Disclaimer: I do not own either Ranma or Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi has that honour. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
It was with great reluctance that Ranma opened the main door leading to the dojo. He and Akane took their time taking their shoes off and entering the main house, hoping their presence hadn't been noticed yet.
"Here goes," Akane whispered, sliding the door into the house open and walking through, Ranma following after letting out a deep breath.
"Ranma!" He winced slightly at Kasumi's high-pitched tone, never having heard it reach that level, or her voice sounding different to his new ears. But then Akane, Inuyasha nor Kagome had sounded any different so he guessed it was just her. "Akane!"
"Hey, Kasumi," Ranma gave her a small smile as she rounded on them, Akane giving her a small wave, looking slightly terrified.
She stood in front of the two of them, her hands on her hips as her eyes narrowed. She was clearly trying to see if anything had happened between the two teens on their trip. How she thought she'd know was beyond either of them but they knew without question, that they were being examined.
"When Father told me that the two of you had gone on a training trip alone, I didn't believe him. But then when you didn't come home and I found some of your things missing, I realised he was right." She sounded disappointed at the two of them. "I just can't believe you two would do that."
"Kasumi, can we explain, please?" Ranma held up his hands, trying to think of a way out of having, who was essentially the Tendo matriarch pissed at them. Kasumi may be quiet, proper and unassuming but if she was upset with you, she could hit you where it hurt.
Akane shot him a look, wondering what the hell he was going to tell Kasumi. He had said he didn't want anyone at the dojo to know about his new hanyou status, so he must have had something up his sleeve. Right?
"Hmm," she narrowed her eyes before stepping aside to let the teenagers pass. They saw that Soun and Genma were sitting by the open door, just as they usually did, cheating each other at a game of shogi. At least something's never change, Ranma thought wryly as the two men glanced at Ranma and Akane as they walked into the main room.
Kasumi had them sit down at the table, watching them closely. The two of them made sure to sit their usual distance apart, acting as though nothing had changed in their relationship. They didn't want their fathers to have the knowledge that they had gotten closer in their absence from the dojo.
They'd never shut up about getting them married if that happened.
"The truth is, Kasumi, we weren't alone on our trip," she raised an eyebrow not believing Ranma's words. To be fair, he's telling the truth, Akane mused. But how much of the truth will he tell? "A few weeks before our trip, Akane and I met some other martial artists and we got to talking with them. They mentioned that a few of them were going on a training trip and asked if we wanted to go. We talked about it and realised that it would be stupid to pass it and the opportunity to train with other people, up."
"But why say that it would be just the two of you?" Kasumi pressed, wondering, for the life of her, why they would be willing to put their reputations on the line like that. "Why not say that it was a group trip rather than just the two of you."
"Because we knew that if we said that, those two," Akane jabbed a thumb at the two eavesdropping fathers as she picked up where Ranma left off, picking up on his train of thought, "would either deem it as unnecessary or insist they join us. We knew that saying it was just the two of us, they would allow it because they would believe Ranma and I would get closer and be less resistant to their pushing to get married." Ranma nodded, smiling slightly to himself.
That was another thing that had come out of their stay at the shrine. The two of them were now very easily able to understand what the other was doing, whether it be something spoken or a movement. Their "trip" had brought them closer. But they weren't going to let their fathers know that.
"We're sorry we didn't tell you the truth, Kasumi," Akane turned facing her sister, looking extremely apologetic, "but this was something we just couldn't pass up. Especially because those two are idiots." Kasumi frowned slightly at the insult towards their fathers but seemed mollified by their explanations.
"Okay," she said softly, looking between the two of them. "But in future, let me know the truth, even if you don't tell those two." The teens nodded, sighing in relief as their story sunk in. "Now, go and freshen up, the both of you. I'm about to start dinner."
The two of them left the room and grabbed their bags as quickly as they could and Kasumi sighed, watching them go.
"Kasumi," she turned to face her father as he looked at her, smacking Genma's hand as the other man attempted to cheat again, like he didn't do the same thing. "I don't appreciate you encouraging Akane to lie to me."
"Father, Mr Saotome, what you don't seem to understand is that the more you push for them to get married, the more they're going to push back and the less they're going to tell you." Kasumi stated sagely as she stood up. "I would suggest you stop doing such and leaving them to it."
"Kasumi, the uniting of the schools depends on Ranma and Akane getting married, that is all there is to it." Soun crossed his arms, looking back towards the board in front of him, seeing that some of the pieces had moved, Genma looking like the picture of innocence that he was not.
