AN: Extended a bit just because. Standard disclaimers apply.
Ranma, Magic, and Mazoku
In the peaceful ward of Nerima, home of the weird, a young martial artist was sitting in a tree he had just landed in (courtesy of Akane Air), contemplating his current circumstances. 'Geez,' he thought, 'what'd I do this time?' Akane had taken to using Mallet-sama more often lately with less and less cause. At this rate, he'd end up with permanent brain damage in about a month.
One would think that after living together for more than a year and after all the times he had saved her hide that she would start being a little nicer. Unfortunately, it seems that whole year was wasted. After all the trials, hardships, stupid plots, and extra fiancées, they were no better off than when they started. Some (everyone but their fathers) would argue that their relationship was in even worse shape than it was in the beginning.
As he sat there, he began to list the possible reasons for Akane's latest fit of violence. 'Lessee,' he thought, 'I ain't been pickin on P-chan. Shampoo hasn't had a chance to glomp me in a while. I ain't seen Ucchan in a coupla days. I ain't got no more fiancées. Kodachi's outta town. She ain't been allowed in the kitchen since the last disaster, so I haven't insulted her attempts at pois- er, cookin… What the hell'd she hit me for this time?' It had often occurred to him, lately, that Akane was starting to hit him for no reason, thus setting the standard for their future should he marry her.
But she did have a reason… in her mind anyway. Lately, he had been trying to get along with her. In doing so, he had endeared himself to the general populace of Nerima. To girls, he appeared truly devoted to put so much effort into the relationship. Guys felt sorry for him for having to go the extra hundred miles to make it work. Nobody felt that she deserved him.
Unfortunately, many of the comments people made eventually reached Akane's ears. Typically, she blamed him for her short-comings. When boys started actually going out of their way to avoid her, she'd assume he'd scared them off or spread rumours about her. Not that she wanted to have anything to do with them, but it was embarrassing. When girls were nice to Ranma, she'd assume he was flirting with them even though they were making thinly-veiled attempts to steal him away from her. They stopped doing that and started snubbing her instead, which she blamed on him.
What landed him in this tree today was that some of the girls at school had been eyeing him up and she'd seen it. He was oblivious to it. He always was. And he wouldn't have done anything about it if he'd noticed. But that made no difference to Mallet-sama or the girl wielding it. In her eyes, he'd been flirting with them and cheating on her. So, here he was… up in a tree, feeling depressed, and not knowing why he was there.
While he sat deep in thought, ominous black clouds began to swiftly gather overhead. Ranma looked up at the sudden rumble of thunder and was about to move from his perch to avoid the imminent rain, when a flash of lightning struck him. After the smoke cleared, all was silent, the sky was clear, and the only evidence that anything had happened was the charred tree branch where our young hero had once sat.