decision when it comes to Ranma. I don't mean to scare you, Akane. I know your father's are pushing the two of you to get married but if you do and your heart's not in it, it could end badly. For the both of you."

Akane swallowed, her gaze flitting back out the window where she could see Inuyasha and Ranma had taken a break from the sparring they had been involved in and were now lounging in the summer sun. While she loved the hanyou ears and the colour of his eyes were incredible, she had missed the deep blue eyes he had had as a human and hoped they would return when the item holding the concealment spell arrived.

Inuyasha was wearing his, being out in the open as he was, his silver hair a giveaway that something wasn't quite right. Although with the different hair colours people sported these days, it probably wouldn't garner that much attention. Ranma's black hair didn't stand out and it was only when you saw him from the side or the back that the silver streaks became apparent. He had learned to flatten his ears into his hair so they couldn't be seen. He had complained when Inuyasha had had him practise doing it, stating that it was uncomfortable. The elder hanyou hadn't had any sympathy and told him to keep practising.

Akane jumped as something brushed past her foot. She looked down to see what was quite possibly the fattest cat she had ever seen peering up at her. It let out a yowl before trying to clamber up onto her lap. She reached down to pick it up, realising that it wasn't just fluff making the cat so big.

"Buyo!" Kagome scolded the cat lightly, shaking her head, being thoroughly ignored by the animal as he settled himself in Akane's lap. "Sorry about him."

"Not seen him before," Akane smiled before freezing, her gaze immediately snapping out of the window to ensure Ranma was still outside. His response to cats was intense and she had no idea how he would react now that he was hanyou.

"Well, he's used to Inuyasha and his scent but there's been another Inu-hanyou around for the last week." Kagome leaned over and rubbed the feline's ears. "He's probably been hiding in my mom's room." She looked up at the girl, seeing her worried expression as she kept her gaze out of the window. She followed Akane's gaze, seeing her locked on to the two lounging hanyou. "What's the matter?"

Akane looked back to Kagome, wetting her lips. They hadn't told Inuyasha and Kagome about the Neko-ken. Not through trying to hide it but purely because they hadn't thought about it.

"Ranma has an extreme fear of cats," Kagome blinked, most definitely not expecting that answer.

"Please explain."

"Well, when Ranma was six his father put him through the Neko-ken training." Kagome tensed, her eyes turning cold. She had heard of the Neko-ken but it had been created by and for youkai. It had not been created to be taught to humans. And Genma had taught it to Ranma! "But it didn't work the way he had thought it would. All it really did was to give Ranma Ailurophobia. He can't even see a cat without freaking out." If Kagome had been Inuyasha she would have been cursing up a storm and quite possibly punching holes in the walls. "It's so bad that when Ranma's fear of cats goes beyond a certain point, he actually starts to behave like a cat."

Kagome sighed, dropping her head to her hand, gripping her hair tightly.

She couldn't keep this from Inuyasha. He was going to go ballistic and would most likely want to head straight over to the Tendo dojo and introduce Genma Saotome to the business end of Tessaiga. She couldn't let that happen.

"Maybe the fact that he's now Inu-hanyou will counteract the Neko-ken," Akane suggested hopefully and Kagome nodded, hoping so. The fact that Ranma was now half dog youkai may help to combat the effects of the Neko-ken training he had been through but there was a large part of her that didn't want to find out.

"We'll need to keep Buyo out of his sight until we know for sure." Kagome sighed, moving to grab the cat from Akane. He grumbled and tried to keep himself attached to the young girl with his claws but eventually lost to the miko. She took him out of the room, depositing him in her mother's bedroom for the moment.

It wasn't long before the two males entered the house, chuckling about something. Kagome had quickly made some dinner after her chat with Akane, allowing Akane to help her by chopping the vegetables. Both of them were quiet, trapped in their own minds as they worked. Akane's mind was running over what Kagome had told her. She had to really think about what she wanted. Did she want to be with Ranma? Could she imagine spending the next five hundred years with Ranma as Kagome had with Inuyasha?

When she looked at the two of them, she saw the love they shared. But by Kagome's own words, they hadn't gotten along when they had first met. Hell, she had told Akane that moments after saving her life, he had tried to kill her! Ranma sure hadn't done that! Sure he annoyed her at times, what with how he had called her uncute and called her a tomboy. She always gave as good as she got. In a way, she enjoyed their banter, the way they traded insults. It was a comfortable exchange. It was when things moved out of her comfort zone that she became uncomfortable, that she tended to push him away and become angry because it was easier than accepting something she may not be ready for.

