Disclaimer: I do not own either Ranma or Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi has that honour. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.
Izumi rolled her eyes at her brothers as they squabbled over something across the room from her. She had stopped paying attention when Mas had thrown an apple at Hiko, unwilling to be drawn into her brother's quarrels. She had enough of her own with Masaru as it was. Little git always knew how to wind her up. Her parents had tried to quell the mischievous side of him but it hadn't made much of a difference. Especially now that they no longer lived at the fortress.
Not even their uncle had been able to tame the mischief maker that was Masaru.
So they had given up.
She looked up as their uncle walked into the room, a serious look on his face. Kazuhiko and Masaru noticed their uncle's entrance and settled at the new presence in the room. He didn't acknowledge his niece or nephews as he sat at one of the tables not far from where Izumi was.
"Uncle Sesshomaru," Izumi stood, walking over towards where the older Inu sat, stopping as his eyes flicked towards her. "Is everything okay, Uncle Sesshomaru?"
He let out a small sigh through his nose, looking towards the three Inu-hanyou's that belonged to his little brother. "Your mother and father have come across a development in Tokyo."
"Is everything okay?" That got Masaru and Kazuhiko's attention quickly and the two of them quickly flanked their sister, wanting to know of any news concerning their parents. "Are they-"
Sesshomaru held up a hand, silencing any questions the three of them may have. "Your parents are just fine." The three of them relaxed a little but none of them moved from where they were standing, wanting to know what was happening with their parents. "They have found Honoka's descendant."
Izumi's eyes widened as a small gasp fell from her lips. They'd found him. After fourteen years of searching, he'd been found.
"Wh- How? Where?"
"He lives in Tokyo however, your father told me that he has spent his life travelling with his father. That is why they have been so hard to find." Sesshomaru looked between the three again, not having to wonder what was going through their minds. He could see that they wanted nothing more than to rush to Tokyo to find their new relative, to meet him but Sesshomaru had to nip that in the bud before the thought fully formed. "He does not yet know of his heritage or bloodline. Your parents will want him to be aware of who he is before introducing him to anyone else."
"When will that be?" Masaru, ever the impatient one of the trio, piped up, wanting to know when they could meet their nephew.
"When your mother and father deem it the right time," Sesshomaru looked towards the three of them and they stared back, all three of them looking exactly like his little brother in that moment. "And you are not to go to Tokyo before the boy is aware of who and what he is. Understood?"
They looked at each other before nodding and mumbling their understanding of their uncle's words.
The three of them sat there after their uncle left, wondering what would happen now that their long lost great-nephew had been found.
They wanted to know what he was like, how he was going to take learning that he was actually a descendant of one of the greatest Daiyoukai ever to walk the earth and how he was going to react to learning he had the chance to become a hanyou, living up to that great bloodline.
And none of them could wait to meet him.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
Cologne mused over what she had learned from Ryoga. She hadn't come into contact with any youkai in nearly a hundred years and would have thought that she would be able to identify them should they come close.
But if they were in Nerima, that instinct was being questioned.
She wondered about what Ryoga had described. He had mentioned amber eyes, fangs, claws but what concerned Cologne the most was the mention of the ears that sat perched on top of his head. She didn't know how Ranma could become a youkai or whether it was even possible. She had heard the stories of a human becoming a hanyou but the stories had never really been confirmed. The stories had filtered into their secluded tribe but none of them had actually ventured to see if they were true.
She could only hope that the stories were just that.
But Ryoga's fear. That had been real. Whatever he had seen, whatever Ranma had shown him, he had been terrified and Cologne had no doubt that Ryoga would not be going anywhere near the Tendo dojo again.
Unless he got lost again.
