Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or Inu-Yasha and kudos to Rumiko Takahashi, she rules!

Kiyomisa: This is a cross over between Ranma ½ and Inu-Yasha, and I've tried to round out the characters, while staying true to the nuttiness. But mostly this is to get the couples together that I want together ^-^. It kind of has a plot, in the same sense that the series themselves have plots. It also tends to change scenes rather abruptly, like the mangas. But for now, I really don't have too much planned. Just lettin' flow out. So any ideas would be nice. I promise to consider each suggestion carefully.

* * *

If anyone in Tokyo had looked up that afternoon, they would have seen a large demon carrying a net full of six people flying over the city. And if they had listened closely, they would have heard a young boy's voice berating the monster furiously.

"Pantyhose you asshole! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Taro just snorted in response, unable to talk in his transformed state.

"Mousse, don't you have anything that could cut through this rope?" Ukyo demanded of the hidden weapons specialist squished next to her.

"Well, there are my clawed sandals in my robe, but I can't get to them," he replied.

"Where are they on you?" Akane wanted to know.

"Near Ryoga, I think. On my belt."

"Ryoga, can you find them?" Akane asked the lost boy, who at that moment was trying his hardest to get Ranma off of his chest.

"NO! Ranma, get off of me!"

"Do I look like I can do that, idiot!?"

"Arggh! This getting us nowhere!" Shampoo exclaimed, and took two of the ropes in her hands. With a mighty yank, she pulled them apart. Ryoga twisted his head around at the sound and blinked in realization.

"Of course!" He quickly grabbed the nearest two ropes to him and pulled them easily apart. As Ryoga and Shampoo quickly widened the hole, Mousse calmly asked, "Has anyone thought of the fact that we are flying at least fifty feet above Tokyo?"

But Shampoo had already torn apart the last bit of rope, and the group tumbled out with various yells and shrieks.

Taro glanced down, then shrugged. It didn't matter to him if they fell so far. They'd be out of his way either way.

"Ahhhh!!!!!!!" The group agreed.

Luckily (or not) they were over a shrine, and they fell through the roof over the mini shrine, into a well. Everyone landed on their feet, Ryoga holding Ukyo and Ranma holding Akane.

"Well that was a bright idea!" Ranma yelled at Ryoga.

"We free of Taro, no?" Shampoo pointed out.

"Tch. This is all your fault Ranma," Ryoga said before leaping out of the well.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ranma leaped after him.

"Ryo-chan, d'you think you could let go of me now?" a mildly irate female voice demanded of Ryoga as he stared at the wild meadow before him. He blinked and looked at Ukyo, who was still in his arms. He blushed and let go of her as Ranma landed before them.

"Whaddya mean it's my fault! Just how is this my fault!"

"If you hadn't run away from our duel, I wouldn't have been cursed and Pantyhose would want nothing with me," Ryoga growled.

"You're the one who chased after me! It's your fault you were cursed!"

"Ranma you jerk," Akane muttered to herself as she climbed out of the well with Mousse's assistance.

The inevitable explosions started as the two young men began fighting.

* * *

Inside Kaede's house, Miroku and Kagome turned their heads towards the bone eater's well.

"What is it?" Sango asked.

"A sudden burst of ki, by the well," Miroku answered.

"But it's huge. It's like thirty people suddenly showed up," Kagome continued.

"Or a few demons," Miroku continued, grabbing his staff and standing up.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Inu-Yasha asked, rushing out of the house. Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kagome followed quickly after.

Inu-Yasha skidded to a halt when he reached the well. There wasn't any demon in sight. Just six young humans.

"Shishi Hokodan!"

"Moko Takashiba!"

Everyone stopped at the two bursts of energy and stared. Inu-Yasha sniffed again, but his nose didn't lie. They were just human. The other four strangers didn't seem to think anything was out of the ordinary as the two fought on.

"Ranma! Ryoga! Stop it! This isn't the time for that right now!" a girl with short hair yelled at them irately.

"A-akane?" Kagome stuttered, staring at the other girl in surprise.

"You know her?" Miroku inquired in surprise.

"She's my cousin that lives on the other side of Tokyo. She said that her life had gotten complicated, but I never thought much about it," Kagome replied in a dazed voice.

"Feh. Well, they're not listening to her are they?" Inu-Yasha said and strode forward, drawing his Tetsusaiga.

With a powerful swing, he brought it crashing into the ground between the combatants. They ignored it completely and continued with their fight, while their companions turned to look at the stunned Inu-Yasha.

