Cursed

“It’s obvious what needs to be done,” Miroku said in a calm, mild voice that invited no argument. “Akane needs to go back to her homeland and retrieve that sword.”

Inuyasha grunted, picking at his sleeve. Gods, how long was he going to have to wear clothing that stank of Naraku? He shook his head, focusing on Miroku. “No kidding. The sooner we get back to the village the better. I don’t know what Naraku has planned for the punk, but I wouldn’t abandon my worst enemy to that evil bastard.”

Kagome sighed and leaned against Sango as she tried to keep her feet. She was so exhausted, the terror of what Naraku had done to Inuyasha was only just beginning to fade. She couldn’t give in yet, Naota had made it plain that they didn’t have the time, or rather Ranma didn’t have the time, for them to rest and regroup before starting back to Kaede’s village. And she felt responsible. She had brought that shard back, she had thrown Ranma and Akane’s lives into chaos, and then she had the bright idea of dragging herendsends down the well and right into Naraku’s hands.

Sternly, she looked around, hoping that Sango and Akane couldn’t tell how really tired she was. “Let’s go right now,” she said, meeting their eyes with resolve. “Akane, Inuyasha moves faster than Kirara, he’ll carry you.”

“Huh?” Inuyasha was puzzled. “Not that much faster. Kagome, what are you…”

She stopped him by holding up her hand and looking away. His brows flexed into a light scowl. Since when won’t she meet my eyes? he thought grumpily. Instead, Kagome looked at Sango. “He’s faster than Kirara when Kirara has to carry three people.”

He jumped up and glared at her. “Aren’t you going back with her?”

Akane was also confused. “Kagome?”

Kagome shook her head and then wished she hadn’t. Her head was aching something fierce and shaking it decisively didn’t do anything to help the pain. “You will have to take her through the well, Inuyasha. We’ll be about a half y bey behind you when we get to the village and we don’t know how much time Ranma has…or what Naraku is planning.”

It made sense, he thought in annoyance. Still, he couldn’t help but feel there was something more to her words than just expediting what needed to be done. Did she…did she not want him to carry her?

Miroku had been watching as Inuyasha thought over the matter, looking at the closed expression on Kagome’s face. “Uh,” he said intelligently. “You’re right, Kagome. It ha be be this way.”

Sango was also catching on that there was something going on between her friends. “Yes,” she said, stroking Kirara’s head. “Three people will slow her down a little, I don’t want her to have to strain herself keeping up. We’ll be just behind you, Inuyasha.”

He sensed he was being maneuvered, yet again, and decided there was no use in fighting about it or trying to decipher the look that Kagome would give him when she thought he wasn’t looking. “Whatever,” he grunted, turning his back to Akane and dropping into a crouch. “If we’re going to stop that son of a bitch, we’ve got to move some ass. Get on, wench.”

Akane had just enough of being pushed around for one day. “Don’t call me wench. I’m not your wench or anyone else’s. I’ve got a name remember?”

Inuyasha rubbed his face. This was getting entirely too irritating. “Okay, you’re not wench, you’re Akane. Okay, satisfied?”

She nodded and he glared at her. “Then get on my fucking back already!”

“Mr. Personality,” she sniped. If she hadn’t been so worried sick about Ranma and looking forward desperately to seeing the world she had grown up in, she might have given the irritable hanyou a few more words to remind him that she wasn’t any pushover and wasn’t going to put up with the attitude. “Okay,” she said, putting her hands on his shoulders and feeling just a little uncomfortable. It just didn’t seem…proper…somehow, riding on a boy’s back.

Kagome muffled a smile at watching her friend try and find a way to get on the hanyou’s back. It did take a little getting used to, she thought wistfully. It embarrassed her, she knew as soon as Inuyasha and Akane were out of earshot that Miroku and Sango were going to pressure her for details about what had really happened and why she’d insisted on Akane being the one carried and not herself. She sighed, it wasn’t going to be easy, the horrified expressions of her friends was going to be hard to deal with. And so was the knowledge, tacit or implied, that she didn’t want him touching her. Not right now, she knew she’d get over it, but right now when she looked at Inuyasha, it was hard to put the thought of what he’d almost done out of her mind. If he ever remembered, he’d be devastated.

