Disclaimer: I do not own either Ranma or Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi has that honour. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.
Ranma moaned gently as consciousness returned to him, his eyes opening only to find nothing but darkness. He shifted slightly to find that he had limited movement. He moved his head slightly to find that there was something against the top of his head and as his eyes adjusted he saw that Izumi was curled around him. He shifted once again, finding something pressed against his back, shifting with him. He lifted his head and moved the furs covering him to find Masaru behind him. He rested his head back down again, closing his eyes and inhaling through his nose, the scents telling him that he was surrounded by his aunt and uncles.
He felt a hand on his calf and looked down to see a pair of golden eyes blinking at him sleepily from by his legs, noting that Kazuhiko who had woken up, possibly by his movement. He rumbled low, reassuring the young hanyou before resting his head back down and closing his eyes.
Ranma followed suit, resting his head back down and closing his eyes, feeling sleep tugging at him once again, surrounded by the safety of his family.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
Happosai returned to the dojo, having spent the last few days reflecting on what he had learned at the café. He now knew that Ranma had been claimed by the Inu-youkai's. If he wanted Ranma to take over the dojo he had to have the teen agree to it. He knew that honour was incredibly important to the Inu's and once they had committed to a cause, there wasn't anything that could deter them from it. It would be tough, but he believed it could be done.
He looked towards Soun and Genma as they immediately threw themselves on the floor at his entrance, such as the spineless wimps they were. He had to admit to himself that he was simultaneously embarrassed by his students but impressed at Genma's training of Ranma. Although, now he knew that Ranma had Inu blood in him, his success in martial arts wasn't hard to understand.
He had no doubt that Genma had no idea of his son's heritage. The Inu bloodline must follow from his mother's side. Both Inuyasha – he shuddered to think he had been in the presence of the legendary hanyou, being well aware of the stories surrounding him – and the younger Inu with him were incredibly beautiful and there was no way that that had been passed through Genma. Nodoka Saotome on the other hand was a beauty.
He then had to wonder if Nodoka knew about her heritage.
"Genma," the man in question let out a rather undignified squeak at being addressed. "Where is Ranma?"
"I-I don't know." Genma looked up towards his master. "He wasn't here when I woke this morning and he hasn't been at the dojo all day. What has the boy done now?"
"Hmmm," Happosai thought to himself, wondering where he had gotten off to. He had the thought that he may be at the shrine that Shampoo had mentioned. He and Cologne had gotten Shampoo to tell them where the shrine she had first met the youkai was and she had been able to tell them the rough location. Her mind had been more on finding Ranma than anything else.
Cologne had her work cut out for her trying to keep Shampoo from looking for Ranma there now she knew he was linked to the man she had first met there.
Happosai smirked to himself, his mind wrapping around a plan to have Ranma pledge himself to the dojo. He would have to be incredibly sneaky to do it but he wasn't above that. I was the 'Anything Goes' dojo, after all.
Soun and Genma had to wonder what was going through the mind of their master. The look on his face usually spelled out trouble and they had to hope that it wasn't going to be them that got it. Soun even felt a little sorry for Ranma when Happosai caught up with him, especially after the way he had deflected the grandmaster a few days before. Happosai would not let that slide and he would not go down easy.
They needed to try and find out from Ranma how he had done what he had done.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
Inuyasha looked towards the stairs, seeing four sleepy Inu-hanyou's making their way towards them. It was early afternoon and he had to smirk at the looks of the four of them. It was the only time anyone was likely to see an Inu slightly ruffled, before they had managed to make themselves presentable. The four of them sunk down on the cushions around the table, Ranma looking just like his aunt and uncles as he let out a yawn, fangs gleaming in the sunlight.
"How you doing, kid?" Inuyasha nudged him slightly, getting a sleep glance in response. He had known that putting him with Izumi, Masaru and Kazuhiko would allow him to rest properly. After the nightmare he had had the night before, getting him to sleep would not have been easy. Inu's always slept better when surrounded by their own. A veritable dog-pile as it were.
