Disclaimer: I own NONE of the characters in this story. None, zip, notta. I am only borrowing the characters and placing them in a story that I hope is not too far fetched Also, be advised that I have used elements out of "The Gift" by Silver (AKA Moonsilver or My Lady Silver) with permission, though it has been a while since I asked her.

I want to thank those that have helped me with the editing and story over the time that his has been in progress. Originally I started on this story in mid to late 05, and here it is 07 and it is finally being posted.

For those worrying about my other stories, I have gotten over my DDo addiction and am weaning myself off WoW. To find out what these are go to ddo dot com or worldofwarcraft dot com and that should answer some of your questions. Anyway, now that I am getting back to my writing it hopefully will not be long before there is more added to my existing stories.

A note to Vex the Warlord: I just had to laugh at your review. There is not much else I can say, other than use your old fashioned remark: "FAIL!"

A note to ss4-link: I think you must have me confused with someone else, as I hardly classify my self as a good writer, much less a great one. I call myself, average at times, and more often than not, lazy.

And a final note, to CatOnFire: I hope the more you read the more you like, and there will be more added to the story as time progresses and I get inspiration. However, in the first chapter, the Tendo's did not have a lot of time. It was a BAM! Guess who's a demon! And then they left. Mainly this was due to some time restraints on my part, but also as Akane is known for outbursts and then thinking about it later, this is one of those short of outbursts at the wrong time on her part. Several Akane-files I have sent this to have said it is typical behavior for her.

Part 2: Amazons and Demons

It was some time later when the group of four reached the Cat Café. Inu-Yasha looked over the place and smirked. "Nice place."

Kagome just shook her head and opened the door. As they stepped inside, they were greeted by a very happy and bubbly purple haired Amazon. "Nihao Welcome to the…" she stopped as she saw Ranma. "Airen!" She yelled and tried to glomp him, but instead she was grabbed in a fierce glomp, and not by her Airen.

"Oh! I have missed you so much! You've grown up and are a grown woman now…"

Shampoo blinked in surprise from the surprise hug she found herself receiving from a woman she didn't know. Though she then began to turn blue from the strength of the hug, she just could not understand what had happened. However, this woman was keeping her from her airen, so she began to gasp for air, while struggling to get free.

"Um, grandma… you might want to let her go…" Ranma said nervously. Gasping for air, Shampoo looked at Ranma, then at this woman and wondered how she could be his grandmother.

"Oh… I'm sorry," Kagome said and released the Amazon who took several moments to gather her breath. "Kou Lon, you look beautiful, I never thought I'd get to see you again!"

This caused Shampoo to look about in confusion. However, before she could say a word, she could hear her great-grandmother chuckling from behind her, as well as Ranma in front of her. "Grandmother, um, that's not Cologne, that's Shampoo."

Kagome stopped, and then looked at the small figure on the counter. After giving her a contemplative look, Kagome launched herself at the small figure and grabbed the elder in a fierce hug even faster than the old woman was able to realize it. "Oh! Kou Lon! It's been so long since I saw you last, I'm so happy to be able to see you again!"

Shampoo could only stare in surprise at the woman hugging her great-grandmother. "Um… Airen, who this?"

Ranma chuckled, "That's my grandmother, and Cologne's god-mother."

Shampoo blinked, and then blinked again. "God-mother…" she said softy.

Cologne heard the exchange, while she was trying to get free of the girl hugging her. However, as the thought sunk in Cologne was for the first time, confused. When Kagome let go of the Amazon elder, and stepped back, Cologne got her first good look at the girl, which caused her eyes to open wide. "Grandmother Kagome?"

Kagome nodded her head, "You've grown bigger. I wish I could've stayed around more…"

"Feh, grown bigger, she's barely bigger than the day she was born, though she's a little more wrinkled," Inu-Yasha said with a grin and approached the old woman.

Looking at the two of them, a flood of memories came back to her, of her parents and the two people that cared for her as she grew up before they had to leave. "But… how… you don't look… I mean," stammered the Amazon elder, which confused Shampoo even more.

Kagome and Inu-Yasha just smiled affectionately at her, "Why don't we sit down and talk for a while, we have a lot to catch up on and…"

She was cut off by a voice yelling, "Saotome! You'll never take Shampoo from me!" All eyes turned towards dark haired male in white robes as he jumped though a door and promptly attacked Inu-Yasha, thinking he was Ranma.