Well, she could spare him from that at least. “Just grab on,” she advised Akane in something like her normal cheery tone.

Akane grumbled under her breath, putting her hands on Inuyasha’s shoulders and leaning carefully into him. “I don’t see how…” she began, feeling like this was way too intimate or something.

Inuyasha ignored her and stood up, hands automatically going under Akane’s legs to steady her as he hefted the girl into a comfortable position. Akane felt his claws brush her upper thighs and punched him in the arm as hard as she could. “Watch the hands, pervert!”

“You wish,” he muttered. Inuyasha turned around, grinning as the girl yelped and grabbed for his hair to keep herself from being flung around like a sack. “I’ll see you guys at the village,” he said gruffly. Kagome smiled brightly at him, but the smile seemed faint in her eyes. “Don’t worry,” she said, glancing back at Miroku and Sango. “We’ll be waiting when you come back and then we’ll go get Ranma.”

*****

Akane held on tight to the silver hair and kept her eyes screwed shut. They were moving like a black and silver rocket over the treetops. She knew there was very little chance that Inuyasha would drop her, but it was still unsettling to the point where she felt nauseated every time she looked down. She honestly didn’t know how Kagome could have gotten used to this. The speed was disorienting, her thighs were aching from clamping her legs on his hips. Every time the hanyou paused to gather himself for another spring, she had to gulp against the panic that wanted to overwhelm her. She told herself that it was safe, but he occasionally growled and said rude things under his breath and that just didn’t make her feel any more secure.

She nearly wept with relief when she saw the village coming up in the distance. It felt like they’d been running for days, in reality it had only been a few hours. Inuyasha grunted and sprang over the trees to land right in the middle of the tiny collection of rustic homes. Dust flew out from under his feet as he skidded to a stop, sending a placid flock of chickens screeching and squawking in his wake as he trotted to a halt. “Ride’s over, bitch,” he snapped, shrugging his shoulders and sending Akane to the ground.

Inuyasha looked down at furious girl who was glaring at him. Even Kagome managed to keep her feet better than that, he decided, a faint grin crossing his face before he remeed ted that Kagome had deliberately chosen not to let him carry her. He could have easily borne both females and not hardly slowed his stride. And then Kirara would have had no reason not to keep up with his speed. The notion made him scowl and he reached down to seize Akane by her shirt and haul her to her feet. “You’re a little clumsy, aren’t ya?” he said in a snide voice.

She slapped his hand away. “You could have warned me before dropping me like that,” Akane said peevishly.

He snorted and shook his head. “Well’s this way,” Inuyasha said, ignoring her angry look. Akane grumbled to herself as she followed him. Like she couldn’t have figured that out on her own, there was nothing wrong with her sense of direction. She had gotten somewhat accustomed to Inuyasha’s chronic crankiness over the past few weeks, but she couldn’t help but notice he seemed to be taking out his temper on her.

“Are you mad at me or something?” she demanded, catching up with him as they approached the glade where the well was located. He shot her a quick look out of his gold eyes and his face seemed to relax a bit.

“No,” he answered shortly. “I’m not mad at you, I just want this over with. You and that punk been nothing but trouble, me and Kagome got better things to do than fix this stupid curse.”

Akane flushed. “I’m sorry we’re so inconvenient. You think I like this? You think RANMA likes this? He didn’t ask to be a demon and he didn’t ask to get caught in some stupid trap. You were caught in it too!”

Inuyasha snarled to himself as he walked faster, making Akane trot to keep up with him. “Don’t remind me,” he muttered. “I don’t remember a damn thing about what happened.”

Akane sensed something in his tone and felt much of her anger start to evaporate. “You don’t remember anything? Isn’t that weird? Is it like a blank spot in your memory or does it feel like something’s blocking it?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, not looking anywhere but straight ahead. “It’s done, I don’t want to know what I did.”

Akane frowned, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “If I couldn’t remember what I’d been doing for two or three days, I’d want to know.”

“I don’t,” he snapped. Leave it alone, bitch, he thought. Just leave it alone.

“Why?” she persisted, annoying him with her inquisitive little voice. His ears flattened on his head as they drew closer to the well. Akane shrugged to herself, taking it as no more than a half demon’s bad temper. “Kagome was with you most of the time,” she said finally, her eyes lighting up as she found the answer to his problem. “She’ll be able to tell you what you were doing.”

