Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Know this, Saotome ❯ Adding to the Fire ( Chapter 4 )

Jen Tai Yaung: You people had better consider yourselves lucky! I decided to continue slowly anyway, thanks to my reviewers…^_^ I was thinking about doing a "humorous" SI interlude later on in this as a break from the main story…well, at least as humorous as I could make it. Tell me what you think.

I don't own Ranma

Yes, yes I know, there's no darn plot whatsoever. As I said in my explanations, I'll be using the fix-Ranma's-problems idea. It's just taking me a while to get there, okay? And yes, I'm an idiot for commenting on my review. ^_^ You'll find a little more of my prattling at the bottom.

I think I'll rate part of this somewhat PG-13, because I got a bit descriptive =p. You won't see any warnings for language, because frankly, I don't curse. Any cursing will be censored.

Know this, Saotome

Adding To the Fire

~

"Kanaye!" Her yell was lost in the sound of falling rocks and wind. Yoko tried to reach out to her falling comrade, but there was no way to get to him. They were plummeting down to a dark nowhere, and the best chance to get out was to stick together. The wind whipped at her hair, sending her ponytail flying into her face. It smacked her like a switch, and she tilted her head back to avoid it.

Kanaye was flinging one arm out to find a place to hold on and the other on his ears. His slightly oversized cat ears were being painfully tugged on as he fell in the opposite direction of where they were heading. And it *hurt*.

He saw the green haired girl descending along with him and too tried to call out to her. But it was no use. Any kind of communication would have been useless.

Then the roaring stopped. The wind died away and they could no more hear the rocks breaking away, falling to the ground. They halted, or at least to a more leisurely pace.

It was deathly quiet, and neither of the two dared to break the silence. Along with that, it was pitch black where they where they were right then. Then they separated, as a force went to work breaking them apart.

::

Kanaye released the hold on his head and twitched his ears, trying to straighten them back up out of their cramped position. With an odd snap, he got the left one back up, and the sound echoed. Suddenly a snap happened next to his ear and he yelped in pain. Again the sound echoed and repeated loudly in his other ear, and he wisely kept his mouth shut.

Although he had a cat's night vision, it was too dark to make out anything. There had been no comment to his noises, so Yoko had probably gone.

But to where? She couldn't have wandered off…maybe one of them had fallen faster than the other. Or maybe she decided to be quiet to save her ears. He bared his fangs menacingly and rubbed his ears.

`Stupid echo.' Deciding it was too dark for his liking, he held out a hand over his head. Closing it into a fist, he summoned his claws. They flickered into life, taking shape over his gloved knuckles.

The light didn't go far; it was still black and dreary. Kanaye held his hand out to his side, trying to make out any object within reaching distance.

He expected more nothing, or a rock wall somewhere out of his grasp, but he discovered something else.

It was a wall. Not of rock, or any type of material he had seen before. It resembled a curtain, made up of this odd black substance, and it shimmered with the glow of his ki-claws. Intrigued, he stretched his hand out further.

Peering closely, he saw that there was more to the wall than a black curtain. Intricate patterns shone in bright blue wherever the light passed over the wall. They traced in delicate swirls and designs, making no sense at all. The symbols didn't seem to be any kind of form of communication, but they held a feeling of importance.

He kept floating downwards into the empty void, trying to decipher the odd markings. However, the neko-teenager didn't realize it; he was too fixed on the subject at hand. Slowly Kanaye started to notice something…different.

Abruptly the pattern was disturbed in one area, as the carvings went awry and splayed out into something else. Then he saw it; they formed a picture.

He lowered by a boy that reminded him of…

`What the heck?!'

A giant cat was poised over the boy, ready to strike. He knew that move all too well.

Many cats also followed it, all starving and greedily looking at the fresh meat laid before them.

`The Neko-ken. S'how does it link to Saotome? We `ready have the records books tellin' what happens to him, so what's it for?' Although the portrayal was captivating in fear's glory, he was even more moved by what he saw next.

It was the boy again, this time lying still. Under him was the neko-boy himself, suspended in sleep. His head was tilted to one side, and his hands were curled.

Kanaye drew in a sharp breath. He stared back from the portrayal to his fist and back to the wall. Then, almost mechanically he brought up his other hand. He closed it into a fist and brought up the other set of ki-claws as well.

`I…That…Is me…' He stared at his hands blankly, as he tried to put two and two together.

He didn't notice the nagging feeling at the back of his mind, trying to stop him.

Slowly he uncurled his right hand and reached out, as if mesmerized by the portrayal. It seemed to take eternity to get to the wall, but it was only several seconds.