"Who are you?" The brunette with what looked like a large spatula on her back demanded.

"Why you attack airen!?" The dark-haired girl drew two, big bonbouris and rushed at him.

Inu-Yasha parried with his Tetsusaiga, cutting through the handles. The heavy head of one crashed into her head, knocking her down completely. The two combatants suddenly stopped and stared at Inu-Yasha.

"H-he defeated Shampoo so easily!"

"Sh-shampoo!" the dark-haired man rushed forward and began to wake her up. Shampoo, Inu-Yasha assumed was her name, opened her eyes and stood slowly up. With a slight look of confusion, she strode over to him.

"Airen," she murmured before kissing him soundly.

"Gah!" Kagome yelled as Inu-Yasha thrust Shampoo away from him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Miroku demanded as he and Sango approached while Inu-Yasha tried to explain to Kagome.

"She just-"

"I know what she did. Inu-Yasha…" Kagome turned and hugged him suddenly, startling, but pleasing the young half-breed.

"I can explain. Shampoo is from the amazon tribe. In her culture, if she is beaten by a man, she must marry him," Akane told Miroku and Sango.

"Ah. That explains it then."

"Wait…Kagome!?" Akane asked, finally catching sight of her cousin.

"Akane-chan!" Kagome smiled happily, still held in Inu-Yasha's arms.

"Who is he?" Akane pointed at him.

Kagome looked up at Inu-Yasha with a soft smile. "Him? This is Inu-Yasha. He's-"

"I'm her protector. Who are all you people?" Inu-Yasha interrupted impatiently, earning an irritated glance from Kagome.

Introductions were made, and the demon hunters couldn't help but be slightly impressed as Akane pointed out everyone's abilities.

Miroku pulled Inu-Yasha to one side. "They are formidable warriors. Perhaps it would be wise to seek their assistance."

Inu-Yasha scoffed. "We don't need their help. We've been doing fine until now."

"Except for all those times we had to rely on Kuga's help, or Sesshoumaru, or when Naraku decided that he'd let us live a little longer to torment us," Sango pointed out blandly. Inu-Yasha twitched.

"C'mon Inu-Yasha. Would it really be so bad?" Kagome asked.

He glanced at the other world group. Shampoo was now glomped on Ranma, who was getting hit on the head by Akane, while Ryoga was reading a scroll on techniques, and Ukyo was arguing with Mousse about some minor thing.

"Yes," was his curt reply.

But Miroku was already getting their attention.

"You want our help?" Ranma asked in surprise.

The monk nodded. "Yes. You all are, incredible fighters, and our foe is very dangerous."

"Tch. Why should we help you?" Ryoga demanded.

"How else are you going to get back to your world?" Miroku asked with a bored, innocent face.

"What!?" the group cried.

Mousse stormed up to the monk and grabbed hold of his collar threateningly. "Are you trying to blackmail us!?"

"Not at all," Miroku explained calmly. "Only someone with a close connection to the Jewel of Four Souls can go through, therefore, you need to be in the presence of someone who can travel through."

"Oh yeah?" Ukyo demanded. "Then how did we get here in the first place, unless one of us is!?"

"It must be Akane," Kagome said, pointing at her cousin. Everyone turned to look at her. Akane blinked and pointed at herself, staring at Kagome. "Me!?"

"Who else could it be? You are my cousin, you must be able to connect with the jewel," Kagome reasoned.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere until I can help you out," Akane said firmly.

"Why don't you wait until tomorrow, and then we can take back any one who wants to go?" Kagome asked, using her diplomatic tone on her cousin. The group agreed, some grumbling, and they were invited into town to spend the night.

* * *

"Ne, Akane-chan," Kagome murmured to her cousin from her sleeping pad after everyone else had fallen asleep.

"Nani, Kagome-chan?" Akane replied sleepily.

"Why do you keep beating up poor Ranma-kun?"

"Because he's an ecchi and a baka!"

"Really?" Kagome blinked in surprise. "That's funny…it seemed to me that Shampoo was always the one hanging on him while he was trying to get away from her…"

"Hmph!" Akane replied, not able to truthfully deny the fact.

"And from what you've told me, it was his father that got him engaged to Ukyo as well," Kagome continued.

"He's an insensitive jerk!!" Akane hissed angrily, smacking the floor. She managed to keep her voice down, but only because she didn't want the others to wake up.

