Ranma 1/2 and Inu-Yasha crossover fanfiction (under Ranma 1/2)

"Enter the Prayer Beads"

Summary: When Akane and Ranma end up in possession of a pair of prayer beads and they end up around Ranma's neck, what hilarity and chaos will ensue then? Ranma1/2xInuyasha crossover. RanxAka, InuxKag pairings.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Rumiko Takahashi's works. She's too good at what she does. : )

Before You Read: I've separated the story into sections by using dashes with letters or numbers, partially so you know who's talking and partially because the site won't let me do dashes alone. The letters stand for perspective change (character POV change) (ex. A for Akane, R for Ranma, Ry for Ryoga, M for Mousse), and the words stand for scene or a drastic time change (ex. from one day to the next, from morning to afternoon. specific time or time jumps will be numbers too)

To My Readers: I have to stop updating so late... it's just getting ridiculous.

-10-

CHAPTER TEN: First Action

-Day 3; Afternoon-

It had been three days back in the present, and the four of them hadn't gotten any closer to a solution, idea, or reason for it all. No information on the beads or where they came from had surfaced, and so Kagome found herself going to school, doing homework, and spending time with Akane and Ranma, whom she now considered friends. It was almost... normal. And normal wasn't something that she'd had in a long time. Of course, she was still getting used to the Tendo's and Saotome's odd habits, but all in all, Kagome was enjoying herself. It was a bit like a circus. And after she had discovered that her and Ranma and Akane's schools weren't far apart, and since they could commute part of the way together, it was just that much better.

Inuyasha always opted to stretch out and relax on her school roof while she was in classes, but he would walk with her there and back each day with no complaints. And knowing that there was no way that they could encounter Kikyo here to lure him away was... relieving. But the kind of depressing thoughts that brought were for another time.

Currently at the Tendo's residence, Kagome laughed as she ran away from her half-demon companion, who was right on her heels. It had been a while since she had been able to relax like this and just enjoy life, and she was determined to do just that. Having just recently taught her dog-eared companion the game of 'tag', the miko was more than eager to win the game and beat Inuyasha at something. He had turned out to be a surprisingly good Go player, and Kagome was still hurting from her earlier defeat.

As the distance between her and Inuyasha decreased, a sudden thought came to her, and with a mischievous grin, Kagome spun on her heels, prepared to take her companion off-guard with her sudden movement and cause him to fall on his rear in his attempt to stop, just like she used to do to Souta in the past. However, the grass was still wet in parts from the afternoon plant watering, and Kagome felt herself slipping instead at the sudden movement, and falling backwards a bit less than gracefully.

"Ah!" she screamed, surprised, as Inuyasha raced towards her, now for a different purpose.

"Kagome!"

Just as he was inches away, her flailing hand managed to grab onto the dog-demon's prayer beads, catching her traveling companion by surprise and pulling him down with her with a thud.

"Ow... That hurt." Kagome muttered, rubbing her head where it had hit the ground. She opened her eyes, aware that Inuyasha was on top of her. Just as she was about to ask if he was okay, he managed to push himself up on his hands and knees, also rubbing his head, though for him it was his forehead that had hit the ground when he fell. He groaned, and his eyes opened.

"Kagome, you okay?"

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine." she looked up into his eyes and they both stilled as brown met gold. Connected. Their breath caught in their throats, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.

-Ryoga-

He huffed as he brushed past another plant in his way. This pig body was really unfortunate at times like this. He couldn't see much, and he was sure that he would never get out of this jungle if he couldn't find a spring or river to gather some hot water to boil. The sooner he became human again, the sooner he'd be able to see from a higher vantage point and get his bearings.

A sudden shout and a feminine scream caught the martial artist's attention, and he immediately raced off in the direction of the voices. It would just be his luck that someone was in trouble while he was stuck in this cursed body.

But as he reached a clearing he came across a sight that made him pause.

The piglet looked up to see a pair of very golden, predator eyes staring down at him. And although Ryoga was afraid of very little considering his tremendous strength, perhaps because he was in the body of a prey animal, he felt a small shiver go up his spine.

