Disclaimer: I own NOTHING when it comes to Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2. That respectfully belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

AN: Ranma is NOT and will never BE a reincarnation of Inuyasha as long as I am the one writing the story. I just don't really respect stories that have Ranma as the reincarnation. No matter what the plot is, or how well the story is written. It's not personal. I just don't like them.

SPECIAL THANKS TO Scurryfunger for re-inspiring me to write this story with her wonderful Ranma/Inuyasha story, which you guys should go check out since I personally think it is quite good!

Chapter 2: Why Jii-san!

Kagome walked lifelessly up each step as the whispers about her questionable well being begun behind her. Though, she didn't know why they felt like they had a need to talk about this. It was more than clear that this was something that they had been going over verbally and mentally for the full length of her sixteen years of existence. There was no more need to talk about such things. She had agreed, hadn't she?

Kagome sighed with frustration, and as soon as she rounded the corner, she was met with the sight of her brother sitting up against the wall with a pensive look upon his face. It was more than obvious that he had been ease dropping on their conversation, and she readied herself for his inquiries when he raised his eyes to meet hers.

"So, you're getting hitched, huh?" She could tell that the playfulness of the sentence was more for his own self defense than it was for hers, but she felt herself half smirking at her brother's attempts anyway.

"Looks that way, doesn't it?" Kagome said as she slid down the wall next to her brother. Secure in the fact that her mother and grandfather would be discussing the situation for enough amount of time to ease her and her brother's qualms. Though, she knew a short talk with her baby bro would not seize the nagging at the edge of her conscience.

"How can you stand it?" Souta asked suddenly after a few seconds of silence drifted between them.

"Stand what?"

"Fate messing with your life? It seems like every time you catch a break, some crap like this happens. How…can you stand it?" Souta said as he looked from the cream colored wall over to Kagome's face.

"Well, I guess after awhile you just learn to roll with the punches," Kagome said as she looked Souta in the eyes. To be truthful, she didn't really know the answer herself, but this was something she definitely didn't want her brother to have to worry about. It was her life. If anyone should be worried, it was her.

"But...what if...the punches never stop? Then what?" Souta asked as he looked down to the palms of his hands before he dragged his legs across the cream carpet in order for him to lock his arms around them.

Kagome looked at him inquisitively for a second as she contemplated how to answer his question. It was a question she had often asked herself while traveling through the Sengoku Jidai. Heck, she had been asking that to herself way before she had even met Inuyasha or the gang. It was just something that almost all people in life ask themselves at some point.

It was kind of one of those when life gives you lemons kind of deals, and the answer to that question was almost automatic. Even when you were done and out, you knew the answer to that, but what do you do when the punches don't stop? It was a valid question, so Kagome had to give a valid answer.

"I guess...I guess you just have to keep on rolling..."

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To say that Kagome did not get an inch of sleep would be the understatement of the year. In fact, she didn't even try to sleep. She spent half the night up and packing her bag for a trip to Kami knows where for who knows how long while she spent the other half listing different ways she could possibly kill off this Ranma and Genma scam team.

She got to about one hundred and fifty before her blood thirst was sated enough for her to even think straight. She had gone through all of the emotions in on night. It took her about fifteen minutes in her room alone with her own thoughts and emotions after her talk with Souta to realize that she hadn't matured a lick.

She had been in shock. That's why she hadn't gone on a tirade through Tokyo to break up with every guy named Ranma in a twenty mile radius. The more she thought about her situation, the more she began to become enraged, but that only lasted an hour or so before she eased on into pity.

By the time the night had ended and her mother was at her door, she had gone from rage to pity to depression to plotting to acceptance and back again. Her mother and grandfather had no idea what they were in store for when they came to wake up young Kagome and ship her off to some boy she didn't even know, which brings us to our current situation.

"Kagome! Come out here right now! You agreed to this last night! What happened from then to now?" her mother asked in her most loving voice as she stood in front of Kagome's door with her father in law.

"What happened? I'll tell you what happened! I gained some sense from then to now! I can't do this kaa-san! I don't want to be married. I'm too young! I haven't even had a real boyfriend yet," Kagome said forlornly as she paced the interior of her room. Half of it packed away in bags.