The tips of his fingers contacted, and for a short moment, he felt the texture of a carving, as if it were carved smoothly into stone. Only for a moment. Then the wall reacted violently. From where he touched it, it tore loudly, traveling upwards and the symbols lit up as the tear came through.

Kanaye was forced away from the wall by a sudden gale, and started plummeting, even faster than before. A scream entered the darkness, and he cried out in pain, clutching his ears. More noise came after it, and loud yowling.

[NO! Papa, let me out! The kitties…NO, STAY BACK! PAPA!!!]

Loud snarls followed, and Kanaye squeezed his eyes shut at the sound.

Another howl of anguish rose up and rang through the void.

[PAPA! My eyes!]

A red flash entered his mind.

The neko-teenager snarled as he felt a blinding pain across his eyes. More sharp jabs and slicing bit at him, and he tried to fend off whatever it was. But the cats kept tearing at his flesh. He hissed in hurting, baring his canines. He swiped out with his fist, setting off the red ki claws. Hearing a loud noise in the distance, he knew it had hit something, but not his attackers. They kept coming.

[GET AWAY!]

Somehow he knew it wasn't his pain he was feeling, but that he deserved to feel it. A shock traveled up his spine and dug into his back, and he threw back his head, screaming. Seemingly off in the far distance, another scream echoed his, but he didn't care. It hurt too much to do much else.

He felt a cool liquid run down his arms from the gashes, bleeding painfully from wounds on his legs. It chilled him inside. But the sensations weren't real, were they?

Wind whipped at him, biting bitterly.

The tearing, the sharp teeth…

[Why?! Why did papa do this to me? Was…I bad?] A pain shot through his neck, terrifyingly close to his jugular.

"I don't know!" Kanaye yelled. All he wanted was for it to stop. He could see the eyes of the cats, gleaming in the darkness, darting at him in attacks and fighting over him. He snapped at the apparitions and swiped at the eyes with his claws. Each time he failed miserably.

[LET ME OUT!! PLEASE!]

He kept falling, blocking at an invisible enemy that wouldn't leave. Needles, knives, anything would be better than what he was feeling. He could have been better off with those than something he couldn't deal with outright.

It wouldn't stop, it wouldn't leave him alone. The world around him was dark, and the glowing symbols were gone, passed by long ago.

The flashes of pain, the sudden visions of the cats leaping at him through someone else's eyes. Helpless to stop them. He himself was a cat, half cat, but to see anything craving for flesh so much…

It was too much.

"Eeyyaaagghhhh!!!" A splash, and it echoed amongst the yowls.

[Why are they mad at me…?]

He was made from this pain. He had been created off of Ranma's suffering, and now he knew what he had gone through to make him. Another swipe struck and it felt as if his abdomen was being torn open. Kanaye snarled, and clutched at his paining stomach.

Another red flash, and his eye burned in pain.

A searing sensation went through his cheek, and his eyes snapped open.

`And I could have killed him with Yoko.'

Then it stopped, the pain, the wind, and he was only falling.

`I should never have been there...'

And with that, he drifted off into unconsciousness just as he plunged through the surface of a glowing pool.

~

`It's so bright…'

Yoko sunk into the water, watching as the glowing water swirled and closed in over her head. She automatically held her breath and drifted downwards. She tried to swim to the surface, but her wind milling arms and moving legs didn't get her anywhere. Giving up, she let herself descend lower and lower.

Surveying her surroundings, she found that the water she was in held many shades of blue and green, expanding over a vast area. The black peaks of large rock summits rose up from below; were they some kind of mountain range? She was briefly taken back by the scenery, and she forgot that she wasn't breathing.

Then from the sudden notice from lack of oxygen, she started to panic.

But there was no way to get back up to the surface, as she had tried earlier. Looking wildly from side to side she looked for some way out. There was none.

Turning back to staring at the surface above, she pondered.

`Is this how someone drowns?'

The scarred girl let her breath go, and watched it float upwards in clear bubbles. Then she felt the coolness of the water, but realized she wasn't getting wet. Her hair floated out around her, still held by the rubber band of her ponytail. Taking a chance, she inhaled and found that her lungs weren't being flooded with water.

She exhaled and inhaled several more times to get her system flowing once more, and to reassure herself that she could breathe.

Yoko shook her head and sighed more bubbles. Her life was just too complicated already, and now she was experiencing drowning when she wasn't dying.

Bands of white light shimmied by her, curling around the disturbance in the water. They never touched her, and she never managed touch one of them. The seemed to know where she was sinking downwards, and kept away from her. And they always were out of her reach when she reached out to them with a hand.

She retracted her hand and crossed her arms. Trying to figure out what had happened, she closed her eyes.