"You idiot!" Ranma yelled and was about to help, but he stopped abruptly when his grandfather pulled the family blade and it grew in size again. Shampoo and Cologne seeing this stepped back in surprise.

Unfortunately, Mousse was a little slow in the uptake, and he tried to attack Inu-Yasha, He had just thrown his chains when a clawed hand grabbed him by the throat. Snarling, Inu-Yasha held the blind boy in the air and squeezed. "For attacking a fellow Amazon for an unjust cause, the punishment is death." He drew back his sword and was about to run Mousse through when everyone else in the room yelled at the same time…

"STOP!"

He turned and glared at them, and for Shampoo not being used to it, she fell back afraid of the demon before her. Cologne just looked in surprise at her godfather's red eyes and clawed hands. "I am the youkai Inu-Yasha, Dog Demon of the West, Protector of the Joketsuzoku Amazons and Godfather of Kou Lon. If you attack me again, I will not hesitate to kill you." With that being said, he dropped Mousse on the floor and sheathed his sword.

Shampoo blinked again, and then asked Ranma. "Did he just say…"

"Yep, he's a demon."

"And did he say…"

"Yep, he's an Amazon."

"And he's…"

"He's my grandfather."

"So you're…"

"My grandparents and all of their descendants are Amazons," he said and then finally realized something else. "So we're not considered outsiders," he finished as he came to understand that fact himself, and that if he was not an outsider then the kiss of death and the kiss of marriage were invalid. Just as he realized this though, he looked to see if Shampoo had too, but instead of her standing near him, he saw her lying on the ground passed out.

When Shampoo awoke, she found herself in one of the café's booths leaning against the wall. Upon opening her eyes, she saw Ranma sitting across from her, and beside him was the man who called himself a demon. Hearing voices to her side, she turned and noticed that beside her was to woman who had grabbed her, and then her great-grandmother in an Amazon style glomp.

"Ah, I see my great-granddaughter is awake now," Cologne said with a wry grin from her position on the tabletop.

"Hi! I'm Kagome, Ranma's grandmother and Kou Lon's god-mother!" The woman beside Shampoo said with a wide grin.

"Uh…" However, the news was still a bit of a shock for Shampoo. Looking to Ranma she was about to say something when he just nodded his head.

"It's true. They hit me with it today… it seems that all the old ghoul's efforts…" he was then hit in the head by Inu-Yasha. "Ouch…"

"Don't call my god-daughter a ghoul."

"Ok, ok…" he said sullenly while Kou Lon and Kagome snickered at him. "Anyway... seems that you've been trying to get me to be an Amazon… but I always was one."

"But… the Kiss of Marriage…"

"Only applies to outsiders, and not to Amazons." Kou Lon said sadly. "It seems son-in-law has been an Amazon all along and all of our efforts were wasted."

"But…" Shampoo tried to protest but her great-grandmother held up her hand.

"By the laws of our village, if Ranma wished he could have us both removed from the village for attacking him, and for the other things we have done."

Shampoo was scared, to think that she could be cast out of the Amazon tribe. She knew that to attack another Amazon like they have been, especially Mousse, then they could be cast out of the tribe, or worse. "No! We're Amazons! We're Warriors… how were we to know?"

"There's more…" Kou Lon said sadly.

"More?" Shampoo did not like the sound of that.

This time the girl beside her that spoke, "Yes, Inu-Yasha and I are both demons, youkai is what we are sometimes called as well. As such, Ranma's mother is one. And so is he, though he is only half-demon… for now."

"Demons…" Shampoo said softly and looked to Ranma who only nodded his head.

In the kitchen and listening in on the conversation from his cage, Mousse was surprised to hear all of this as well.

"Yea and it gets even worse…," Ranma said though his grandfather snorted at that.

"Worse! Feh! It gets better. When you choose a mate, and then claim her, she will become a demon too."

Mousse desperately wanted to run out there and tell her not to do it, but as he was locked up in his cage, he was unable to get to water, much less to get to her.

Shampoo turned a bright red when he started talking about mating. It was a very embarrassing thing to talk about, but as soon as he said that 'she will become a demon too,' it made her stop and gasp at the thought. "What you mean?"

"What I mean is that when he takes his mate, and marks her as his own, as part of our family tradition, his mate will become a demon too."

