"I’m fed up. They become more and more annoying every day. Something has to be done."

"Agreed, but what?"

"I don’t know. We have to make them see, make them understand."

"You can’t make the blind see and the stupid understand nothing."

"But there must be something we can do."

"Maybe there is. Give me some time to think about it."

"Get out of my room you stupid pervert!"

Soun Tendou calmly sipped his tea and ignored the explosion of Akane’s voice. Such things were a common occurrence around the dojo and, in fact, he would have been more worried if nothing was happening. The others around the table seemed to have similar sentiments, none of them straying from their daily routines.

"I wasn’t in your room dummy! I was in the hall!"

It appeared Ranma was male at the moment. That was the only thing that seemed to change when he and Akane argued. Not that anyone at the table noticed or cared. Even Nodoka no longer seemed the least bit interested in the daily fights of the young couple.

"Even the hall is too close for my liking pervert!"

"Afraid I might try to peek through a crack? Fat chance! Even if I did there wouldn’t be anything worth seeing."

"Fuck off Ranma!"

Soun winced at that last statement. The language as well as the intensity of the fights had been on the increase lately. Not for the first time he wondered if there was any chance of saving this relationship. After the wedding fiasco it had seemed almost as if the couple had been becoming more amiable towards each other, but then, for no apparent reason, everything had fallen apart.

He and both of Ranma’s parents had been pushing the couple harder lately, but that only seemed to make things worse. Ranma’s other fiancee’s had been becoming more persistent lately as well, making things that much more difficult.

"You’d like that wouldn’t you?"

"Not from someone who’s only half a man!"

"Stupid bitch!"

The eyes of everyone at the table widened considerably at Ranma’s tone and use of language. Soun and everyone at the table winced again as they heard Akane’s resounding slap followed shortly by heavy footsteps stomping down the stairs.

Akane reached the first floor of the dojo at the exact moment Ranma’s nerves reacted to the slap and he bellowed in pain. The youngest Tendou daughter looked neither pleased nor unhappy, only very angry. Without a word she plopped down at the table and began eating furiously.

"Akane," began Soun, "we need to have a little discussion about your language." The murderous glare his daughter threw him from over the top of her rice bowl stopped his line of thought instantly. "Maybe later," he mumbled.

Ranma came down the stairs a few moments later holding a hand against his injured cheek and muttering under his breath. As soon as he entered the dining room Akane got up and turned to leave. Dark looks were passed back and forth as she exited, but no words were exchanged. The looks by themselves, however, had lowered the temperature in the room by several degrees.

The young martial artist sat down next to his father and began stuffing his face. All conversation had ceased when Akane had entered the room and now, with the other combatant present, no one was eager to began it again. Even Kasumi made no comments as everyone finished breakfast.

Akane was leaving the house heading for school as Ranma finished his meal. No words were said to anyone and the two pointedly avoided looking at one another. When Akane had been gone for a good five minutes, Ranma departed in silence as well. With the young couple gone the tension in the house faded noticeably.

Soun turned to his training partner and long time friend with a worried look. "We have to do something Saotome. This relationship gets worse and worse every day."

Genma nodded his head sagely. "That’s true Tendou, but what can we do? We’ve tried everything short of tying them down and forcing them into marriage."

The eldest Tendou considered the latest possibility inadvertently delivered by Genma for a moment, but dismissed the idea as absurd. "There’s got to be something we haven’t tried. Think hard Saotome! We don’t have much time."

"Maybe you should simply let them be." Everyone turned to stare at Nodoka as if she had suddenly sprouted a second head. "If they truly love each other, something which I am beginning to seriously doubt, they will come together of their own accord. If not, then nothing you can do will change anything."

Soun mulled this over in his head for a few moments and then once again turned to his friend. "We have to come up with something quick Saotome!"

"You’re right Tendou, something has to be done."

Both men conveniently ignored the sighs from the three women still at the table.

