Cursed

A/N: We're getting there! I think the next chapter will be the last, but there might be two more. Hell if I know! Wheezi's just along for the ride.

Funny thing was, he couldn't remember how he'd gotten here. He was flat out face down on the ground, arms sprawled gracelessly in front of him and he didn't know why. Last thing he could remember, he'd found out he was the victim of a rather unpleasant family curse. As his life wasn't complicated enough, Ranma thought, slowly moving to get his hands under him. His body ached, for some reason he didn't know why and as he pushed himself off his face, the young martial artist's eyes went wide and he looked around him in wonder. What the fuck was going on?

He was on his knees on a windswept hillside. The breeze was cold, cutting into his bare face and the chilling him through the rents and rips in his clothing. He didn't know this place and yet somehow he did. A memory of a dream he'd once had, if he looked behind him he was sure he'd see an army decamping and making preparations. If he moved farther down the mountainside, he'd come to the scene of an immense slaughter. The Azaryu made their last stand against Inutaisho's forces here, the boy thought in sudden instinctive knowledge. He knew this place, he remembered...everything about it. Ranma shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. If that was true, he'd look up and see some huge son of a bitch heading his way with a massive sword. Execution time.

He wasn't sure why he remembered it so clearly, he was Ranma Saotome and he didn't care a damn thing about ancient dog demon wars. Hell, he'd not even known such things existed until just a few weeks ago, when a new friend had accidently set his family's curse loose on him. Now he was starting to get really fed up with the whole experience. Looking like a demon wasn't so bad, but he was tired of remembering things about other people's lives. He had enough trouble keeping his own act together, he didn't need to be reminded of a past that wasn't even his to own. These memories belonged in someone else's head and Ranma stubbornly rejected the idea of paying for anyone else's mistakes. Damn it wasn't his fault these things happened to him, he was just one unlucky guy.

"Feeling sorry for yourself much?" a deep voice asked him, tinged with amusement. Ranma started and looked around wildly. The man walking up to him was something out of a nightmare. Imposing and grimly attired, he looked like an ancient general which, Ranma reflected, was exactly what Inutaisho had been. He didn't want to know how this was happening, but Ranma wasn't going to back down. He deserved some fucking answers for this hell he'd been through, put Akane thorugh. Wherever he was, Akane was somewhere else and worried about him, he just knew it. "I know who you are," he said harshly, glaring at the man who came to stand just in front of him.

"Good," the dog demon said, the wind picking up and whipping his white hair around his face. "Saves me the trouble. I know you too, Ranma Saotome."

"How do you know my name?" Ranma muttered. For some reason he expected the youkai lord to call him someone else, one of the names that didn't make sense but he still recognized them in his heart.

Inutaisho smiled and gestured around him. "We're inside your head, boy. How could I not know who you were? I don't know your face, but you remind me of my nephew. I can only guess that you're one of his descendents if you're unlucky enough to have broken my seal."

Ranma's eyes boggled for a minute and he sat back hard on his heels. "You know about that?" he asked, staring up at the inuyoukai. "You're supposed to be dead."

"Yeah I get that a lot," the old dog rumbled, grinning at him. Inutaisho gestured around him. "Why here, Ranma? This is one of my most unpleasant memories, not one I enjoy revisiting, let me tell you."

"I didn't choose it," Ranma exploded, getting angry now as the demon implied this was all his fault. "I just woke up, I didn't ask for any of this and you know it."

"I only know what you know," Inutaisho returned, staring at him with narrowed eyes. "You broke the seal that would have kept your demon blood quiet for eternity. As the one who made that seal, I'm a little pissed off about this myself."

Ranma just glared at him, if the son of a bitch knew what he knew, then he knew it wasn't Ranma's fault. It was the stupid Shikon whatever that had broken the seal, not him. "Just put the seal back," he snapped, irritated. "That's all I fucking want, I just want to go home."