"What did he do to you Akane-chan? He hasn't hurt you, has he?" Kagome asked worriedly, a touch of anger ringing in her voice.

Akane had never been able to open up to anyone but her kind, understanding cousin. Kasumi was kind and understanding too, but she was also…a little dense. With a shuddering sigh, Akane let loose all of her pent up emotions, describing everything in detail to Kagome.

"Akane-chan…" Kagome murmured mournfully when the older girl had finished. Quietly, Kagome maneuvered to hug her cousin comfortingly.

"He's always so mean to me. Every time it seems like he's about to do something nice, he turns around and insults me."

"Well…I haven't known him for very long, but Ranma-kun doesn't seem like the type who deals well with affection. I mean, from what you've told me about his father, he's grown up with rough love. When he wants to be nice to you, it feels unnatural to him, and so he falls back on insulting you to cover his own conflicting emotions."

Akane sniffed huffily, reaching a hand up to wipe at the tears that were beginning to dry. "Yeah right. Any ways, what about you and Inu-Yasha-kun? He doesn't seem overly affectionate to me."

Kagome smiled in the dark. "That's because Inu-Yasha grew up alone, in a world that never accepted him. The only time he opened his heart, he got betrayed. But, I know that he cares for me, and he actually can be very gentle and romantic when he puts his mind to it."

"I'm happy for you, Kagome-chan," Akane murmured.

"Don't worry, Akane-chan. I'm sure that if you just went a little easier on Ranma-kun, he'll realize how much you care for him and he'll treat you the same."

"I don't 'care' about that baka," Akane retorted petulantly.

"Of course you do," Kagome chided gently. "If you didn't, you wouldn't get so upset about his teasing."

Akane didn't answer, but she stayed awake, long into the night, mulling over what her cousin had said.

* * *

The group was sitting outside on Kaede's porch, waiting for breakfast.

"Inu-Yasha, even Ryoga has more finesse than you do," Miroku scolded the growling demon.

"They've been trained in their respective martial arts for years, you could learn a few things, Inu-Yasha-sama," Myoga continued. Inu-Yasha scoffed. He didn't reply, but his companions were satisfied. If he didn't object to it outright, right away, it meant that he was actually thinking about it.

"Kaede-san, my I use your grill?" Ukyo was asking the elder. Kaede blinked, but nodded.

Ukyo clapped her hands together and bowed happily. "Arigato!"

Soon Ukyo was serving everyone okonomiyaki with a dazzling smile. When she handed the last one to Miroku, he took hold of her wrist and looked at her seriously.

"Nani, Miroku-san?"

"Ukyo-sama, may I ask you for a favor?"

Ukyo's face reddened slightly and she nodded unsuspectingly. "Hai, Miroku-san."

"Will you bear my child?"

There was a stunned moment of silence, then Ukyo jerked her hand away and snatched up her spatula with a look of righteous embarrassment. But before she could hit him, Miroku suddenly dropped to the ground. Sango glanced down with narrowed eyes; the boomerang on her shoulder had just knocked the monk soundly on the head.

"Gomen, Houshi-sama," she said icily. "I did not see you there." With a flick of her head, the exterminator strode away towards the clearing used for training.

"Wow. This guy could give Kuno a run for his money," Ranma commented as Ryoga flicked the downed monk over curiously.

"Yeah. I didn't think anyone was as perverted as Kuno," Ryoga agreed.

Miroku opened his eyes and looked up at them calmly from the ground. "I must disagree. I am not as you are describing this Kuno." He proceeded to explain to them about Naraku's curse.

"So you ask every girl you meet?" Ukyo demanded with a slight blush. She didn't seem very happy at the thought.

Miroku nodded.

"But then why didn't you ask Shampoo or Akane?" Ranma asked through a mouthful of okonomiyaki.

"Keep your hands off Shampoo!" Mousse yelled, suddenly in Miroku's face.

"Don't you dare ask Akane!" Ryoga said at the same time grabbing his collar.

Miroku pried Ryoga's fingers from his clothes and smoothed the wrinkles from the cloth. "I would never think of asking them."

"Oh really…?" Akane asked with a glare.

"Shampoo has done nothing but hang all over Ranma-san since you came, not to mention that Mousse-san cares deeply for her. And Akane-sama is engaged to Ranma-san. I would not try to ask a woman already taken."

"Hey! I'm engaged to Ran-chan too!" Ukyo yelled angrily, wrapping her arms possessively around Ranma.