* * * * * *

On the roof of the dojo sat a figure who was far from depressed by the morning’s events. In fact, she was elated.

The small, pink and white cat had watched the entire fight between Akane and Ranma from her perch on a windowsill. It was an auspicious omen as far as she was concerned, boding well for her long fought crusade to make the young martial artist hers. Soon now Ranma would leave the vile Akane of his own accord and come readily to her arms.

She watched with ears laid back as Akane left the residence, then with eyes filled with hunger as Ranma departed. Then, after listening to the conversation between the two worried fathers and coming to the conclusion that they were both idiots, Shampoo made her way over the rooftops of Nerima with the intent of sharing her great news with her great grandmother.

* * * * * *

Ukyou watched Ranma and Akane leave school with a hint of worry. She knew that neither of them got along, but their fights lately had bordered on homicidal. The okonomiyaki chef wanted Ranma more than anything in the world, but she wanted him in one piece, and the way things were shaping up that wasn’t going to happen.

Their latest verbal sparring match could probably be heard as far a way as Kyoto and had everyone staring at them in wide-eyed shock. It wasn’t the fighting that had everyone stunned, that was usual, it was the harshness of the insults and the language being used. Many people, having heard enough, had already departed rapidly.

Kuno stepped into the ring formed by the spectators and Ukyou groaned. That fool was the last thing that needed to be introduced into this equation. She couldn’t hear what he said, having distanced herself some ways away from the warring couple, but it got their attention and shut them both up for a few moments.

That few moments, however, was all the time it took for Ranma to drive the kendoist’s head into the ground. Ukyou winced at the show of violence, noting even from this distance that her love had used more force than usual when dealing with the annoying upperclassman. She wondered idly how many days it would take for Kuno to recover.

Kuno’s appearance did have the unexpected, yet pleasant affect of breaking up the fight though. Ukyou watched as the two combatants stomped off in blessed silence and sighed in relief. There would be no violence between the two for now.

Ukyou honestly didn’t mind the fact that they were fighting again. That fact only strengthened her position with her fiancé. She was simply worried about what kind of condition Ranma would be in when this whole thing was over and Akane had dumped him on the street like she was sure would happen.

Of course, if he was in bad shape that would only give her more opportunities to work her way into his heart. Not that she’d have to work very far. She was quite convinced that Ranma was very much in love with her.

* * * * * *

Tension hung so thick in the air at the Tendou Dojo that even Kasumi walked small. There had been no further outbursts since the young couple had returned, but there was a feel of something in the air. An illusion of serenity that could be shattered by one wrong word.

Conversation among the dojo’s other residents was kept simple and was usually carried out in hushed voices. Even Happosai decided it best not to cause any trouble today. He had walked into the dojo from one of this many panty raids, taken one look around, and had promptly walked out again.

With everyone being extra careful not to arouse the anger of Ranma and Akane, things remained calm. Right up until dinner.

It was a minor offense that started it. Something that happened regularly at the dinner table. Two people saw a piece of food they wanted and reached for it at the same time, locking chopsticks. Nothing to get concerned about really.

Unless, of course, the two people were Ranma and Akane.

Two pairs of glaring eyes regarded each other over a simple piece of dim sum. "I saw it first," stated Akane in a voice that should have frozen the dumpling solid.

"I don’t see your name on it." An evil look appeared on Ranma’s face and Soun and Genma both cringed inside. He released the dim sum with a slight smile. "I suppose you can’t get much uglier. Go ahead and eat until you explode. Maybe it’ll be an improvement."

Akane’s eyes narrowed with every word. "Are you saying I’m fat?"

Ranma seemed to consider this question for a moment. "Yes."

"At least I’m not a stupid, cross dressing, ass hole like you!"

Two sets of chopsticks slammed into the table as the couple leaped to their feet, preparing to do battle. "Did anyone ever tell you that you don’t have shit for brains?"

"That’s more than you’ll ever have!"

