Half and Half
By Teo
Youkai.
Hanyou.
Barely qualifies.
Hanyou…
Ranma watched the city people pass with interest. It had been so long since he and his – he had to snort indignantly before he could complete that thought – father had been around so many people.
Barely qualifies.
Kitsune…
Of course there had been that village in china, but there hadn't been anyone quite like him around. Pureblooded humans, all of them. Here he had found he was hardly one of a kind. Ranma had seen a few others in their travels, but none quite so many as this. He sighed regretfully; China was just no place for demons.
Hanyou.
Hanyou…
Even half demons like himself.
Kitsune…
Ranma hopped off his perch of oddly balanced crates. They were in the market, back in Japan, the place of his birth. The scent of home was comforting, it awoke a feeling inside of himself that he could not place, and he inhaled slowly. The scent of pollution and the high population of different human odors had overwhelmed him at first, and he found it was best not to use his sense of smell to its full capacity. It was far different than the countrysides in China, but comforting nonetheless.
Youkai…
Genma had apparently finished with whatever he had made them stop for, because he motioned for Ranma to keep moving. Ranma followed him, keeping pace easily, and noting to himself just how out of place the worn white gi that Genma never parted with appeared in this setting. The balding martial artist that called himself his father scratched his scalp under the matching bandanna in confusion at Ranma's low chuckle. Neither one of them fit in very well, not that he mined, but Genma really did look ridiculous. He worked hard to keep his laughter quiet to his father's human ears, but Genma heard him despite his efforts.
"What're you laughing at, Boy?" he growled, turning a scornful glance at his son. Defensive, Ranma noted silently, he's stressed over something. Although this reaction was not unheard of with Genma, it was far more common for him to ignore such a thing as, say, quiet laughter, unless it persisted than to go directly to the root of the problem. Yes, Ranma had seen such behavior in his father only in very stressful situations. Usually you couldn't get him off his ass unless it was for Genma's own benefit.
"Nothin', Pops, just forget it."
While normally he would have attempted to find a witty remark of some sort, Ranma decided to forgo testing the waters of his father's current state of mind in favor of continuing to count demons as he walked. While humans were rarely aware of their existence, there were quite a few of them here in Japan. Of course, humans, unless they had miko powers of some kind, could not see through the shielding of their demon features. It was easy for Ranma, however, him being half demon himself. While he usually couldn't see much of their extra features, he could tell any demon for what it was simply by its scent.
Kitsune.
Barely qualifies…
There were full demons and half demons and quarter demons and those that barely qualified, enough that they had the traces of demon blood in their scent, but there was really nothing to mark them as too out of the ordinary. They barely qualified as demons, but he counted them anyways.
Hanyou…
Ranma missed a beat in his steps, pausing to wince as the sound of thunder berated his sensitive ears. There were drawbacks to being a dog-demon. He knew there would be bad weather today, but had hoped to reach their destination before any rain could fall. They weren't going to make it.
It was then Ranma noticed his father had stopped and appeared to be waiting for him to do the same. Inwardly, Ranma winced. Genma had that stubborn, Father-knows-best look he had seen many times before. Many times before he was forced into some kind of trouble, that is. What is it this time?
"Ranma, m'boy," Genma began. Ranma knew he was in for trouble.
Kitsune…
Thunder clapped in the distance.
Barely qualifies…
Genma began his speech.
Youkai…
The rain began to fall.
Hanyou….
A/N: Well this is my first fic. As you could've guessed it is an AU. I'm just going to say that this WILL be A Ranma and Akane fic. I hate to read a fic only to find out it's Ranma and Shampoo or something. I'm not sure of Kagome and Inuyasha will make any appearances, but it is not an impossibility. READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! Bai-Bai! (Sorry this is kind of short)