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

Kagome, Akane, Izumi, Kazuhiko and Masaru stared at Inuyasha as he turned the hose off, wondering what the hell he had been thinking.

"Inuyasha-"

"Gah! You got water in my ears!" Kagome and Akane turned to the very male voice coming from Ranma although he was soaking wet with cold water that had just come from the hose Inuyasha had just put away.

"Well, that answers that question." Inuyasha walked over to the teenager that was trying to wring the water out of his ears. "Don't worry, it'll clear." Ranma shook his head again, shooting a foul look at Inuyasha, unable to hear a thing.

Akane let out a giggle, covering her smile quickly with her hand as she earned a grin from the three "children", such as they were. They all seemed highly amused at the sight of Ranma stuck with water in his ears.

"Um, dad, you wanna explain?" Masaru asked, unable to keep the amusement out of his tone.

"It's gone." Akane blinked, her mind suddenly catching up with what she was seeing now that the shock and humour of the situation had ebbed slightly. For her, at least.

Ranma, who was still trying to get the water out of his ears, hadn't heard her and was most interested in getting rid of that discomfort above all else. Inuyasha chuckled, gently grabbing his ears, ignoring the surprised yelp and began gently rubbing the base of each ear, knowing it would ease the problem.

"What's gone?" Izumi asked, looking as confused as her brother at the spectacle in front of them.

"The Jusenkyo curse Ranma had on him," Inuyasha grinned to Kagome and Akane who were beaming back at him. The newest hanyou, and the subject of the topic at hand, had absolutely no idea what was going on. He shook his head, pulling his ears out of his great-grandfather's grip, sighing at the feeling of clear ears once again. "Hey, kid, you're curse free."

Ranma blinked, looking down at himself and expecting to see the large breasts that usually accompanied his being drenched with cold water. He couldn't contain his grin when he took in the distinctly male body he was seeing. He looked at Akane who was also grinning.

"It's gone," he whispered, looking down at his hands and back up at Inuyasha, who was smiling down at him. "It's gone."

"What is? Some curse?" Ranma turned to Izumi, Kazuhiko and Masaru, seeing the confused looks on their faces.

"Well, my dad and I spent some time in China and he decided it would be a good idea to visit a little used training ground called Jusenkyo. Wasn't long before we found out why it was used so little." He sighed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. He could see that while Inuyasha and Sesshomaru knew of Jusenkyo, they hadn't made their children aware of them. "There are pools at the training ground, that you avoid at all costs. You fall into one of them and you're cursed."

"I don't get it," Izumi stated bluntly.

"My dad fell into the 'Spring of Drowned Panda', meaning that whenever he gets hit with cold water, he . . . turns into a panda," Izumi tried to stifle a laugh but failed miserably at doing so. "Yup. He turns into a panda. And . . ." He looked to Inuyasha who nodded, a smile on his face.

"Go ahead, they make fun of ya, I got hundreds of stories about them growin' up. Many of 'em worse than your curse." He grinned, ignoring the three indignant looks he was getting.

"Well, I fell into one of the pools. The uh, 'Spring of Drowned Girl'." He looked up at the three of them, expecting some kind of mirth to come from the three hanyou's in front of him but all he saw were stunned expressions.

"So . . . every time you were hit with cold water, you'd turn into a . . . girl?" Masaru asked, a slightly amused confusion in his tone and Ranma nodded. "Huh. Was not expecting that."

"But Daddy hit you with water from the hose," Izumi's ears creased back, realisation dawning on her face as a wide smile broke out across her lips. "Bringing out your yokai blood removed the curse."

"Looks that way," Inuyasha chuckled, placing a hand on Ranma's shoulder. Ranma couldn't help the grin and relieved laugh that spilled from his lips as he ran his hands over his face. Inuyasha looked to Kagome, seeing the pleased smile that graced her lips. She looked up to him and he nodded to her. Bringing out his yokai blood had removed the Jusenkyo curse, Ranma's Ailurophobia and brought their family back to them.

If there had been any lingering doubt that bringing Ranma to how he should have always been was the right decision, it had been erased in that moment.

"I um, I think I should go change." Ranma stood up, still grinning gleefully as he shook himself off, causing water to spray everywhere and Inuyasha to raise his arm to shield his face from the onslaught. Akane giggled at the sight, her thoughts immediately seeing the dog-like similarities in Ranma's behaviour.