She really did need to think.

Like Akane, Kagome was locked in her mind, going through the motions of making dinner for the four of them. Her mother, Souta and Grandfather had gone to Kyoto to visit family while Ranma made the transition from human to hanyou. Having seen how volatile Inuyasha could become when he was stressed, they had decided to give the four of them some space. Kagome would call them once Ranma and Akane had gone back to the dojo. She didn't think it was the right thing for Ranma to go back but he had insisted. He knew that if they didn't return before the end of the summer, questions would be asked. Awkward questions that they couldn't really answer.

They had another two weeks before they had to send them back.

But before then, Kagome had to figure out a way to tell Inuyasha what Akane had told her about the Neko-ken. They hadn't heard of it being taught to humans in at least a hundred and fifty years. Most of the humans that had undergone the training didn't last long. She reasoned that it must have been due to the fact that Ranma was a child and so easily adaptable. Saying that Inuyasha would be pissed would be an incredible understatement. She would have to wait until Ranma was settled for the night. They still had him sleeping the shrine. Yes, they were losing money but even her grandfather would understand that keeping Inuyasha's scent as untouched as possible was more important at the moment. Until Totosai came with what it was he was creating for Ranma, they couldn't risk his youkai becoming agitated and overtaking him. Once Totosai showed up – whenever that would be – having Ranma's youkai blood under control, they would be able to re-accustom Ranma to being and sleeping around others again.

Until then, he would be firmly wrapped in the furs in the shrine. Inuyasha made sure to keep them drenched in his scent and Kagome would set a barrier every night.

Once she knew that Ranma was safely in slumber, she would have to tell Inuyasha what Akane had told her. He would find out sooner or later and it wasn't in her nature to keep anything from her mate.

~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~

Kagome had been right when she had predicted that Inuyasha would explode. While Ranma hadn't been disturbed, Akane had woken up at his cursing. She had been sleeping in Souta's room for the last two days, under much protest from the girl herself. Before then, she had been staying with Ranma on a futon in the shrine, just outside the barrier Kagome had erected. They had only allowed it that way because of the unpredictability of Ranma's youkai and the possible danger to her.

Although it had been Inuyasha she had been afraid of when he had come down the next morning. Apparently Kagome had erected a barrier around the irate hanyou to stop him from interrogating the young girl on the spot.

He was not a happy Inu.

She had told him all she knew before Ranma had come in, watching him being subjected to the same questioning. Of course, Ranma had been able to tell them more than she had but both had conveniently left out the fact that their first kiss – not that either of them counted it as Ranma didn't remember – had been when he was in the Neko-ken. Ranma's description of the 'training' his father had put him through for the Neko-ken had not helped Inuyasha's ire and Kagome had had to give him a spiritual zap to calm him down.

The three of them had to admit that they felt a little sorry for Genma Saotome when Inuyasha next met up with him.

Once he had managed to get his temper in check, the four of them had been able to enjoy the breakfast that Kagome had made in a comfortable silence. Kagome covertly watched Ranma out of the corner of her eye, seeing the grace of his movements which now matched Inuyasha's. While his speed and strength had been far superior to that of a regular human being, thanks to his martial arts training, they were on a completely different level now.

She wondered how Akane would cope with the extra energy he now had.

The four of them jumped as a loud crash and a sharp flash of youkai came from the courtyard, glancing at each other before they all abandoned the meal and headed outside. Inuyasha stood in front of the others, claws at the ready. He ensured that Ranma was behind him, protecting the pup that was in his care.

They were greeted with a cloud of smoke which had both hanyou's snorting to clear the smell out of their highly sensitive noses and Ranma couldn't hold back a sneeze at the intrusive substance. Inuyasha relaxed as it cleared before feeling his anger rising once again.

Standing in the middle of the courtyard, astride the same three-eyed bovine he had been riding for centuries, was Totosai.

Three days late!

"What the hell time do you call this, ya old loon?" Inuyasha shot towards the bulbous eyed man who looked around as if trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

"I take as much time as is needed, young pup, you know this." Totosai responded, dismounting Mo-Mo and creakily making his way towards the group. He stopped in front of Inuyasha, his gaze occasionally flicking towards Ranma, taking in the boy's new features. He didn't allow his gaze to linger for too long, having immense familiarity with the possessiveness of the Inu species.