"Does this thing belong here?" a gruff voice that must've belonged to the owner of the unnatural eyes asked, picking Ryoga up by the scruff of his neck at his bandana knot. The stranger was leaned over a dark-haired girl in a green school uniform, and she too looked at him. Ryoga, confused, let out a grunt.

"How cute. It's a piglet." she said, sitting up as the male stood, giving her room to get up.

The golden-eyed stranger grunted, clearly unimpressed, as he extended his free hand to the girl to help her up.

"Can we eat 'em?"

Thankfully, the girl protested, adding to Ryoga's own squeals of denial. He would hate to be the only one interested in saving his skin, as he often found it to be while encountering hungry travelers on the road. Maybe that's what these two were, although why someone would be wearing a school uniform in Aokigahara, he didn't know. The guy could easily be a demon though, just like stories of the forest rumored, so maybe she was one too. It would be the place, if any, that he would encounter such a thing. Since being cursed, Ryoga was unwilling to rule anything supernatural out.

"Inuyasha! We can't do that! The bandanna means that it's someones' pet!"

"Keh. Where did this little runt run away from then?"

"P-chan!"

At the sound of a familiar voice, Ryoga sagged in relief. Sweet Akane. She'd save him. Although what she was doing in the jungle, he didn't know.

The short-haired girl scooped him up out of the stranger's embrace, and he greeted her with happy squeals to convey his joy at seeing her and his gratitude for rescuing him from his tense, possibly-lunch situation.

"Where did you wander off to this time?"

Unable to answer her, the cursed martial artist settled for nuzzling her chin. Oh how fortunate he was for having someone like her care about him!

"Pork chops returned so soon?"

The appearance of the busty redhead carrying a kettle of hot water had Ryoga freezing in his tracks.

Ranma, damn him, smirked as he casually held the piglets' fate in his hands. He was trapped, with Sweet Akane and the two strangers blocking off his escape, and Ranma advancing on him.

"Hey, piggy piggy piggy. Come crawling back, have we?"

Ryoga gave an angry squeal in reply. He never crawled anywhere!

"Ranma! Don't be so mean to P-chan!"

-Inuyasha-

He watched the exchange between the two humans with a mixture of amusement and confusion. Part of it was because they were arguing over a pig, and partially because the pig seemed to have some sort of grudge against Ranma, judging by the way it was making noise at him.

The sudden scent of a demon took him completely by surprise.

He turned his head and sniffed the air, all of his attention shifting to the direction it came from. It couldn't be, and shouldn't be possible. With the exception of the Noh mask, there had never been anything demon-related in Kagome's time. But that one time did open up the possibility for others in his mind, and so, the dog demon immediately decided, it was worth checking out.

-Kagome-

Kagome watched as her traveling companion's full attention became directed towards something off to the left. The distinctive way that he was holding himself, suddenly alert, let her know that there was, somehow, impossibly, a demon nearby.

Not stopping to question it, she turned to her newest friend. If Inuyasha was going somewhere, she was going too.

"Akane, do you have a bow and some arrows around here?"

The short-haired girl stopped her argument with Ranma and turned towards her. She looked a bit confused, but her reply was encouraging.

"We're an Anything Goes Style martial arts. Of course we have them, but no one's done archery around here in a while."

"Can I borrow one?"

But whatever Akane was going to say next was cut off by a growl from Inuyasha's direction.

"You're not coming with me."

Akane was obviously taken back by the tone of voice that he used, but Kagome didn't even flinch as she ushered the youngest Tendo daughter towards the house.

"I'll give it right back, I promise." she continued, as if she hadn't heard Inuyasha speak.

Somewhat reluctantly, Akane led the way to a closet within the dojo, where she pulled out a long bow and several arrows for it in a quiver.

Inuyasha stalked after them.

"You're not coming with me." he repeated.

Kagome gathered the weapons Akane handed her and slung them over her shoulder.

"I'm going, and you can't stop me."

Another growl.

"We are not going to have this conversation right now." the half-demon said, his voice deep and rough, fangs bared. He turned to sniff the air before turning back to his companion.

"The scent is fading, and I will not have you put in danger like last time."

Still ignoring Inuyasha's temper tantrum, Kagome turned to her newest female friend.

"Akane, can you go let Ranma know that Inuyasha and I are going somewhere? We should be back soon."