Ranma's grin didn't leave his face for the rest of the evening or well into the next morning. He was curse free! He didn't need to worry about being turned into a girl whenever it started to rain or walking down the street where that crazy old lady seemed to always be washing her walkway.

The only thing that made his smile drop slightly was thinking about what the reaction at the dojo would be when they found out.

He needed to speak to Akane so they could figure something out. He didn't want to tell anyone there about his heritage. Not just yet. He wouldn't know how they would react to it and it wasn't a can of worms that he wanted to open just yet.

"Hey, kid! Pay attention!" He was brought back into the present by Masaru's shout, only just managing to dodge what would have been a devastating blow from Inuyasha.

They were still working on his control over his new strength. Inuyasha had told him that due to his martial arts training, he had managed to gain control a lot faster than he had expected he would. But that didn't mean he could slack off. Even though he had always been stronger than most around him, the strength he wielded now was still alien to him and he had to get to grips with it as quickly as possible. He and Akane needed to go back to the dojo by the next week otherwise questions that neither of them wanted would be asked.

"Keep your mind on what you're doing, Ranma!" Inuyasha growled as Ranma settled into a stance. He felt something rise in him at the sound Inuyasha made, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. There was something whispering in the back of his mind, his blood starting to feel hot as a snarl he didn't quite know the origin of rippled through his throat.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at the sound, seeing Ranma's eyes cloud slightly and his posture change as he stood there. It didn't seem as though Ranma was entirely aware of what was happening to him, his instincts taking over. Inuyasha could see what was happening in front of him and adjusted his stance accordingly.

He wasn't disappointed when Ranma let out another snarl and launched himself at Inuyasha, who was ready for the attack.

Kagome's head snapped around, knowing exactly what was going on as a cloud of dust appeared around where her mate had been.

Akane ran outside to where she was standing with Kazuhiko, Izumi and Masaru. The three of them were ready to jump into it when Kagome held out a hand.

"No!"

"But Mama-" Masaru looked at his mother, astonished.

"Do not approach." She warned, her tone hard, not taking her eyes off where Inuyasha and Ranma were facing off.

"What's happening?" Akane whispered, her eyes glued to what was unfolding in front of her.

"Ranma's challenging Inuyasha," Kagome glanced at Akane who let out a small gasp. "We knew that it was likely to happen. Ranma's young and strong. His instincts were bound to kick in and try for dominance over Inuyasha." She could see the worry in Akane's eyes, placing a hand on her shoulder, giving her a small smile. "Don't worry. Inuyasha will make sure he's not hurt." She nodded, turning back to the hanyou's who were currently squaring off.

If he was being honest, Inuyasha had been expecting the challenge sooner than this. He had been expecting it before Totosai had brought the bracelet to contain his yokai. It was that, prickling at his consciousness and pushing forward with the attack from Inuyasha that was prompting the challenge. While it was reined in by the bracelet and he was unable to remove it, it still pushed against Ranma's human side, urging for dominance over the older Inu.

As the teenager stood there, snarling at him after Inuyasha had kicked him away, Inuyasha pulled on his own youki. It would be required to put Ranma in his place.

The younger hanyou launched himself again and Inuyasha could see that it was his instincts running the show right now. He wouldn't hurt the boy but he had to let him know who was Alpha out of the Inu's around.

Inuyasha blocked the blow that had come in, sensing Ranma's leg coming up around him. He grabbed his ankle, twisting him round and over his shoulder, slamming the teenager into the ground. Inuyasha heard Ranma let out a grunt as he landed on his back, before acting quickly and practically sitting on his chest. He wrapped a hand around his throat, allowing his eyes to change with the presence of his youki.

Ranma wrestled against Inuyasha's grip as he held him down, one hand on his throat and the other forcefully holding Ranma's arm up by his head. He had his foot holding down Ranma's other arm, ensuring the younger hanyou couldn't move. He pulled on his youki, allowing it to resonate through him and surround Ranma. He straightened up, letting out a deep growl and a loud bark not unlike the one Sesshomaru had when Ranma had first met up. Much like then, Ranma stiffened however, unlike Sesshomaru's bark, this had been one to reinforce dominance.