"And the more you push that idea on them, the more they're going to resist." Kasumi answered, both men turning to look at her. She had never spoken back to her father like that before, always quietly going along with what he had said. "Have you two ever thought that without your pushing, they may have drifted towards each other anyway? They're the same age, have the same interests and their personalities are extremely similar. It's not too far out to say they may have come together on their own without you two mentioning marriage at every turn."
She turned and stormed into the kitchen, leaving the two men staring after her. They were shocked at Kasumi's outburst or as much of an outburst as Kasumi could manage. It wasn't normal for the eldest Tendo daughter and the two of them realised that she was serious.
"Well, Soun, what do you intend to do?" Genma muttered, unaware of the heightened Inu-hanyou ears that had heard every word spoken since they had left the room, listening in from above them.
"Ranma and Akane must marry." Soun sat back, running a hand over his moustache and sitting back. "For the sake of the schools, that must happen." Genma nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose, ensuring that Kasumi had indeed left the room.
"If only they had been alone on their training trip. We could be planning a wedding right now," he grumbled and Soun nodded.
Ranma scoffed softly in disgust, his invisible ears flicking as he tuned out the old men from downstairs.
"What is it?" Akane asked from where she sat beside him.
"Kasumi's just told our fathers off," Akane's eyebrows shot up, wondering why Kasumi would do something like that. It wouldn't have surprised her coming from Nabiki – well, apart from the fact that Nabiki would have stood up for them – but Kasumi was a completely different story. She may object to the way their fathers treated Ranma and Akane, making it clear that the only thing expected of the two of them was to get married and nothing more. "But as usual it made no difference."
"Not even coming from Kasumi?" Akane asked and he shook his head. "I wouldn't have thought it might have had some impact coming from her."
"Well, considering they're conspiring once again on how to get us married as quickly as possible, I can safely say, it did not." Akane groaned, not wanting to know what their fathers were trying to concoct between the two of them.
"Are you able to keep an ear out?" She asked, hopeful he would be able to overhear whatever they had planned. Or that he would be willing to do so. He looked sideways at her and she could practically see his ears flicking towards her indignantly. "It's in your best interest to know what's going on when it comes to those two as well."
He sniffed slightly before nodding. He couldn't deny that she had a point. She wanted to know what to prepare for when it came to Soun and Genma as much as he did. However woefully underprepared and ridiculous their father's schemes usually were, they were inconvenient and often turned out painful. With his heightened senses, Ranma would now be able to prepare for them.
They needed all the help they could get.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
Ranma tensed in his sleep, his senses tingling at the edge of his awareness, alerting him that something was wrong. It had taken him a long while to get to sleep last night. While the sounds from Nerima when in the dojo were not overwhelming like they had been on their way back from Inuyasha's but the sounds surrounding the dojo were different and he was not accustomed to them. He was sure it would settle in time but it would be aggravating while it did.
He felt a presence stirring just outside his consciousness which pulled him awake suddenly, his eyes snapping open and his leg flying up and over, his foot connecting with something soft and heavy, throwing it out of the window above him.
He heard a yell, shaking his head as he sat up. He stood up and walked over to the window, seeing a very unhappy panda sitting in the koi pond. He scowled down at his father, slamming the window closed before grabbing his clothes and making his way to the bathroom.
Sinking into the furo, Ranma sighed, lifting his hand out and examining the ring on his finger. He looked towards his wrist, feeling the bracelet and knowing it was there but being unable to see it with the ring on. He couldn't risk taking the ring off anywhere in the dojo. There was always a risk of someone walking in on him.
After soaking for a while, he stepped out of the furo, drying himself off and dressing. He had managed to not get any water in his ears, for which he was immensely thankful. He hated the feeling.
Thinking back to the concealment spell, he knew that the fact his curse had been removed would be the first thing to be discovered. He didn't believe he would last to the end of the day without that knowledge coming out, especially if Happosai was around. It seemed he just attracted water when it came to his curse. Hopefully that would have been removed as well.
He placed his tank and boxer he had been sleeping in into the laundry basket, making his way downstairs.
"Morning, Ranma," Nabiki called from where she was sat at the table with some kind of calculations in front of her, probably something Ranma didn't want to know about, "seems like you managed to get the panda this time."
"Hmm," he grunted, sitting down across from her, shooting a look at said panda who looked extremely put out that he had not succeeded in drenching his son that morning. It was the first time he had not been able to do as such and the fact that Ranma had been able to sense him coming grated on him. He was used to being able to get the drop on Ranma while he was sleeping but this morning he had failed. Maybe there was something the child had managed to learn on this training trip after all.