She had to think about what to do. Ranma, as far as she was concerned, belonged to Shampoo. Her great granddaughter was bound by the laws of the tribe and as such was Ranma. He would be coming back to China with them and they would not be giving up.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
"I think we're gonna need to keep an eye on the Amazon's grandmother," Kazuhiko advised his father as he walked through the door. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at his son, wondering what he meant. "Yesterday, that boy that Ranma chased out ended up at their café. I overheard them talking about Ranma before I left to follow the girl."
"She knows he's hanyou," Inuyasha grumbled, running a hand through his hair.
"She suspects, at least." He sighed, watching as his father walked through the house. He followed him out onto the back deck, wondering what was running through his father's head. "What do we do?"
"There's not much we can do," he shook his head, feeling agitated. While he couldn't fault Ranma for what he had done, knowing that he had been far more restrained than Inuyasha would have been in letting him leave, he had to grumble at Ranma revealing his hanyou identity.
"From what I can tell, these people are surrounded by such weird stuff anyway, the thought of youkai wouldn't seem like too much of a stretch for them." Hiko shrugged, leaning against the wall behind him.
"These are the ones that want to take Ranma back to China because of their laws, aren't they?" Inuyasha mused, not really asking, more confirming.
Hiko nodded, humming lightly. "And they seem pretty determined about it too."
Inuyasha snorted, smirking darkly. "They can try. If they couldn't get Ranma to do it before, there's no way they're going to now. Not only has his strength and speed increased but his instincts to remain near family will override anything else. There's no way he'll be going with them."
"Now, how to get them to realise that?"
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, shrugging lightly. "Could always set Sesshomaru on them." He mused and Kazuhiko laughed.
"You'd be that cruel?"
Inuyasha turned to his son, a glint in his eye. "Maybe not. But its something to keep in our back pocket." The two of them laughed, looking and sounding as much father and son as they were.
Kagome walked into the room behind them, part of her wondering what they were laughing about and in equal part, not sure she wanted to know.
She shook her head, leaving the two of them to it.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
Ranma didn't know how long he could keep this up. He had to keep himself restrained throughout the day to ensure that no one realised there was something different about him. While he could use the "training trip" he and Akane had been on as an excuse for any increased speed or strength, he still had to be careful.
And it was draining him.
Akane had noticed as well and was trying to keep him as upbeat as possible but she wasn't sure how much she was actually helping.
Kagome had reassured her when she'd called that it was a journey Ranma had to travel mostly alone but to know that she was there would be a comfort to him. She had been there when Inuyasha had first entered his full youkai side. He had had to come to terms with the change on his own but she had ensured that he knew she was there, offering what comfort she could.
Akane just had to believe that that would be enough for Ranma.
Ranma knew that Akane was feeling frustrated with him but he couldn't help how he was feeling. He was feeling eyes on him at all times but he knew that it was Izumi. While he understood why his aunt was following him, he found it frustrating. It was like they didn't trust him, which he understood but he wanted some time without being watched.
And the thought that there were going to be so many more eyes on him in a couple of weeks was stressing him out more than a little. Who knew what they were expecting? He didn't have any idea what was going to happen at the Autumn Gathering. He hadn't even figured out what he was going to say to people when he had to disappear for a week.
His life had become complete chaos the last few weeks and he had no one to blame but himself.
He was the one that had chosen to become hanyou.
He couldn't change that now.
He was going to have to learn to deal with it. From what he had learned from his new family, he knew that he had centuries to figure it out.
"Hey kid," he turned, seeing Inuyasha standing not too far away from him, concealment firmly in place. He hadn't expected that he had been able to sneak off, not that he had put a lot of effort into it. "How you doing?"
"What do you mean?" Ranma sat up from where he had been laying back in the grass by the canal.
Inuyasha let out a breath, sitting down next to him. "Izumi's noticed you've not really been yourself the last couple of days." He turned to look at him. "She's a little worried."
"So, she came to Daddy," Ranma mumbled and Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at him.