"And more than you’ll ever hope for!"
The insults flew back and forth, growing more heated with every pass. Soun and Genma simply hung their heads in defeat, both men sobbing gently. Nodoka and Kasumi watched the spectacle with wide eyes, hardly believing the words coming from the mouths of their loved ones. Nabiki pulled out a pad of paper and jotted down some of the more colorful insults she heard for use later.

Nodoka was about to stand up and put a stop to the battle with a couple of well-aimed slaps when Ranma let out a wordless roar that made everyone freeze.

"That’s it," he stated firmly. "It’s over!" Ranma jabbed a finger at Akane. "I never want to see you again!"

"That’s fine with me! Why don’t you go curl up and die somewhere?!"

Before anyone could stop them, the couple stomped off in opposite directions. The sounds of various doors being slammed marked their passage, but no one was paying much attention. They were all too stunned by what they had just heard.

The relationship between Ranma and Akane, a relationship that had lasted for over two years through trials uncounted, had just been irrevocably and undeniably shattered.

* * * * * *

"What do you mean he’s gone?!"

Kasumi held up the letter she had found laying on Ranma’s bed when she had come to rouse him for school. "That’s what his note says father."

Soun ripped the letter from his daughter’s hand and began reading quickly. It was short and to the point.

Soun passed the letter to Genma with a muffled sob. He had hoped that somehow they would be able to salvage what remained of the relationship between his daughter and Ranma, but now it looked like a lost cause. He fell to his knees and began to cry uncontrollably.

Genma finished with the letter and passed it to his wife. "China huh? The boy could have at least invited me along with him."

Nodoka scanned the letter quickly before passing it on to Nabiki. "We have to go after him. I have no intention of losing my only son again."

"But honey," protested Genma, "China’s a very large place and he already has half a days start on us. We’ll never be able to find him."

In her heart Nodoka knew this was true, but she wouldn’t let that stop her. "We have to try anyway. He should still be in Japan, we’ll start with the docks." Without waiting for further argument, she grabbed her protesting husband and headed for the front door.

Nabiki, watching the whole seen with interest, folded up the letter and placed it carefully in her pocket. The information within would be very valuable to the right parties.

"What’s going on?"

Kasumi and Nabiki turned to see their sister standing in the hall looking at her bawling father curiously. "Ranma left last night," stated the middle sister. "His note says he’s not coming back."

Akane’s features darkened considerably at the mention of her ex-fiancé, but she was smiling as Nabiki finished. "Good," was all she said before turning on her heels and heading downstairs.

"Oh dear," said Kasumi in her singsong voice. "I’m sure she’s very upset about this whole incident."

"I’m sure." Despite her sarcastic comment though, Nabiki wasn’t so sure her sister’s remark was too far off. She was almost sure she had seen tears glistening in the corners of Akane’s eyes just before she had turned away.

* * * * * *

Nerima was in an uproar.

When news of Ranma’s break up with Akane and subsequent departure got out, all hell broke loose. The first day twelve suitors showed up at the front door of the dojo, Kuno among them. The next day it was twenty-three. This time Kuno was absent because he was at home nursing several broken bones.

When two of Nerima’s most popular restaurants closed down without explanation the regular customers began to demand one and promptly rioted. This doesn’t seem like that much of a problem until you consider the fact that Uchan’s and the Cat Café had about a hundred regular customers each.

When Principle Kuno heard that the one person who had kept him in check for so long had disappeared, he enacted several new and very distasteful rules at the high school. When the students, without their strongest advocator yet still a force unto themselves, heard this they went on strike. This strike eventually led to a vicious fight between students and teachers, and, eventually, to more rioting.

The number of panty raids around town suddenly increased dramatically and many calls were made to the police concerning a small, gnome like man who was constantly being found in women’s dressing rooms. There were also a number of reports concerning a strange girl dressed in a leotard who bounded across the rooftops of Nerima at night calling out for her beloved.