"Morning," Akane yawned slightly as she walked down the stairs, sitting next to Nabiki. "I heard someone get thrown into the koi pond this morning." She had heard the splash but hadn't looked out. Given the lack of shock at Ranma's lack of transformation upon hitting the cold water, she had guessed it was the elder Saotome that had gone flying.
"Uh-huh," Nabiki grinned over at the panda. "Ranma got the drop on his father this morning, so it was him that went flying."
"Wow," Akane sounded surprised and Ranma had to stifle his smirk. While convincing to the others, he saw straight through it. "Seems like our trip did some good."
"Yeah," Ranma agreed before thanking Kasumi as she set the breakfast tray in the centre of the table. The two fathers approached the table, settling in their usual places. Ranma couldn't help but compare the breakfast here to the way they had been spending breakfasts at the shrine, especially since Inuyasha's kids had turned up. In the dojo, there was silence as everyone ate yet at the shrine, there was always conversation and since Izumi, Kazuhiko and Masaru had turned up, it had certainly made mealtimes interesting.
He wondered whether the three would stick around now that he and Akane had left the shrine.
The meal continued in silence, Ranma occasionally defending his meal from his father's paws, moving with a speed the two fathers hadn't seen before. Akane pretended not to notice anything different with what was happening but she could see Kasumi and Nabiki had noticed.
Ranma stiffened, feeling a familiar aura approaching and not trusting it at all. He launched himself out of the way as a waterfall appeared where he had been sitting. He landed over the other side, behind Nabiki and Akane, staring at where Happosai was now standing scowling at him.
"Aw come on!" The old man grumbled, dropping the bucket, glaring at the young martial artist. "You haven't been here for weeks. The least ya can do is to appease an old man."
"An old pervert, ya mean?" Ranma stood up straight, glaring at the old man. "The water trick won't work anymore, old man." He turned to Kasumi with a small bow. "Thank you for breakfast." With that he shot another look at Happosai and left the room, walking out to the dojo.
"Grandfather Happosai, maybe you shouldn't aggravate Ranma so. It doesn't do well for the school if you anger him, I'm sure." Kasumi tried to reason with the diminutive man.
"Well, whether Ranma does inherit the school remains to be seen." Happosai crossed his arms, closing his eyes.
"What do you mean, Master?" Soun and Genma looked to each other, worried. Ranma had to inherit the school. For him to do so would mean that they would be able to live out their retirement in luxury while Ranma and Akane worked the dojo and supported them.
"It means that for Ranma to inherit the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, I will need to see something spectacular from him. And I don't just mean his female forms spectacular assets," he mused to himself and the girls narrowed their eyes at the old pervert. "I'm sure you can understand I don't want anyone who is below par to inherit my school."
"But . . . it has to be Ranma and Akane." Soun sputtered, not wanting to believe his Master's words. He couldn't begin to think about what would happen if Happosai decided not to have Ranma inherit the school.
"That decision, as the Grandmaster of the school, is mine," Happosai glared at the other two in the room and both the man and the panda immediately threw themselves on the ground, not wanting to upset the tiny man.
The three girls said nothing, only one of them knowing that Ranma was now able to do even more spectacular things than he had before. She would allow the others to find out on their own. She didn't think it would take long for them to discover his lack of curse and the explanation for that would be interesting.
Happosai watched as the young man walked across the yard and towards the dojo, a plan hatching in his mind. He had gone too long without being able to fondle the assets of the young martial artists female form.
He would get his hands on her.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
Ranma had heard what Happosai had said about the possibility he wouldn't provide the permission for Ranma to inherit the school but thinking on it, he found it didn't bother him as much as it might have before meeting Inuyasha and Kagome. He was part of something else now. Something that was much bigger than the Tendo dojo.
He was Inu royalty. And while he may not be completely aware of what that entailed, he knew that its reach was much farther than that of the dojo. He was going to be around a lot longer than anyone else he knew. That was something that had popped into his mind over the last few weeks but he had not voiced his thoughts.
He would need to speak to Kagome or Inuyasha about it as he knew that they had had human friends that they had lost. They might be able to help him.
Ranma stayed in the dojo, meditating and practicing his kata for hours, managing to hold his hanyou strength in check, especially considering he knew Soun and Genma were sticking their heads in every so often. He felt them at the edge of his consciousness but ignored them. He hoped that controlling his strength and speed so as not to raise suspicions would come easier in time.
Kasumi interrupted him for lunch and during the meal, she told him that she wanted to take him, Akane and Nabiki to get some school supplies for when they went back next week. He nodded, not really wanting to go but he also had to go out into the world sometime. He couldn't just hide in the house because he didn't want to face the sounds and smells of Nerima.