"Better," he mumbled and Inuyasha chuckled, glancing up as Natsuko walked into the room, giggling lightly at the room full of sleepy Inu's. She had gotten up when Inuyasha had mentioned that he could hear them stirring, starting to make some tea for them. "Where's Kagome?" He asked, rubbing one of his ears.
"Kagome is at the market." He jumped a little at Natsuko's voice as she placed the tea tray on the table, her fingers flicking out and rubbing Ranma's ear gently.
The reaction was immediate and he leaned into her practised touch. Since Inuyasha and Kagome had turned up as they were now after Kagome last went down the well to the past, she had had a lot of practise with Inu ears. What with her son in law and her grandchildren having an inclination for a good ear rub.
"Careful doing that or you're gonna put him to sleep again," Inuyasha chuckled, pouring the tea and passing out the cups.
Natsuko giggled, admiring the relaxed look on Ranma's face which completely contradicted the alert and inquisitive look he had had that morning. "But he's such a cutie, though."
Izumi giggled as she watched her grandmother's interaction with her nephew. Ranma slotted into their family so easily. He was the piece they had been missing for almost two centuries. She couldn't help but grin as Ranma's ear began to flick and he shook his head, signalling that he had had enough and Natsuko giggled, moving her hand away, her hand going under his chin as he looked at her.
Natsuko studied him for a moment, remembering what he had been like as a human. His skin was noticeably lighter, taking on the porcelain look that Inuyasha and the other Inu's she knew had, flawless and smooth, the fangs she knew he had, hiding behind pale lips. His hair had a silken sheen to it that it hadn't had when he was human, shining in the sunlight, the silver streaks that had appeared, glittering whenever he moved. She adored his ears as she did with the entire family that surrounded her but other than those, the biggest difference was his eyes. The deep blue had been replaced with shimmering gold, that retained all of the expression he had held as a human.
She wrapped her arms around him, feeling him tense slightly before relaxing and tentatively wrapping his arms around her, returning her hug. "Welcome to the family, Ranma." She whispered, pressing a small kiss to the outside of one of his ears.
They all sat there in a comfortable silence as Natsuko embraced Ranma in what was probably one of the only motherly embraces he had had throughout his life. Inuyasha knew that he hadn't seen his mother in fourteen years and while he had had plenty of comfort since he had come to know his family, there was something about Natsuko that just radiated calm and motherly love. Inuyasha remembered when he had been accepted into the family by Natsuko before the well had closed, trapping he and Kagome on opposite sides. Her acceptance had made him feel like he had a family again, where before he hadn't felt like he had one since his mother had died.
Seeing her again after five hundred years had been like a balm on a burn he didn't realise he had.
And he could see that she was being the same thing for Ranma.
They were pulled out of their intimate silence by a pounding on the door, startling all of them. Inuyasha cursed himself for dropping his guard, especially when the pup was in his vicinity. They turned to the door, all curious as to who was there.
"Rings on," Inuyasha pushed the ring onto his finger, his appearance immediately changing to his human form. The other four followed suit and Natsuko smiled down at the now human looking Ranma, noting that his appearance was back to how he had been when she had first met him.
She still thought he was adorable.
"Airen!" He winced at the sound of Shampoo's voice echoing through the house.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Ranma looked to Inuyasha, who bit his lip, looking a little guilty.
"Yeah, she may know about us," he looked to Ranma who looked back at him, slightly horrified. "Hiko and I paid a visit to the café a few days ago. She, her grandmother and that little guy who went for Kagome when we went to the dojo for dinner were there."
"They already had the idea that youkai were in the area," Kazuhiko shrugged, drawing Ranma's attention. "We just let them know they were right."