Inutaisho scratched his chin reflectively. "Can't do it," he pronounced at last. The golden eyes slid away from his, looking almost regretful. "Sorry, kid," he said at last. "There's nothing I can do to save you now."

"I'm stuck like this?" Ranma whispered, horrified. Oh wonderful, it was permanent. Not even the glimmer of hope that a dip in a particular spring could cure his troubles. "I get to spend the rest of my life looking like a damn demon."

The youkai lord looked back at him. "Cheer up, it won't be a very long life."

"There's more?" Ranma burst out. "It's going to kill me too?"

"No," Inutaisho answered, his voice neutral. He slowly reached to his side, moving like the regret for what he was doing wanted to overwhelm him. "I'm going to kill you myself."

Ranma reacted instantly, springing away from the demon lord like he'd been burned. "Kill me? Damn it, you're supposed to help me. It was your seal that broke, I didn't do shit to make this happen!"

"I know," Inutaisho said, drawing his sword. Tetsusaiga pulsed and became the huge fang of its true shape. "It's not fair, but I made a promise to my nephew. Never again."

"Never again what?" Ranma asked, continuing to edge away from him. He wasn't going to give up and go quietly, hold up his chin and let the old dog lord slice his head off. No way, they could get someone else to play this game, he was going to fight until there was nothing left to fight with. He'd promised Akane they'd get through this and he didn't want to let her or anyone else down by getting killed.

"I made a promise," Inutaisho answered, his voice going still and grim. "I told Naota if the demon blood I sealed in him ever broke free and killed again, I would end it forever. I made him that promise, to kill him, or any of his descendents before letting them become monsters. I always keep my promises."

"Nobody asked me," Ranma yelled, furious and ready to defend himself. "Go find that Naota guy and cut his damn head off then. I haven't killed anyone!"

"You can't hide it from me," Inutaisho hissed, advancing on him. "I can see your true nature, you can't run away from it forever. I instilled my essence, a tiny sliver of my youki, in a special sword I gave to my nephew. It was just an ordinary human blade, but if that seal broke it would call me and bind me to my oath."

Ranma snarled at him, ready to use his claws even if he didn't want them. "You won't find me easy to kill, I'll never stop fighting."

Inutaisho looked sad, leaning on the blade as if it were a branch or walking stick. "I know," he said quietly. "You're going to be willing. I'd feel better if you fought for your life, you deserve that much. I don't think you will though, not when you look at what you've done."

"What are you talking about, asshole?" Ranma asked suspciously. The demon lord smiled again, wistful and filled with ancient regrets. "Just look over your shoulder," he advised.

He couldn't help himself, he had to look, he had to know. Ranma turned and found himself falling suddenly, the earth giving way under him as he tumbled. He struggled against the murky feeling, time sliding along his nerves and a hot wind blowing across his ears. "Look, Ranma," the voice of the dog demon general echoed in his thoughts. "Remember."

He saw himself and Inuyasha, he saw them advancing on a village with predatory intentions. He watched himself laugh as the humans ran from them in fear. Ranma's body started to shake as he watched himself, realizing this was no dream, this was no nightmare for him to wake from. This time the memories belonged to him. He watched himself tear some guy's head off with joyful abandon. He watched as Inuyasha ran a human woman through with his sword and he did nothing to stop it. Then he saw himself finding a human child, grabbing the little boy by his hair and...

"No," he shouted, tearing himself away from the scene and bolting for the woods. He ran like there were demons after him, his heart pounding in his chest as he couldn't stop the tears that poured down his face. It wasn't true, he wouldn't do anything like that. This was some damn trick, something created to make him believe he was the monster, he was the one out of control. Stumbling now, he didn't know where he was going as he encountered thicker forest. The young demon tore at the hanging underbrush with his claws, fighting to make his way through the tangled branches and vines that blocked his way. The more he fought, the thicker and more impassable the way became until he was surrounded by vines that reached for him of their own power. He screamed angrily as the vines wrapped around him, holding him and trying to suffocate him. He fought with everything he had but they only bound him tighter, twisting around his arms and legs, strangling his throat. He shouted again and a thick vine wrapped his face and cut off his furious protests and he couldn't breathe at all.