It didn't take them long to get what they needed but to Ranma, every sound and scent around him was an overload. There were people all around them and many of them students enjoying the last week of summer, shouting at each other and making more noise than they needed to. There were also food carts and stalls, also making the most of the last of the busy time in the summer. The scents were driving Ranma crazy. Akane looked at him, slightly worried but she couldn't say anything without raising the suspicions of her sisters. She gave his hand a quick squeeze when he knew they weren't looking, shooting a small reassuring smile his way. He sighed, closing his eyes and trying to relax.
They managed to get in and out of the town without running into any of the undesirables that hung around. Ranma had been expecting at least one of them to come out of nowhere but he hadn't heard or sensed any of them near.
He couldn't say he was complaining.
"You realise that Happosai will probably have something rigged up for when you get back, right?" Akane said softly as they fell behind a little. Ranma nodded, having thought the same thing. "Maybe it would just be easier to get it over with." She suggested and Ranma sighed.
"It probably would be but I don't really want to have to explain about the curse being gone right now," Ranma sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"It's going to happen sometime," she shrugged and he shot her a look. "You have a story figured out?" She asked and he nodded. She wanted to ask what it was but they had reached Kasumi and Nabiki who were both watching them with slightly amused expressions.
He was kinda hoping to last at least one day without being soaked in freezing cold water.
He held the gate open for the sisters before walking through the gate himself. He cursed himself as he heard the "Wahoo!" from Happosai and wasn't able to move out of the way fast enough. He managed to dodge the majority of the water but he was still hit with the cold water.
He shook his head, letting out a breath before feeling Happosai attach himself to his chest, clearly not noticing the masculine form he was hugging onto.
"Um, Happosai?" Akane giggled while Kasumi and Nabiki stared open mouthed.
"Hn?" He glanced at Akane before looking at Ranma, seeing his distinctly male form and face staring down at him, an eyebrow raised. "Wah!" He threw himself away from Ranma who was shaking his head, trying to get the water out of his hair. He had gotten a little in his left ear and he was not happy about it. And it didn't help that he couldn't do anything about it until he was out of everyone else's sight. "But, that was cold water!" He wailed and Ranma smirked.
"Believe me, I know." Ranma chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Then why are you still a boy?" Nabiki asked, sounding shocked. Kasumi nodded and Akane giggled again.
"He managed to get rid of his curse while we were away." She grinned, winking at Ranma. He rolled his eyes, knowing that she had been right about Happosai. He had been hoping to at least get through one day without it coming out that he was no longer cursed.
"But how?" Kasumi asked, shaking her head slightly at the sight in front of her. They had gotten so used to a small redhead appearing every so often and to know that they wouldn't see her again was a shock to the system. It made her a little sad. Even though she had always known that the girl was still Ranma, it was like they had lost someone in the family.
"Do you mind if we go inside before we explain. I'd like to dry off." Ranma suggested and they nodded, slowly turning and walking into the house, still dazed. Happosai was still wailing at the loss of Ranma's female form as they went inside.
Kasumi passed Ranma a towel and he immediately made to dry his hair, focusing on his left ear, unseen to the others but feeling the relief as the water cleared. He ran it over the rest of his hair, drying it as much as he could with the towel before settling the material around his shoulders, squeezing the water out of his pigtail while walking through the house and sitting down. He took the towel off and placed it on the ground next to him, having a feeling he would need it again soon.
"What are you going to tell them?" Akane whispered so lowly that no one else heard as they walked into the room. He looked to her mouthing "Kagome" and she blinked, wondering what that meant.
"So . . ." Kasumi placed a tray of tea on the table in front of them. "Are you going to explain now." She had caught the attention of Soun and Genma, who was now back in his human form as they sat on the veranda. "Ranma no longer has his curse."
"What!"
"How?!"
Ranma flinched at the sound levels that came from the two men and Akane could imagine his ears creasing back in discomfort.
"Tell me how you managed it, boy!" Genma growled threateningly, his fist clenching as though Ranma would be afraid of what he would do if he didn't find out straight away.
"If you stop talking, then I will," he shot back, freezing up and sputtering as another torrent of water came from behind him. He shook his head, wiping his face as he turned and glared at the person behind him, revealing Soun standing there with an upside-down bucket which was still dripping. "What the hell was that for?" He snapped and Soun shrieked a little.
"I . . . I had to make sure . . ." he sputtered, stepping back quickly.
"Are ya sure now?" Ranma grabbed the towel and began to dry himself again. Soun squeaked again before running out of arms reach. He shook his head, glaring at Soun before sighing gently. "There was a miko on the training trip. She was able to see the curse on me and remove it. She was also able to see the Neko-ken, which apparently was known for demon training." Ranma spat at his father. "That's why all it did was mess me up, pops. It wasn't meant for humans."