"So… I could… become a demon…" Shampoo said slowly and realized that she was not very thrilled with the idea.

"If he chooses you," Kagome added. "We will not force anyone to become a demon if they do not want to, but as a demon you do get some added bonuses, and added pain."

"Pain?"

Kagome nodded her head. "I'm over 500 years old Xian Pu," she said using her Amazon name. "So is my mate Inu-Yasha. But because we're both demons, we'll live for thousands of years." Shampoo just looked at them in amazement as they were over 200 years older than her great-grandmother… but they looked no older than Ranma's mother did. It was then that she noticed the red-haired young woman sitting on the other side of Inu-Yasha. She bore a resemblance to Nodoka, but she was too young.

Noticing where Xian Pu was looking Kagome laughed, "Xian Pu, this is my daughter, Nodoka." Nodoka looked up and gave her a small wave.

"Is not possible… Ranma's mother is not her…"

Nodoka sighed. "I used a charm to make myself appear older." The young Amazon then turned to her great-grandmother wondering if that was the same.

"No child, I am only their god-daughter, not their real daughter. If I was their daughter, I would still look as young as I used too," Kou Lon said sadly.

"That is a part of the pain Xian Pu," Kagome said softly, then continued a little louder. "As a demon, you will stay young, while your family and friends grow old. I remember the day that our little Kou Lon was born." As she said that, everyone else noticed the Amazon elder blushing and looking a little nervous.

Shampoo just shook her head. "This is too too weird…."

"You said it," added Ranma.

"Child, there is more." Kou Lon added in a sad tone that made Xian Pu worried. "As a demon, your time in the village is limited."

"Limited?"

"Yes, the other Amazons will become wary of you and to make sure the peace is kept, you will only be allowed to stay in the tribe for another 20 years, then you must leave."

"Leave! But... but I no want to leave!" Shampoo cried out in horror.

"Such is the pain of becoming a demon. Also, you must watch how you appear; otherwise some of those annoying demon hunters will come looking for you," Kagome said with a touch of annoyance.

"Demon hunters?"

"Well the new ones anyway," his grandmother added.

The more Ranma heard the worse he felt. "Great, now I'm gonna have a bunch of Kuno freaks after me!"

"Kuno?" Kagome and Inu-Yasha asked.

"Yea, he's a pain in the…" he paused and looked at his mother then started up again. "He is a pain in my backside and has been since I started going to that school. He's always going on about me being a foul sorcerer and how he's gonna beat me and such."

"He hasn't beaten you yet has he?" Inu-Yasha asked.

"Naw that idiot may be good, but he's not that good."

"Good, I won't have any of my kin loosing to a stupid demon hunter." Inu-Yasha said frankly.

"Um, ok…" Ranma replied hesitantly.

Kagome then turned to Shampoo. "So would you still like to be Ranma's mate…" as soon as Kagome said mate that would happen to be right after Shampoo had tried to take a drink of tea to try to steady herself. Of course, such a question prompted Shampoo to open her eyes wide and spew the contents of her mouth at the person across from her, namely Ranma.

Ranma for his part just picked up a washcloth and wiped the tea off his face with a strange sort of detachment from the whole scene. "This is just getting too weird."

"Heh, it gets worse," Inu-Yasha said with a slight chuckle.

"Worse?"

"You're a part of a clan of demons; you have relatives that are even older than we are."

"A clan?!" Ranma asked and had he not been sitting down, he would have fallen down. "How many are there?"

Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't tried to count all of us lately, so I'm not sure."

Shampoo and Cologne blinked at this but said nothing. However, Ranma just sighed, "I should've known."

Nodoka chuckled at that. "Now Ranma, it's not that bad. At least you won't be lonely."

"She's right son-in-law," Cologne said with a grin. "If you and Shampoo are together then you will never be lonely."

"But Shampoo doesn't want to leave the village! Shampoo is Amazon!"

Kagome looked at her and let out a soft sigh. "Is that your wish, to remain an Amazon and to stay in the village?"

The young girl blinked and looked at everyone at the table. She was not sure what she wanted to do. All she ever wanted to be was a great Amazon warrior, but if she went with Ranma then she would have to give up that dream. However, in giving up that dream she could be with him, for hundreds of years… could she just not see her family again, give up all that she was, and become a demon. 'A demon,' she thought sadly. 'I would be hunted for the rest of my life unless I'm careful and… and…' her head fell sadly.