All and all people were beginning to think that the occasional destruction of public property due to constant fighting was worth it to have Ranma back. The only problem was that no one could find him.

Nabiki looked up from her magazine as a weary looking Genma and Nodoka entered the living room. "Still no luck huh?"

Nodoka shook her head sadly. "A weak of searching and still no sign of Ranma. I’m positive he’s not in Tokyo anymore and I’m beginning to think we’ll never find him."

"Why do you bother looking for him?" demanded Akane heatedly from where she was watching television. "He made his choice. I say let him stay gone and good riddance."

Ranma’s mother favored the girl with a cold stare. "He is my son and I will not risk losing him again. It is partially your fault that he was driven away and I will hold you personally responsible for any harm that befalls him as a result of this escapade."

Akane snorted. "It’s not my fault that stubborn idiot ran off without telling anyone where he was going. You can’t blame me for his actions."

"Lunch time everybody!" Kasumi’s entrance with a platter of food stopped the building fight and Nabiki sighed in relief. They really didn’t need Nodoka lopping off Akane’s head.

"I’ll go get dad," she stated as she left the room and went to rouse her comatose father. Since Ranma’s departure he had done nothing but lay on his bed and stare at the ceiling. Occasionally he would break into fits of weeping that would last until he fell into an exhausted sleep. Nabiki felt sorry for him, but there wasn’t much she could do.

Lunch was a fairly quiet affair. Nodoka and Akane pointedly ignored one another and Genma, sensing the building tension, wisely kept his mouth shut. Soun simply stared blankly at his plate of food, occasionally remembering to put some of it in his mouth and chew. Nabiki, having nothing to say, remained quiet as well and the monotony of the meal was only broken up by Kasumi’s random comments.

At least, until the throwing star imbedded itself in the middle of the table with a dull thunk.

Everyone looked up to see a man dressed in a black ninja suit that left only his eyes visible. He was standing on the stones bordering the koi pond with another shuriken ready for throwing. All and all he looked very dangerous.

"Where is Ranma Saotome?" he demanded in a voice muffled by the cloth wrapped around his face. Nabiki thought it sounded vaguely familiar, but couldn’t be sure.

Akane was the first to recover from the stupor that had everyone staring at the ninja in confusion. "He’s not here."

The man’s eyes narrowed. "Then where is he?"

"I don’t know and I don’t care! He left a week ago and hasn’t been seen since."

"You lie! He dishonored my clan and now you are hiding him from me! Give him up or face the consequences!"

Akane stood up and turned the full intensity of her glare upon the ninja. "Listen, I don’t know who you are or what you want, but Ranma’s not here! Leave now before I pound you into the ground!"

"Threats little girl? I think not. There are other ways of getting what I want."

Before anyone could react, the shuriken was gone and a weighted chain was flying in Akane’s direction. She let out a startled squeak as it wrapped around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides. With a mighty yank the ninja pulled Akane off her feet and into his waiting arms.

By now everyone was on their feet and Nodoka had unwrapped her katana and had one hand on its hilt. "What do you think you’re doing?"

"Hear me people of the Tendou Dojo. You have one week to find Ranma Saotome and bring him to the top of Tokyo Tower. If he is not present at noon in exactly one week, the girl dies."

Nodoka’s blade was free of its sheath in an instant, but her charge was stopped before it had begun by the shuriken that suddenly imbedded itself between her feet. Before she could react to the attack, the assailant was over the wall and out of sight.

"Damn!" she cursed, re-sheathing her weapon.

"What do we do now?" asked Genma in a soft voice.

"What else, we find Ranma and take him to the tower."

Nabiki wondered if they would be able to accomplish that task. One week of searching had yielded nothing, what would one more week matter in the search. Ranma was long gone and she doubted anyone would find him if he didn’t want them too.

As everyone left to make plans for finding Ranma and saving Akane, she continued to stare out at where the ninja had been. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew him somehow.