`We fell when the cliff broke apart and somehow separated from each other. Then…' she searched her memory for more, and came up with something.

`There was a really loud scream…Kanaye!' she rubbed her head in frustration.

`The idiot doesn't scream, though, ever. So maybe something happened to the guy.' she furrowed her eyebrows.

`I also heard someone else…what does that mean?' Yoko paused in her thinking, as she heard a splash.

Her head whipped around, trying to see if she could determine whatever had fallen into the "water". Nothing came up. Whatever or whoever it was was too far away for her to know what the splash was from.

All of a sudden, the beams of light shimmered towards somewhere below her, and she turned onto her stomach to see what was happening. They collected all in one spot, sending ripples out from where they gathered. Then the gathering of white light swirled, and suddenly cleared out. The peaks of rock were gone, leaving open a clear spot. But what was this for?

Yoko peered closer at what she was sinking towards.

It was as if she was looking through a window of an aquarium. And she was in the aquarium. Her view changed from above to the side in a panoramic outlook.

~

Five figures came into her sight. All clothed in ancient time kimonos, each a separate color. Their faces were overshadowed, so she couldn't tell what their faces looked like. The tallest was at least half a foot taller than her, and the shortest almost her height. Every one of them had their hands in their sleeves, hiding any skin from view. Whoever they were, they must have been either been statues or very talented at keeping still.

There was no sign of movement from any of them. Surrounding their forms was an aura, each a distinct color. They swirled and flickered in life, never deceasing.

The figures were standing what appeared to be a large and old hall. The walls and floor were made of stone, and odd symbols were carved into them. A pillar extended down from…somewhere.

It was cut off about five feet from the floor, where the base of the pillar extended upward about half a foot. The space between the column's parts was glowing with a soft white light, and through the spaces between the figures one could make out an object beyond.

The silence was thick, weighing down on the air around the five and the pillar.

Then, one of them moved.

One clothed in a deep gold kimono raised their head, revealing a woman showing resemblance to Saotome. She brushed her black bangs out of her eyes and moved over to another figure, dressed in a dark green. The woman raised a hand and hit the back of his head.

The thwack echoed, waking up the rest as well. And as they turned toward the two, Yoko saw that they all looked like Ranma.

`What the…?' She thought in confusion. Then it got interesting.

The smacked rubbed his head and looked at the woman with remorse.

"What was that for?" He asked sorrowfully. The woman clothed in gold smiled slightly, even though she seemed to be irritated.

"You're falling asleep on the job, mister! Ranma-kun is going to collapse from all that depression you're giving off." she scolded with an airy tone.

A 14 year old dressed in red stepped forward.

"Yeah, and it'll be the end of us all if you don't quit!!" He growled. One in blue put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"We cannot help the fact that he has been involved with this matter. Do not force yourself on one who cannot control the Soul Pillar." A man in his late forties spoke. The boy backed away, still angered.

"It's not my fault the idiot is always mad!"

"Or in sorrowful feelings." The sad green-clothed man added.

"We can't help these things, you know that." Another woman came forth, clothed in a flowery kimono, pink and orange. She looked the boy in the eye, not backing down at his fury.

"I-" The boy faltered at the newcomer's comment. He kept silent, radiating with a red aura.

The new woman turned to the rest.

"We must go through with this, or the Mind will be overcome with all of Ranma-kun's inner fatalities. Come, the Soul Pillar is waiting for the young Miss." Yoko's breath caught in her chest. Did the woman know she was there? A glance directed toward her, but soon was focused back on their task.

They broke off, the youngest muttering curses and the saddest looking forlorn.

The accursed… A whisper.

Their auras swirled, and they made their way to far corners of the hall. Yoko squinted through all the bright light. She made out a figure in between the pillar's space.

The white light flowed into the stone floor, making its way through the symbols to light up the hall. A boy of 6 was left standing there, eyes closed.

The rest stood still, facing outwards.

And the Soul Pillar awoke, eyes opening slowly. The boy looked straight ahead, catching Yoko in his sights. She gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. His eyes met hers, and she froze. He brought his hands up in front of him, holding them in a position as if collecting ki. The auras ceased to a minor glow, still being manifested.

"And so it shall be." His child-like voice rang out. An orb of some sort appeared between his hands, and suddenly exploded with brightness, and Yoko saw no more.

~

Yoko groaned and rolled over. Opening her eyes carefully she realized that she wasn't in that odd lake of water. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. What she had seen had seemed all too real, and all too much like an odd dream. Too many Ranma-alikes crowded her thinking pattern, and she shook her head to clear it. Why were those ones down there, not up where the rest lived?