Ranma. Remember.

He found himself watching again, staring down at a peaceful looking scene. A large house, an estate really, was nestled snugly in a wide, beautiful valley. A crystal lake, shining like a mirror of heaven, was near the house and the early light of dawn was just creeping over the mountains. Everything was beautiful, the manicured gardens that were the current lady's pride and joy, the elegant lines of the buildings, the graceful architecture of the place that spoke of many years of careful planning. It was a pretty place, a peaceful place and the sight of it filled Ranma with a nameless dread that made his very soul go to ice inside him. I have to warn them, the young man thought desperately. I have to warn them that he's coming and...he not himself, he's lost his mind and they're all in danger. I have to try to save the children, it's what she'd want me to do.

He couldn't move, his legs felt like they were rooted in stone. What the hell, Ranma thought, trying to lift his feet but he might as well have been planted in cement. He looked down at the soft grass under his bare toes, feeling some kind of energy swirling around his ankles and keeping him in place. No, he thought, trying to dig at the ground with his claws. No, please, I don't want to see this, I can't watch this, please don't make me!

You have to see, the old dog demon's voice whispered in his mind. You have to understand.

I don't want to, he snarled at Inutaisho, he couldn't see the demon lord but he felt his presence around him everywhere. Ranma's eyes were drawn to a solitary figure coming out of the woods, only a few yards from him where he stood looking over the Sutakasi estate. The man didn't look at him, didn't see him but Ranma wanted to cringe at the guy's face. It was terrible, his eyes were glowing red pits and there was no trace of sanity in his face at all. Only anger and hatred, a gnawing, needful pain and desire for revenge. The hanyou was lost to his demon blood now and Ranma knew what was coming, as the predator laughed and ran towards the home where his wife and children were still sleeping.

"Inoki!" he shouted, his voice lost against the winds of memory. "Don't do it!"

Blackness overcame him then and Ranma was grateful he wasn't about to be forced to witness the destruction of the Sutakasi clan. I'm not like that, he thought stubbornly. I would never become a monster, never hurt the people I love. This is all a huge mistake, I just want to go home with Akane.

Inutaisho's voice whispered in his mind. "Don't believe me yet, boy? You think you're different? You think your mortal soul can protect you from the darkness inside of you?"

"Can't you just take it away?" the boy begged. "Can't you just take this demon whatever out of me, I didn't even know it was there to begin with. I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I just want it to stop!" Nothing in his years of training had prepared him for this, nothing Ranma had ever experienced had made him ready to do battle with an enemy that lived in his very blood and fed on everything he'd ever hated. If he could get his hands on it, he'd happily destroy the demon himself. Ranma wasn't big on thinking, he liked to think of himself as more about action, but right now it would have taken a team of psychiatrists years to muddle through the confused and aching mind he was trying to navigate. "I'll do whatever you want," he shouted desperately into the air. "Just tell me what to do!"

The youkai lord appeared in front of him, imposing and ruthless. "You can't fight what you deny exists," the lord hissed at him. Ranma watched as the shining blade was drawn again and held upright between them. Images swam on Tetsusaiga's surface, rippling like waves of heat coming off a sweltering highway. He grew dizzy with how fast they were moving, it made him nauseous.

"You're trying to confuse me," Ranma said thickly. "You're trying to trick me into doing something. Why?"

Inutaisho's eyes narrowed, surprised that the boy was that perceptive. He backed off a few feet, gave the bewildered youkai some breathing room. "I'm not trying to trick you," he said at last. "I don't want to do this."