"Child, what is your decision?" Cologne asked, though from the sadness that seemed to surround Shampoo, she already had an idea of the answer.

The next few words thrilled Mousse to no end. However, Ranma and the others were slightly saddened by it. "Shampoo sorry… Sham… I no want to leave village…" she said near tears.

"I understand…." Ranma said and thought of how so far everyone that had been his friend or fiancée had seemingly just turned away from him.

Inu-Yasha nodded towards Shampoo. "Don't worry. The one that is to be Ranma's mate will have a lot to deal with. For now, Ranma is a half demon, and starting in his eighteenth year his demon blood will start growing stronger, and at times he will have trouble controlling himself and may turn into a full demon."

"But I thought you were a demon?" Ranma almost yelled.

"I am, and Kagome and I have both learned to control our demon blood."

"Control it?"

"Yes, there will be times that your demon blood will make you want to kill."

"To kill!" Shampoo and Ranma shouted at the same time.

"It almost happened to me…" He said sadly thinking of the times he almost lost his control. "At the time only Kagome and my Tetsusaiga kept me from loosing it."

"Ten… what?" Ranma asked hesitantly.

"My family's sword, the Tetsusaiga," he said as he showed them his family's sword. Ranma recognized it as the one that his mother carried around all the time. "This sword was forged from a fang of my father and…"

Ranma couldn't believe it. "A FANG! Just one! That sword is huge!" Shampoo nodded as she had seen the size of the sword, but if one fang was used to make it, then how big was the mouth, let along the size of the rest of his father.

Inu-Yasha nodded. "Yes one fang. And with just the power in that one fang I could slay a hundred demons in one strike."

Shampoo and Cologne stared at them. They had heard stories of some Amazons that had fought demons, and one warrior has gone up against as many as maybe five and survived. But it was a hard battle. To be able to kill one hundred in one strike was astonishing. "That's a lot of power…" Cologne said in awe as she looked at them.

"Feh, that's its weakest ability too," he added flippantly.

"Inu-Yasha," Kagome said sweetly.

"What?"

"Knock it off; you're beginning to sound as stuck up as him."

"I am not!" He yelled as he stood up and glared at her.

Ranma blinked, "Who is 'him'?"

"Oh you don't mean?" Nodoka asked and then shook her head. "Dad's nowhere near as snobby as uncle Sesshomaru."

"Who?" Cologne, Shampoo and Ranma asked.

"His brother…"

"Half-brother," he replied.

"Whatever, I thought you two were past that already."

Inu-Yasha huffed and sat down in the seat and all the females except for Kagome saw where Ranma got that arm-crossed-pouting look.

"He's still a pain in the ass."

Cologne chuckled and looked between Inu-Yasha and Ranma. The two were so much alike it was almost too hard to believe. "So what now?"

Kagome sighed, "We have to go talk to this Ukyo girl. Apparently Genma stole her dowry and I've been contemplating letting Inu-Yasha make a new one for her using the fat panda's hide."

"Now you're talking!" Inu-Yasha said happily.

Nodoka and Ranma both sighed though. "Don't kill him…" Even as Ranma said that, all eyes turned to him. "It won't do any good and I know he's honorless, but he was still my Pop. Yea, there were some times I wanted to kill him myself; it's just not… it's just not worth it."

Kagome sighed. "I'm sorry Ranma, but after hearing about your life and how much he's hurt my daughter… just to let it go, it's a bit difficult."

Ranma nodded his head and then looked to his mom who had her head down. "Mom?"

"I… I know I made a mistake… I've paid for it… my son's paid for it… it hurts…"

"No-Chan…" Kagome said softly.

"But he was still someone I loved… When we first met and I fell in love him…" She paused as she tried to gather her thoughts. "He wasn't this bad. I don't know what happened, but things just went wrong."

"Probably when he met Happi," muttered Ranma.

"Happy?" Kagome asked.

"Happosai, the current grandmaster of the Anything Goes School that Genma and Soun Tendo teach," Nodoka filled in.

Kagome shuddered. "I remember that pervert… he was worse than Miroku."

"Who?" Ranma, Shampoo and Cologne asked.