* * * * * *

Ryoga stared at the sign before his face and gave thanks to whatever gods might have been listening at the time. Once again he had somehow managed to find his way to the Tendou Dojo, to the home of his one true love. And, of course, his most hated rival, but this time he was sure he would be able to defeat Ranma.

"Hello Ryoga," greeted Kasumi when he knocked on the door.

"Oh, uh…hi Kasumi. Is um…Akane home?"

"I’m afraid not. She was kidnapped by an evil ninja."

With Kasumi’s always cheerful voice delivering the dire news it took a few moments for her words to sink into Ryoga’s somewhat thick skull. "She was what?!"

"Kidnapped," came the cheerful reply, "by someone looking for Ranma."

"Well where the hell is Ranma?!"

"He left on another training trip almost two weeks ago. No one has seen him since."

Ryoga felt the world begin to tilt around him. Feelings of despair welled up within him at the thought of Akane being held prisoner by some evil mastermind bent on revenge. This was all Ranma’s fault of course. He should have been there to suffer in Akane’s place. But Ryoga could right this wrong. He would find his beloved’s abductor and free her from his clutches! Then he would find that traitorous Ranma and beat the crap out of him.

With those thoughts in mind, he set off in search of the evil ninja Kasumi had mentioned. After an hour of searching, however, he realized that evil ninja probably didn’t make their hideouts inside of closets. Now if he could only find his way out…

The closet door opened to reveal a familiar face. "Hello Ryoga," greeted Nabiki. "Lost again?"

Ryoga put on a sheepish look. "Sort of. I was looking for Akane."

"She was kidnapped."

"I know. I was trying to find her."

Nabiki’s face suddenly lit up and Ryoga got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. When Nabiki looked like that she had an idea, and when she had an idea trouble was on the way. Unfortunately, he was sure this particular idea involved him personally.

"C’mon Ryoga," she said grabbing his hand, "I have an idea."

"Umm…Maybe I should continue to search the closet. Ninja can be awfully sneaky sometimes."

Despite his protests, however, Ryoga soon found himself being led through the dojo by a very determined Nabiki. He could have over powered her and made his escape, but he was worried that he might hurt her. And besides, maybe her idea would be able to save Akane.

When the two of them entered the living room, he was glad that he had stayed. The room was full of very tired, very depressed people. The source of their depression was quite obvious to anyone who knew Akane’s current situation. He knew at that moment that he would suffer any indignity and any pain if it would save Akane and end these people’s suffering.

"Hey everybody," exclaimed Nabiki, grabbing everybody’s attention. "I have a plan."

Ryoga fervently hoped that the pain and indignities would be kept to a minimum.

* * * * * *

Ryoga looked down at his clothing in disgust. Instead of his normal yellow and black outfit, he was now wearing the red, gold, and black of Ranma’s clothing. The very idea that his hated rival had once worn these clothes repulsed him.

"Ranma…Ranma…Hey! Ranma!"

Ryoga, realizing that was supposed to be him, turned to see Nabiki striding towards him. "What?" he demanded testily.

"You have to get used to your new identity if you’re going to fool that ninja today. I doubt the guy’s seen Ranma up close, so the differences in your appearances shouldn’t matter too much. But if you forget who you’re supposed to be then it’s all over and Akane’s done for."

"Yeah, yeah," muttered the lost boy. They’d gone through all of this yesterday and now it was time to put the plan into motion.

Nabiki glanced down at her watch as the rest of the dojo’s residents arrived. "Well, looks like its time Ranma."

Ryoga through the conniving girl a withering look before beginning his trek towards the tower looming less then thirty feet away. The others, Nabiki, Genma, Nodoka, and Soun, followed close behind, intent on making sure that Akane would survive the day.

Tokyo Tower wasn’t very crowded today, but Ryoga was nervous about fighting on top of the tower with so many innocents around. One false step could send some of them plummeting to their death. The thought of Akane falling from the tower suddenly formed in his mind and his nervousness disappeared as he resolved to crush the man responsible for her capture.