"Ha! Like anyone believes in demons." Genma sniffed indignantly, crossing his arms and staring his son down. "I put you through that training for the good of the art. To make you stronger."
"And yet all it did was make me terrified of cats and lose control when around them!" Ranma shot back. "In what way, Father, is that supposed to help me?!"
"How was I supposed to know what it would do?"
"You would have if you'd read the last goddamned page!" Ranma growled and Akane grew slightly worried. She heard the youkai side to him coming through and she knew he didn't want to reveal that side too soon. Once again, she realised that it would probably come out before long but she agreed with Ranma. They would have to hide it for as long as possible.
"An oversight." He waved his son off angering him further until he heard Akane's whispered "Ranma, easy." He took a breath, closing his eyes and calming down slightly.
"Well, it's gone now. And the miko was not happy to find that it was my father that put me through that." Now that was an understatement. Ranma remembered how both Kagome and Inuyasha had practically exploded. There was no way that Kagome would help Genma even if she knew how to remove the curse.
"Where does this miko live, boy?" He asked and Ranma shrugged as though he didn't know.
"She didn't say. Only that it was to the north." He picked up his tea cup, taking a sip. "There aren't too many true miko's around these days, other than shrine miko's that is."
Genma growled at Ranma's words but realised he wouldn't get anything more out of his son. He either truly didn't know where the woman lived or wouldn't tell him and he knew from experience that when Ranma had a secret, he clammed up tighter than a vault.
He would have to figure out another way of getting the information he required.
Kasumi and Nabiki however were more interested in how Ranma felt now that he didn't have to worry about turning into a girl whenever it rained. Kasumi voiced her thoughts on never seeing the girl again and Akane understood. She had thought the same thing one night after Inuyasha had drenched Ranma. She would miss the small redhead but she was able to push it aside when she saw how happy it made Ranma.
And Kasumi could see it as well. The grin on his face and the relief in his voice let her know how happy he was that the curse was gone. He wasn't worried about the others ganging up on him to tell him where the woman was because, as he stated, he didn't know.
Akane had to take a drink at that to hide her smile.
"Oh, Kuno will be so upset," Nabiki chimed in and Ranma laughed, remembering his conversation with Izumi the day before. "You know he'll never stop challenging you for the "pig-tailed goddess", right?"
"I know," Ranma shrugged, taking another sup of his tea, not really caring about the delusional Kuno. "Won't make her come back, though. He'll just have to make do with the pictures you gave him." Nabiki spluttered and he grinned, turning to face her. "You think I'm stupid, Nabiki. That I didn't realise you'd given him pictures of me? Be lucky I don't ask for a cut."
"Hm," Nabiki sat up straight, sipping her tea and Ranma chuckled.
None of them remembered Happosai, sat outside, still in shock that he would never again be able to fondle female Ranma's ample bosom or delicious behind. And that depressed him more than he would have thought.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
Not too far away in the Nerima ward, a young man with long black hair tied back in a low ponytail entered the Nekohanten, looking around appreciatively.
"Nihao," he was greeted by a purple haired teen girl, her red eyes shining happily as she approached him. "Welcome to Cat Café, you like to take seat?" He nodded and she showed him to a table and took his order for some tea. He scanned the menu, focusing his enhanced hearing to the kitchens behind him.
"Now, now, great-granddaughter, I need you here for the moment." He heard a croaky old woman's voice chiding someone in the back.
"But great-grandmother," it was the young girl that had just seated him, "Ranma back. Must go and see, Airen."
So, the young man thought, this is the Amazonian teenager after my nephew. His father had mentioned her after Ranma had gone to bed one evening, updating him and his siblings on the whole "fiancée" situation. It was then that they had decided one of them would keep an eye on the teen for a short while after he had gone back to the dojo. Just in case. I can see why mother and father are a little worried. She seems persistent.
Shampoo was a little more subdued than she had been before, bringing out his tea and taking a food order. He ate in silence, keeping a concealed ear out to what was happening in the kitchen. He would need to know in case she left. He and his siblings had arranged to be near Ranma and to dig up as much information as they could on the others pursuing him. He had been placed on Shampoo reconnaissance, while his sister kept watch at the dojo and his brother went out in search of this Ukyo girl.
Masaru smiled to himself as he finished his meal and stood up, leaving the correct money on the table before thanking them and walking out of the café.
Keeping their nephew out of trouble was definitely going to be interesting.
And he couldn't wait.