“I don’t want to know!” Inuyasha shouted, spinning around and grabbing her shoulders, heaving her into the air before realized what he was doing. “Don’t you get it?” he snarled, shaking the girl. “I woke up and Kagome was hurt, she’s got scratches all over her and bruises on her face!”

The abject terror in Akane’s eyes made him sick and he put her down with an exaggerated gentleness before turning away. “You think you did it?” she whispered, shaking as he let her go.

“I smell her blood on my claws,” he said in a low, grief-stricken tone. “I can’t remember a damn thing, but I did it. I can’t deny it, Akane. I don’t even want to think about what else I could have done.”

The self-loathing in his voice stopped Akane cold, forgetting that she was angry with him in the first place. They had reached the well and Inuyasha stared into its depths like salvation or rescue was somehow just beyond his reach. Everything was fucked, that was for damn sure.

Inuyasha jumped when her hand hesitantly touched his back. “It will be okay,” she said, hoping she could comfort him. There was so little she could do in this place, it made her feel helpless. And helpless was not how Akane Tendo had been raised, she absolutely hated it. Slowly, her arms curved around the hanyou, she could feel his muscles go rigid at the contact, unwilling to be comforted in the face of his unremembered sins.

“She knows you didn’t mean to do it,” Akane whispered, pressing her face against the embroidered spiders on his back. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Inuyasha. Kagome knows that you only want to protect her.”

His arm came around her back and swept her forward, holding her in a decidedly too intimate embrace. She didn’t breathe for a moment, some kind of nonsense running around in her head, but all he did was jump to the ledge of the well. “Thanks,” he said tonelessly as he didn’t look at her face. “Let’s go get that damn sword. If something happens to Ranma, I’m never going to hear the end of it from Kagome.” And then he jumped and Akane clutched his arm when the light spangled darkness swallowed her up and remade her on the other side of eternity.

*****

Akane was just hoping that Ranma’s mother was easy to find. She decided to head straight home, if Nodoka and Genma weren’t there, she could call them and explain the situation. That would probably be for the best, she didn’t think it would be a good idea to take Inuyasha running all over Nerima. Not that her neighborhood wasn’t used to strange sights, she thought it might be best if they kept this quick. Her eyes darted over to her companion and she managed to stifle a giggle that was half exhaustion. Kagome’s brother had lent him a baseball hat to cover his ears, but Inuyasha still looked like a walking advertisement for a samurai movie.

Luckily, they didn’t have far to go and Akane managed to lead them to her home without encountering anyone on the street. Relief flooded her when she stepped inside and took in the familiar sights and smells of where she’d grown up. Suddenly, everything seemed manageable and she grinned up at Inuyasha. He just scowled at her, flicking his fingers to make sure she knew he was in a hurry and this was no time for her to go all mushy on him. “Dad?” she called out, looking for her father. He should have some idea where to find Genma and Nodoka.

There was no answer and Akane gestured at Inuyasha to follow her as she went throthe the house. “Kasumi, Nabiki?” she asked, looking around the spotlessly clean kitchen. Her sisters seemed to be out, as well as her father. Akane frowned, wishing that just for once she’d have an easy time. It had been too much to hope for that she’d find her father and Ranma’s parents quietly having tea together. She glanced back at the hanyou. “I think they’re out or something, come on. We can wait in the dojo until they get back.

“Keh,” was the only answer she got and Akane took it for an affirmative. The dojo was also deserted and Akane sighed to herself, remembering her playful lessons with Kagome. Now she understood completely why her friend had been so interested in learning a few martial arts moves. She needed them to defend herself in the Sengoku Jidai and Akane’s smile grew wistful when she thought about how Kagome had probably learned her archery skills. Shooting demons left and right, purifying the living hell out of all evil. It wasn’t exactly on the freshman curriculum at school but she’d bet anything that Kagome was going to take top marks when she took history courses next semester.

“Wait here for me, Inuyasha,” she said at last. “I’m going to make a few calls, see if I can locate my dad. He usually hangs around with Mr. Saotome and that’s the best way to find Ranma’s mother. You just make yourself comfortable, hopefully it won’t take very long.”