The others watched on, tense, as Ranma continued to struggle against Inuyasha's grip. Akane remembered what Kagome had told her that the older Inu's tended to be stronger than their younger counterparts. She could see that her words were true as Inuyasha held Ranma down. She had known how strong Ranma was while he was still human and had seen it grow when he had become a hanyou. Seeing Inuyasha holding him down like he was made her wonder how strong the silver haired Inu truly was.

Inuyasha let out another rumbling growl, pushing his youki towards Ranma, feeling it brush against the teen's own. Feeling the presence, Ranma stiffened again, his instincts forcing him to settle as the grip on his throat and arms increased. He blew out a snort through his nose, his head automatically tipping back to expose his throat as a low whine of submission escaped him. Sensing this, Inuyasha let out another rumble, removing his hand and leaning over and lightly gripping Ranma's throat in his teeth, hearing another low whine coming from the teenager.

Once he sensed that Ranma had truly submitted to Inuyasha as Alpha, he released the teenager. Inuyasha pulled his youki back in, looking down at Ranma as the teen blinked, his eyes clearing and Inuyasha knew that Ranma's rational mind had taken back over.

Ranma let out another whine and Inuyasha released his arms, leaning over and resting his forehead against Ranma's. "I'm sorry," Ranma whispered, his eyes closed and Inuyasha let out another low rumble, much like the purr he had let out when Ranma was first coming to grips with his new instincts.

"No apologies needed, kid," Inuyasha said softly. "We knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time before your instincts to challenge kicked in. I was waiting for it." Ranma nodded and Inuyasha moved off him, standing up. He pulled Ranma up, wrapping his hand around his head and pulling him to him. "Don't worry about it. It's not the first time I've been challenged."

"Who else?" Ranma whispered. Inuyasha could sense that he was ashamed that he had attacked his own ancestor and the one that had been guiding him through his transition to the new world he was being exposed to. "The others?"

"No," Inuyasha chuckled. "My sons haven't challenged me because they're my sons. They've always known I'm the boss. No, the challenges have come from others that didn't believe I deserved my place in the hierarchy. Managed to show them all who's boss, though."

Ranma rested his head on Inuyasha's shoulder, another whine escaping his throat as he closed his eyes. Inuyasha buried his nose in between Ranma's ears, sensing that the young hanyou was beating himself up internally.

Kagome smiled as she saw the two of them together, wrapping her arm around a still tense Akane. "Everything's okay." Akane didn't look convinced. "Ranma's yokai instincts have completely accepted Inuyasha as Alpha. We knew that it was going to happen. That hadn't been established previously. It had been Inuyasha's age and strength that had kept Ranma's yokai at bay but something happened today. We'll probably never know what it is but their roles have been established now and there shouldn't be any more issues."

"It's done?"

"Mm-hmm," Kagome nodded, giving Akane's shoulder a quick squeeze. "I'll be honest, it could have been a lot worse. If Ranma hadn't submitted when he did, there may have been blood. We're lucky there wasn't."

Those words made Akane relieved that it hadn't been worse than it was.

"Never seen anyone challenge Dad before," Kazuhiko murmured, the other two shaking their heads. The last true challenge to come at Inuyasha had been when Kagome was expecting Izumi. There had been grievances since then but nothing that had been physical so they had never seen their father responding to a challenge of his dominance before.

He was the second most powerful youkai they knew of – coming second only to their uncle – and no one had questioned that before.

Inuyasha held Ranma for a few more moments, before stepping back and releasing the teen. "You're okay," he said softly.

The two of them turned back to the others to see Akane and Kagome watching them with smiles on their faces. The other three through, it turns out were bickering amongst themselves. This time, it appeared, Kazuhiko had done something to wind up Izumi because after a few seconds, he ran off, his sister quickly following after him, leaving the youngest of the three laughing as he watched them. Ranma raised an eyebrow, looking towards his great-grandfather (he couldn't be bothered to think of how many generations were in between the two of them) who just glanced at him and shrugged.

Inuyasha wrapped his arm around Ranma's shoulders and they walked back towards the two women in front of them. Kagome wrapped her arms around Ranma as soon as he was within reach, whispering to him gently.

"Are you okay?" Akane whispered as he moved over to her.

"I don't know," Ranma shrugged, letting out a sigh as his attention was caught by the others wrestling where Izumi had managed to catch Hiko. "I guess I just . . . don't know where that came from."