"Hey." She turned her head towards the voice, which turned out to be Kanaye. She briefly noted his shoulders were shaking slightly, but wisely decided not to comment. The neko-teenager was staring at her oddly. And she stared back, wondering what he was doing. For a moment, they stood and sat, looking at the other for some odd reason.

Then Yoko finally tired of it, and questioned her comrade.

"What? What's with the staring, kitty?" He blinked, and then furrowed his eyebrows.

"When were you a guy? Or were you really a guy in the first place?"

Pillow, meet face.

"I am not a guy, you moron!"

Face, say hello.

"Well, ya sure as h*ll look like it!! You look like Saotome for Pete's sake!"

Umm…isn't the hello supposed to be polite?

"I what?!"

And kind?

"I said, you look like Saotome!"

Guess not.

Yoko stopped with her hasty retort and shut her mouth. Making sure her chest was still there where it should have been, she looked into the window at her reflection. She almost bolted.

Almost.

Kanaye had a point, she *did* look like Ranma, about as much as he did himself. Her hair had changed to jet-black, with faint green streaks running through it. The teenager had grown about an inch or so, and her face had shaped into more of a boy's face. Her scars still were visible on her right cheek, like a badge. Oh yes, any girl's dream; to look like a real boy.

To look like Ranma Saotome, actually. How nice.

`Geez, like there's not already enough problems with my life, thanks…' She studied her face closer.

`It really does look like him…at least that's as far as I changed.' Yoko shuddered at the thought.

"Maybe you should put your hair in a pigtail, then ya'd *really* look like `im!" Tearing her gaze from the window, her eyes narrowed dangerously at the cat eared boy.

"Then I'd look like you. Since you look like him yourself, anyway." Kanaye smirked.

"Yeah, I look-" he stopped, and realized what he was saying. His mouth snapped shut, and he glared at her for the millionth time in his life.

"Shut. Up."

Yoko smirked in return. She scanned her partner, noticing for the first time that he was wet.

He was holding a wet towel in his hands, and his hair was damp. His ears lay limply without their usual perk. She raised her eyebrow.

"Ah, so I see you've decided to get over your little fear of water and take a bath?" His eyes narrowed.

"Watch it." He held up the towel and pointed to his hair.

"I woke up with this wrapped around my head. And I was already wet, probably thanks to that stupid lake." Her eyebrows shot up, disappearing into her bangs.

"So you were the splash I heard!" Then she looked down and checked herself out, patting her arms and hair. They were reasonably dry.

"But I'm not wet. Looks like the gods have decided to be cruel to a certain little individual." She smirked. He bared his sharp teeth, stepping towards her with his ears pressed back against his head. Yoko smacked her head, causing him to stop.

"Oh, that's right! You aren't little! You're Big-old Mr. Neko-ken with the inflatable head." She proclaimed.

"I hope ya have a booking at the morgue, `cause you're gonna need it!!" Kanaye leapt at her, fist cocked, when…

"Kanaye Saotome!" He dropped in mid leap. Jumping up almost immediately he whipped around to face the door, his wet hair getting in his way. Pushing it out of his way, he glared at the newcomer (Sorano).

"Akamatsu, why'd ya have ta do that?! I told ya not ta use that name!" She shrugged indifferently.

"It was the only way to get you out of your thirst for Yoko's blood." He wrinkled his nose.

"Disgusting! Whad'ya think I am, a volk- no, a vip-" he gave up on trying to remember and say the word "vampire" and pointed a finger to Yoko.

"Whatever those things are! And if I was, I'd kill myself with a stick first before I drank any of her blood!!" Yoko laughed.

"I think it's with a wooden stake, not just a stick Kanaye. It takes more than that to kill a *vampire*, looks like Ranma's rubbing off on you; your ego has reached an all-time high in the past few days."

He bristled, but decided to keep quiet before his mouth got him into any more trouble. He had to at least keep the fact that he didn't have Ranma's infamous foot-in-mouth disease. Otherwise he would have had no grounds against Yoko in arguments.

Kanaye settled for glaring instead. Too bad his ki couldn't have been manifested from his eyes, then he could have actually went through with the saying, "If looks could kill…"

"If you two would stop flirting…" Sorano put in, effectively bringing two glares to her person. She ignored them and continued with her input.

"We could get onto more important things, if you will. Like why that "earthquake" has occurred?" Both of their glares dissipated to more sheepish looks.

She motioned to the rug lying in the middle of Yoko's room.

"Sit." They sat.

Sorano herself sat down with them, although it was on the chair stationed at the desk rather than the floor.

"Ahem. Now on to more important matters…" She produced one of the newer record books from the library, dated to end the next day.