Ranma's eyes widened, realizing that he was dealing with just the barest glimmer of the powerful youkai Inutaisho had been. He really isn't much more than a ghost of a ghost himself, the boy decided. The curse and his oath bound him, but Ranma comprehended suddenly that this was his head, his mind they were standing in and he was the one who was in control of it. Trembling slightly, a grin starting to bloom on his face, he raised his hand and touched the demon lord.

"You can't do it," he said triumphantly. "You can't kill me!"

The dog lord looked annoyed. "You're an obnoxious little brat, you know that, kid?"

Ranma laughed out loud, relieved beyond words. "You need me to be willing to die, you can't just cut me up with that damn sword because you aren't really here, I'm not really here. It really is just like a dream and everyone knows you can't die in a dream."

"That's not exactly the truth," Inutaisho said softly. "You might not be able to die, but you might be able to kill. At least in your mind anyway."

Ranma grinned at him. "You're nowhere near as powerful as the Inutaisho that made that seal, I can already tell you can't so much as nick me with that sword. What are you going to use to kill me? Harsh language?"

"I'm starting to see why people want to beat the snot out of you," the demon snapped. "You're a lot of trouble, Ranma Saotome. I might not be the real Inutaisho, I might be just the ghost of his memory, but I can still fulfill my oath. You don't know a damn thing about what you've done."

"What?" the boy asked sarcastically. "Ever since this damn curse got dropped on me, not that I didn't have enough curses already, I've done nothing but try to keep myself alive."

"You done bitching yet?" Inutaisho asked sweetly. He might not be the dog general in the sense of his power, but he had his memories and he recalled that he didn't take shit off snot nosed punks like this. "I can't believe the sheer perversity of the universe that left me stuck in your head."

Ranma snapped his fingers. "Bitching? You don't think I've got anything to bitch about?" His anger was building, injustice after injustice, humiliation after humiliation, it had come to a head inside him and he was at long last in the position to make his fury known to someone who had a part in it. "This is your fucking fault, great Daimyo or whoever the hell you are! You sealed off that demon blood and it was just waiting for a chance to get free. I didn't even know about it, you think I liked waking up with fangs and claws? That's sheer perversity for you!"

"Speaking of sheer perversity," Inutaisho grinned, enjoying the verbal blows that were exchanged. "What do you think of my sons?"

Ranma flushed, his head thrown back in anger. "They're both homicidal maniacs," he shouted, letting the demon's calm demeanor enrage him. "And you got the balls to stand there and call me a monster? Inuyasha's the one who wants to attack everything he sees and that damn Sesshomaru tried to kill me practically the first second he met me!"

"Ah," Inutaisho smiled fondly. "Impulsive, isn't he? Just like his mother, all beauty and grace on the outside, pure murder on the inside. What a demon she was, I tell you..."

"Would you please focus!" Ranma shouted, frustrated by the old dog. "My point is," he snarled. "You're here to 'kill' me because I turned into a demon, a monster, but your own sons are every bit as bad."

"I didn't promise my sons to seal their youki away," the demon said quietly. "I promised your ancestor, my nephew. Naota was no monster, but that's how he thought of himself when the demon blood took over his body. He begged me to seal it away forever, kill him if I couldn't. How my sons learn to deal with their darkness is their own affair. Naota...had to find his own way and this oath and that seal was the best I could offer him."

"So I have to die?" Ranma asked, dropping his anger and staring into the ghostly golden eyes. "You promised him and now I die for that promise? My answer is no, I won't give up. I have too much at stake and too much to fight for." Akane!

Inutaisho glanced away from him, saddened by what was about to happen. Damn kids, why didn't they ever listen? "All right, Ranma," he said at last, sheathing the blade. "You win. I can't expect you to give up your life willingly, even Naota didn't choose that. But you're the one that will have to live with what you've done. Eventually, your demon blood will subside, you might even learn someday to control it. I accept that you're no ordinary human and no ordinary demon. If anyone was born with a strong enough will to fight the darkness, it would be you."