Kagome sighed. "Miroku was a good friend of ours that married my best friend. He spent many of his younger years asking every girl he found to marry him."

"That sounds strange… but not perverted," Ranma confusedly said.

Inu-Yasha snickered. "Yes, but he usually asked them after he groped them."

"Oh…" Ranma and Shampoo said as Cologne laughed.

"So Grandmother," Cologne laughed out, "How is it you met Happosai?"

"Oh, we met when he tried to sneak into our home one day. He thought that a number of our treasures would be easy pickings. That is until he saw Rin and tried to grope her."

Inu-Yasha almost fell out of his seat laughing. "Yeah, and after she got though with him… Sesshomaru stepped in!"

"You're half brother?" Ranma asked trying to keep things straight.

Inu-Yasha nodded his head. "Yeah, and he was ticked that the pervert groped his mate!"

"Oh dear…" Cologne said with wide eyes.

Kagome sighed. "It's a good thing that he has the Tenseiga…"

"Good for him, you mean. I think Happosai wanted to stay dead," Inu-Yasha continued to snicker.

"Stay dead?" asked four others.

"Yes, you see while Inu-Yasha's sword the Tetsusaiga can kill 100 demons in a single strike, the Tenseiga can restore someone's life. We think it can restore up to 100 at a time."

Cologne looked at them amazed, as a weapon like that could be truly handy during a battle.

"However I think Sesshomaru would kill the pervert, then bring him back to life then kill him again."

Cologne, Ranma, Nodoka and Shampoo looked very pale as Inu-Yasha laughed. "I think the pervert learned his lesson not to mess with us… I think he kept reviving the pervert for almost a week before letting him leave."

"What… what kind of monster is he?" Ranma asked.

"He's not a monster; he was and always will be a full youkai. In addition, they have a deep resentment towards humans. I started life as a hanyou, or half-breed."

Ranma gulped as he realized that with the power he felt coming from his grandfather, then his uncle must be stronger.

"That pervert thought that he was the best martial artist and immune to the consequences of what he did. Sesshomaru proved him wrong."

"But… he… he killed him…" Ranma stammered.

"Son…" Nodoka said getting everyone's attention. "Uncle Sesshomaru keeps the demons around us in line, they fear him and he holds them in an iron grip. Those that do not follow the rules are eliminated. He cannot show mercy. If he did then the demons would not respect or fear him."

Ranma still could not believe it. "But… I mean Happi is a pervert and we call him a little demon… but… but to kill him?"

Kagome sighed, "Ranma, for a hundred years I have had this conversation with him. And no matter how much we fought, what Rin wanted to do to him was much worse… at least Sesshomaru let Happosai off easy."

This caused most at the table to blink several times. "Um… who's Rin?" Ranma finally asked which had Shampoo nodding, as she wanted to know as well.

"Oh dear… aren't you talking about auntie Rin?" Nodoka asked.

"That's who we're talking about. When I first met her she was maybe seven or eight I think," Kagome said thinking back. "It's been a long time but I think that's right. Anyway, she was Sesshomaru's charge and he was taking care of her."

"His charge?" Cologne asked with a raised brow.

"Yea, at the time she was just a little human girl, the same humans he said he hated," Inu-Yasha said with a grin. "But he restored her life when wolves attacked her and from then on she followed him. It wasn't until she turned of age that they became mates."

"You mean…" Ranma started wide-eyed. "That he just watched her grow up… just too… to…"

This just caused Inu-Yasha to laugh hard. "Not a chance! Hell, when she came of age, he tried to push her away."

"He's right," Kagome added. "But Rin was too stubborn and wouldn't be pushed away. So she became a youkai like him, just to be with him."

Shampoo gathered her courage and asked, "But what of girl family?"

"Back then she didn't have one. She was an outcast," Kagome told them sadly. "Sesshomaru became her family along with his two headed dragon Aun and his servant Jaken."

"Wait… he has a dragon?" Ranma interrupted.

"Yeah, and the thing is as loyal to her as it is to him," His grandfather told him.

Ranma could remember fighting an eight-headed dragon, as well as how they could only put it back to sleep, but to hear that his uncle has a dragon was a bit much. This little fact, added to the list of many things that had happened, or as he saw it, gone wrong, he was ready to just run away screaming.

Seeing that Ranma was getting overwhelmed, Nodoka decided that maybe this was enough for now. "Mom, Dad, I believe we have other things to do today."