"From this, I managed to grab some information on what happened to Ranma in particular." The woman shifted her gaze to Yoko.

"And what happened to you." Seeing that she had their attention, she began her story.

"Several thousand years ago…

(I'm not going to put in a Jusenkyo story to save you the boredom.)

"…and since you, Yoko, happen to be connected somewhat to the Inners themselves. Since the Inners have been affected by the pillar himself, you have been changed to fit this little incident."

She let the information sink in. Yoko was staring into her, although not really seeing.

`So they were the Inners…'

Kanaye was fidgeting, as the tragic tales had put him on edge. Especially the story of the Spring of Drowned Cat.

Sorano herself was a bit unnerved by Jusenkyo, and was secretly thankful that the 16 year old martial artist hadn't landed in the Spring of Drowned Cat. Who knows what might have happened.

Apparently, Kanaye was thinking along the borderlines of that fact.

Her expression soured. There still was much more to come, even worse than the Nyanniichuan. That was what was deterring her outlook on the future.

All of this started with the birth of one boy…

"There's more."

Both of her pupils snapped to her attention.

"Another curse?"

"Yes, but it goes beyond that. I have this feeling that Ranma's life will plunge into an all time low. And in order to keep this from going further, I need Yoko to help and fulfill her job out there."

Their eyes widened.

The two of them opened their mouths.

And nothing came forth.

They shut them once again.

It fell quiet(1).

Finally a sentence was uttered.

"I don't get it…" Yoko said quietly. It didn't make sense; all the parts to the puzzle didn't fit. Sure, Jusenkyo was bad and they had been idiots to start fighting against the warnings. But how could it get much worse? He already had a terrible life, how worse could it get?

Sorano frowned.

"Almost nothing has its limits. Even though you've reached 999 trillion, there's something beyond it. it won't stop until it has to."

Kanaye, in the meantime, had been staring at his hands. Holding up his right one and peering at his fingertips, and then dropping it back down to his lap. Then he brought up the other one, this time gazing at his palm. He shuddered, as the fall came back to him. Although he would never admit it, the experience pained him greatly, and…scared him. Just a bit.

He dropped the other arm as well and bent his head.

"Japan…has a lot of cats, don't it?" he asked. Yoko and Sorano blinked. That had certainly been out of the blue. Finally Yoko nodded.

"Yeah. There are some as pets, and even strays." Her blue-grey orbs looked on in wavering curiosity.

He took in a breath, and met her gaze.

"I think I'll be makin' some visits soon, whether I like it or not." Gold flecked eyes looked into his companion's, watching as the girl made use of his statement. Slowly she began to comprehend what he had said. Sorano did as well, but she waited patiently for her student to answer to the comment.

"…So what you're saying, is that kitty-chan's going to actually be…out there?" she asked. Kanaye hit her over the head.

"NO! That's-" she hit him back.

"Let me finish, Kanaye. I meant kitty-chan as the one who gave me this." she fingered to the three scarred gashes in her cheek. He stopped in mid-protest, also understanding what she said.

"Oh." The neko-teenager looked away. He remembered.

Silence and unease hung over them.

Sorano cut in.

"Yes, that too. I also have a gut feeling that it will get worse as it goes. Not just for Ranma, but others as well." she added.

Yoko sighed, giving in.

"So how do I get to Nermia? I mean, it's not like there's any way out of here." she queried.

"Yeah." Kanaye confirmed.

Sorano smiled and waved her hand.

"Don't worry about it, I've got that covered. All you need to do is to start packing, Yoko." her expression darkened and she dropped her happy tone.

"Kanaye, I want you to start training. I have a feeling that we're going to be seeing more thought-oni around these parts." The neko-boy blinked, confused at first. Then he caught on and nodded.

She looked at the both of them.

"A lot more."

~

A Year Later

~

"RANMA, GET BACK HERE!" Ranma Saotome was not a happy camper. One of his fiancées was currently after his blood, and the other two were probably on the way.

~Flashback~

It had all started at lunch, when he had just settled down and opened his bento when he heard the two customary calls directed toward him.

"Ran-chan! I made some okonomiyaki for you!" The chef herself held up a steaming box, catching his nose.

Then competition came.

"Airen, Shampoo make ramen for you!" The purple haired Amazon waved at him and walked towards him.They both plunked themselves down next to him and opened their food offerings. The aroma wafted into the air, and several students looked over in envy of Ranma's free food.

Both took out a pair of chopsticks and held their offerings up to him, trying to feed him their food.

"Eat!" Just as they were about to force their offer down his throat before the other could, the final fiancée appeared.