That was a little more like it, Ranma felt his spine straightening at the Daimyo's praise. In those ghostly eyes, he was beginning to see traces of the legend Inuyasha's father had become. "I'm glad you see it my way."

"I certainly do," the Daimyo said in a voice both deceptively mild and soft. "Do you know where you are?"

Ranma blinked. "You said we were in my own mind..."

The demon lord shook his head. "No, boy, where your physical body is right now. Do you know what you're doing?"

He thought about it, concentrating. A face swam before his eyes and he grit his teeth. "Naraku." He was suddenly furious. "He did something to me, made me forget who I was."

"More than that," Inutaisho said, his tone going hard and sarcastic. "He filled you with anger, rage and paranoia. He gave you something that would not only bring out your inner darkness, it would eat at your human soul. I want to know how you're going to deal with what you've done."

Ranma flinched, thinking of the village. "I don't know, but I have to try."

Inutaisho's eyes narrowed. "And that you killed innocent humans? You can live with that? Why do you think so, was it because they were just nameless strangers and you were under a spell? What if you destroyed someone else...someone you cared for?"

He couldn't move, it was like he was frozen in place. "No," he breathed, denying it.

"And if it was someone you cared for," Inutaisho hissed. "Maybe a girl you cared for? Would you want to live with that?"

"You're lying," he screamed. "I could never hurt Akane! You're trying to trick me again!"

"See yourself for what you are," the dog demon shouted, taking Tetsusaiga and slamming the blade into the ground. Light poured from the katana, poured from the crack it split under him and Ranma fell into the brightness, shouting Akane's name.

*****

He could see her clearly now, he could see himself. A tall, insane monster stood next to a river, a helpless young girl dangling by her throat from a hard clawed hand. In his other hand he held the hilt of a melted piece of slag that once was a katana. He saw Inuyasha standing in water, holding Tetsusaiga with a helplessly hurt expression. Nearby, a cluster of terrified humans huddled together, watching as the demon squeezed the life out of Akane Tendo. He could see it all and with a shock he realized the monster was him and there was no way back from insanity. He struggled, breaking past the spell that tried to keep him prisoner, filled him with uncomprehending pain. "No," he whispered, his eyes fading from angry red to their usual deep blue.

Akane was limp in his hand, her body long since given up a hopeless struggle. Her mouth hung open, her lips blue in her flushed face. She wasn't breathing, ribbons of blood painted her body from where his sharp claws had dug in, adorning the girl with a crimson beauty. It reminded him of something, a festival decoration maybe. Very slowly, he knelt, gently lying the limp form on the earth and brushing back her hair. He heard Inuyasha shouting to him, he heard Kagome crying out his name, but he didn't pay attention. He had done the unforgivable, it shattered him and Ranma felt his heart thud weakly in his chest, begging him for some other reality. It wasn't a dream, it was too real and he tenderly ran his awful clawed fingers over her cheekbone.

"Don't be dead," he murmured, his voice almost childlike. "You stupid fool, you damn dumb girl. You had to do something like that, you had to try to be brave and save me. I always told you to stay out of the way, you never listened. Did you ever listen to me, Akane? Did you hear me saying to butt out, stay out of my way, don't fight my fights. I was saying I love you in the only way I know how."

Stupid useless tears were running down his face now, it was too late to tell her anything. He didn't think he could go home like this, he didn't think he could take Akane home to her family and tell them that it was him, his hand that squeezed the life out of their daughter and sister. They'd despise him even if it wasn't all his fault. He'd been under a spell, hadn't he? Didn't know her from any other innocent human girl, didn't know she was special, beyond special to him. Carefully, he folded her hands over her chest and straightened her grubby shirt. Damn macho tomboy, always had to prove she was every bit as tough as him. It made him admire her, even when it infuriated him. She was always better than him, better in the ways that really counted. Akane cared about people, foil for his selfishness, his preoccupation with himself. Now it was too late for regrets.