"Um, sure." the girl replied, her eyes moving back and forth between the two time travelers, but she did as requested and went back out to the yard to talk to Ranma.

-Akane-

She had just reached Ranma and hadn't even opened her mouth to explain to the confused boy what she had been told when an angry voice was heard from the direction of the dojo.

"I said no!"

"And I said I'm going!"

Akane and Ranma turned to the voices, and through the opened dojo doors saw that Kagome and Inuyasha were still arguing. Inuyasha looked angry, and so did Kagome. They watched in awe as the girl shouted at the half demon, holding her ground and not giving an inch, not even when he bared his fangs and growled directly in her face.

"Don't you growl at me, Inuyasha! I'm not some helpless girl you need to protect! I can shoot an arrow now, and you know it! I've fought against demons beside you for months. Just because my life is in danger now in my time doesn't give you the right to order me to stay behind!" She crossed her arms over her chest. "My life had been in danger since I've met you. I think I'll be fine."

Inuyasha let out an angry huff and glared at her, his inhuman eyes practically glowing. Finally, he spoke, his voice tense.

"Fine. But stay out of my way."

Kagome scowled at his retreating back.

As the two began walking off to wherever they had to be, now with Inuyasha taking the lead and Kagome trailing angrily behind as they began to head off the Tendo property, Ranma and Akane felt the tense air and looked over at each other, smiling uncomfortably at one another looking back at their new friends. It was probably the first time that they were on the other side of this kind of argument.

"I don't believe it. He's so imposing. He could probably snap her in half with his strength." Akane commented after a brief silence and the two had rounded the corner.

"Yeah. And yet, she's not afraid of him. In fact, it looks more like he's afraid of her." Ranma added, amazed.

"Yeah. Weird, isn't it?"

"Yeah. But somehow…"

"It looks kinda familiar, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it does."

The two stared at the direction Kagome and Inuyasha had gone for a while longer before the pig-tailed martial artist turned his head to look at his forced fiancée.

"Hey, 'kane."

She looked back at him.

"…Yeah?"

"Do you…" he trailed off,

"What, Ranma?"

"Do you think-"

The explosion that cut him off shook the ground, as if there was an earthquake.

-Ranma-

After immediately checking to make sure that Akane was okay, Ranma turned his attention to the direction that the disturbance had come from. When he realized that it was the same direction that Inuyasha and Kagome had gone off in, he didn't hesitate to run over there, Akane hot on his heels.

What they found when they turned the corner was something that could only be described as a giant... creature.

So these must be the kinds of demons that Kagome and Inuyasha had been facing off against.

Because they certainly weren't backing down from the monstrous creature that stood before them.

-Akane-

Inuyasha was standing on a building roof almost right above where Kagome stood on the ground, which made him about as level as the creature's belly. His stance was proud and sure, even though he seemed little more than a chew toy for something of that size. Both of their friends were a bit of a distance away from the monster, but they were still a lot closer than Akane would have felt comfortable doing.

The big giant took a step forward, its attention somewhere to its side, away from them. Behind the body of the first one, a second, smaller but just as fierce-looking demon showed itself.

Akane and Ranma jogged closer towards their companions, feeling that it was best to be nearby, just in case they needed help.

Two demons - monsters, were in front of them. And although the two of them had seen their share of demons and the like, these two were totally different. These were no Pantyhose Taros. Huge, reptilian bodies with gaping mouths filled with razor sharp teeth, they looked more like nightmarish creatures than silly childhood doodles. As if on cue, the larger of the two let out an ear-piercing sound that seemed to make the very air vibrate.

Akane gasped in surprise.

"What.., is that?"

Inuyasha, as if hearing them, turned to face the two martial artists below him.

"Stand back, you two." he ordered, before returning his attention towards the giants with a smirk and a raised clawed hand.

"I'd hate for you to get hit with flying chunks of dead demon."

Then, before anyone could blink, the half demon was already charging forward towards the closest target.

-Ranma-

Inuyasha lashed out at the demon, claws extended, with enough force to rip its belly open. Blood gushed out in a wave, and he pivoted on his foot, launching himself at the creature once more without pause.

He jumped into the air with an ease that Ranma felt himself admiring. He made it effortless and easy, graceful for such a feat. He more than anyone knew what kind of training had to be endured to be able to do something like that. But Inuyasha did it like it was normal. Which, considering he had demon blood in him, wasn't surprising when he thought about it.