"Kagome said that apparently, it was inevitable. That Inuyasha's dominance hadn't been really established and that they knew it would be coming at some point." She reached up and ran her fingers over the outside of one of Ranma's ears, smiling as it twitched and he gave her a sidelong glance. She grinned moving her fingers to the base of his ear, give it a gentle rub. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch, completely unaware of the gaze of his ancestors.

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

The next week, Akane and Ranma were not in the best of moods. They had to go back to the dojo the next day. Inuyasha and Kagome weren't pleased with what was transpiring either but they knew it had to happen. If Ranma and Akane didn't go back to the dojo with enough time to prepare for school, there would be questions.

Inuyasha and Kagome had informed Ranma of the Autumn Gathering and Izumi had made them aware that the nobles in the Western Fortress knew of Ranma so his presence there would be expected.

It was something that couldn't be avoided and he hadn't been pleased when they had told him Akane couldn't accompany him. While part of him thought that he was relying on her presence too much, another part of him wanted to keep her close. Inuyasha had explained to him that it seemed his youkai side had claimed her as his own which meant he would want to keep her close at all times. He had also made him aware that he would need to control himself and not let his instincts take over. With their fight from the previous week still fresh in his mind, Ranma was worrying about keeping that in check.

Being told he would have to leave Akane behind while he attended the Gathering wasn't something that sat well with his instincts.

Inuyasha and Kagome had called Ranma and Akane to talk to them before they went to bed. They looked slightly nervous as the teenagers sat down in front of them.

"Okay," Inuyasha sighed, resting his arms on the table. "There's one thing we haven't mentioned to you yet, Ranma. It's something you need to be aware of too, Akane, so you can be prepared for it." The two of them looked at each other nervously. "Every hanyou, no matter what their breed or who they are, has a time of weakness."

"What does that mean?" Ranma asked and Inuyasha sighed gently.

"It means that for a period of time, all hanyou's lose their youkai powers and are completely human," Ranma's eyes widened and jaw dropped. "If the pattern holds, yours should be on the night of the new moon."

"How do you know that?" Ranma asked and Kagome gave him a small smile.

"Inuyasha's human night is on the new moon and our children have taken after him in that respect. You may take after him and the others in that respect or you may not." Kagome explained and Ranma felt nervous at the news. "We would have told you about it sooner but it's been a huge adjustment for you anyway. We're not telling you now to scare you but you need to know."

Ranma nodded, knowing that he needed to know this information. The thought that his powers would be disappearing, even temporarily, made him worry. He had remembered what it was like to be powerless after Happosai had hit him with the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion.

"So . . . I'll be back to the strength I was when I was human?" Ranma asked and Inuyasha.

"It's temporary but it can be disorienting." Inuyasha advised and Ranma let out a sigh. "The new moon is next week. I'm gonna need you to let me know when it happens." Ranma nodded, looking forward to going back to the dojo even less.

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

The following morning, Ranma let out a sigh as he slipped the concealment ring on, watching as the spell on the ring took over and the claws he had become used to change back into fingernails, seeing his new amber eyes revert back to the blue they had been when he was human. He turned his head, seeing the human ears he hadn't sported since he had tested the ring when Totosai brought it for him. It had been safely tucked into Kagome's jewellery box so it wouldn't get lost before he left for the dojo.

Even though it had only been a few weeks, his human appearance now seemed so alien to him.

"So, this is what you looked like as a human," Ranma turned, seeing Izumi leaning on the doorway to the guest bedroom he had been using since moving into the house from the main shrine. He felt his cheeks heating slightly as she smiled at him. "I gotta admit though, I'm curious as to what you looked like as a girl." Ranma rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"Right," He mumbled and she giggled, walking into the room. "There are pictures around somewhere. That's the only place she'll be seen again, thank god."

"It can't have been that bad." She queried and Ranma snorted.

"Imagine if you fell into a pool of water and came out a guy," Izumi's nose wrinkled at the thought and Ranma chuckled at the expression.

"Exactly," Izumi flicked an ear and Ranma chuckled again. "She did have some admirers though." Izumi giggled as Ranma sighed. "Kuno's going to be so upset."

"Kuno?" Ranma blinked, forgetting that Izumi hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Tatewaki Kuno.

