In a hospital in Nerima there was a young boy in the critical care unit. His injuries apparently weren't too life-threatening but they were severe indeed. Everyone wondered just how he could get them considering most people if not all in the district knew who he was. And he wasn't the type of person to get hurt in this way. The medics had already informed his family and heard they were on their way. Everyone wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Several hours earlier

"RANMA NO BAKA!" One short-haired tomboy screamed at a pig-tailed martial artist before she whipped out a mallet and sent him flying into the air, destination unknown but most likely water.

The targeted boy was none other than Ranma Saotome, both famous and infamous in Japan and China for his many skills and faults. And as usual, it had been his first of three fiancees, one Akane Tendo, who had sent him soaring, for reasons he didn't understand.

"What's her problem? I just said that next time she tries to cook she should actually look at what she's usin' before she uses it instead of just mixing random things together to create slop." Ranma mouthed off to himself. "Why does she hafta hit me for tellin' the truth?"

Soon enough, Ranma landed, and sure enough again, it was in water. The canal closest to his home to be precise. Climbing out in his cursed form, Ranma wringed her clothes as free of water as she could without taking it off. Still not dry, and still upset at Akane for acting unnecessarily violent, she decided to not head to the Tendo household right away. Not sure where else to go, the best idea seemed to be Tofu's clinic for hot water and maybe some comforting words. The doc was one of the few people Ranma knew that didn't immediately disregard his say on something.

Sadly, Ranma was unaware that he was being shadowed, by someone lurking in the shadows. Someone with a grudge. 'Damn you Ranma. I've never been able to defeat you before, and maybe I never will. But I've got something you're not prepared before.' The figure held in a chuckle, to avoid giving away their presence.

Ranma made it to the clinic and was glad to see the good doctor was on a break at the moment. "Ah Ranma. How are you? Like some hot water?" Tofu politely greeted.

"Sure Doc. That'd be great. I'm doing about as usual for me."

Tofu turned on the sink and waited for the water to warm up properly. "That bad huh?"

Ranma nodded. "Doc, you know I trust you more than most. What do you think about my situation?"

Tofu got the requested water in a glass and looked over at the boy-turned-girl. Ranma didn't usually ask for help or advice, either too stubborn or confident to do so. So for him to do so was a sign of desperation or maybe humility. He handed the water over before saying anything. "Well Ranma, I'm honored you value my opinion. All I can say is that you're in quite a mess that's not really your doing but everyone seems to act like it is and it's all on your shoulders to do something about it. Sorry to state the obvious." Tofu paused as Ranma turned back into a guy. "One thing that bothers me is not only how to settle this, but what'll happen once you actually seriously attempt too."

Ranma looked surprised. "Whaddya mean Doc? I am trying to settle this crap."

Tofu took a seat and Ranma did the same. Neither noticed that something was going on outside from a safe distance. "Ranma, what I mean is when you decide what is done about your many fiancees. Everybody is saying you have to pick one out of three. One problem is that all three have viable claims to the betrothal and all three act in ways to make the pact not worth honoring, to a point. Akane hits you at a moment's notice, Shampoo drugs you left and right, and Ukyo doesn't take you into consideration, just acts and assumes. At least, that's what I see."

"But the biggest problem is that everyone involved is missing the big picture." Tofu continued. "Everyone, even you maybe, seems to think that all you have to do is pick a girl and marry her and that'll settle absolutely everything. That's fairy-tale nonsense. Does it make sense that once you pick a girl to marry that the others will just surrender peacefully and leave you alone?" Ranma shook his head, the failed wedding coming to mind. "Of course it doesn't. And think of the consequences of any choice."

"If Akane isn't the one, then the Tendo's would have the right to declare a feud with your family because of all they've done for you and your father in the past two years. Same goes for the Kuonji's since your father abandoned Ukyo on the road. And if Shampoo isn't the one, then who knows just what's justifiable under Amazon law that Japanese law can't protect you against?"

"So basically I'm screwed no matter what. Is that what yer trying to say?" Ranma replied. Suddenly his danger sense started to go off, but he couldn't find anything threatening.

"Maybe. But think about this Ranma. So far you've been trying to find a way to please everyone at once. Maybe instead you should focus on who's worth pleasing. Whose happiness is more important to you? For that matter, which girl can you actually see yourself having a happily married life and a family with? A marriage needs love and trust to work, not obligati..."

Before Tofu could finish that sentence, the window next to them exploded loudly and Ranma was sent to the ground. He screamed and Tofu could see some blood. Ranma even started coughing up blood as he twitched and screamed. Tofu's eyes widened as he realized what had just happened.

Ranma had just been shot.

Thinking quickly, Tofu grabbed his phone and dialed for an ambulance at Nerima's general hospital, where he had good connections for in case his clients had something too severe for him to treat. "Hello. This is Tofu Ono at the Ono clinic. I need an ambulance here right away. Somebody has just..." Tofu went silent as he felt a sudden burst of pain in his back. He felt where he hurt, and found blood. He had been shot too. "A YOUNG MAN AND MYSELF WERE JUST SHOT! WE NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP RIGHT AWAY!" Tofu heard the person on the other end confirm they would send help immediately and try to wait and help themselves if they could. Tofu had them confirm the address of the clinic and then hung up. Thinking quickly, he rushed to get bandages and gauze and stayed away from the shattered window before he passed out from blood loss. Ranma seemed to will himself to pass out to avoid the pain.