"Young lady, this is your jii-san! And I order you to come out this minute," it was obvious even to Kagome by his frazzled voice that the old man was almost ready to pull out his own hair. Her mother seemed to quiet as her grandfather took over.

"No!"

"You have to!"

"NO!"

"Think of your father!"

There was a small silence in which Kagome's grandfather was sure he had won out through guilt, and a smirk of victory had eased its way on to his face. In truth, Kagome was most definitely rethinking not going when a thought struck her. It definitely would not be the most honorable thing to do, but when dealing with people with little honor people, sometimes you had to bend the rules even if slightly.

"Tell me the loophole, and I'll go."

Another silence.

"I can't! It's in the contract."

More silence.

"Then write it down!"

"Still me telling you!"

"Technically it's no..." Kagome's mother started with an inquisitive tone before she was shushed by Kagome's grandfather, which made Kagome even more suspicious. There was something her grandfather wasn't telling her. He was all for honor, but if he could find a crawl space while keeping his honor in tact, he would go for it.

"Well, then, tell kaa-san and then she can tell me."

Silence.

More silence.

Even more silence.

"I'm not telling anyone the loophole! Now get out here RIGHT NOW young lady."

"No! And why do I have to go today, huh? Why can't I have time to think about this?

"Because you have to!"

"Why?"

"You just have to?"

"WHY?"

"Because if you don't, we'll lose the shrine!"

Kagome's mother gave a gasp as her grandfather hung his head. At that moment, Souta opened the door to his room and came walking out with a look of shock on his. It was obvious that the young boy had far too easily been awoken by the screams, and had chosen now to make his awareness known.

There was silence on Kagome's end, and for a moment, everyone just stared at gramps before Kagome's door came open with a small crack as she stepped out with her head down. She looked up with a fire in her eyes.

"NANI?" she said with fury. Her grandfather took a few steps back and gave a nervous laugh seeing as purifying energy was circling Kagome. Souta and Kagome's mother soon joined in with reprimands.

"Tou-san, how could you?"

"Really jii-chan? Really? What were you thinking?"

"Well old man?" Kagome said as she began to close in even closer to her grandfather with her mother and brother right behind her. Gramps hauled himself into a corner as he looked up at Kagome and the rest of his family. All of them with a look of anger, disappointment, and disbelief.

"Fess up!"

"It...i-it...i-it...i-it was because of the pressure!" Gramps screamed as her broke down into sobs as Kagome's face went from pure anger to shock as she stared at her grandfather cry out huge anime like tears. He gave the expression of a kicked puppy, but she wasn't going to let him off until she knew the truth.

"What pressure?"

"Well..."

Flashback

"Tetsu, you actually trust that retched Genma to keep his word! He's not even married yet! Who's to say he'll ever have kids?" Spoke a younger looking Gramps with black hair slowly turning gray and a little more height added on to his stature.

"Don't worry Tou-san! Genma signed the contract didn't he! And he didn't even use a fake name this time. I trust him, and you trust me don't you?" asked a man with a tall lean body that held muscles that spoke of his dedication to martial arts all on their own.

"Of course I trust you Tetsu, but you put way too much trust in that Genma and Happosai! All they do is take advantage of you and get you into trouble. Genma with his schemes, and Happosai with his underwear thieving. I swear the only sane one is Tendo!"

Tetsu gave a small chuckle as he stood up from the kotatsu. His black hair dripping past his shoulders as his young smooth skin adjusted to fit his large smile. His twinkling icy blue eyes met with those of his father's as he held his copy of the contract before placing it on a mantle in the shed.

"True, sensei and Genma can be a handful, but they mean well! And if Genma says that he will honor the betrothal, then I shall believe him because we are brothers in code and friendship. Now, goodnight tou-san," Tetsu exclaimed as he turned to walk back to the main house.

"And plus Happosai-san isn't the only one who enjoys women's underwear," Tetsu thought as he put his hand over his mouth and snickered as he remembered back to the days when he used to venture out with his master and 'borrow' the undergarments of the local women.

"Goodnight, Tetsu."

All Gramps saw was his son stopping midway out of the door to give a small giggle before he straightened himself and looked over his shoulder to see his father giving him a strange look before he scurried out of the door. Gramps could only shake his head in disbelief.

"I swear there is something wrong with that boy. I am starting to really believe that whole birds of a feather thing because only crazy wants to hang with crazy, and that is one thing Happosai and Genma are not lacking..."