"He's one of my female form's admirers. Every morning, without fail, he challenges me to a fight to 'release the pigtailed girl'. The dude's insane, I swear." Ranma shuddered and Izumi grinned. "He's going to be so upset to find out he'll never see her again."

"I'm sure he'll be fine." She shrugged and Ranma laughed.

"If you think that, you have definitely never met Kuno." Ranma chuckled, checking his bag to make sure he hadn't left anything. He sighed, zipping the bag closed and closing his eyes. "I don't know if I can do this."

She walked over to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. "You're gonna be fine. You're a Taisho, even if your name is Saotome." Ranma couldn't help but be proud of the statement of being a Taisho. He felt that was a name he could be proud of, even though the thought terrified him a little bit. The name held connotations and responsibilities that he wasn't truly in the know about but he would be surrounded by family and that made him feel a bit safer. "Mama and Daddy will be right here if you need them and you have Akane, whose in the know. You'll be fine."

He nodded, grabbing his bag and turning to face her. He met Akane at the bottom of the stairs, seeing she had her bag ready to go.

"You know that we're here if you need anything, right?" Kagome said softly, grabbing both Ranma and Akane in a huge hug, having grown close to both of the teenagers. Even though they weren't going too far, Kagome was going to miss having them around the shrine.

They wanted to walk them back to the dojo, however with their story of having been on a training trip, they wouldn't be able to do that. If they were seen with Inuyasha or Kagome, it could jeopardise their story. Izumi would be following them at a distance to ensure that Ranma was okay with being out in the city. It would be a test of his new senses.

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

Ranma, for the first time since gaining his new senses, he wished he didn't have them. Walking through the city, he registered the sounds that he had either not noticed before or been able to block out. Underlying scents that he wouldn't have been able to smell as a human were drifting into his nose and not all of them pleasant.

"How you doing?" Akane asked softly and he let out a breath, trying to keep from being overwhelmed and really hoping that they didn't run into anyone they knew on the way home.

"It's . . . overwhelming." He said softly.

"Well, Izumi's around here somewhere if you really need her." She said softly.

"Yeah, I know." He glanced around knowing that his great-aunt was hanging around somewhere but not really able to find where. "I just . . . I dunno. It's not gonna be the same at the dojo. Dealing with our dad's would have been hard enough without the heightened senses but-"

He stopped, his sensitive ears picking up something he didn't want to hear.

A bike bell.

He looked around, panicking slightly at the thought that Shampoo could be somewhere around. He hadn't even noticed that they were back in the Nerima district. He grabbed Akane and pulled her down the street and into an alleyway, keeping an ear and an eye out for the bike and its possible purple haired rider.

"Ranma! What-" he held a finger up to her lips, silencing her for a moment and Akane was reminded in that moment that the concealment spell was only that. It only gave him a human appearance. She could feel the tip of his claw touching the end of her nose as he watched the end of the alleyway.

She pushed his hand away carefully, wondering what had gotten into him. He had obviously heard something. "What is it?"

"Shampoo," he whispered and she blinked. He closed his eyes, focusing his hearing on the sound he was trying to pick up. He didn't know whether it was actually Shampoo or not but he wasn't about to take that chance. "I heard the bike bell. The only time I ever hear a bike bell is when Shampoo's out on a delivery."

"Wow," Akane murmured, marvelling at his hearing.

He stiffened as he heard the bell again, closer than it had been before. He moved further down into the alleyway as the sound got closer and Akane's jaw dropped as a few minutes later, Shampoo whisked by the opening. He remained there for another minute before he grabbed his and Akane's bags in on hand and her wrist in the other and running out of the alleyway, towards the dojo.

"Jeez, Ranma," Akane panted slightly as they slowed, turning onto the street where the dojo was. "Warn someone before you do that."

"Sorry," he smiled apologetically. "I just didn't want to risk running into Shampoo."

"Uh huh," she grunted, getting her breath back and pulling her bag away from Ranma. He looked like he was going to protest the move but she held up a hand. "They'll know something's up if you're carrying my bag." He blinked as she turned and walked away from him down the street, shrugging before following her.

They stopped outside the gate of the Tendo dojo and looked at each other before Ranma took a breath and pushed the gate open, muttering quietly.

"Welcome home."