Ranma stood, his eyes downcast and devastation tearing his heart out. He heard Kagome scream for him again and raised his hand to drop the barrier. Where did he learn how to do things like that? When did the knowledge and the control come so easily? He honestly didn't care. "You were right," he told Inutaisho, wondering if the youkai could hear him. "You were right, there are things you can't live with, things you can't take back or pretend didn't happen. I understand now, why Naota made you do it, why it was important. He just wanted to spare some poor bastard like me this kind of pain." He threw back his head and dropped his hands to his sides. "I'm ready when you are."

Inuyasha staggered, almost falling face first into the river. Tetsusaiga had sent a shockwave of raw power down him, making every nerve burn, every muscle twitch. "What the fuck," he muttered, clamping both hands down on the hilt as the blade started to vibrate and pulse wildly. "Oh shit, not again."

He planted his feet, snarling as he tried to keep the massive sword under control. It was useless, his feet were being dragged through the soft mud of the river bottom, he couldn't hold himself back, let alone fight Tetsusaiga's pull. He saw Kagome shouting, telling the villagers to make a run for it. Hell, he didn't know what was going on. The punk seemed to have woken up at last, a little too late for Akane, he thought grimly. Great timing as usual, now Tetsusaiga wanted to take him on, he could hear the fang burning for the young demon's blood.

And what did the punk do? He stood there waiting for it, not even having the brains to haul ass out of there before Tetsusaiga took what it wanted. Maybe he wanted it, maybe he couldn't help himself. Inuyasha shouted a warning, feeling his arms wrenched as Tetsusaiga pointed its tip to the sky, pulsing with power, radiating a burning white light. This didn't feel like Kaze no Kizu, it didn't feel like anything the sword had done before. He dreaded it, whatever force was about to be unleashed. "Ranma," he shouted. "Get the fuck out of the way!"

The blade came down, Inuyasha shrieked as his muscles were forced against their will and a blast of power erupted like an angry volcano. A fiery wave of pure white youki snapped out of the katana and struck like a lightning bolt to the center of Ranma's undefended chest. It took Ranma off his feet and sent his body flying like a rag doll, falling with a crash into the forest.

"Oh my god," Kagome cried from where she knelt beside Akane. "Inuyasha!"

He dragged himself up the riverbank, feeling like he'd just been beaten within an inch of his life. That much power hurt, goddamnit. He wanted to lay down and sleep for about a week after that, but instead he had to go and check on the punk. If he'd survived, even a strong demon like Ranma would have had a hard time living through that kind of blast. He'd be lucky to be in one piece, the hanyou thought grimly.

Ranma was in one piece, Inuyasha found him easily, the boy's body had been slammed deep into the ground. He looked like he'd been given one of Kagome's sits, the hanyou thought as he reached to shake him. "You alive?" he barked, hiding the fact that he very much hoped he was. It wasn't the kid's fault, it was Naraku's fault. Inuyasha had too much experience living with what he'd done and what had been done to him, but still he hoped Ranma was stronger. He turned the kid over and drew in a sharp hiss of surprise.

Ranma looked human, the facial markings were gone, the claws had vanished. Carefully, he opened the boy's mouth, just to assure himself that the fang had also disappeared. Inuyasha twitched, knowing a thing or two about such transformations. Once a month he did something like that himself, nothing was quite as unsettling as feeling your teeth change in your mouth, feeling your fingers throb when claws were retracted. Of course, the eerie sensation of having one's ears slide down the side of one's head as they changed shape was worse. And Ranma wasn't hanyou, his scent had been pure inuyoukai since he'd met the punk. Inuyasha sniffed, smelling nothing but human.

"I guess you got what you wanted," he murmured, feeling regretful. It was sad, both Ranma and Akane had tried so hard and he guessed it was good that they'd won, even if it had killed them both in the end.