He didn't feel like being clawed today.

"So what took ya so long?" Inuyasha questioned, crossing his arms in front of him as he narrowed his eyes at the old youkai.

The old man reached into the front of the old haori he wore, pulling out two small packages. "For your pup," he stated simply, handing the packages to Inuyasha. Ranma bristled slightly at being referred to as a pup but he also knew that he would be considered one for a long time to come. Inuyasha had also confided that he'd hated being referred to as a pup, especially when he was over two hundred years old.

Inuyasha unwrapped the larger of the two packages he had been given by the old swordsmith, revealing a thin metalled bracelet about an inch wide. "To control his youkai," Totosai advised and Inuyasha nodded, handing the smaller package to Kagome before turning to face Ranma.

The younger hanyou watched him warily, his ears flattening against his head. He tensed as Inuyasha removed the arm band he wore, tucking it under his own arm and fixing the bracelet around his wrist, clasping it closed.

"This does not come off, got it?" Ranma nodded, seeing the seriousness in Inuyasha's expression and hearing it in his voice. The bracelet was snug against his skin, appearing to take the exact shape of his wrist. Must have been a youkai thing. Inuyasha handed him the armband which he slipped back over his wrist, marvelling that even though he could feel the bracelet was still there against his skin, he couldn't see it.

He knew it would raise questions when people saw it but they would come to that when it came. Akane had suggested that they tell people she had bought it for him, which was an idea but could also cause problems.

In the meantime, Kagome had wrapped the smaller package Totosai had handed Inuyasha. It contained a ring, not unlike Inuyasha's. The hanyou and miko both blinked, wondering why Totosai had bought a ring for Ranma.

"Put it on, pup," Ranma bristled again, his eyes snapping to the swordsmith. He blinked as the ring was held out in front of him before taking it and placing it on the index finger of his right hand, much like Inuyasha wore his. He heard Akane let out a small gasp and he looked back down at his hand, seeing the claws he was becoming used to had taken on the appearance of human fingernails. He grabbed his pigtail, pulling it over his shoulder, seeing nothing but dark strands. He wouldn't be able to see anything else without a mirror but he knew he looked human once again.

"To conceal his appearance." Totosai said redundantly, moving towards the group once again. "Take off the arm band." He practically ordered and Ranma looked to Inuyasha who shrugged, nodding, also curious as to what the old crackpot had in store. Ranma took off the armband and blinked, seeing that the bracelet was also gone. But he could still feel it. Inuyasha stiffened but Totosai brushed him off before he could say anything. "Now, take off the ring."

Ranma did so, more than a little confused, seeing his claws reappear along with the bracelet.

"You've tied the bracelet to the concealment spell." Kagome breathed and Totosai nodded.

"That is what delayed me," he explained, narrowing his huge eyes at Inuyasha who didn't seem fazed in the least. "Now when he is under the concealment spell, the bracelet will also be concealed. I have done my own research into you Saotome Ranma," Ranma groaned internally, wondering what he had managed to uncover. "It seemed best to try and raise as few questions as possible."

"It is most appreciated, Totosai-san," Ranma gave a nod of his head and the old youkai looked pleased. "Thank you."

They watched as Totosai ambled back to his steed, looking every bit the old man he was as he clambered back on Mo-Mo's back.

"I am pleased for you, Inuyasha-sama," he said softly, looking back over to Ranma who had removed the ring and was looking down at the bracelet that now adorned his arm. "He will make a fine addition to the Inu-youkai clan."

"That he will," Inuyasha agreed, a small smile appearing on his face.

"He cannot remove the bracelet himself." Inuyasha's ears flattened minutely but enough for the old youkai to notice. "I doubt you want to risk the pup going through transformations like your own." Inuyasha shook his head, remembering what he could about his own youkai taking over. "That is another reason for the delay. Before the Tessaiga broke, there was no way of telling what would happen if the seal holding your blood was broken. After I created the ring I took it to have the concealment spell placed upon it. It was Osamu, the spell caster that suggested intertwining the spells. He also ensured the boy could not remove it himself." Inuyasha nodded, understanding why Totosai had taken such a precaution. "Only you, Inuyasha-sama, hold the power to remove the bracelet from the boys' wrist."

Before Inuyasha could question him, he had disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the hanyou coughing and trying to clear his nose.