"Hey, don't be like that," he shook his head, looking back over at the water in front of them. "She's worried and none of us really know what we're doing here. Nothing like this has been done before so we're all flying blind. We're trying to look out for you." He placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "You may think that we're being overbearing but it's not gonna be forever. Just while we figure out how you're gonna settle."
Ranma sighed, nodding. He leaned over, resting his head on his great-grandfather's shoulder, making the Inu smile a little. He had to have been tired to allow himself to relax while out in the open, especially with someone that was supposed to be practically a stranger.
What Ranma didn't notice, but Inuyasha very much did was that they were being watched. He didn't know where it was coming from but he felt the gaze on the two of them, remembering Hiko's words from the day before. He had to reason that it was the Amazon's great grandmother, the old Amazon that was trying to push to have Ranma go back to China with them. Whether she believed that he was youkai – probably not coming to the thought of hanyou – remained to be seen but he knew that there was something going through her mind.
Maybe he would have to pay a visit to the Nekohanten soon.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
As it turned out, it was three days later, Inuyasha made his way into the Nekohanten, followed by Kagome. They shared a glance as they sat down, a teenager wearing an oversized shirt just about being able to make it to their table.
"Mousse!" The teen startled and the couple turned at the sharp voice, wondering who that was. Inuyasha squeezed Kagome's hand as the diminutive Amazon woman made her way towards them on her cane. Kagome had to admit, her sense of balance was impressive. "Go back into the kitchens. I'll serve our customers."
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at his mate, who was fully aware that the woman in front of them had been watching them since Ryoga had spoken to her. They knew that coming in here would put them even more on her radar but teasing her was going to be oh so much fun.
Once the teen – Mousse – had disappeared back into the kitchens, she balanced on her cane and looked to the two sat at the table in front of her. She didn't say anything and they looked at each other, wondering what she was doing.
"Um, hello?" Kagome said softly and Cologne's eyes snapped to her, narrowing slightly. She noticed the wedding bands on the fingers of the couple, noting how young they both were. She wondered if the young woman knew that her husband had been sat with Ranma on the canal a few days previous.
"Welcome to the Nekohanten." She announced as though she hadn't just stood there, immobile, staring at the two of them. "What can I get for you?"
"Um, two teas please." Inuyasha glanced at Kagome, hoping that his confused look was convincing enough. Apparently, it was as she hopped off into the kitchen to prepare their tea.
Inuyasha's invisible ears swivelled back, focusing on the kitchen as he heard the outside door open. He quickly deduced that it was Shampoo that had come in after delivering a takeout order.
"What's the matter, Great-Grandmother?"
"We have two customer's that are suspicious."
"What you mean?" Inuyasha smirked slightly as the girl walked to the window hatch that they had to be able to see onto the customer's. "Oh, that man from shrine."
"Shrine?"
"Mm-hm. When Shampoo look for Airen, found shrine. That man there."
"Hmm."
The conversation stopped as Shampoo brought the tea out to the two of them and they gave her a food order. She looked down at Inuyasha, who pretended not to remember her and she walked off, glancing over her shoulder as she made her way back to the kitchen.
"Well," Inuyasha said softly as he picked up his tea, "she remembers me from the shrine."
"Oh dear," Kagome rolled her eyes picking up her own cup. Of course, Inuyasha would find this amusing. She had heard that Hiko had also ventured inside the café and she didn't doubt him. He was so much like his father, it was unbelievable. "What do they know?" She murmured, low enough so that no one else could hear.
"I don't think the teenagers know anything but according to the old woman, we're suspicious."
"We've been called worse."
"True." He grinned, putting his cup down as Kagome shook her head. He grabbed her hand, running his thumb over the ring on her finger. Even though he had called her his for the last five hundred years, the fact that she had chosen him at all still marvelled him sometimes. "I love you."
Kagome smiled, now used to Inuyasha's seemingly random professions and gripped her mate's hand. "I love you." He lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss on her knuckles as she smiled at him.