Kagome, her mother, sighed. "You're right. Though I'd love to stay longer and find out more about my little Kou Lon."

The elder in question could not help but blush slightly at that though she quickly turned towards Xian Pu and raised her voice so that Mu Tzu could hear. "So help me if either one of you says anything about this…" and though she left the threat hanging, both teens understood and nodded vigorously, even if nodding did Mousse no good as a duck. "Good."

"Man this day has gotten weird," Ranma said softly.

"Feh, this is nothing. I remember when Nerima was just a group of huts huddled close together."

Cologne almost giggled at that before stopping herself. "I assume it must have been interesting watching the city grow as it has."

"Interesting ain't the word for it," he replied. Standing up, Inu-Yasha stretched then looked at the assembled Amazons. "We'll try to make it back, but if we don't, we have a favor to ask of you."

Nodding, Cologne asked, "What is this favor?"

"The Tendo's," Kagome said. "I want you to take care of them, they've had a lot of problems lately, and I can only assume that many of them were caused by Shampoo chasing Ranma."

The girl in question blushed and ducked her head. "Is so…"

"I thought so," she said then sighed. "They have made themselves friends with Ranma, and therefore are our friends as well."

"The males too?" Cologne asked with a raised brow.

"Naw, just Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane," Ranma added then realized how that sounded.

"Very well, we will watch over them as though they were fellow Amazons," Cologne told them proudly.

"Thank you," the two elder demons said in unison before giving each other a smirk.

Once back outside the café, Ranma let out a tired sigh. "Something wrong Ranma?" His mother asked, to which he replied with an annoyed grunt.

"Ranma," Inu-Yasha said softly which confused the boy, as he hadn't expected the gruff man to have a soft side. "I know it hurts…"

"How could you," he bitterly replied. "Akane… she… and then the Tendo's… and… and Shampoo too…"

"Over five-hundred and fifty years ago… I was in love with a human girl… a miko."

Ranma was not impressed. "And?"

"And in one afternoon, our trust and love was turned into a bitter hate. We both were deceived, but before she died, she shot me with an arrow and sealed me to a tree for fifty years."

The young martial-artist found himself at a loss for words. "Ah…" well, except for one.

"A demon that looked like me wounded her, and just before she died, she sealed me away. Kagome awoke me fifty years later," He told them sadly. "When she did…"

"When I did, he thought I was her, it didn't help that I was her reincarnation," His wife added and pulled him closer. "For a long time we were stuck together, and we argued at every chance we got. But…"

"But, I was able to win her over by my good looks," The dog-demon said causing the others to laugh.

As Ranma thought about that, the four of them walked along the street towards Ukyo's café. However, they only made it about half way there, before Ranma let out an annoyed groan. Just before anyone could ask him what the problem was, a rather pompous boy moved in front of them.

"Saotome. Surely the gods smile down on one such as myself, for I have been given the…"

"Shut up Kuno!" Ranma told the insane boy.

"What is this… Oh the heaves have doubly blessed me this day, for surely after I vanquish the vile Saotome, I shall take thee hence pig-tailed girl I…" Kuno stopped and looked over the woman. "My goddess, what hath the foul sorcerer done to your hair and…"

"Dog," Inu-Yasha said simply.

"Nay, for the pig-tailed girl is surely a goddess and not a dog, but what hath you done you vile creature! You have defaced the red-haired goddess!"

"Oh… oh dear… I am not really a goddess," Nodoka said with a blush. "I'm really a demon," She told him with a smile.

"LIES!" Kuno shouted in rage. "Foul sorcerer…"

"Dog," Inu-Yasha corrected again breaking off the boy's rant.

"Verily, for Saotome does have the looks of a dog, yet who are you sir to correct the wonderful personage of…" His tirade was suddenly cut off as he looked at the white haired man and a look of recognition passed over his face.

Not noticing the look on his face, Inu-Yasha explained, "I don't know why you call him a sorcerer; he has only had magic affect him. He's never learned how to cast it. But he's not a bird, he's a dog."

Kagome groaned at that, and then blinked as she looked at the boy. "I see… I didn't feel it before, but now…" Before Ranma's astonished eyes, his grandmother had somehow pulled a large bow and arrow out of nowhere and was now pointing it at Kuno. "Release him, or you shall not live."