He was practically frothing at the mouth when they finally reached the top of the tower, but there was no one up there to fight. A few tourists eyed the group quizzically, but there was no sign of the ninja or Akane.

"Maybe he’s late," offered Nabiki.

"Late to his own challenge," spluttered Ryoga. "How dishonorable."

The middle Tendou daughter only shrugged. "Nothing left to do but wait I guess."

And wait they did. Minutes passed, then an hour, then several. Still, no one showed up to fight. Everyone was beginning to grow very nervous by the time night began to descend.

"Are you sure it’s been exactly one week?" asked Ryoga.

"Positive," stated Nodoka. "I marked it clearly on the calendar."

"Then where is he? Where’s Akane?!"

Looks of equal confusion met the lost boy’s questions. No one had any idea what was going on, but it was becoming quite apparent that no battle was going to be fought today.

"He’s not coming," said Nabiki, voicing everyone’s thoughts. "Maybe he found Ranma, maybe he saw through our ruse, maybe he decided to keep Akane for himself. Whatever happened though, he’s not coming and I’m not sure we’ll ever see Akane again."

"AKANE!!!!" screamed Soun before breaking down into body wracking sobs.

Ryoga contented himself by simply putting large dents in the iron girders making up the tower. Akane had been taken from him and he had no one to blame but Ranma and an unknown ninja. One day he would find them both though, and he would kill him.

Nabiki didn’t lash out with violence or tears however. She stared out into the night and considered the events of the last week. Nothing added up. The ninja should have been here with Akane, his lust for revenge was obvious in his voice when he had issued the challenge.

If he had decided to kill her anyway and leave, then she was sure he would have left the body for them to find. Instead they found nothing. The three options she had listed earlier were the only possibilities she could come up with, but none of them made any sense given their current situation.

Unless, of course, there never was an evil ninja.

Going back beyond the last two weeks, all the way back to the failed wedding, she once again worked her way back to the present, keeping a few things in mind as she did. The fighting between Ranma and Akane had only started escalating three weeks ago, when the pressure from certain parent figures and fiancee’s had increased drastically. Most people would have said it was caused by simple stress. Nabiki, however, was much smarter than most people and had her own ideas as to why the young couple had suddenly become so venomous towards one another.

When she had run through the course of her mental investigation, it all added up. Everything, the sudden outbreak of hate between Ranma and Akane, the tears she thought she had seen in Akane’s eyes, and even the ninja’s disappearance made sense. A small smile crossed her lips.

"Those sneaky…They even had me fooled." Laugher suddenly burst from her lips and everyone turned to stare at her. Their questioning looks however only made her laugh harder. Wiping tears from her eyes, she made her way to the elevator, stopping only once to look down at her teary eyed father.

"Don’t worry," she said soothingly, "she’s okay." Then, saying nothing more for this was one secret she intended to keep for a short time, she departed while still chuckling quietly to herself. "An illusion," she whispered quietly to herself, "it was all an illusion."

* * * * * *

"Do you think they’ll figure it out?"

"Eventually I’m sure. Nabiki will probably be the first to figure it out, and when she does everyone else will soon know as well. For a price of course."

"Of course. My opportunistic sister can make a profit from almost any situation."

Ranma smiled down at the girl nestled in the crook of his arm and Akane smiled back. In the distance, the lights of Kyoto, their new home, punctuated the night. A soft breeze blowing off of the ocean below ruffled her hair slightly and he was amazed at how beautiful she looked.

"You’re beautiful," he said, stating his thought.

Akane blushed deeply, but her smile remained. "I thought I was an uncute tomboy."

"Yes. You’re beauty far surpasses cute and you will always be my tomboy." To support his words, Ranma slowly lowered his head towards hers and she closed her eyes expectantly. The kiss was long, deep, and very sweet.

But not nearly as sweet as what followed.

Owari