“It had better not,” he muttered, watching the short haired girl run out of the room. What kind of place is this, he wondered, looking at the smooth wooden floor and equipment stacked neatly against the walls. Seemed to be a lot of space for just one small family. In the Sengoku Jidai, this much space could house two or three human families, he thought, running clawed hand along the walls. He’d never had much interest in all the marvels of Kagome’s time. They smelled bad, he hated the thick air of this place, this city she called it. Not enough trees, all the natural features of the landscape covered up in metal and stone. It gave him the creeps, like it was only a play city, something Naraku would think up to confuse and confound him. So far, other than Kagome herself, the only useful thing this place seemed to have produced was ramen.

He was just starting to wonder about that, thinking of ramen noodles and wondering when was the last time he’d eaten. At least Akane could find him something to eat if he had to wait here. His gaze darkened menacingly. As long as she didn’t do the cooking herself, he hoped to hell that girl could at least boil water. He’d do it himself if he needed to. Inuyasha started to turn around, getting ready to look for the girl when he heard a footstep just behind him and whirled around, one hand already reaching for Tetsusaiga in case it was an attack.

The hanyou stopped, staring. A huge black and white bear was standing on its hind legs and peering at him from the doorway. There was some kind of intelligence about the creature’s gaze, Inuyasha’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. A demon of some kind? A shapeshifter? He wasn’t quite sure and bared his fangs at the monster just to make sure it thought twice about making a go for him.

It thought twice all right. The bear’s eyes grew even wider and it bolted away from him, moving far faster than he would have guessed for a beast its size and still running on two legs like a normal man. “Wait,” Inuyasha shouted, suddenly realizing it was probably a tame creature if it was trained that well. The bear stopped, turning around and of all things, suddenly took a defensive stance and growled a challenge.

Well, what else could he do? Inuyasha wasn’t someone who could back down, but he didn’t see any reason to start a fight either. “Look, whatever you are, I’m not here to hurt you, I’m just looking for someone.”

The bear growled and jumped for him, moving with surprising grace and speed. Whoever trained this one did pretty well, Inuyasha decided, nimbly jumping out of the way. His baseball hat fell off in the process and the bear seemed to be startled by his ears. This was no ordinary bear at all, the half demon decided. Inuyasha held up his empty hands, trying to pacify the animal.

“Okay, you’re probably too dumb to understand this,” he began.

The black and white bear snarled angrily, apparently insulted. Inuyasha sighed at it came at him again. “Why do you want to do things the hard way?” he demanded. He couldn’t kill it, hell, it was probably Akane’s pet or something like that. He could just hear the screaming that would ensue if he beat the hell out of it. But he wasn’t going to stand here and be attacked either. He dodged again as the bear came after him, finally winding an arm around its neck and using his demonic strength to haul the animal down.

A kick from behind surprised him and Inuyasha looked up to see a very angry looking human approaching. The man had long hair and a mustache but his eyes were full of fury. “How dare you invade my home and attack my friends, demon?”

Oh, this had to be Akane’s father. “Look, mister,” he said hotly. “This damn bear attacked me while I was waiting for Akane…”

“You know my daughter?” Soun Tendo asked, looking suspicious.

“Yeah, I know the bitch,” Inuyasha started to explain.

A fist caught him completely off guard and he let go of the bear before he realized it. The bear snickered nastily at him and Inuyasha felt himself starting to get pissed off. Annoyed, he spat blood on the clean dojo floor and glared at the human. “What the fuck was that for?”

“How dare you call my baby girl that filthy name?” Soun snapped. The bear rumbled an agreement and Inuyasha suddenly found himself being attacked by both human and animal, his face and body being hit over and over by angry rapid paws and fists. He covered his face, trying to duck away. “Hey, this is a misunderstanding!” he yowled. Damn it, did they want him to attack them or something, he was really getting to the end of his patience with the whole thing.

Oh fuck this, he thought and jumped straight into the air, over their heads. He kicked the human’s legs out from under him and bodyslammed the bear into the floor. It did help to be several times stronger than he looked. Growling menancingly, he dragged them together, planting a clawed hand at their throats and snarling like a true demon. “I’m getting sick of this shit,” he said, his eyes glittering dangerously. “I ain’t here to kill nobody but you two morons are seriously pissing me off!”