"What the?" Ranma asked as he watched in amazement. Upon hearing a feral growl, Ranma watched, as his grandfather pulled out his sword whish instantly became the huge weapon he had seen earlier.

"Release him demon, or I'm going to introduce you to a new level of pain," Inu-Yasha said as Ranma's eyes widened further.

"Never, this body is mine!" Kuno suddenly shouted before turning around and quickly ran away making sure to duck down an alley to avoid any attacks.

"Quick, he's getting away!" Kagome told them and followed Kuno.

"Man, this is…" he watched his grandparents left him behind as they chased after Kuno. With a shrug, he took off after them as well.

Kuno ran straight to his mansion and as though the hounds of hell were hot on his heels; which sadly for him was not very far from the truth. Ducking to the left he narrowly avoided a glowing arrow. "Come back here!" Kagome cried as her hair began to change colors from a silky black to a flowing silver.

"Whoa…" Ranma said in wonder as his two grandparents chased Kuno.

Landing on his home turf, Kuno spun around to face his opponents. Inu-Yasha landed in the yard first, followed by Kagome and then Ranma with Nodoka on the fence top. "You will not win here!" The boy shouted just as hundreds of vines shot up from the ground and tried to entrap the intruders.

"Oh no you don't!" Inu-Yasha shouted and started slicing the plants into small pieces.

"Sasuke!" Kuno shouted in alarm.

"Yes master…" the ninja said then noticed the intruders. He was about to dismiss Ranma and the others, at least until he noticed who the others were. "AH! Inu-Yasha! Kagome! What are you doing here?"

"Do we know you?" She asked.

"Ah… oh. No… no you don't… hehe… not at all…"

"Kuno, attack!" yelled the small man which caused Ranma to blink at the absurdity.

With a yell, the boy attacked, but his attacks were quickly, efficiently and easily parried by Inu-Yasha who wielded the large sword with ease. Kagome though turned her attention to more of the sprouting plants before firing a single shot that tore though a greenhouse. A moment later an explosion from inside it caused everyone in the yard to dive from cover to evade the flying glass.

"Wench, what are you trying to do! Kill us!" Inu-Yasha yelled then started pressing the attack against Kuno.

"If you still had that necklace I'd sit you so bad you wouldn't be able to stand!"

Ranma watched this with wide eyes, but his surprise was cut short when Sasuke started running away. Getting up, to give chase, he is suddenly caught off guard as Kodachi appears.

"HOHOHOHO! I see, so Ranma-sama, you have come for me! Come let us be away from here!" So saying she began trying to catch Ranma in her ribbon.

"Ah man… well at least some things don't change…" he muttered and for the moment evaded all the attacks before the girl was suddenly taken out of the fight by his mom.

"Ouch… I'm not used to this…" Nodoka said from her seated position on Kodachi's back. The gymnast in question looked to be unconscious.

"Good going mom!" he said and turned back to the fight, only to stop in his tracks as Kodachi's large pet alligator was stalking towards them. "Ah, look out!" he shouted in warning.

"You! You should not have come, but I will crush you!" the large beast said.

"Ah… he's never spoken before…" Ranma said aloud.

The large beast laughed. "Because fool you were not a threat."

"Hay!" he shouted indignantly.

"Release these people!" Kagome ordered.

"You will no longer have any say over us as soon as I am through!" the beast shouted. "Come to me!" it suddenly said startling Ranma. Though what really surprised him was when Kodachi stood up, knocking his mother off her back. "Yes! Come to me! Fulfill your destiny!"

Kodachi began slowly walking towards the beast, but before three steps had been taken, Kagome tackled her to the ground. "Ranma, come here and hold her down!"

Moving quickly Ranma did as he was asked though he could hear the beast laughing not far from them. "It is no use, her mind and soon her body will be mine! Mine to devour! Just like her mother! I have waited too long for this. She is ripe… and ready to be consumed!"

"Never!" Ranma and Inu-Yasha shouted at the same time. While Ranma held no love for Kodachi, he defiantly could not let her be eaten by a demon.

"Fools! You will both be destroyed for your intervention and then this city will be mine!"

Ranma looked away from the beast for a moment to his grandfather, only to see him attacking Kuno and pushing the boy back… only to have Sasuke attack him from behind. "Grandfather!"