Once again, Inuyasha made contact, his sharp claws tearing through the demons flesh with ease. It roared loudly, a bloodcurdling shriek that made the air tremble. When it lunged for Inuyasha, the half demon was prepared, his sword already out of its sheath, larger than any sword that Ranma had ever seen. Larger than he should have been able to hide on him, although it was perhaps no more impressive than Akane's mallet. In one swipe, the demon was eradicated in a flash of yellow light.

That left one more monster.

-Akane-

"Akane, stand back. It's my turn now." Kagome said, stepping forward.

Akane looked at her doubtfully, but allowed Kagome to move to the front. The girl had been standing quietly as her traveling companion had fought the large demon, her gaze steadily fixed on the smaller one, and a serious expression on her face. She looked determined. Akane was too curious, and Kagome seemed to sure of herself to do anything but what the girl asked.

Kagome took an arrow from the quiver she had borrowed and readied the bow in her hand. Taking aim, she released the weapon into the air. In a streak of blue light, it soared towards its target. And, to Akane's surprise, went right through the monster, leaving a large hole where it had hit.

The demon shrieked in pain and, to Akane's greater shock, disintegrated a second later, leaving nothing behind.

Akane stared, stunned, at where the monster had been. Kagome casually began walking over, calling Akane out of her stun with a "Follow me."

As the girl arrived at the location that the monster had stood, Inuyasha sheathed his sword and he and Ranma began moving towards them as well.

Kagome bent down and picked something up. Then she turned to look at Akane, holding up a small glass-like shard that sparkled in the light.

"This" Kagome said, standing up and still holding the piece in plain sight "is a shard of the Shikon jewel. It's my job to collect them with Inuyasha and protect them from evil demons and humans. If anyone possesses even one of them, their power is multiplied tenfold."

She looked Akane in the eye then.

"Be careful if you ever see someone with one of these. They'll be very dangerous. And if you do find out that someone has one, contact me immediately."

"I understand why you have to collect them." Akane said, staring as Kagome took out a chain from around her neck that had a little jar at the end. The girl took off the top, carefully putting the shard inside and closing it tightly. "But how did the jewel get broken in the first place? Shards means that they were once together, right?"

"That's right." Kagome said with a smile, answering her. Then she looked off to the distance, in her own thoughts.

"Yeah, at one time, it was a whole jewel, given to a priestess named Kikyo to purify. When she died, it disappeared. Until I showed up, that is. We discovered it in my body seconds after I first entered the feudal era. A crow demon tried to take it. And when I went to kill it..." she trailed off, and, still staring into the distance, smiled.

"And when the arrow struck the crow, it hit the jewel. It shattered, and the shards flew off in all directions."

Akane stared at her, unsure of why Kagome seemed to be remembering the incident with joy instead of sadness or pain or depression, despite the fact that it seemed to be causing her all this trouble. But Kagome continued as if she didn't notice. Considering the fact that she was still staring off into the distance, she probably hadn't.

"It was then that Inuyasha and I began traveling together. We argued so much back then."

She shook her head, still smiling.

"We still do. All the time. But we've been through so much together. I'd trust Inuyasha with my life." Her eyes grew more distant, and her smile became more serious.

"Many times, I have. But he's always protected me. I can't count how many times he's looked out for me."

The way she spoke had Akane reminiscing herself.

"Ranma and I fought all the time too. And we haven't really gotten better with that either. But I'd like to think that we're closer than we were before."

The two looked at each other then, a common understanding passing between the two before the moment was interrupted by two masculine voices.

"Kagome! Are you okay?"

"Akane?"

"I'm fine, Inuyasha." the miko said, smiling at her traveling companion. She held up her jar for the half-demon to see.

"Look - another jewel shard."

The time traveler paused then, her expression going blank as she looked down at the object dangling from her chain.

"…Oh."

"What is it, Kagome?" the silver-haired demon asked, looking confused.

The girl looked up at her companion, her expression a mix of shock and worry.

"Inuyasha… what is a Shikon jewel shard doing in the present?"

He stared at the jar for a second before it hit him.

"Shit."

end chapter