The sniper was long gone before the medics arrived.

Present time

Ranma was still out, and Tofu was being examined in a separate room. The pig-tailed gender bender hadn't regained consciousness yet, much to the worry of the medics examining him. They didn't like how there were no witnesses to the attack and the damage done by it. They were not looking forward to the family's reactions when they heard the bad news. But they hoped that whoever did this was caught and punished severely, by both vigilante and judicial means. Some doctors in the hospital knew Ranma and owed him for helping them. So they wanted to see whoever did this to him suffer.

The door to the room opened, and first Akane and Nodoka entered, folowed by the rest of the Tendo household occupants. Ranma's fiancee and mother immediately tried to approach him, but were stopped by the doctors overlooking him.

"Out of my way! I want to see my son!" Nodoka demanded. She would have pulled out her katana had the security not confiscated it to let her enter the building. Last thing they needed was a frantic woman making more injuries.

"Now is not a good time for him to have visitors. If you'll wait out in the hallway I'll tell you his condition in a moment." One doctor told them all. They all reluctantly obeyed. The doctor confirmed with the others on the young boy's condition, and went out to be the bearer of bad news. "Now, can I assume that you're his family?"

Nodoka and Genma stood up. "Yes. We're his parents." Nodoka then motioned to Akane. "And this young girl is his fiancee." For once she didn't argue the point. "Doctor, what happened to my son?"

The doctor sighed sadly. "I'm afraid your son... was shot." They were all speechless. "Yes, you heard right. Somebody actually shot him. We have no idea who or why. They also shot Mr. Ono. Both are in critical condition."

Nodoka collapsed to her knees shedding tears. Akane just sat down with a blank wide-eyed look on her face. Genma and Soun shared a look and Nabiki kept her Ice Queen mask on to cover her shock. Kasumi was the first to regain her composure. "Are they going to be okay?"

"I can only hope so. In Ranma's case the bullet got lodged in his lung, damaging it and his ribcage and filling it with blood. We've stopped the external bleeding and we're going to move him into surgery to fix the internal damage right away."

"Will the boy still be able to do the Art?" Genma asked.

"I doubt it Mr. Saotome. Unless he gets a lung translant your son will have breathing problems for the rest of his life, thus limiting his physical abilities. And even with a successful transplant, it would take him a long time to be fit enough to exert himself that way." The doctor explained.

Genma didn't look pleased. "So doctor, what you're telling me is that after training him for ten years straight, my son can no longer do anything I taught him, is that right?"

"Yes." The doctor stretched the word as he said it, not liking where this was going all of a sudden.

Genma sighed, looked down, and shook his head. "What a shame. To have spent all that time and effort on training that disrespectful punk only to have him beaten by a nobody in such a way like a weak girl. What a waste. Now how can my school be passed on?" 'And now my retirement plan has been crushed. Now what do I do?' He added in his head.

Some listening were shocked, but Soun said something before they could. "Indeed. The boy must have been more reputation than man if he was done in so easily by a coward. I can't leave my dojo to someone who can't fight without loosing his breath. Well Akane, looks like you're off the hook."

The short-haired Tendo girl didn't respond or even look at her father. But Nodoka, Kasumi, and the doctor were in shock at this blatant disregard for Ranma. "How can you say such a thing?" The doctor asked. "You're talking like he's a disappointment for being a victim."

"He is." Genma replied. "I didn't raise my son to be a victim. I raised him to be a winner. Anything less is unacceptable." He then turned to his wife. "Say, Nodoka, maybe you should enforce that pledge. If he was beaten by someone too cowardly to show his face or use proper means to win, then surely he's not manly enough to fit the bill. It might even put him out of his misery."

Nodoka was silent, and Kasumi prayed she wasn't actually considering it. "What about Tofu?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't checked on him yet." The doctor replied. Kasumi didn't look eased and Akane still looked somewhat catatonic.

Soun got up. "Let's go home Saotome. No sense in hanging around anymore."

"Agreed." The panda-man replied, then turned to his wife. "Coming, Nodoka?"

The woman refused to make eye contact but kept her voice steady. "Not now. I'd... like to see my son first." What she wanted to say was 'I'd like some time away from you now.'

"I'll stay to check on Ranma too. And I think Akane would like that as well." Kasumi told her father, who couldn't say 'no' to her. "Nabiki?" The eternally serene woman asked her mercenary sister.

Nabiki looked at Ranma's room and muttered softly to herself. "I bet this is going to cost us a lot. And he won't even be around for me to use to fund the costs this time. You owe me big time Saotome." With that, she and the two older men left the hospital back to their home, leaving behind three women and a doctor. Three of which who couldn't believe what they had just witnessed, and one who hadn't reacted at all.