Akane smiled deviously to those around her. This plan was great, if she did say so herself.

*Glug, Glug, Glug* Ranma Saotome walked through the familiar halls of the Tendo household. The drink he was drinking – an American drink called 'Gatorade'- was actually Ryoga's.

"Ryoga, where are ya?" he called, moving not quite as quickly as his regressed five year old legs would let him. Why would he? He had time, and he sure wasn't going anywhere anytime soon (though Ryoga, he could get lost going down the street). He slowed down and peeked into Akane's room, "Ryooooogaaaa." No response. He'd had a feeling he wasn't gonna be there, but what surprised him was that Akane wasn't there. It was her room after all.

He stopped in his tracks. As a matter of fact, he hadn't seen anyone in a while. He sniffed the air for the familiar smell of Pinesol from Kasumi's cleaning. Nothing. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't even hear Nabiki's money counter machine as it whizzed through thousand yen notes. It was quiet, he realized, and that made him anxious.

Pshh, a voice pushed into his head, they've probably headed to Ucchan's as revenge. He peeked into the kitchen to find that all the food was still there, untouched. It hadn't even been set yet. He'd been expecting to see a plate of Akane's cooking and the rest of the food somehow vanished into thin air, but there was nothing of the sort.

"Guys, where are ya?" he called, anxiousness causing him to move faster. Not that he was worried about them of course. He just preferred to know that they hadn't gotten themselves into some kind of trouble. What with Ryoga, his Pop's and that un-cute tomboy with them, the possibilities were endless.

Ryoga's probably gone 'nd gotten 'em lost or somethin', his mind reasoned (he didn't care to make note that they probably had Nabiki with them, and her sense of direction was+++++ near immaculate). He just needed to wait till they got tired of walking in circles and decided to come home. So he did.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And had a nap.

And sparred a little with his shadow (who insisted on playing dirty).

And did some chin-ups.

And push-ups.

And waited some more.

He was bored. Of course he'd learnt the whole 'patience is a virtue' thing, but this was getting ridiculous! It was almost midnight for Pete's Sakes! And why was it suddenly so chilly in this room?

Rrrrraaaanmaaaa.

He really didn't appreciate the chills that danced their way up his spine.

Rrrranmaaaaa.

Jiving wasn't much better.

RRRRRRRRRRRRAANMAAAAAAAAAAAA!

That time the chills themselves hid for cover. The ghostly voice seemed to have a particularly... feline tint to it. "T...that's not funny guys," the five year old pulled his best bored face. That is, till all the lights died at once, and the air began to blow in a particularly ominous way.

RRRRRAANMA SAOTOME!

The voice was feline, the cat like rolled 'r's unmistakable. The five-year-old martial artist turned stiffly to the source of the voice, small teardrop making themselves known in his eyes. His brained tensed, his catophobia starting to work its magic as he processed the sight before him. A large imp in the shape of a cat.

A really big cat.

A really big, scary, cat.

RANMA SAOTOME

This time the felines hiss came out as a bark.

Ranma had no objections as his body picked itself up and dashed a hole through a wall. "WAAAAH!" he wailed, trying his best to get away from the beast. "KITTY GO 'WAY! KITTY GO 'WAY!" There were few things that stood in his path: a statue of a mushroom, a small ceramic angel (he didn't understand why it was there. He doubted he ever would) and finally, the wall separating the Tendo Dojo from the rest of the world. All of these things were no more by the time the teen in the toddlers' body had come past them.

"DEMON CAT! DEMON CAT! DEMON CAT!"

He could faintly see the lights as they flickered on in the houses of those around him. Of course this distraction was for the best. If he hadn't, then he might've looked back and seen the ever-glowing spirit grow bigger and bigger with every additional dead-cat spirit that came its way.

MRAAAAW

A small, luminescent blast shot from its mouth and hurdled towards the speeding toddler. The blast didn't seem to slow nor lose power. As for Ranma, well, he was running surprisingly fast for a toddler, but that was a fact he didn't care to note. What he wanted to do for the time being was to get the hell away from the demonic creature that tailed him closely.

"HAHAHA," the residents of the Tendo household shared a joyful laugh- well, two of them anyway. Nabiki groaned and took another sip of tea.

"Did you see his face?" Genma Saotome let out a cackle that shook the very walls of the Tendo Dojo. Outsiders would probably have looked in and wondered what kind of sicko would get pleasure from making a five year old pee his pants. Their answer would then have turned into a panda before their very eyes at the splash of cold water.

"BAHAHAHA!" Soun took another gulp of his sake, "Saotome my friend, that was a brilliant idea. Brilliant!"

Akane sighed and looked away from the two men, she for one felt bad for fooling Ranma like that. It seemed cruel, getting Shampoo to dress up like a cat-ghost to chase after him, she meant. Her eyes lifted to the black midnight skies, and her heart felt like lead. "Oh, Ranma..." she sighed, abruptly standing up to go to her room. They'd chased him close to two hours ago but there were still no signs of his return.

Her eyes widened as she click-clicked open a doorway to ultimate disaster. Books... everywhere... clothes... tattered... and finally, a smashed frame with a picture of her mother in it. Eyes fixated upon it, the rest of the hazards seemed to fade from existence as she let her hand slide around the glitter-laden edges. She placed the photo facedown, suddenly loss of all traces of sympathy. After all, didn't all naughty boys deserve to be punished?

But finally, as Ranma tripped and fell over the bronze statue at the edge of the building he was running on, his thoughts went back to Akane and the rest. Were they okay? How had the cat beast found their home? Did Akane notice that his dirty-fighting shadow had destroyed her room?

He remembered the small glittered picture frame as it sat on her desk. He'd knocked it over and had broken its fragile frame. He... he was gonna make her a new one with Ryoga, but he'd never found him.

Akane...

Ranma's eyes were half opened, and he could see that he'd clearly missed the canal and was now headed for the rock filled ledge (he remembered it to be hard as... well, rock). His sixteen year old form would be able to make it for sure, but this body... This body was fatigued and little.

"AAARRGH!"

A blast resounded from nowhere, knocking him straight in the back and sending him speeding even faster towards his now apparent doom.

A small tear formed in his eye once more as he took what appeared to be his last breath. Akane... I'm sorry... He closed his eyes and slipped out of consciousness just before he was caught by the long, slender arms of a passerby.

His breath was warm as she held his stilled figure and brushed his bangs from his face. "Sweetheart..." she cooed, and then began a steep trek through the woods, all the way singing in a slow voice:

Sweetheart I love you

Sweetheart I'm here

Sweetheart don't miss me

Sweetheart I'm near

There's no one to hurt you

There's no one to care

Oh sweethearts just listen

Just sleep, I am here.

My first Ranma story! On behalf of Air Mocha, we thank you for – wait, wrong speech-

Well, I don't know if I legit need that song bit in there, should I take it out? Your choice, peoples.

I'm not sure if I should say anything yet. In fact, I'll just let you watch, oui?