Disclaimer- No I don't own Ranma ½.

Author's Note- To clear some things up, in this story,Akane hasn't met any of the Ranma cast, except for her father and Kasumi whom she lives with. She's never met Nabiki, but she's still her sister. You'll see as the story plays on. The title was inspired by a song. Kudos to whoever can guess which one and by whom. Enjoy.

Summary- AU Ranma is the king of underground fighting. Akane is a new girl who's been dragged into the dangerous sport. What happens when they meet? Chaos, of course.

DismantleRepair

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One

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Akane Tendo was never truly considered a normal girl by her peers. To them she was more of a boy, or a friend they could play rough and tumble games with, never one that you would associate with feminine traits such as giving chocolates on Valentines Day, cooking, sewing, or anything of the like. She was a tough girl, able to stand her own, independent, and able to fight- traits not usually associated with a girl. Most of the time, people associated her with boys, even going so far as to cast her as Romeo in the play Romeo and Juliet. But it wasn't just those traits that made her abnormal.

Akane Tendo had no mother. In fact, Akane didn't know much about her family. She lived with her father, Soun Tendo, and her sister, Kasumi, in an apartment on the border between uptown and downtown Furinkan. Her father ran a dojo nearby inside an old warehouse, which was partly why Akane grew up tough and able to fight. They never talked much about the late Mrs. Tendo, and they never mentioned anything about what happened afterwards. They did visit her grave often and paid their respects, but did so silently and solemnly.

But even without proper knowledge of her mother or family and despite her lack of femininity, Akane was perfectly fine the way she was. She was eighteen now. Her sapphire-black hair fell in a straight wave past her shoulder blades, and her body had become toned and slender from all the time she spent at her dad's dojo. It wasn't until a few years ago that boys had taken an interest in her, but despite their constant confessions and gift offerings, Akane was still able to hold her own against them, therefore convincing her father to let her roam about without supervision.

But one boy constantly troubled her.

His name was Tatewaki Kuno. He was from a rich family and was an expert in kendo, which was a style of swordfight. And he wasn't half bad looking either, and many girls would have loved to be his love interest. But Akane wasn't one of those girls.

She despised Kuno. To her, he was nothing more than an arrogant, overly vain boy, but she had to admit that he had his sweet moments. Like if a suitor got too frisky with her or if she was being confronted by too many men, he would step up and shoo them away. Kuno was a generally good guy, and had circumstances been different she would have liked to be his friend, but his infatuation and obsession with her was annoying, preventing any friendship.

He was a fervent suitor, constantly near her, showering her with poems, confessions, gifts, and proposals. But every time Akane would turn him down.

'When will he see that I'm not the one for him?' she sighed sadly. 'I don't even think I'll find the perfect guy any time soon…'

Akane stared grimly out the window of the shaky bus she was riding in. She had just spent 3 hours at the gym to let off some stress from the past week. The weatherman had said that it wouldn't rain today…and guess what was happening now?

It was raining.

The cold droplets fell in an irregular pattern as they slid down the glass windows of the bus. Akane wrinkled her nose in irritation. That would mean she'd have to walk home in the rain after she got off at the stop. And you know what was even greater? She didn't have an umbrella. Oh joy.

"Stupid rain," she grumbled as the bus screeched to a stop. Thanking the driver, she hopped off and pulled her hood up and began the slow jog home. Puddles splashed as her feet slipped through them, wetting her jeans with dark, murky water. 'Disgusting,' she thought.

Akane had half-hoped that the rain would let up when she got home, but she was wrong. It only got worse. By the time she reached the door of the apartment, the teen was soaked head to foot, making her clothing cling to her heavily and uncomfortably.

The teen dug for her key, hidden somewhere beneath sodden folds of clothing. As soon as the lock clicked and the door opened, Akane sighed in relief as a breath of warm air graced her near-numb skin.

"I'm home!" she called. Akane paused for a moment Huh. That was weird. Usually Kasumi would call back with her sweet "Welcome back, Akane!" Maybe they didn't hear her.

Akane removed her shoes and jacket and left them in a puddle by the door, along with her sports bag. She would pick those up later. But right now she wanted to go to her room and get out of these wet clothes and into some warm pajamas, then head into the kitchen for some nice, hot tea.

The girl ran her hands across her face and arms as she strode to the living room.

"Otou-san, Kasumi-nee-san, I'm ho-" Akane was cut off abruptly as she was greeted by an unfriendly sight.

In the middle of the living room were her father and older sister, kneeling. Both their faces were pale. Kasumi's eyes were red from the tears streaming down her cheeks. She bit her lip to stifle any sounds. Tendou Soun had his head bowed and stared at a spot on the ground. Situated around them were 3 men, all wearing suits. Two wore sunglasses, and the other was a bald, bulky man with glasses.