"Wait, Happosai knows?" Ranma couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Well, if someone hadn't removed his ring in front of the pig-boy then we wouldn't have had the issue, would we?" Ranma flushed slightly, remembering how he had reacted to Ryoga being in Akane's room. "Don't worry about it, kid. You were actually incredibly restrained. I would have ripped him apart."
"You're not mad?"
Inuyasha gave him a small smile, squeezing his shoulder gently. "Nah, kid." The four of them winced as Shampoo shouted for Ranma again. "Gotta deal with her though."
"Can I?" They turned to see Izumi grinning at the two of them. Ever since the afternoon at the dojo where Ukyo and Shampoo had tried to ambush Ranma, she had a severe dislike of the Amazon and wanted to put her in her place, female to female.
Inuyasha looked to Ranma, who shrugged. If she really wanted to deal with Shampoo, he wasn't going to stop her. The less interaction he had with the Amazon was better in his mind. "Alright," her grin widened as she stood up. "'Zumi, no blood, though."
She pouted melodramatically before winking at Ranma and walking towards the door. Ranma looked up at Inuyasha, slightly worried. While he wanted Shampoo to leave him alone, he didn't want her to get hurt in any way. Inuyasha waved off his worried look, with a soft smile. "Izumi won't harm the Amazon. Put the fear of the Gods into her, maybe but she won't hurt her."
Maybe.
But Inuyasha didn't say that last bit out loud.
They all moved silently towards the door, listening intently as Izumi made her way outside, stopping immediately as she saw the Amazon's fist raised to pound on the door again.
"Can I help you?" She asked, sounding far more polite than she felt.
"Where Airen?"
No beating around the bush with this one, huh? Izumi raised an eyebrow at the short question. "I'm sorry. Who?"
Shampoo let out a breath through her nose, realising that the woman in front of her wouldn't be familiar with her term for Ranma. "Where Ranma? Want to see."
"You want to see Ranma?" Izumi crossed her arms across her chest and leaned against the doorframe, exuding an air of calm that she didn't feel in the slightest. She, like her brothers, had been told of the problems the girl in front of her had caused their nephew. From wanting to kill him when she thought he was a female to deciding that she wanted to marry him when he beat her in a fight – although if Akane's words from the confrontation at the dojo were to be believed, she took herself out – and going to all sorts of lengths to try to get him to fall in love with her. Even going so far to drug Ranma with a love potion to try to get him to go to China with her. "And who exactly are you?"
"I Shampoo," the girl placed a hand on her chest, her other fist clenching. "Shampoo marry Ranma."
"You're going to marry Ranma. I wasn't aware that he'd asked anyone that all important question."
"Is tribal law." Shampoo stated, her frustration with the black haired woman growing the longer she didn't let her see Ranma.
"Oh, you mean the tribe that Ranma is not part of." Izumi placed a finger on her chin, seeing the purple haired girl getting more and more wound up and relishing every second. She had to admit that she had a slightly sadistic side, especially when it came to someone harming her family in any way. And from what she had heard from Ranma – and in some parts Akane – while they had been at the shrine together, this girl had caused some pain, both physical and mental. And she wasn't about to let that slide. "I thought that this had already been cleared up with your grandmother. I mean, you were there when she was told of his heritage. And I do know for a fact how much my father hates to repeat himself."
Shampoo froze at the mention of Inuyasha and that he was the father of the woman in front of her. She recovered quickly, her face moving back to the frustrated expression she had held before. "You dog too?"
"Why yes," Izumi grinned, standing up straight and pulling the ring off her finger, allowing her true appearance to come through. She didn't worry about anyone visiting the shrine seeing her. She had remained slightly inside the doorway to shield her from sight. She didn't scent any visitors, nor did she hear them which was lucky for her should she need to emerge. And with the number of steps leading to the shrine, she would hear them long before they could see her. "I am." She stepped towards Shampoo who had a frightened look in her eye. Izumi could smell the fear coming off of her. "And I don't know about you, but to me, a house full of dogs isn't really the best place for a girl who turns into a cat."