A cold sharp edge suddenly slid under his jawline as he knelt over his captives. Inuyasha slowly turned his head, looking up into the angry face of a woman, one who was holding a katana at his throat as if she meant to use it. “Let them go,” she ordered, her eyes hard.

He sighed. It was so not his day. “You’d have to be Ranma’s mother, wouldn’t ya?”

*****

Akane finished her story, looking anxiously back at her father and Nodoka as she did so. Ranma’s mother’s face was pale, hearing about how her son had been attacked and ensnared by a foul demon who would use him only as tool for murder and destruction. “Oh my poor son,” she murmured.

Soun was holding an ice pack over his face and still shooting glares at the hanyou who was lounging a few feet away. Inuyasha’s face was a scowling unconcern for the combined problems of the Saotomes and the Tendos. He just wanted to get the hell out of this place and back to Kagome. Even if she didn’t want to be anywhere near him right now, he thought, his face black with anger. Naraku was going to pay for that, he was going to pay for every bruise and every scratch on Kagome’s body, he was going to pay his life’s blood, by the gods, for putting that look of horror in her eyes. Inuyasha unconsciously clenched his hands, his claws digging hard into the floor and gouging the wood.

“Excuse me,” a pretty girl said softly, leaning over his shoulder. “Please do be careful of the floor, I’m sure you don’t mean to damage it.”

“Uh,” he said, looking up at her smiling face. One of the sisters, he hadn’t thought to catch her name. The other one had moved over to sit on his other side, staring fixedly at him.

“You’re really a demon?” Nabiki asked. The fangs and claws seemed pretty demonic, but she was fascinated by the pretty silver-white hair as well as the drop dead gorgeous shade of those eyes. More than the other two Tendo sisters, Nabiki at least had an appreciation for handsome young men. Even Ranma wasn’t bad to look at, it was when he opened his mouth that his charm went straight downhill.

“Half-demon,” he muttered, looking away. He wasn’t here to discuss his heritage, damn it. Why couldn’t Akane just grab the stupid sword so they could go? “My mother was human, my father was a dog demon.”

“Oh that explains these adorable ears,” Kasumi sighed, reached out for them. Inuyasha froze as the girl’s fingers started to rub the soft white triangles. He’d rather eat fire than admit it, but that was his big weak spot. His knees felt like jelly and he closed his eyes as Kasumi continued to massage his ears, completely oblivious to the reaction it was causing.

Nabiki had noticed, giving a quick glance over at her father to make sure he wasn’t looking. Quickly, before he could realize what she was doing, she caught up a handful of the silky white hair. “You sure are pretty for a demon,” she teased, noticing how his golden eyes were completely unfocused at the moment. “Kasumi, I think he really likes that.”

“Of course he does,” Kasumi cooed, rubbing harder. Oh gods above he was just going to melt into a puddle now. “All sweet doggies like being petted, doesn’t it feel good, Inuyasha?”

I think she just called me a sweet doggy, he thought, too muddled to defend himself. Nabiki’s hands were straying too, playing with his hair and wandering over his chest. His head had dropped forward and the hanyou was starting to growl softly, purring almost from the intense pleasure that Kasumi was inflicting on his ears. Nice girls, he thought, letting his spine relax and giving himself over to the attention. Good thing Kagome couldn’t see this, he’d just die of embarrassment at letting them pet and stroke him like this.

“He’s really a cute one,” Nabiki grinned, starting to knead his shoulders.

Kasumi laughed lightly. “I’d say so, he’s absolutely adorable.” Playfully, she leaned in next to him, her fingers stilling on his ears. “What a sweet little…”

In a daze from the combined massage and ear-rub, Inuyasha didn’t realize that his instincts had taken control of him when he reached out to catch Kasumi’s face, pull the startled girl in close and licked her right on the nose.

“Oh my!”

“Kasumi! Nabiki!” Akane was staring at her sisters, wondering just what the hell possessed them to crawl all over Inuyasha like that. “Leave him alone, he’s not a toy!”