"Ranma! I made thi-"

Akane caught sight of Ranma, Shampoo, and Ukyo all together and saw red.

"RANMA! You pervert!" she dropped her squirming bento and pulled out one of her mallets. Ranma retaliated.

"It's just food, `kane! I'm not doing nothin'!"

Akane stopped. Pocketing her mallet into hyperspace, she saw that her concoction was spilt all over the ground.

"Ranma, look what you made me do!" He visibly relaxed at the sight of Akane's food not coming towards his mouth.

"Well, now you don't have to feed me!" His relaxed state disappeared as she produced another bento from nowhere.

"I brought extras, since you'd probably be hungry!" Shampoo spoke up.

"What violent-girl cook? You no kill it, whatever is." She pointed to the sludge that was seeping through the cover, flailing wildly. Akane growled.

"For your information, you air-headed bimbo, it's a new recipe that I took a long time to prepare! Now eat!" She shoved it towards Ranma, who was sweating buckets.

"Y-you don't need to, Akane. I already have enough food, see?" He held out his own bento that Kasumi had prepared. Ukyo and Shampoo held out their food as well.

"He could use some real food, sugar, not toxic waste." Akane's aura began to flicker.

"What…Did you say?!" Ranma cut in.

"It *is* toxic waste, Akane! If you really knew how to cook, then your food would actually be edible!" She lost it.

"Ranma, you JERK!" She brought her mallet down on top of his head. "U-unc-cute to-mm-boy…"

Then his afternoon went down from there.

He slept through the rest of his classes, and Akane got irritated at her fiancé's actions and tried to wake him up. They started fighting in the middle of class and were sent into the hall multiple times.

During those times, she promised his doom.

~End Flashback~

So here he was, running from her wrath. Today she seemed to be angered a bit more than usual, but discarded the thought under the violent category.

Then Ryouga dropped in.

"RANMA! How dare you refuse Akane's cooking?!" Ranma ran faster.

"Hiya, P-chan! Didn't think you'd be back so early, maybe you got Akari to lead ya here?"

Ryougs snarled, but before he could get his hands around Ranma's neck he was beaten to maiming him.

"RANMA! Stop picking on Ryouga!" Another mallet contacted with his cranium, and he soon he was flying in the Nermian skies. Akane "hmphed" and turned to the Hibiki boy.

"I'm sorry, Ranma's such an idiot." she said sincerely. Ryouga immediately shut down.

"Th-that's okay, Akane-s-san!" He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. There was his chance! He could finally take Akane as his own!

But words failed him as he looked into her brown eyes.

He sidled away without vocabulary to spare, and soon got lost with a goofy smile on his face.

Meanwhile:

Ranma lay awkwardly in a shattered park fountain, grumbling about uncute tomboys. It just so happened that a fountain would be in his landing spot, filled with cold water. Yup, life sucked for him, err…her.

"Geez, it's not like I wanted all those fiancées." He glowered at the thought. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? And Akane. Why couldn't she just see that he wanted almost nothing to do with them? Except maybe talk to Ucchan as a friend and eat her okonomiyaki. Shampoo wasn't an ideal friend if she was "engaged" to him.

Then there were the rivals. Kuno was merely an annoyance, wanting to kill him for his girl side. He shuddered at the thought if Kuno actually managed to catch the pig-tailed girl and keep him in his clutches.

Mousse was all caught up in trying to get Shampoo's attention. If Shampoo didn't even spare Ranma a glance, then he might have become an acquaintance.

Ryouga was a bit confused. No, not a bit confused, very. He couldn't choose between his beloved Akane and his sweet Akari. Then he blamed Ranma on running out on a fight that he himself was late for.

Kodachi actually did have some sense in knowing he would never love her, but was crazy in trying to make him her husband anyway.

And it didn't help that there wasn't really anyone to talk to.

Dr. Tofu wouldn't be too helpful in the romance department, as he was too caught up with Kasumi to actually give any advice. And he couldn't burden Kasumi herself any more. She'd probably tell him to make the right choice, or do as his heart told him to do anyway. What did his heart have to do with anything? Trying to make the right choice wasn't easy either.

Nabiki would probably find a way to make use of the information or charge him for using up her time. He couldn't go to Soun or Genma; they'd tell him to marry Akane and leave to find a priest. Seeing his mother was out of the question, too. He still didn't know if she'd fulfill the contract that he signed with finger paint.

He didn't want to talk to Cologne or Happousai, heaven knows what they'd do.

Ranma smiled bitterly. There was no one to help her, so she'd have to do it on her own. She pulled herself out of the remains of the fountain, dripping water.