Miroku blinked. "Forgive me, I did not sense it. My meditation only revealed you two to be old friends."

Ranma shrugged and reached for another small pizza. Ukyo's face became thoughtful and her arms dropped down to her side.

"Why did Sango hit you then? If it's just something that you ask everyone, why should she be bothered?" Akane inquired.

Miroku shrugged. "Sango-sama is a very polite woman. She does not think much of my 'lecherous' ways," he explained with an apparently neutral grin, but the girls (with the exception of Shampoo, who was trying to feed Ranma his breakfast) thought they detected a note of slight sadness.

Kagome exchanged glances with Ukyo and Akane, who nodded. Ukyo stood up with her giant spatula. "I think I'll go do some training," she said before going in the direction Sango had headed.

"Sounds like a good idea. Inu-Yasha-san, would you care to spar with me?" Ryoga inquired of the sullen young man. The silver-haired demon glanced up at the strong teenager, then nodded and stood up to lead him to a different clearing.

* * *

"Haaaahhh!" Five dummies fell in splinters to the ground. Sango caught her boomerang, her anger still burning within her. Stupid Houshi. "Hentai, ecchi!" she bit out and threw her boomerang as hard as she could at the next target.

"Ne, Sango-san?" a voice asked from behind her.

She caught her weapon and turned to glare at the girl Miroku had been hitting on earlier. Ukyo was her name.

"Would you like to do a little sparring?" she inquired politely, her own giant weapon in hand.

"Tch." Sango turned her head away. "Go away."

"I know how you feel, Sango-chan," Ukyo said kindly.

Sango glared at her. "And just how do I feel," she demanded.

"Rejected, ignored. Like you're not even a woman to him," Ukyo replied seriously.

Sango stared at her, trying to ignore the answering pangs in her heart. "H-how-" she shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"I'm going through the same thing, Sango-chan. Ranma may call me cute…but he'll never think of me as more than his best-friend. Tell me, has Miroku ever asked you his question?" Ukyo demanded quietly.

"No, but he's sure groped me enough times," Sango bit out bitterly, feeling her heart go out to the smaller chef.

Ukyo shook her head. Then she smiled. "C'mon and spar with me. It'll make you feel better."

"I won't go easy on you," Sango warned her.

Ukyo grinned as she slipped into a fighting stance. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

Inu-Yasha was very upset. Ryoga had managed to dodge most of his attacks, and he didn't seem to notice any of the punches that did land. What was even worse, Ryoga hadn't made one move to attack yet.

"Why don't you attack!?"

"I wanted to see how good you were," Ryoga admitted. "You're about as strong as I am, physically, but…" he shook his head as he trailed off.

Inu-Yasha wanted to yell at him for being conceited, but there had been no overbearing pride in the younger boy's voice. Just truthful confidence. Then Inu-Yasha snarled. "Feh. Think well of yourself, don't you!?" and he lunged in for an attack.

Ryoga didn't have time to dodge the attack, so he blocked it instead, getting knocked back a few dozen feet. Then he retaliated with a solid punch of his own. Inu-Yasha skidded back to where he'd been. He raised the back of his hand to his now swollen cheek. Then he grinned ferally. This was more like it!

He dodged Ryoga's follow up attack, and kicked the other boy in the back. Ryoga fell forward with a grunt, but used his hands to perform a handspring and a twist to turn and face his opponent once more. He grinned his own fanged smile, and the two were soon locked into combat. Every once in a while, Ryoga would shout out Inu-Yasha's mistakes, using them to his advantage. But to his credit, Inu-Yasha didn't get angry and instead used the boy's suggestions, finding that they did work very well.

As they continued, Inu-Yasha became aware of a faint scent on his sparring partner. Ryoga almost smelled like a dog demon, but it was so faint...if he did it would have been very far back in his ancestry. Inu-Yasha decided to ignore it.

When they ended, facing each other over small distance, both breathing heavily, they were both smiling. Then Inu-Yasha strode over to Ryoga and slapped him comradely on the back. "Heh. I like you! C'mon, let's go get a drink."

Ryoga nodded in agreement. "Fighting is thirsty work."

Laughing, the two returned to Kaede's house.

* * *

Kiyomisa: I'm going to apologize if this reads kinda choppy between chapters. I had it saved as one file on my comp and had to guess the best places to split it up. It'll be better, I promise. ^-^'

Comments and criticisms always welcome!