"I will forever regret the day that I let his mother talk me into letting him travel with that old letch. Worst money I ever spen..."

"Who you talking to?"

Gramps jumped about fifteen feet in the air before he turned around to see Saotome Genma an inch away from his face as he crouched down to be face to face with the older man who was currently still seated at the kotatsu table used to draft up the contracts. Gramps was definitely not pleased.

"None of your damn business ya retch! What the hell are you still doing here anyway? Your business with my son is finished," the older man yelled as he jumped to his feet to face Genma who just stood up. This caused him to tower over Gramps by at least a foot or two, but the older man didn't falter for a second.

"Calm down ya old goat, I just came to grab my pack," Genma said as he gave a small nervous smile before inching his way over towards his big tan backpack.

"ARGH! What did you say? I knew Tetsu should not have been allowed within fifty feet of you when I first saw your conniving face, and now you've conned my son into loaning you money he will never get back in exchange for what? Your good for nothing son or daughter marrying my grandchild!" Gramps said as he kicked the kotatsu over that still held a cup of hot tea that landed smack dab in the middle of Genma's face.

"Yagggh! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Genma yelled as did a small little dance while grabbing at his face before he straightened up a little to look at Gramps as his face cooled off. Genma's eyes soon began to well with large tears.

"Hmph! I would never deceive my naive frie...I mean my honorable friend Tetsuro! I love him with all of my heart, and I have full intention on paying him back...eventually," Genma said with anime tears coming out of his eyes before a gleaming look came across his face.

"But if you want to make it even more interesting...,"Genma asked with a small smirk as gramps looked at him incredulously with a small glint of interest present.

End Flashback

"Then what jii-san?" Kagome asked as a small tick mark began to form across her forehead.

"Then, he said that if you did not come to honor your part of the deal before the eve of his Ranma's seventeenth birthday, the shrine would fall to his greedy hands..."

"And?" Kagome's mother asked sensing more was to be said.

"The engagement between Kagome and Ranma is null in void..."

"And?" Souta asked as he sweat dropped. It was getting more and more complicated by the second.

"Genma gets all the money in the savings accounts," Gramps whispered with his head down and a collection of gasps were heard throughout the house.

"A-and R-ranma's birthday is when?" Kagome begrudgingly asked.

"Today..."

"Tou-san HOW?"

"WHAT?"

"WHY?" was heard throughout the Higurashi house and Tokyo a like. It was just pathetic how far indebted the Higurashi's would be to one man just because of a mistake made by her father and grandfather a like. If Kagome did not go find this guy as soon as possible, she would lose everything. There was no telling how many clauses were located in this one contract, and the only way she would ever know all of them is if she could actually get a hold of it, but she had a feeling that was not going to happen.

"Tou-san, you have had more then sixteen years to get Kagome ready for this journey, and you have never once thought that 'little' fact would be of any importance," Kagome's mother asked as she looked over her father in law with concern and repremandment.

"Eheh, I actually kind of had forgotten that little piece of information until I actually found the contract while cleaning out the shed yesterday. I hadn't really ever read it after Tetsuro passed, and there are so many things going on in that thing, it's hard to remember just one!" Gramps said sheepishly.

"But why jii-san? Why risk so much?" Kagome asked as she finally backed up from her grandfather. She was just trying to get some clarity, and now, she was even more confused than ever.

"Because! Tetsuro was a fool to make that deal with Genma! He was obviously on the losing end, so I had to look out for the interest of the family!" Gramps exclaimed as he stood straight.

"Pfft, doesn't seem like we got anything out of your bargaining skills either! Seems like you put us even more in the hole," Souta said as he rubbed some of the sleep that hadn't completely cleared from his eyes yet.

"Quiet boy! I got Kagome the most beneficial possession of all!" That caught everyone's attention as Kagome's grandfather puffed out his chest in pride.

"Go on," Kagome said with hesitation.

"If Genma does not remember his contract or if Ranma is seen to be engaged to anyone else, then Kagome has the rights to the Tendo dojo!" Her grandfather said proudly.

"Tendo? I thought you said his name was Saotome Genma?" Kagome asked in irritation. Another person being added to the mix was not good.