About to wring out her soaked shirt, she stopped. Her danger sense detected something behind her and she stiffened. Whipping around, she set herself into a stance and called out,

"Who's there?!"

Silence met her call, and the stranger slipped away. Holding her tense position for a few seconds more, Ranma found that the intruder had indeed left the park. She relaxed, and straightened up out of her stance.

"That's odd…" Then she shrugged.

"Musta been a dog or something." Shivering in a draft that swept over her, the pseudo-girl remembered that she had fallen into the fountain and was currently wet.

Digging around in her pockets, she found that they were devoid of any yen.

Oh well, it looked like she'd have to use her kawaii act to wheedle some hot water out of a vendor. Then she could get on with it.

But something at the back of her mind tugged at the occurrence of the newcomer.

~

"Taidama." he called out. Kasumi found him at the front door and smiled.

"Hello Ranma-kun, dinner will be ready in a hour." she said sweetly. Ranma nodded and smiled back.

"Thanks Kasumi." He kicked off his shoes and made his way upstairs.

He passed by Akane on the way up. She scowled at him.

"Where were you? With one of your fiancées I bet-"

"I was halfway across Nermia, thanks to you." He interrupted loudly. He ran up the rest of the way, and into the guest room. Akane stared after him, a scowl on her face.

`There's something up with him…'

She turned and made her way down the rest of the stairs. She'd figure it out later, after she had watched TV.

~

*CRACK* Genma's chopsticks met their sorry end at Ranma's fist. Ranma quickly grabbed some of his father's food and ate it before he could snatch it back.

"That was mine! Insolent boy! Stealing food from your own father! You should be punished." Ranma snorted.

"You're the one to talk, pops. You took all of the food we had and gave me only rice on our trip, remember? And there was that one time where we only did have rice, and you tried to make me eat rocks instead. Feh, some training." Genma started to protest, but Kasumi looked on disapprovingly and Genma snapped his mouth shut.

"Saotome-san! Is it true?" He was inclined to nod meekly and duck his head. No one could really refuse Kasumi.

"Saotome! You mean you starved the future father of our heirs to the Anything-Goes?!" Soun brought up his demon head, yelling at his friend. Genma proceeded to cower.

"Hey! Who says I'll even marry a Tendo anyway?!" Ranma butted in.

"Like I would even marry that pervert!" Akane put in her two cents. Something snapped, and Ranma stiffened. Everyone thought they had heard it, but was it real?

Ranma faced the youngest Tendo, eyes blazing.

"I ain't a pervert!" Akane slammed her eating utensils down on the table and jumped up, temper rising. Her chopsticks flew up from the dinner table and bounced to the ground.

"You saw me in the nude! Twice!" He growled.

"The first time wasn't my fault. The second time was an accident!" The girl snorted, continuing on as if she didn't care what he had said.

"That's exactly how perverted you are! You sneak in to peek at me and you cover it up with an excuse that I can see right through! How pathetic is that?!"

"If you could see right through it, then you'd know I wasn't lyin'!"

"You're a horrible liar, Ranma, and you know it! That's why your flimsy excuses don't work!"

"Of course I'm a horrible liar! Everyone tells me that, alright! It's been pounded into my brain by now!"

She took a threatening step towards her fiancé.

"Listen!-" Ranma cut her off harshly.

"No…don't tell me to listen, you listen! You have no right to tell me what to do, or what I am! I ain't the one who walked in on me in the furo without knockin' and called me a pervert! If anyone's the pervert, it's you! And why do you care what I do?! Huh?! Tell me! Is it because you want to twist around whatever I say and use it as an excuse, is that it?!

You may have been babied, maybe not with riches and candy, but you have too much reign over what you think you should! Life ain't fair! So what if you aren't the best in Nermia? So what if your fiancé tries to make friends? You think he's a sicko for it! Why can't you just accept that everything can't go your way?!!"

By then, the rest of the household had stopped talking and were watching the verbal battle between Akane and Ranma. Akane had started turning red-faced at his rant, but he carried on nevertheless.

"I never glomp anyone! They glomp me! You just get jealous over nothing and mallet me into LEO…and then you won't admit that you could kill someone with your food and use me as your test subject!"

He paused for a moment to catch his breath. Then he looked at the "audience".

"I wasn't made to be used as your punchin' bag. Nor was I made to be an ATM machine, a bargaining chip, the producer of your stupid heirs, or the ticket to retirement!"

Each respective person winced. Kasumi frowned, her smile gone from her features. He finally turned to Akane.

"You wanna know why I never go all-out on you?! Why don't you see how much it takes to kill a god and live, how about that?! Will you understand then?!!"

