"Enough"

An Ending

"PERVERT!!!!!"

The familiar call rang through the dojo, causing no more than a briefly raised eyebrow and a sigh from Kasumi.

"I wonder..." Nabiki mused cooly to herself, raising her head from the manga she was leafing through.

"Wonder what Nabiki dear?" Kasumi asked with her usual calm, as she brought a tray of tea through from the kitchen.

"It's probably nothing sis, but I can't help wondering how long Ranma is going to carry on letting Akane hit him like that. Everyone in Nerima knows that ninety nine times out of a hundred he does nothing to cause it, yet he lets her vent on him when he could stop her so easily. It just seems... odd."

Kasumi sighed deeply.

"Nabiki, what I tell you now must go no further. I want you to swear on mothers shrine before I breathe a word of it. I know why he lets her hit him."

"I swear sis, just tell me ok? You know how much I hate being kept in the dark."

"I asked him about it after Jusendo, after he admitted he loved Akane, you remember?"

"Course I do. I would NEVER have laid any amount of money on him saying it... or even feeling that way. It was a bit of a shock since he's never shown any signs of liking her."

"Well that's just it, he doesn't know HOW to show it. The thing is, Mr Saotome has never been affectionate with him exactly, so he just hasn't learned what most people consider basic social skills. Any kind of touch to him is an attack, so he responds in kind. It was only when he thought she was dead he worked out his own feelings."

"So, because of how the panda brought him up, he thinks Akane hitting him is really her showing affection for him? Kami help us if he ever works out she's not."

"That's exactly my point dear. We only have to worry if he starts to stop her. Now, here's your tea, I really must go find Father to remind him about his council meeting tonight."

Ranma-chan sat miserably on the dojo roof, letting the rain pound her as she stared into space. Akane seemed to be hitting her harder these days, and she was damned if she knew why. The malletings she'd got before Jusendo were about as hard as a cuff round the ear from pops when she'd done particularly well in training, but since then... maybe Akane was just getting stronger and didn't realise how hard she was hitting...

Her eyes widened in horror at the implication of that, and she whispered almost brokenly; "But when you pull a punch or a hit, you ALWAYS know exactly how much force you are putting in. Doesn't matter if you get stronger or weaker, the amount you put in stays the same. So if she doesn't realise she's hitting harder... She's never pulled her punches with me. If she had the strength, I would be dead thousands of times by now. She hates me."

Shivering, the broken girl stole back into the guest room, curling up in a corner to sleep, suddenly not caring about finding hot water.

A pink dawn stole over the dojo, blowing a few Sakura blossoms into the pond. Kasumi smiled warmly as she moved silently through the kitchen.

"A perfect day. I do hope it stays like this, although I must admit that it seems the worst property damage is done on days like this..."

Ranma stood. She hadn't slept at all, and it showed. Her blue eyes were red with fatigue, which set against her paler-than-chalk face left her looking as if she had gone through hell. She looked with disgust at her father, snoring contentedly across both their futons, and pulled her pack out of the closet. Quickly and silently she stuffed her few clothes into it, followed by her camping gear and emergency kit (mostly food and bandages... the Nerima essentials). Pulling out a pad of paper and a stack of envelopes, she scrawled out a few hasty letters and stuffed them in the top of her bag. Stifling a sob, she threw the pack down in its usual place and braced herself, dropping into a fighting stance as the first ray of sunlight hit the sleeping man, signalling the start of a usual morning in the dojo.

Over breakfast, Kasumi and Nabiki exchanged worried looks. Ranma had lost the mornings bout spectacularly, seemingly not having bothered to avoid any of his fathers blows, with the result that a pale, wet and slightly bruised Ranma sat across from a bone-dry Genma, who was looking at his son with an irritated expression.

"What was that all about boy?" He broke the silence sharply. "You were wide open. I would say you were being lazy, but that doesn't cover it. Not in the slightest. You THREW THE FIGHT."

A shocked gasp ran around the table. Ranma had never, ever, thrown a fight. Let alone one against his father. Soun frowned at his friend.

"Saotome, I admit the boy was not up to his usual standard, but that is going a bit far. Ranma has never thrown a fight and I do not believe he ever will." the girls nodded in agreement.

"He did Soun, I don't know why, but he let me win. Didn't you boy?"

Ranma looked up, and knew that with this single word, he was changing himself forever.

"Yes."

He stood and walked away from the table. He didn't care that he hadn't eaten, he didn't care that he had shocked the whole dojo to silence. He didn't care about his father's enraged shouts of "WHY?"

Ranma sat at the edge of the Koi pond, watching the ripples of the blossom on the water as chaos erupted in the dining room.

When he judged that his father had calmed enough, he stood and walked back inside. Resuming his place at table he looked at Kasumi and said four words that nearly stopped her heart.

"I worked it out."

"Oh Kami. Ranma I'm so sorry." He laughed. A harsh, choked laugh that sent a ripple of apprehension through everyone around him.

"Don't be. I should have known. After all, the only other people who make this mistake are the Kunos. I'm as crazy as they are, just better at hiding it."

Akane broke in, her characteristic anger at him completely undimmed by this revelation. Inside her a tiny voice crowed wickedly "FINALLY! Maybe NOW I can beat him."

"What the hell do you mean pervert? If you've been obsessing about poor girls... you have haven't you? You're no better than Happy! I'm gonna mallet you into oblivion! PERVERT!!!"