The two sat back as Shampoo approached with their food, having seen the scene between the two lovers, her mind imagining herself and Ranma being like that when he finally realised that they were supposed to be together.
Cologne wasn't as taken with the two of them as Shampoo was. She knew there was something different about them but she hadn't felt anything out of the ordinary from either of them.
Their coming in here couldn't be a simple coincidence. There had to be something behind their actions. A little more investigation was warranted.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
Ranma closed his eyes as he relaxed in the furo, feeling better than he had done before seeing Inuyasha. He understood why they were watching him and he couldn't blame him for it.
It wasn't him they didn't trust. It was his instincts.
They were only there if they found his instincts were getting the better of him and would not interfere unless they felt absolutely necessary. Which, Inuyasha had explained, was why Izumi and Masaru hadn't intervened on that first day back at school when being confronted by Kuno. Upon hearing this, Ranma understood and found that after he had spoken to Inuyasha, he didn't mind knowing that they were there.
He stood up, climbing out of the furo and wrapped a towel around his waist. He wiped off the steam-covered mirror, looking at himself before glancing down at the ring. Did he risk taking it off? He shook his head, dismissing the idea.
He couldn't risk someone coming into the bathroom while was in there. Occupied sign up or not, it didn't stop people in this house. Hell, that had been the catalyst for the issues between he and Akane. Grabbing another towel, he dried his hair, avoiding his invisible ears and ensuring that he had gotten all the moisture that he could out. Another surprise was that his change appeared to have nullified the dragon's whisker he had consumed. Thankfully his hair no longer grew at astronomical speed. That being said, he still kept it tied back in the braid, using the dragon's whisker he had been given to control it. It was easier to contain it that way.
He dressed and made his way out of the bathroom and downstairs. He raised an eyebrow as he saw his father and Soun bowed over, cowering, before shaking his head at seeing Happosai standing in front of them. Happosai's attention was immediately on Ranma as the teen entered the room.
"And where do you think you're going?" The diminutive man turned, hands on his hips as Ranma looked down on him.
"To get some food," Ranma answered, turning towards the kitchen where Kasumi was, as always, making some form of delicacy. Making sure to keep out of her way, he grabbed some of the premade noodles, courtesy of Kasumi. She knew that they were a favourite of Ranma's and she always had some made for him. He had found it amusing that he had heard her threatening his father and Soun should they touch them.
Skilfully ignoring Kasumi's raised eyebrow, he didn't bother to heat them up, enjoying them either way. She didn't say anything to him, knowing that they would be gone before she could get the words out.
He took the bowl he had dished out for himself, sitting down at the table in the main room, ignoring Happosai's glare. He could hear the panicked whimpers of the father's as Happosai moved to stand on the table in front of Ranma.
"Yes?" Ranma asked offhandedly, aggravating the tiny martial arts master even further.
"There's something different about you, boy," Happosai's eyes narrowed as he stared down at the teen in front of him. There was something about Ranma that had changed. The boy's confidence, while it had been high to begin with, had increased. There was something stronger about Ranma and Happosai wasn't sure that he liked it.
"You're just upset because dousing me with water doesn't do anything anymore." Ranma shrugged and Happosai grunted, his arms crossing as he looked away.
While Ranma was right and Happosai was going to miss the lustrous body of Ranma's female form, that was not what he had noticed. Since he and Akane had returned from their training trip, Ranma had increased in strength, speed, agility and his endurance. They had only been gone for three or four weeks. Happosai had never heard of anyone improving the way Ranma had in such a short amount of time.
But at the same time, that was something he wanted in the choice to inherit the Anything Goes School.
"You should show me some respect, boy." Happosai turned back to Ranma, seeing that he had finished his food and was standing up, taking the bowl with him. Happosai growled, his anger rising at the lack of acknowledgment from the teenage martial artist and launched himself at Ranma's retreating back, preparing to put the boy in his place. Improved he may be but Happosai was not the Grandmaster of the school for nothing.