He finished with that statement and met her glare. Akane's hands had curled into fists, and she was cutting into the palms of her hands with her nails. Her brown eyes were filled with a fire that raged as she glared at him.

"You…" She tried to work her jaw, but she was too much in a rage to calm herself down enough to. Ranma stood there, waiting for an answer. He was panting slightly from yelling at Akane with so much force in several breaths.

Everyone stayed quiet. They had never seen Akane this mad before, and it probably wasn't a good time to provoke her. Her anger went far deeper than any aura could express without burning the house down. She didn't need to have one in order to prove to point that she was obviously shaken and livid at her fiancé's actions.

"Get. Out." She seethed. Akane pointed to the door, her whole arm shaking in anger. The fire in her eyes burned harder. Everyone except Nabiki and Ranma gasped.

Soun and Genma started to protest when they met Akane's glare and Ranma's icy gaze.

They immediately shrunk away, one changing into panda form and starting to scribble furiously onto a sign, and the other in shock, tears streaming down his face.

The two teenagers faced each other again, staring at each other in their own personal fury. Waves of defiance and irate mind-sets radiated out from their bodies, hate rolling off in waves.

Finally Ranma spoke. His eyes had taken on a hard look close to comparable with steel. The others held their breath.

"Fine." He took a step backwards, not letting his glare leave his face. Then another.

Akane lost her patience at his slow movements and screamed.

"Get out! Leave! I never want to see you again, do you hear me?!! GET OUT!!"

Ranma was taken aback at her sudden outburst and froze. She threw a punch at him, which connected to his cheek. He stumbled backwards and was quickly shoved through the door. One of them dared to follow, but they kept out of sight.

Ranma didn't stop retreating until he backed up to the outer doors on the Tendo property, and he then realized what was happening. However, by then it was as if he didn't have the will to stop it all. He couldn't move from his spot against the doors. He was just a passenger in this event.

There was a loud slam and he heard someone running down the stairs.

Akane came back and thrust his large pack at him, and the doors opened at the force of the incoming pack. Ranma fell backwards and onto the pavement, still holding onto his belongings.

"Don't you dare come back; the engagement is off!!" Her voice started shaking at the end of her cry, and he heard her dash inside. Almost instantly his anger started to seep away as he heard her breaking voice, and it fell to shock.

There was a loud thumping and a crash. The neighborhood fell silent. Anyone who had witnessed or heard the argument was stunned into silence.

Minutes passed by, but it seemed to be forever. Ranma sat there, stock still and on the pavement. The sun had almost finished setting in the west, and clouds had begun layering the sky. It was a sure sign of a storm of some sort, and the feeling seemed to roll in when the fight had begun.

Ranma slowly stood up, hoisting his pack onto his shoulders as he went. As he settled the weight to a more comfortable position, he barely noticed that the pack felt incredibly heavy this time. His mind was still at the moment when Akane lost it and kicked him out of the Tendo Dojo. His head was lowered, his bangs over-shadowing his blank eyes still filled with anger. But most of it had subsided at Akane's cracking voice.

His body mechanically turned, and headed away from the dojo. There was no place for him there; Nermia was a location in which he should never have interfered with. He didn't look back, not even as loud noises erupted from his former home. One foot after another, he left down the sidewalk, down the street, down the path before him.

Soon he disappeared into the mists that rose suddenly and enveloped the streets. A heavy sentiment settled in the air, giving off a melancholy mood.

Kasumi stepped out from behind the wall's doors, looking in the direction in which Ranma had left. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and she gazed at the path he had taken.

"Ranma…Please be safe." she whispered.

-Yes! Finally the NWC. Please note that this is not an Akane-bashing fic and that I suck at any kind of fight scene.

You know what? I started reading more of the series (oh yeah, only two more mangas 0-_-) and I found that lots of fan fics portray Akane as a violent maniac or the most innocent 16-year-old in the world. Okay, that is a bit out-of-whack, even for the Ranma universe. I mean, THINK people!

Akane is in the middle. I don't take sides; I'm just an authoress of Ranma1/2 fanfiction. I just have opinions.

-R&R

(1)-I seem to have quite the thing for quiet scenes, don't I?

Alright, it might seem that I'm giving Ranma so much credit in my story, but hey, when one gets mad, they're unpredictable. All my fics are ABOUT Ranma anyway.

Also, if you have any offers to pre-read or any suggestions of what I could put it, please e-mail me at sccrgalaxy@hotmail.com. Oh yeah, To Dane 17 and any other readers:

As long as you have my permission, yeah, you can make your own little scenes, but please don't try to rewrite the whole gist of it. If you go ahead and start doing it WITHOUT my saying so…

>=( you can see just how nasty I can get.

~ja