Author's note: I generally write sort of WAFF fanfics, because I gravitate towards stories and movies with happy endings. In that vein, you won't see me write much in the Ranma ½ universe that doesn't involve Ranma and Akane being a couple. I was inspired, however, by a fanfic I stumbled upon by Exar called "The Pursuit of Happiness" (formerly titled "Love's Truth"). Online copies:

triple-W dot florestica dot com/exar/tpoh/
triple-W dot angelfire dot com/anime3/exarkun/
triple-W dot fanfiction dot net/s/420348/

It stopped mid-stream some years back, and it made me think of the possibility of Ranma and Kasumi getting together. I thought about being a sleaze and simply continuing someone else's story, but I think I focus things a bit different than Exar did, so I figured I'd just write my own in a similar vein. This one starts a little dark; I warn you ahead of time.

Five years. It had been five years since Ranma had arrived at the Tendo house. That meant that it had been four years since he'd left the Tendo house. He'd tried to make things work with Akane. He really had. But... he just couldn't get past the distrust. Every time something happened, it was always his fault. Always. Then there was the violence- when he was in trouble for something he didn't do, it meant dodging flying objects from around the house. No rational human being should be expected to put up with that. So, in exasperation, he'd told his father he couldn't do it. Genma wasn't receptive, so Ranma took the only out that he'd had: part ways with him, and live his life on his own.

It wasn't an easy life, but it wasn't terrible. He'd found a cheap apartment, and got a job working as a mechanic. It was not, however, intended to be permanent. He was keeping up his martial arts exercises, but ways to get paid through martial arts weren't exactly plentiful. He dreamed of the day that he could be a professional MMA fighter, or an instructor at some school. The day would come, he told himself.

Some days, Ranma found himself looking back on the old days at the Tendo house. There were some things that he missed, but he was sure that everything was different now. After all, with five years passed, what he remembered was almost certainly gone- the fun of the rest of the family. Soun had been nice to him, Kasumi was the sweetest person he'd ever met, and Nabiki... well... she made life interesting. After all this time, the girls were most certainly married off. 'Maybe,' he thought, 'I'll go visit in a couple of years, and see how different everything is.'

That visit got bumped up when he received the letter from his mother, Nodoka. He'd kept in touch with her, but this was no friendly correspondence.

Ranma,

I write to you with sad news. Your father, Genma, has died. I wish you could have come before he left us, but it happened suddenly. There is much to discuss, can you come back to Nerima? I still live in the same place, come right away if you wish and are able.

Mom

Ranma stared at the letter in disbelief. While he hadn't spoken to his father in years, he certainly hadn't wanted him to die. He packed his bags as quickly as he could and bought a bus ticket. It was time to see how the years had been to everyone.

Ranma knocked on the door. A sad and familiar face met him at the door. "Ranma," Nodoka said, embracing him. "Come in, my son." Ranma set his things in the room that Nodoka had prepared for him. He mused over a new thought that had popped into his head during the hour-long bus ride, but he didn't know yet if it were possible. As he walked around the house, he was a bit surprised to see a great deal of his dad's things. "Dad moved in with you?" he asked. "Yes," Nodoka replied. "Soun had said he was welcome to stay with him, but he decided that with your engagement off, he might as well come back to his wife." She smiled weakly. "We did get along, though. I think he was afraid at first that I'd hold him to that seppuku promise... well, I did, but that didn't require him to do it. He'd promised to make you a man among men, and you responded by realizing that you were in no-win situation, and made your own way. To me, that makes you a man among men."

Ranma blushed. "I always felt bad for Mr. Tendo," Ranma said. "He didn't say much at the time, but I'm sure he wasn't happy with me." "Actually, Ranma, he always spoke fondly of you. He blamed Akane for your split. He was never cruel to her or anything, but he believed she drove you away. He and your father used to argue over whose child had ruined things, both of them blaming their own. Nice, huh?" She smiled. "But you'll see. We're expected over there for dinner tonight. Kasumi is cooking something wonderful."

A million questions flew through Ranma's mind as they walked to the Tendo house. "What happened to dad exactly?" was the first thing he asked. "He was visiting Soun," Nodoka began. "They were having a friendly spar in the dojo. I guess he told Soun to give him a minute to catch his breath, and just... couldn't. Soun saw the pain on his face and called an ambulance, but he was gone within the hour. He'd had a heart attack. I'm so sorry you weren't around to see your father one last time, even if he was still bitter, but it was so sudden..." "Yeah, me too," Ranma said quietly. He continued. "So, what ever happened with everyone? Did they all go off and get married?" "I'll let them tell you about it. It's been a pretty eventful five years; let's just put it that way."

Ranma turned her reply over in his mind as they arrived at the Tendo house. The memories came flooding back. They weren't fond memories of Akane, but rather, what it had been like to live with the family and go to Furinkan High. They were met at the door by a tearful Soun. "Ranma, my boy," he exclaimed as he wrapped Ranma in an embrace. "I wish things could have gone better. Come, my son, let's go sit." They entered and went to the living room, where Kasumi was setting food out. When she saw Ranma, she hurried to him and gave him a hug. "I'm so sorry about your father, Ranma," she said. "Thanks, Kasumi," Ranma replied. "Hey," she continued, "I have more cooking to finish up, why don't we talk in the kitchen?"