Ranma, sensing the shift in the air behind him and hearing Happosai push himself off the table, turned. He internally smirked as his improved sight followed the line that the tiny man was taking, seeing what Inuyasha had seen when he had done the same to Kagome. Though instead of grabbing the man, he swung his arm around, hand fisted, catching Happosai mid-air, flinging him across the room with a single blow.
He smirked as Happosai struck the wall, turning back to the kitchen and washing out his bowl before placing it to dry and drying his hands on a towel. He walked back out into the main room, the three men still in the same position he had been before. Soun and Genma sat staring at Ranma and Happosai was clearly in shock. It had only been once in recent memory (he didn't count the episode with that awful patch Ranma had tricked onto him) that someone had been able to get him like that and that was when that couple had been at dinner.
He shivered once again at the memory of those electric blue eyes.
Happosai's eyes snapped open, staring at Ranma.
There was nothing outwardly different about the teen, remaining the same as he had been before he and Akane had gone on their trip. The grandmaster had to admit that he had become stronger and faster during their time away but that was not what was puzzling him.
There was something about the boy. Something that had changed within him. There was something different in his stance, more confident than it had been – which was saying something when it came to Ranma. The boy had always been confident in his own abilities.
What he had swirling round in his mind confused him. He couldn't reconcile the Ranma that he had come to know with the Ranma that had just intercepted his attack as though he were swatting a fly.
Those electric blue eyes flittered into his mind again.
This would need further investigation and a possible meeting between himself and the only other one he knew of that would have any idea of what was going on.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
Happosai glanced around as he stopped outside of the Nekohanten, making sure that no one he knew saw that he was going in here. He had stated his distaste for Cologne before and he knew that being seen in front of her place of business would contradict that and he didn't want any questions.
He winced as the bells above the door rang, glaring at them as though they had caused him some kind of personal affront. He noticed that there were not any customers what with it being late in the evening. He guessed that they were just clearing up after the days business.
"Welcome to- Oh, nasty pervert man!" He looked towards Shampoo, seeing the anger on her face at his presence. He knew that the purple haired Amazon had no love of him but if he were being honest with himself, he had no love of her people.
"Hello, Shampoo," He held his chin up, trying to appear as dignified as possible. "I'm looking for your grandmother."
"Why? Why you want Great Grandmother?"
"Shampoo!" Happosai turned to look behind the teenager as the aforementioned crone appeared behind her, glaring at the tiny man in front of her. "What do you want now?"
He cleared his throat, crossing his arms in front of him. "I have something I wish to discuss with you. It concerns Ranma."
"Airen?" Shampoo's eyes lightened immediately at the mention of the teen martial artist. "What about Airen?"
"Shampoo," Cologne admonished once more, turning to Happosai. "You have noticed the change in the boy as well?" Happosai hummed in response, noting the old woman's hesitance with talking about Ranma in front of Shampoo.
"There is something different about him since he came back from his training trip. Something I cannot put my finger on." Cologne mirrored his hum, looking to her granddaughter who stared back. Even without words being exchanged, Cologne knew that there would be no removing the girl now that Ranma had been mentioned.
Though, if her suspicions were correct, Shampoo would find out sooner or later.
Cologne looked back to Happosai, seeing his gaze flicking between herself and her great granddaughter before explaining to the both of them what she had heard from Ryoga when he had dazedly wandered into the café the week before.
"Youkai?" Happosai breathed, his hand coming up to his chin as he thought about his interactions with the teenager since he had come back to the shrine. His mind flicked to earlier on that day when Ranma's fist had met his face, a phantom throb from where the contact had been made passing over his cheek. His mind also flicked back to the young man that had been sat at the Tendo's dinner table, hand clasped around his throat, eyes flashing electric blue as he held him nose to nose.