"N-Nani…?" Akane's eyes widened, "W-What's going on here? Otou-san? Kasumi-nee-san?"

One of the men stepped forward, but the bald one stopped him. "It's alright, I'll handle this." He said.

Tendo Soun's head suddenly whipped upwards, "Please! Do not hurt my Akane, onegai."

"Hush," the bald man held up a hand to silence him, "Don't worry. I will do her no harm. Please, Miss Akane, don't be afraid of us. We won't hurt you. Have a seat here."

But Akane could not will herself to move. Who were these men? What were they doing in HER home? Why was her family kneeling like a pathetic lot of servants? Unless…oh please, no… 'Please don't tell me Otou-san got involved with Yakuza…' she thought hopelessly.

"You're getting pale, my dear," the bald man knocked her from her thoughts, "Please sit and we'll explain everything to you."

At first Akane twitched, as if she was too dazed to comprehend anything and was going to accept his offer, but she quickly came to her senses. There were intruders in HER apartment, holding her and her family hostage. They had no right to be here! Rage soon replaced her initial fear and confusion.

"No!" Akane snapped and grabbed a nearby lamp, "Who are you? Get out!" She threw the lamp at one of the men, who barely managed to duck in time.

"Why you little-" he growled and lunged at her.

Martial art senses kicking in, Akane ducked and grabbed his arm, flipping him onto the hard ground. The second man ran towards her, but Akane easily sidestepped his advance and kneed him in the stomach. She knocked the both of them out and laid them in a heap on the floor, and turned to face the third man, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Very good, I must say."

Akane gasped as she heard a voice speak from behind her. Whirling around, she saw the smirking face of the bald man. "Who the-?" Growling, she pulled her arm back and slammed a punch at him, but he caught it easily.

"Hm, your strength is impressive," he remarked.

"Shut up." Akane growled.

"But we must do something about that attitude," the man continued as he squeezed her tiny fist, the performed a series of moves so fast she couldn't comprehend what was going on until she found herself in a suffocating headlock. Akane whimpered and winced.

"Akane!" Kasumi cried out.

"Saotome!" Soun yelled, "You promised you wouldn't hurt her!"

"And I won't," Genma said as he released the girl, "Have a seat Akane-san."

Seeing as how he overpowered her earlier, Akane knew there really wasn't any point in fighting the man, so she reluctantly sat down.

"Good. Now we can talk. My name is Saotome Genma, and I am the head of the Yakuza, as you might have suspected. I have come to collect a debt that your father owes us. Years ago, when your mother passed away from an illness right after you were born. Your father was distraught and couldn't do anything, not even think straight. This caused him to falter in his work and be fired as a result, meaning no income. That wasn't very good, since your family's savings had been drained by medical bills, supplies to raise you, and your mother's funeral. To make matters worse, your sister Nabiki had contracted the same illness your mother did."

"Nabiki?" Akane piped up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kasumi and her father tense.

"They didn't tell you?" Genma said, "You used to have another sister named Nabiki. She's 19 now, making her your older sister, but younger than Kasumi."

"Then how come I don't know about her?" Akane blurted.

Genma looked unperturbed by the interruption, "So after your father got fired, he had no money and spent it all on bills and medication to help Nabiki get better, but none of it worked…

Flashback

Soun Tendo trudged through the muddy streets of Tokyo, carrying his two year old daughter Nabiki in his arms and his infant daughter Akane on his back. Beside him, a four year old Kasumi grasped onto his pant leg.

"Otou-san," she groaned, "I'm hungry…"

"I know, dear," he said as tears flowed down his face. They hadn't eaten for two days. Whenever they managed to scrape together enough money to buy an onigiri, they gave it to Akane or Nabiki, who needed it more. They had been without a home for about a week or two now, and already the children showed signs of being emaciated. The rain pounded in down in unmerciful torrents, occasionally obstructing his vision and soaking him cold to the bone. Soun tried his best to keep the violently shivering Nabiki warm, but to no avail.

"Kami-sama, help us…" Soun breathed as he fell and slumped against a wall. He gave Akane to Kasumi and pulled them close, and Nabiki closer. Her face was red and bordering on purple, her limbs shivered like she was experiencing a seizure and her breath was uneven and sharp. He turned his face up to the sky and stared blankly at the clouds. He had no money. The children were starving, and Nabiki was dying.

He closed his eyes. 'Why…? Why did it turn out like this? WHY?!' Soun sobbed loudly and gripped his children close to him. "Why?!" he cursed at the heavens.

"Otou-san…" Kasumi looked sympathetically at him.