In that instant, the dog-demon pulled his eyes off Kuno to look at Ranma. That was the instant his attackers were looking for and a blade suddenly was pushed though his back and out his stomach. "GAH!"

"Yes!" Screeched the small man.

"Moko Takabisha!" Ranma shouted and when he jumped up and threw his ki blast at the small man taking him by surprise. With the blast hitting and blowing the small man into a wall, Ranma had thought that he was out of the fight. Turning his attention back to his grandfather, he was surprised to see him still standing, as well as holding back Kuno. "Wha..."

"Ranma… we're demons… over 500 years old. Do you think a little thing like that will hurt him for long?"

"Um…" Ranma was about to say more when he noticed that Kodachi was walking towards the large alligator again. "Ah! Kodachi!" Quickly he tackled her to the ground again, this time pinning her beneath him with her thrashing around and trying to get away. "What the hell's wrong with you? Ya wanna die!"

"She has no choice; I have controlled her mind for years. The foolish human, for so long she thought I was her pet. Bah! When I was able, I put her under my control and allowed her to watch as I devoured her mother!"

"You're disgusting…" Inu-Yasha shouted and slashed down hard, cleanly slicing Kuno's weapon in half from the sudden influx of the enraged dog-demon's power. However, this also meant that the large sword cut into the boy's shoulder and chest.

"ARGHHHH!!!!" Kuno shouted and fell to the ground.

Ranma watched from where he held Kodachi down as his long time adversary rolled back and forth on the ground holding the wound that was beginning to smoke. "Wha?" the confused martial artist asked, but before he could get his answer, he watched as Kuno's body exploded into dust.

"I see… the boy's been dead and under your control," Inu-Yasha said menacingly.

"Dead…" Ranma just gaped at the sight.

"He was pathetic, though he did have his usefulness."

"What was it?" The demon asked as his eyes turned blood red and his claws began to elongate. "Did he supply you with food… fresh humans to eat!" The cruel laughing was the only answer, but then again Ranma realized that there didn't need to be one.

"You're next!" Inu-Yasha said pointing his blade at the huge beast.

"I think not!" he roared just as Kagome fired an arrow, this time towards her husband, which had Ranma worried, at least until the arrow shot past him and struck Sasuke, who was sneaking up behind him.

"Feh, took you long enough," He commented as Sasuke was enveloped in light and reduced to ash as well.

"Oh shut up," Kagome replied and readied an arrow to fire at the large demon.

"I will not--"

"NOW!" Inu-Yasha yelled, and then drawing the sword up, he shouted out "Wind Scar!"

To Ranma's utter disbelief, another glowing arrow, and his grandfathers Wind Scar attack combined and tore though the large beast reducing it to shreds of its former self starting at its mouth and ending at it tail before continuing on towards the house and blowing a hole through the building.

"Oops…" Kagome said embarrassedly.

"AHHH!!!!!" Kodachi suddenly screamed out in pain as she clutched her head in agony.

Ranma quickly moved to help her. He could not suppress his worry for her after hearing about her life. 'A demon… ate her mom… killed Kuno... and… and was planning to kill her too…' Concentrating solely on her, Ranma continued to hold the distraught girl as she clutched her head in pain.

While he was busy there, Kagome and Inu-Yasha went through the home ensuring that all demonic forces have been removed. "You know… your brother will want to hear about this."

"Half brother…" he replied gruffly then sighed. "Yeah, he needs to know. And I bet he'll show up to look over this place for himself…" it was then that a huge grin split the demons face. "And if we tell him that the little pervert is here… I sure that…"

"INU-YASHA!"

He just grinned at her. "Face it, you're just jealous I thought of it first."

She grumbled at him but did not dispute the fact.

Outside by Ranma, Nodoka looked over the area and her son and sighed. Kneeling behind him, she placed her arms around him, and the Kuno girl. "You feel guilty… don't you."

"I… I never knew… I just thought they were… you know… crazy… I…"

"It's a lot to take in. But with your help, I know she'll adjust."

"What?" he asked in surprise.

"Her mind has been controlled by that thing. Do you think we should leave her here, all alone?"

"Ah… no…" he said in resignation, picked up the gymnast in his arms and began leading his family towards Ukyo's. He just hoped that along the way he would think up a way to explain to her why he was carrying Kodachi before she tried to kill him.

To be continued…