Where it all Begins

"Ah! Get it off!" Ranma shouted. C-c-ca - furry demons! They're everywhere! Sharp claws and fangs ripped into Ranma, with cold lifeless eyes. Demons! "Get them away!" he shouted, but the hoard just got closer. He felt their chi affecting him, changing him into a demon as well. Then they jumped at him.

"Rwarrrr." The alpha predator woke up. One growl was enough to send those kits that were playing running away. Why would he possibly be afraid of them, he was the alpha. His claws are sharp and muscles taunt. He didn't feel the presence of any more enemies, so he just jumped from roof to roof. "After a good fight, you can always find a good place to rest," thought neko-Ranma. "Ah, I can find that girl! She always makes the best naps."

He paused on the top of a roof and sniffed the air. "Her aura is all over the place but I can't find her. Oh well, this place seems as good as any," thought neko-Ranma. "It is full of the aura of family and home. I'll just take a nap here."

Akane was brooding as she walked home alone. Her ruined wedding was three months ago, but Ranma was the same. He was still a perverted jerk and continued to tease her. "Hmm… that jerk," She huffed when she smashed him away after the last taunt. Inwardly she thought, "I thought he said he loved me? Why is he still the same jerk?" She was not in the best of moods when she came home.

When she came home, she saw Ranma sleeping on the roof. Didn't he even know that she wanted to talk to him. She had thought on her actions that day and wanted to talk to Ranma. But after seeing him just sleeping there on the roof, not even caring about how his fiance felt she started to get angry. He always ignored her and started flirting with those other girls. He always ate Ukyo's and Shampoo's food, but he ran away whenever she tried to feed him. Thinking about Ranma's actions that day, her anger aura flared and she flew off the handle.

When Akane came back, neko-Ranma woke up. That girl had come back! Just as he was about to stretch and walk over to her, neko-Ranma's danger sense went off. Jumping back he avoided the mallet that came crashing down on the roof. "Ranma you idiot!" Akane shouted as she brought her hammer down to punish the pervert.

Neko-Ranma was confused. "Why was she attacking?" thought neko-Ranma. "She didn't feel warm. She was attractive, yet repulsive. Why? Surely she wouldn't hurt him. Maybe she was fighting someone that I can't sense?" Confused, neko-Ranma decided to stay where he was.

Akane was very, very angry. Not only was Ranma being a jerk like always, when she finally gets home and is thinking about apologizing he is just sleeping! Red tinged her vision as she swung aiming to get Ranma as far away as possible. The ki-hammer connected and she used her full strength to smash Ranma away. He didn't go very high, but instead smashed into the street nearby, but she was too angry to notice.

"Hmm.. that idiot," Akane sniffled as she went into the house. Shampoo found Ranma just as angry girl shouted and saw Ranma get malleted again, but she felt that something was different this time. He would normally allow himself to be malleted far away to give angry girl time to calm down. Shampoo went to go check on Ranma. She knew that he was a great warrior, but she cared about him. As she came closer the dust finally settled revealing Ranma's figure. Shampoo mewled to check and see if he was alright.

When Shampoo look up and saw his eyes, she was shocked. Ranma was always the strongest, most amazing person. He would always somehow beat anyone all the time. He prided himself on being undefeated, so why were his eyes so dull? He was completely motionless as he lay embedded in the neighbor's wall, his eyes completely unfocused and confused. The only time she had seen anyone look like this was mother when father died. Completely defeated.

While Shampoo was staring at Ranma in shock, his thoughts were whirling around trying to understand. That girl … hurt him. On purpose. He felt his aura subtly become more human like as neko-Ranma tried to understand. He liked her. She was nice, kind, thoughtful, forgiving, cute. He thought that she liked him too. She was always nice to him. As memories surfaced, neko-Ranma face began to change. She used to be those things. Now she was rude, selfish, unfair, hurtful, angry, uncute. That girl was now just an angry girl. Her aura and chi, even from across the street, radiated anger and hate.

He slowly got out of the crater and went on his hands and knees. Shampoo crept closer, and mewled again to try and get Ranma's attention when she was brought grinding to a halt. Tears. Falling from Ranma's face. Tears. Ranma never cried before. "Oh no," thought Shampoo as she ran to get great-grandmother. "Ranma has never been hurt like this in the neko-ken. What is going on? Great-grandmother will know what to do."

This was his breaking point. Just like with Ryoga's technique, he crumpled to pieces and exploded outward in tears. For 2 years he had been here pushed to the brink. All his friends hated him and attacked him for no reason. He never was very good with people, and he didn't really know how to change their hearts. For 2 years he stayed with the Tendo's, with Akane, and had learned to love them, like he loved Pops. They weren't the best, but they had become family. But they never saw him the same way. To Pops he was a free meal ticket. To Soun Tendo he was a retirement plan. Nabiki saw him as a cash cow, and even Mom only saw what she wanted to see. Shampoo and Ukyo saw him as a marriage certificate. And Akane. She saw him as a pervert that she was stuck with. No love. There were glimmers of hope that he had seen, but in the end she didn't really love him. He had given so much for her and had let her into his life, but she didn't love him. She never did.

"It's funny," Ranma thought with tears running down his cheeks, "I didn't think love would hurt this much." She didn't love him and never would. He was only the pervert she was being forced to marry. Ranma slowly stopped crying. Akane would never love him, but that didn't change the fact that he did love her. Or, at least he used to. "I fell in love with you," murmured Ranma as he got to his feet. "I guess I fell in love with the wrong Akane. I won't force you anymore. Goodbye Akane." Ranma, still influenced by the mentality of the neko-ken, turned and run away on all fours. The Tendo's wasn't home anymore. It was infected with her chi. The further he got, the more he became a cat as he ran away.