Inuyasha quickly made his way over to the other three, taking Ranma's arm and inspected the bracelet encircling his wrist. There was nothing on the bracelet that would indicate it was anything other than a piece of metal but Inuyasha could feel the slight thrum of power that was being emitted.

"I don't feel any different," Ranma said softly and Inuyasha nodded, letting his wrist go.

"You won't," he explained meeting the boys' eye. "It's not going to affect you in that way. The main objective of this," he tapped the bracelet with a claw, "is to stop the youkai in your blood from taking over."

"What'll happen if it does?" He asked quietly and Inuyasha looked towards Kagome, who nodded, gently grasping Akane's shoulder. There were things that she didn't need to hear just yet.

He gently led Ranma towards the Goshinboku, glancing at the boy before deftly leaping on to one of the lower branches, Ranma quickly following.

"You don't want your youkai blood to take over, Ranma," he said softly, settling back against the trunk of the tree. Ranma sat on the branch in front of him, head tilted to the side, silently enquiring. "The first time it happened to me was when Tessaiga broke." Ranma's eyebrows shot up, thinking on the giant sword, wondering what he meant. It had looked like it was fine when Inuyasha had shown it to him. "Oh, Totosai repaired it but . . ." he took a breath and shuddered, the memories of Goshinki shattering the Tessaiga and the pain that went with it. "Not before the damage had been done."

"What do you mean?" Ranma rested his elbows on his knees, watching the elder hanyou closely.

"You know that Tessaiga was reforged to contain my youkai blood," Ranma nodded, "I didn't even know it existed until after Kagome released me from the tree. It was only after Sesshomaru came looking for our father's tomb, did I even know it existed. If he hadn't come looking for it, my youkai blood would have been sealed forever."

"Because you didn't have the Tessaiga?" Ranma was a little confused.

"But I did," Inuyasha gave a small smirk at Ranma's raised eyebrow. "Before he died, my father ordered that I would receive Tessaiga and Sesshomaru would receive Tenseiga. He was not happy about that." Ranma smirked, wondering how Sesshomaru had reacted. "Because I was so young, obviously I couldn't wield a sword so it was sealed within me."

"Within you?" Inuyasha nodded, ears twitching as he remembered the painful experience of Sesshomaru's method of removal.

"It had been sealed within my right eye." Ranma blinked and shook his head, inwardly cringing at the thought of having something like that inside his eye. "While it was there, it kept my youkai blood under control. I had been in many life threatening situations, so many times I had nearly died before I met Kagome and never once had my youkai blood come to the surface."

"Because you had Tessaiga literally inside you." Inuyasha nodded once again.

"It stopped it from surfacing." Ranma nodded understanding. "But once Tessaiga was broken, there was nothing to contain my blood. And it took over." He shook his head, remembering what they had told him about his first transformation. "If Kagome hadn't used the beads of Subjugation at that moment, I probably would have slaughtered them all." He met Ranma's eye, the teenager looking worriedly at the older hanyou. "That is why that bracelet never comes off. It's too much of a risk. You wouldn't mean to harm anyone but you would."

Ranma let out a breath, looking down to where Kagome was talking with Akane before looking back down to his wrist, where the bracelet now lay. He wouldn't take it off. He wouldn't risk anyone in his life. Looking back towards Inuyasha, he could see the elder hanyou was still troubled by what he had done when his youkai had taken complete control of him, even if he hid it from the rest of the world.

The two of them looked at each other for a moment, Inuyasha relaxing slightly when he could see Ranma understood the meaning behind his words. He nodded and the two of them gracefully jumped down from the tree, walking back towards the house and the other two.

Inuyasha stiffened, a low growl erupting from his chest as he slowly turned, facing two figures Ranma didn't recognise. He could sense their youkai even across the distance between them. Inuyasha moved in front of him, shielding him from their view, his stance protective against the two males.

"So," one of them chuckled, his stance completely relaxed as his eyes drifted towards Ranma, looking him up and down, eliciting a much louder growl from Inuyasha, "this is what you were hiding last time."

The younger of the two looked more wary, his eyes only leaving Inuyasha for a moment before fixing back on the aggravated Inu. Ranma could see that he realised the threat in front of him as he stepped back slightly. The older of the two didn't seem to notice or care that he was riling Inuyasha up, that his mere presence had set the hanyou off.

Ranma stepped back slightly, sensing the power coming from Inuyasha rising the longer the two strangers were there.

Well, this was going to be fun.