"Oh my!" a mature, feminine voice said, "Good heavens, what on earth are you four doing out here in this weather? Oh! That girl needs a doctor right away! Please, come with me. Quickly now."

Soun opened his eyes and the image of an elegant woman wearing a kimono came into view. Two bulky men in suits stood beside her, one holding an umbrella above her head and the other with his hand in his jacket, ready to pull out a weapon if Soun decided to attack. The woman had kind mahogany eyes and silky, wine-colored hair. She bent down and took Akane in her arms, pulling a stumbling Kasumi up as well.

"An angel…?" Soun whispered.

The woman smiled at the compliment, but it quickly faded. "My name is Nodoka, and I'm here to help you. Come now, sir, your daughter needs a hospital." She motioned to the man with the weapon to help him to his feet and lead him to her limousine…

…Soun Tendo sat in the hospital waiting room with the woman, her two guards, and Akane and Kasumi. A doctor came out from the hallway and stepped towards him. "Tendo-san?"

"Hai," the said man stood up and bowed.

"Your daughter has pneumonia," at this Soun paled, "But she will be fine. The disease has progressed to a serious state, but not so severe to where we cannot save her. She'll need to stay at the hospital for quite some time, I'm afraid. She can't have any visitors now, nor for the next few days, but don't worry. She will be fine."

"Oh thank goodness," Soun sighed. Beside him, Nodoka smiled.

"Please go home and rest now, Tendo-san, you and your family look very tired. We'll contact you if anything happens."

Soun nodded. The doctor left and Soun sat back down. Even though the doctor told him to go home…Soun really had no home to return to. He frowned and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's okay," a voice said beside him, "You can come home with me." Nodoka stood up, "There's no use hiding it, I know you don't have a home. You can stay with me and my family tonight. We'll set you up with a nice hot meal, a bath, and warm bed. How's that sound?"

"O-Oh no!" Soun blurted, "I can't intrude on your family, please ma'am. That would be highly inappropriate. You've already done too much for me and my family already; we'll just find a hotel."

"But where will you get the money to do so? If you could have afforded a hotel I think you would have done so, instead of sitting out in the street. Besides, I have a young son at home about your daughter Akane's age, so she'll have some toys to play with. And Kasumi too."

Soun frowned. She got him there. Reluctantly, he accepted and they headed back to her place…

…Soun was amazed at the size of the mansion. It was HUGE! The decorations were ornate, and the rooms just radiated elegance. Everything was in a sort of old-fashioned theme, and had a nice, cozy feeling despite the vast hallways and high ceilings. The first thing Nodoka did was have her servants lead them to the bathrooms for a nice, hot bath. Then she had her cook prepare them an excellent dinner, to which Kasumi rejoiced to. Then, Akane and Kasumi were taken upstairs

"Anata, this is Tendo Soun," she introduced them and Soun bowed deeply. "I found him and his family on the street and they needed help, so I brought them back here. He has three daughters: Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi. I tucked Akane and Kasumi away upstairs, and Nabiki was ill so I brought her to the hospital."

"Aa," Genma said as he looked up from the newspaper.

"Gomenasai for intruding in your home," Soun bowed deeper.

"Iie, it's alright." Genma stood and shook his hand, "I am Saotome Genma, and I'm glad we could help your family out. Now, I'm curious, what were you doing out in the streets?" Soun sighed and scratched his head. 'Well, here goes nothing,' he thought as he began to recite his story…

…Genma listened with solemn eyes as Nodoka sat beside him, her face looking as if it was about to cry. "I see…" he said.

"So now I'm looking for help so that I can put my life back together," Soun concluded.

Genma stroked his chin, "You know…I can help you."

"R-Really?" Soun was stunned.

"Anata, no…" Nodoka suddenly looked very worried. "He has nothing-" Genma put up a hand to silence her.

"I can help you," he restated. "My name is Genma Saotome, and I am the head of the Yakuza." At this Soun paled. Y-Yakuza? Oh dear lord, what had he gotten himself into? Nodoka looked remorseful. She knew this was going to happen. Soun grew rigid. He had troubled the wife of THE Yakuza leader, intruded in his home, eaten his food, and even had the gall to dump his problems on him? This was horrible! He wouldn't be able to repay the debt he owed them! "If you accept," Genma continued, "I can help you rebuild your life again, and get your family back to normal. But, then again you really have no choice, seeing the state you're in now."

The Tendo man looked down at himself. It was true. He had no choice. Soun nodded lightly in submission.

End Flashback

"Your father and I talked for a bit, and we reached the conclusion that I would set him up with a few hundred thousand yen to get his life back together. We decided Nabiki was too ill to remain with him, and there was no way he could rebuild the family and pay for her medical bills at the same time, so Nodoka and I offered to take her. He did so reluctantly. As for payment of the debt…I would come back in a few years time to collect it."