They went back to the kitchen, where Kasumi was tending to some pots on the stove. "So, whatever happened with your dad and the dojo?" he asked. "Has he taken any students?" "No," Kasumi said, "he actually got a job at a gym, teaching martial arts fitness classes." She giggled. "He always says it's so monotonous, easy moves to help old ladies squeeze into dresses they should just give up on. But it pays really well."

Ranma noticed that the kitchen looked well-used; he doubted Soun was doing any cooking. "So, what's happened with you and Nabiki and Akane?" he asked nonchalantly. This was the part he was really curious about. "Well, Nabiki is married to Tatewaki Kuno, and she moved into that huge mansion with him. He lost interest in Akane after she got married, and he and Nabiki still spoke, so..." Ranma almost fell over. "Married?" he stammered. "Akane is married?" "Not anymore," Kasumi said. "I think she was mad at herself after you left. The guys started mobbing her again, and she was willing to date some of them. Eventually, she married one a few years younger. They had a baby." Ranma nodded, letting what she was saying filter through his brain. "They didn't end up getting along, though. They split up and Akane got an apartment for herself and her daughter."

"Well, what about you?" Ranma asked. Kasumi smiled sweetly. "Other than getting a few years older, no real change," she replied. "Really?" he said in surprise. "You? I'd figured you be the first to get married! You're so good around the house!" Kasumi blushed. "No one came calling, and, well... without that, why would I move or anything?"

Ranma thought carefully. "This might be a bad time to mention it... I don't know if you ever knew, but Dr. Tofu kind of had his eye on you," he said. Kasumi shook her head. "I figured it out after a while," she said. "I saw him a few times when he didn't see me, and I figured out pretty quick that he acted differently around me. That was a year or so after you left, though. By then, I wasn't so sure that an older guy was better, especially that much older. He's thirty-something, and that's a big difference." She adjusted the dials on the stove. "Besides, he was a doctor first. No matter how he felt about me, it wouldn't have kept him here when he got the offer." "Offer?" Ranma asked. "Oh, some university in the United States," she replied. "They wanted him to teach medicine; of course, he went." "Wow, Dr. Tofu a university professor," Ranma said. It was all a lot to take in, but more importantly, it fit into his bus-ride plan. He'd worry about that later.

Kasumi turned the stove off. "Okay, Ranma, these are ready to go. Want to help me carry?" Ranma smiled. "No problem, Kasumi," he said, grabbing a pot. As he walked the food into the living room, he saw Nabiki and Kuno sitting at the table. Ranma set the pot down, and Nabiki jumped up and hugged him. "Ranma," she said, "I'm so sorry about your dad. Are you okay?" "Hi, Nabiki," he replied. "Yeah, I'll be okay." Kuno rose and they bowed to eachother. "Saotome," he said. "I'll get the last pot, Ranma," Kasumi said. "Have a seat."

Ranma sat across from the pair, with his back to the garden, in his old seat. It felt so familiar. He looked around the room, and saw how little things had changed. He wished things had ended better; he really hadn't wanted to leave this place. "So, Ranma," Nabiki began, "what have you been up to?" "I'm working at a garage, living on the north side of Tokyo," he said. "I'm keeping my eyes open for something martial arts related, though. What about you?" "Just living out my days at the Kuno house," she replied. Ranma nodded, and he heard the outside door open. "Hello!" an all-too-familiar voice called out. Ranma braced himself.

Akane walked in, cradling a baby girl in her arms. Ranma was shocked by her appearance. Gone was the tomboyish, thin but fit frame that he remembered. She had gained a noticeable amount of weight, especially in her face, and she had an aura that screamed "hectic". She looked as though she couldn't make the time for kempo. He stood and their eyes met. "Ranma," she said quietly. "I'm so sorry about your father." "Thanks," Ranma said. "How's life?" Akane sat, holding her baby in her lap. "A little hectic, balancing a job and a girl. Oh that reminds me..." She held her daughter up; Ranma guessed her to be two or three years old. "This is Kotone, my daughter. Kotone, meet Ranma." "Wan... mah..." Kotone gurgled. "She has your eyes," Ranma said, as he let Kotone play with his fingers. Akane smiled.

Kasumi's dinner was great. Afterward, they had tea and reminisced about the old times. Ranma felt a bit badly for Akane- she sounded sad when she recalled what life used to be like. She was happy when she got to talk of Kotone, but that was it. He was sure of one thing, though- he had no interest in trying to rekindle their former relationship. That was part of his bus-ride idea. It had occurred to him that it may not be too late to carry out the old plan of marrying children in order to have someone to continue the dojo. It had depended upon what the situation was with the three women that he would have to choose from. Nabiki was married, obviously, and he didn't think he'd get along with Akane any better than he used to. That just left...

"Kasumi... wanna take a walk around the garden? I want to talk to you about something..."