"That young man," Happosai mumbled and the two Amazon's watched him curiously. "Around two months ago, after Ranma and Akane had their nasty spat," Shampoo let out her version of a growl at the thought of Akane and Ranma together, "a young couple came to dinner at the dojo. The young man however, was not human."
"You believe they may have had some influence over Ranma?" Cologne queried and Happosai nodded. He was beginning to wonder what they had been up to on their training trip.
"Hmmmm . . ."
Sitting outside, Inuyasha and Kazuhiko smirked at each other. The older hanyou had known that it wouldn't be long before the diminutive man and tiny Amazon woman would realise they could help each other. From what they knew they were both at least a century old. Inuyasha had had Hiko and Mas swap their targets for the time being. Inuyasha wanted to make an entrance and he knew that while Masaru would have love to participate, his black hair wouldn't stand out as much as he wanted.
So he had sent the grumbling pup to watch over Ukyo with a biff around the ear and a stern look.
"Why don't we go and introduce ourselves?" Inuyasha smirked at his eldest son who just grinned back. They crossed the road and pushed the door open, the tinkling bells drawing the attention of the three inside. Inuyasha stepped forward while Kazuhiko flipped the sign on the door to closed.
"You!" Happosai pointed towards Inuyasha, his eyes narrowing as the hanyou approached.
"You shrine man!" Shampoo also recognised Inuyasha once again from the day she had lost Ranma.
"One way to put it," Inuyasha shrugged, tucking his hands into his pocket. "Though I must say, I'm not entirely sure I appreciate the way you're discussing my family as though he were your own."
Cologne and Happosai both narrowed their large eyes at Inuyasha's words while Shampoo was entirely confused. The only family Ranma had that she knew of was his stupid panda father. She hadn't heard anything of his mother.
Happosai knew all about Ranma's family. She had known his mother through Genma, having met the young woman when she had been expecting Ranma, wondering how Genma had managed to marry such a lovely female specimen. He knew that she had no siblings nor did her parents, therefore there were no other branches of that side of the family.
And the two young men in front of him were far too attractive to be from Genma's side of the family.
"You claim to be Ranma's family and yet I know for a fact that the boy has no family other than his father." Happosai stated, feeling superior at his knowledge of the Saotome line.
Looking towards the man in front of him, he expected to see a falter in the smirk on his face but was not expecting that grin to widen. "Just goes to show that you don't everything about him."
"There is so much you don't know." Hiko muttered from behind his father, his own smirk firmly in place.
"What you all need to realise is that Ranma's life is his own. He does not belong to anybody but himself." Inuyasha's tone turned dark as he stepped forward, allowing his youki to filter out and envelope the three individuals in front of him. "And I will not allow anyone else to make his choices for him or try to claim him as their own."
"Ranma is bound by Amazon law to return to China," Cologne felt the demon aura float over her but tried not to let it show. She was an elder of the Joketsuzoku and she would not be cowed by some young upstart attempting to tell her what she was to do with the teen bound by her tribal laws.
"Ranma is not an Amazon," Inuyasha growled and Kazuhiko placed a hand on his shoulder, sensing his father's temper rising. "And Ranma has expressed multiple times that he does not wish to travel to China. If he doesn't want to go then he won't be going."
"And who you to say so?" Shampoo moved towards him, not liking the man she had seen being so loving towards his wife when they had come into the café.
Inuyasha grinned, glancing back towards Kazuhiko before reaching for the ring on his right index finger and removing it, his youkai's slightly sadistic side relishing in the shock and slight fear as his and Kazuhiko's true appearances came to the fore. "My name is Inuyasha, son of Daiyoukai InuTaisho and heir to the Lordship of the House of the West." He slipped the ring into his pocket, freeing both hands should they be needed. "I also happen to be Ranma's ancestor."
Happosai and Cologne knew in that moment that any claim they thought they had on Ranma was null and void. He had already been claimed by the most prestigious dynasty of youkai known in history and they knew the species in front of them was the most possessive of any youkai to walk the earth.
Inu.