"So you're here," Akane eyed him slowly, "to collect the money, right?"

"Hai."

"But then why do you need these body guards with you?"

"Standard procedure, my dear."

"Well then, how come you're still here, and why is my family on the ground? Wouldn't my father have paid you already and you would have been off?"

Genma sighed, "That's how it was supposed to go…"

Akane furrowed her brows, "What do you mean…?"

The Yakuza leader removed his glasses and rubbed his temples, "You see, Akane-san, your father does not have the money ready, unfortunately."

Azure eyes widened, "Wait, so…What will happen?"

"I'm afraid your father has to come up with another method of payment quickly, or we'll have to solve this the hard way." He touched the small katana hidden his suit jacket and pulled the handle up enough for Akane to realize what he meant.

"Oh no," she paled, "No! Please don't kill my father! How much money do you need?" She quickly pulled out her purse and began counting all the money she had in there.

"Thirty million yen," he replied calmly. (A/N: That's roughly 250,000 U.S. dollars)

Akane felt her limbs grow week and her purse drop to the floor. "T-Thirty million yen?" she whispered bewilderedly. She didn't have that kind of money! She glanced feverishly at her father, who was crying now. Kasumi had pulled her knees up to her chest and looked hopeless. The eighteen year old sunk lower to the ground and buried her face in her hands. This could not be happening.

Genma looked solemnly at them, "So I take it you can't pay off the debt after all?"

There was no response.

He closed his eyes, "Very well. Gomenasai," he said before he pulled out the katana.

"No!" Akane suddenly leapt up from her spot and stood in front of her father and sister.

"Oro?" the bald man stared at her.

"No!" she stated firmly; hot, salty drops of water began to well up at the corners of her eyes. Her body was shivering. She was scared, but mustered up all the courage and dignity she could and stared at the Yakuza leader. "Don't hurt them; I will pay off the debt."

"But you just said you had no-"

"I will work it off!"

Genma blinked slowly. Work it off?

Akane suddenly dropped to her knees and bowed before the man. Her body was racked with tiny sobs as her tears formed a small puddle on the wooden floor. She couldn't believe this was happening. Her life and her family's lives were on the line. She had just defied and interrupted THE Yakuza leader. "O-Onegai," Akane pleaded, "Spare my family, and allow me to pay off the debt by working for you. Please! I'll do anything."

He regarded her with beady black eyes for quite some time, before replying "You are willing to work under me, for the Yakuza, in order to save your family?"

"Hai," she nodded firmly, despite her shivering form.

"You are willing to suffer the horrors we might put you through in order to work off this debt?"

"Akane!" Soun gaped, "No! You can't!"

She ignored him, "Hai."

"We might have you work as a servant, or maybe even a slave…"

Kasumi gasped, "Akane, no! Let me go in your place!"

But the girl stayed firm in her resolution, "Hai. I will do anything for my family."

"Aa," Genma leaned back and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes again, and then opened them and told her to rise. She did just that. Genma looked her up and down. She looked no older than his son Ranma, and possibly even a year younger. She had a nice, toned physique, similar to that of a disciplined martial artist. Come to think of it, Soun was the master of a dojo, so it was possible that he taught Akane a few things here and there. Plus, that performance she showed earlier while fighting with his guards was quite impressive.

"Alright," Genma pulled out a cigar and lit it, "I believe I have a job for you."

"Really?" Akane gasped, half in delight and half in despair. This meant she could finally help her family…but now, she was Yakuza. And a criminal. Her future would definitely not be very happy.

Genma smiled, "You can become an underground fighter." Soun's eyes widened. As a martial arts master, he had heard of the dangerous sport. It was where people would stage fights against each other, and the winner would win a certain amount of money. It was a bit like a tournament, but the matches usually tended to end in horribly violent ways, sometimes in death, which was why it was banned. But people still continue to participate secretly.

"You will fight members from other gangs and the number of earnings you win will go towards releasing your family from debt, and after you've earned 30,000,000 yen you can go free."

"Sounds fair," Akane said.

"But," Genma cast her a grave look, "If you end up dying in a match, your family will be going with you."

Kasumi sucked in a sharp breath. Soun couldn't breath.

Akane nodded, "Hai."

And so her fate was sealed.

Overwhelmed, Akane saw the room began to spin. Her face grew hot, and she felt suffocated. She began to feel lightheaded. All she heard was someone shout "Akane!" before she passed out.

YES I know Genma is really OOC. But it suits the story better. He might seem like a big weiner right now, but don't worry. He'll lighten up as the story goes on. SO please review! And no flames. Please. OH GOD PLEASE, NO FLAMES! Heh. Thank you.