Disappointed, the girls took their hands off him and Inuyasha sighed. He shook himself hard to throw off the daze they’d put him into and jumped to his feet, hands planted aggressively at his hips and gave the room a withering glare. “Are we gonna get out of here or what? If Naota was telling the truth, Ranma doesn’t have much time left.”

“Just a moment,” Soun said, frowning. “Akane, if Ranma is under a spell, don’t you think he’d be dangerous to you? I wish you’d wait here for him, let Inuyasha take the sword. I’m just thinking of your safety.”

“I’m not a child,” she snapped, scowling at him. “I would never abandon Ranma, not now when he needs me!”

Nodoka made a pacifying gesture at the angry girl. “No one is saying that you should abandon him, dear. Your father is right to be concerned. The curse is very strong, think how Ranma would feel if you were injured.”

Akane bowed her head for a moment. “Think how he would feel if he wakes up from it and I’m not there. He’ll think I didn’t trust in him to beat this thing. He’ll think that I ran away when he needed me the most. I can’t do that to him, Mrs. Saotome.”

The panda grunted and reached for the cup of hot water that Kasumi had just carried into the room. He dumped it over his head and Inuyasha stared, his eyes going wide with shock. The hanyou crouched next to Genma, staring at the man in fascination. Finally he shook his head and just looked disgusted. “What is it with you people and the fucking water? First Ranma turns into a bitch when he gets wet, now I find out that you weren’t even a damn bear. Is everybody here cursed like this?”

Genma grinned. “Just those of us unfortunate enough to visit Jusenkyo.”

Inuyasha snifferd ard at him. So that was why the bear didn’t smell like a bear. “This is just sick,” he muttered, standing up and walking away. “Akane, come on. We don’t have time to waste yammering with your family.”

“I’m coming,” she snapped back. She faced her father. “Please don’t worry, daddy. As soon as we get this sword back to Ranma, he’ll be himself again and no one will get hurt. I promise to come home safe and sound.”

Tears filled Tendo’s eyes at her quiet resolve. “Oh my baby girl,” he cried, grabbing the girl in a strangling embrace.

Nodoka chuckled as she freed Akane from her father’s deathgrip. “Now, Soun. You’ve trained her to take care of herself. Akane needs to see this thing through.” She turned the girl to face her, brushing back her hair. “Now you take good care of yourself and that son of mine,” she said fondly, kissing Akane’s cheek.

“I will,” Akane said, smiling happily. Inuyasha snorted, muttering something under his breath. Akane playfully punched his arm. “Come on, you cranky excuse for a half demon,” she grinned, tugging him towards the door.

Outside, the warm feeling carried Akane for several steps. She was pleased that Ranma’s mother trusted her to do this, it would have killed her to be forced to sit at home, not knowing how Ranma’s fate was being decided. In spite of the danger, she felt sure that the katana would rescue her fiancé from whatever darkness Naraku’s spell had done to him. Ranma wouldn’t give up now, she knew it in her heart. Akane wouldn’t give up either.

“Your family is fucking weird,” Inuyasha growled. He’d been attacked, threatened and molested all within an hour. He was starting to wonder why he let Kagome ever come back to this strange world with it’s unknown rules and customs. Surely she was safer with him on the other side of the well.

Akane laughed. “I’d have to agree with you on that. My family is sort of unusual, but they mean well. At least most of the time.”

“Yeah, I could tell that from your sisters,” he grumbled.

She smirked. “You looked like you weren’t fighting too hard, maybe I shouldn’t have rescued you after all.”

“I didn’t need rescuing, bitch,” he snapped. “I can take care of myself, I’m sure not afraid to fight off a couple of girls!”

“Next time I won’t step in,” Akane laughed. He just gave her another disgusted, annoyed look and dropped to his knees. “Get on, damn it. No sense in wasting any more time in this damn place.”

She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. “No, people will stare at us, I can walk back to the shrine.”

Inuyasha scowled and grabbed her arm. “Don’t argue with me, just get on.”

She tried to yank her arm away from him with little success. “Let me go, you asshole!”

“Get on my fucking back, bitch!”

“No!”

“Unhand that woman, villain!” Akane and Inuyasha stopped arguing to watch as a tall figure approached them from the gathering shadows. “Oh god, not now,” the girl muttered, covering her eyes.