"It is! Just forget that fact for right now! The last time Genma and your father talked was after you birthday when it was confirmed that you were a girl and Ranma was a boy. When I spoke with him, he said that Ranma was born at twelve noon. You have to get to the Tendo dojo before then."

"Ugh! Great! Where exactly is this Tendo dojo?"

"Nerima..."

Kagome looked at her watch to see that it was already eight thirty.

"Nerima! That's an hour away!"

"Actually, its two and a half since you're going to have to go on foot. No train or bus runs from here to Nerima today. I already checked."

Gramps said as Kagome looked at him dumbstruck for a good five minutes. He could have thought to tell her that at the beginning of the conversation. All Kagome could was give her head a shake of disbelief. She could no longer look at her grandfather without anger welling up inside her so she looked at her mother and her brother. Souta and her mother just looked at her with crestfallen eyes since they weren't sure of the next time they would be able to see her, and she was obviously leaving sooner than expected.

"Kagome, I think you should leave your jii-san alone and get ready since it is going to take you awhile to get there," Her mother said trying to diffuse the situation even though she kept shooting Gramps looks of shame.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want you to be late," Souta said as he gave a small sniffle or two. It was like losing his sister to the Sengoku Jidai all over again. Just when he had thought he had gotten her back in his life.

Kagome looked at them with the most sympathetic and loving eyes as she nodded her head seemingly at both requests before she turned and began walking back to her room. She twisted her body slightly to look at her grandfather before she gave him one final look.

"Jii-san, you are lucky that I have to reorganize my things now that I have to walk because if I didn't have to..." Kagome let the sentence hang in the air as a small spark of purifying energy got a taste of the air. Her grandfather didn't seem too worried as she turned her body around to enter back into her bedroom before she closed the door with a slam. He was used to her threats and anger from when he would come up with 'old people' illnesses when she had to travel back in time.

"It was for your own good!"

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The good byes to her family had been swift but sad. She had made sure to give her mother and Souta a big hug that she hoped would transfer all of her love to them, and even though she was still quite peeved at her grandfather, she couldn't help but reach down and give the old man a swift kiss to the forehead. Though, he had said something strange before she began her trek.

"Make sure to have Ranma train you! It's for your own good."

She still wasn't sure what that had meant, but she had no time to contemplate it as she took off in a sprint across Tokyo. For some reason, she had thought that would have been the easiest part. I mean, why not? All she was doing was making a run across one of the busiest cities not only in Japan but the world.

Let's just say that she came out more than just a little scathed. In the first ten minutes of her run, she almost got hit by two cars. Once when she was trying to beat the slowest light in the city from turning green, which just happened to decide it wanted to go thirty seconds earlier that day. She could admit that was her fault, but the second was all on the driver.

The guy had obviously had one too many donuts in his life, but he had happened to decide that he wanted to sneak another one from his back seat while the light had just turned red. Kagome was in the middle of the street, and she had to ninja her way out of the way while still tearing a pair of her favorite jeans. Then, the idiot had the nerve to honk at her!

Not to mention that Nerima just happens to be on the way to one of the most dangerous providences in Japan. Kagome was chased by some thugs for five blocks before they decided to give up trying to mug her by just throwing rocks and broken bottles her way. One of which rocks hit her right in the back of her head.

By the time she found herself in front of the "Welcome to Nerima" sign, her clothes were dripping in sweat and dirt. She had a huge bump on her head from the rock and a small cut across her eyebrow and clothes from jumping into a pile of rose bushes when she was chased by a pack of dogs owned by some old mean lady who didn't want her on her property. If Kagome had never been to the Sengoku Jidai, she would have passed out half way to Nerima.

Kagome gave a small breath of air as she looked at her watch to see it was eleven ten. She had fifty minutes to find the dojo, so she lifted each foot begrudgingly as she made her way into town.

"This Saotome Ranma better be worth it."

Kagome was so tired and in a rush that she didn't even stop to watch with the rest of the crowd as a girl was thoroughly being attacked by a...panda?

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AN: Wow, it has been like 2 years since I updated...sorry. I just haven't had much inspiration. That's my only excuse.

I tried to flow as best I could after such a long time without working on this story. I hope no one is too disappointed.

I hope I didn't rush it.

BTW: MY PRAYERS GO OUT TO JAPAN!