She stepped right up to the girl, who took a step back, her clawed fingertips coming up to gently play with the teenage girl's long hair as it draped over her shoulder. "Ranma . . . is off limits. You have no claim to him. He is not part of your tribe and therefore not bound by your tribal laws. If Ranma doesn't want to go to China, which he has stated many times, he does not, then he will not be going. If you try to coerce or force him in any way, it will not end well for you. Do you understand?"
Shampoo swallowed, the girl in front of her far more threatening than the man in the café had been. While her great-grandmother and the nasty pervert man had been worried about his visit, Shampoo hadn't really seen why they had been that way. She didn't know about Inu's and they hadn't seemed so bad when Cologne had explained about them to her. She really only saw them as another obstacle in her way to being with Ranma. But having this female Inu standing in front of her, sharp claws running through her hair, fangs merely inches away from her and a red tinge seeping into her eyes as Shampoo didn't answer, made her realise why they had been worried.
"I said, do you understand?" The words were almost a growl and Shampoo took another step back, eyes widening at the sound. "I see that you do. My nephew is off limits. I don't want to hear of you bothering him again with this 'Airen' shit, got it?"
Shampoo didn't answer, merely turning and running as fast as she could towards the steps, Izumi smirking as she placed the ring back on her finger, hearing a startled yelp of the girl rushing past someone on the steps in her hurry.
She walked back into the house, seeing the rest of them not too far away from the door. Kazuhiko and Masaru had victorious smirks on their faces while Inuyasha was shaking his head and trying not to smile.
"Remind me never to make you mad," Ranma stated and she laughed, walking over to her nephew, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
"People only get that treatment if they mess with my family. Being a member of said family, you're safe." She guaranteed and he felt a little better.
"I still wouldn't make her mad, though," Inuyasha ruffled his hair as he walked past and Izumi followed him grumbling about how mean he was. Ranma couldn't help but grin at the grousing she gave her father, watching as he ruffled her hair before wrapping his arm around her.
He hung back slightly, watching Izumi and Inuyasha. Was this what it was like to have a proper family? His entire life it had been him and his father, who wasn't the most paternal of men. His idea of bonding was to push Ranma as hard as he could to make him stronger. Genma hadn't been one for comfort, pushing it off as weakness, even when he had been a child. He hadn't known any different as a kid but being older and seeing how Inuyasha was with his children made Ranma wonder what his life could have been like had he known about them. What would have happened if his father hadn't taken him on their long training trip.
He had to wonder about his mother. He had no idea where she was. He didn't remember her. Not even a blurred memory.
He wondered where she was. He wondered who she was, what she looked like, what she was like. Did she miss him? Wonder where he was?
Why did she let his father take him away from her when he was a toddler? From what he had seen of Natsuko, she may be sweet and kind but he sensed an underlying fierceness when it came to her children. Even though Kagome was far older than she was now, she was still her child and he could sense that she would protect her to the ends of the earth. And he could never see Kagome allowing anyone to take her children from her. She had had to sacrifice Honoka through no other choice and she had become a fiercely protective mother to the others since.
He had noticed that even in the short time he had known them and seen them all together.
"You okay, kid?" He started slightly, Inuyasha having walked back over to him. He snapped back to the present and noticed that Kazuhiko had Masaru in a headlock while Izumi laughed at the two of them. He chuckled at the three of them and Inuyasha smirked, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "Hey, as long as they don't break anything, I don't care."
"What if they break each other?"
Inuyasha shrugged, looking back towards them. "They'll heal. And it should serve as a lesson."
Ranma laughed and Inuyasha grinned. "Has it so far?"
"I have hope."
Ranma turned to look at his warring uncles once again, head tilted as he watched the two in interest before coming to the conclusion that while Inuyasha may have hope, it was likely a fools' hope.
~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~I~R~
It was later on that afternoon that Ranma made his way back to the dojo. He wasn't surprised to be greeted by his father and Soun Tendo as soon as he walked through the doorway. They clearly knew that it was him coming through the door and were on him almost immediately.