"Enough." The single word brought silence. Akane stopped, mallet already half way to his head. Ranma had NEVER spoken that way. He looked up at her, and what she saw made her back away in fear. Those eyes... it was like he had died, and she was looking into the depths of hell.

He stood and faced her, face and voice totally emotionless.

"That is the last time you will hit me. That is the last time I will spar with pops. Last night was my last night in Nerima. I will not honour any agreements made on my behalf by my father. I will not commit seppuku...because of that agreement. If you have any questions, direct them to Kasumi. She knows the reason behind them. Ryoga is P-chan, and I have defended your honour from that porcine pervert for the last time. Do not try to find me. I declare Ranma Saotome formally dead, he will never be seen again."

In the stunned silence he turned to Kasumi and smiled warmly.

"Thank you. Do not blame yourself for this, It is only one person who must do that and not you. domo arigato gozaimu for your hospitality Kasumi. Goodbye."

He moved swiftly to get his pack, emptied the letters onto the floor then leapt from the window to the roof, and started running. Only then did he allow a single tear to run down his cheek. It could all have been so different...

Kasumi was crying. Nabiki was the first to register it, and almost flew around the table to pull her into her arms.

"It's not your fault Kasumi, we both know that. Come on, have some tea, Father is going to want us to explain. I'm not sure I can work out all the details so I'm going to need you to help ok?"

Kasumi nodded shakily then dried her tears on her apron.

"Go ahead dear, I'll be fine. Actually... do you not think we should call everyone else? Tell them all at once so to speak?"

"Hmmm... good idea. I'll make the necessary calls whilst you compose yourself ok?" She pulled out her cell and started muttering rapidly into it, obviously working out the likelyhood of being able to get everyone together at such short notice.

A few hours later, an irate Nabiki dragged Ryouga forcibly into the dojo.

"Right. That's the last of you. Now, I expect most of you are wondering what could be so important that I felt the need to have you all... shall we say forcibly persuaded to attend?"

She looked acidly along the assorted ranks of the Nerima wrecking crew, in various states of anger. Once she had found and recruited Happosai, getting him to bring in the rest had been surprisingly easy.

"I will briefly outline the facts. This morning Ranma threw the morning spar..." She paused and made an exasperated sound at the sensation this created "... And subsequently prevented Akane from malleting him. He declared that he was leaving Nerima for a reason known only to Kasumi and myself, stated that he would not honour any agreements made by his father – up to and including the vow to commit seppuku -" (At this, she shot an acid glare at Nodoka, who straightened, holding back tears by an obvious force of will) "And then declared himself formally dead, and that we should not seek to find him." At this, total chaos broke out. Nabiki retreated to a corner of the dojo and locked eyes with the only other silent person in the room. Her voice stilled the babble.

"And may I enquire why my son felt this to be necessary?" Genma flinched at Nabiki's accusing glare, and all eyes turned on her again.

"You may. I must firstly reveal a little of Ranma's life, to put his decision in context. Are all amenable?" She was met with nods, although one in particular seemed hesitant.

"Then I will start with the basics. Ranma's early life consisted of martial arts training. Nothing else. I will state bluntly that he has no memories of before the age of six. And then only of his training for the Neko-ken, and one other incident which not even I can drag from him. Needless to say, if it is worse than the Neko-ken, I doubt any of us really wish to know of it. I will come quickly to the point of the matter. Until his arrival in Nerima, the only physical contact Ranma had – ever – was in the art. He associates ALL physical contact with attacks. Showing affection, in Ranma's social dictionary, means pulling your punches, or restraining yourself to verbal attacks. He had no concept of emotions such as love, compassion, empathy... the list is almost endless. That is the Ranma shown to us everyday. One who cannot relate to us because he simply has not learnt how to. Most of us are now aware of what happened at Jusendo. This is the point at which this decision was inevitable. It is not so well known that at Jusendo, when he was convinced Akane had died, he finally worked out his own emotions for the first time, and realised he was hopelessly in love with her to the extent that he screamed it out as he cradled her lifeless body. From that point on, this decision was already made. It was merely a matter of time before he realised that Akane does not pull her punches with him. She truly hits him as hard as she can, and if she possessed Ryouga's strength, he would be dead. Once he realised that, he was forced to the conclusion that she hated him. That, of course, broke his heart. Knowing that he cannot relate to people, that the woman he loves hates him and that he cannot persue his life in Nerima with honour due to Mr Saotome's actions in engaging him to every other girl in Japan...well. The only thing to do is commit seppuku. This is what he has left to do. The fault lies, bluntly, with his parents and we have lost a good and honourable man. That is all."

Silence. It stretched out for an eternity before Nodoka stood. She took her Katana out from its sheath, and looked at it, then at her husband. Genma whimpered and tried to scurry backwards, shaking his head violently. An almighty CRRACK sounded, and the blade dropped in two pieces to the floor. Nodoka looked down at her husband and softly spoke.

"You have destroyed my son. He is a man among men, despite you rather than because of you. He, at least, will die with honour. You are beyond redemption. I shall go and live with my sister, and pray for his soul. You may do as you wish, I am no longer your wife."

She strode out of the dojo, leaving behind a roomful full of people entirely agreeing with her statement. One day, and life in Nerima would never be the same again. The fragile balance had been broken, and the world had tumbled down around them.