"What have you done, boy?" Genma growled as menacingly he could, which, to Ranma, wasn't as formidable as it used to be. Whether it was because he had spent so much time around Inu's or whether it was because he knew that he could dwarf the noise himself, he didn't know. But his father didn't intimidate him as he once had.
"What are you talking about?" He walked through the house into the yard, sitting on the large flat rock by the pond, assuming his usual mediation pose. The two men followed him outside and Ranma knew that his father was frustrated because he no longer had his curse. He wouldn't be able to use it to aggravate the boy anymore.
Genma hated to admit it to himself but the boy was improving in ways that he didn't think he could surpass. If he couldn't keep the boy under control, then his and Soun's future of leisure once Ranma and Akane were married was in jeopardy. The two of them were counting on the joining of the schools. Any deviation wasn't acceptable.
"Happosai was after you, boy," Ranma turned his head a little, curious as to what the old man wanted. Knowing that Happosai knew of his hanyou blood was a kink he didn't know how to iron out. Inuyasha had told him to be wary of the old man and to not agree to anything without speaking to Inuyasha beforehand. Ranma had been confused but the older hanyou was insistent so he had agreed.
"What did he want?" He resettled himself, closing his eyes, his senses picking up where the other two were, his invisible ears swivelling to pick up the sounds that were happening all around him. There was a lot more to sift through at the dojo than there had been in the shrine. It wasn't the busiest ward in Tokyo but there was enough to send his sensitive senses into overdrive if he wasn't careful.
"He didn't say," Soun grumbled, looking at Ranma curiously. The boy had never been afraid of Happosai, being defiant from the beginning but he seemed even more relaxed, even though Happosai had been looking for him specifically.
"I say again, what did you do, boy?" Genma repeated and Ranma shrugged, infuriating the man even more. Ranma smirked to himself as the two men gave up and Genma stormed into the house, muttering something about going to the bathhouse, Soun following on behind him.
He focused his hearing on the inside of the house, picking up the loud stomping of his father. He wondered for a moment how someone could be so light on his feet when he wanted to be but at the same time, sound like an elephant when he felt the need. He listened closer, underneath the sound of his father's clamouring, hearing Soun pottering in his own bedroom as he gathered some things for the bathhouse at a much more reasonable volume.
He could also hear someone else upstairs, quietly scribbling something using a pencil on paper. From the location, he guessed that it was Nabiki, probably tallying up the day's takings from school.
He didn't hear anyone else in the house, unable to ascertain any further sounds from inside. He reasoned that Kasumi was probably at the market, picking up food for that evening's meal. He didn't know where Akane was, wondering for a moment but also knowing that she could look after herself.
He branched his ear out, picking up the sounds happening around the walls of the dojo. He could pick up the sounds of children playing out in the warm afternoon air, some being called in by their parents. He could hear adults talking between themselves as they walked down the streets not far away. He heard a frustrated sigh come from a house about two streets over which was likely coming from someone attempting their homework from the day at school.
He frowned as he heard a sound he was familiar with at this point, even without his enhanced hearing. He let out a sigh as he heard Happosai land lightly on one of the other rocks that outlined the pond.
He cracked an eye to look at the small man as he stared at him, arms folded and eyes narrowed.
"Hmmmm . . ." Ranma closed his eye again, settling back into his meditation. "I don't see it."
"See what?" Ranma grumbled sensing Happosai coming closer to him. He opened his eyes again, seeing the old man scrutinizing him closely. He raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what the hell he was doing and what he wanted. Ears twitching at the sounds in the house behind them, Ranma let out a low growl which made Happosai jump back, having confirmed what he had been told in that single moment.
The hanyou hadn't been lying when he'd told of Ranma's heritage. Happosai had no doubt that the Inu was going to be guiding Ranma for the foreseeable future.
He'd have to proceed carefully.