Okay, guys, here's chapter 2. I already had this chapter written too, so that's why I'm updating so fast. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ranma & co. characters by Rumiko Takashi.

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"No! Kenji!" Kasumi yelled, running towards him, panic rushing through her veins.

The little boy didn't hear her, and continued chasing his blue bouncy ball as it rolled out into the crowded street.

"Kenji! Kenji!" Kasumi yelled helplessly as she lost sight of him. She anxiously turned her head this way and that, pushing through the crowd of people gathered on the street, stopping only a few times to ask a passerby if they had spotted him, but no one had noticed a small boy running through the streets in between their legs.

"KENJI!!!"

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"What was that?" A man in his twenties in a black leather jacket muttered to himself, cocking his ear as a small sound coming from a dark alley near him. He ignored it at first and started walking toward his motorcycle, but something was nagging at him at the back of his mind, something important.

"Me and my stupid instincts." he cursed, retracing his steps and slipping into the shadows of the alley. As he rounded a corner, the sound immediately clarified itself as a small boy, cowering in a corner and crying, clutching at a small blue ball.

Two drunken idiots were swaying on the ground in front of him, a third one unconscious behind an old barrel. One of the conscious ones was laughing was the other tried unsuccessfully to hit the child with empty beer cans. Luckily for him, the guy had very poor aim and blurred eye sight.

Something was eerily familiar about the boy, but Ranma shook off the notion and stepped out of the shadows.

"Ain't you guys got anything better to do than hassle some poor kid?" Ranma taunted sardonically, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

The two guys turned around, swaying from side to side, the stench of alcohol on their breath. One of them managed to get out a reply. "Wha it to ya?" he slurred.

"yeah, buzzzz off" the other guys bit out, leaning on the wall of a nearby building for support.

Ranma lifted an eyebrow before swiftly kicking one guy in the crotch and knocking the air from the other guy's lungs. The two of them fell to the ground unconscious.

Ranma sighed. "What kinda idiots throw beer cans at a kid?" he muttered to himself, dragging the guys behind a bunch of trash bins. He turned to the boy, who was still cowering in the corner.

"come on, kid. I'm not gonna hurt ya." He said, motioning for the kid to come towards him.

The boy didn't budge. "my mommy told me never to go with strangers." He yelled.

Ranma was surprised, there was actually anger in this kid's voice. He was pretty tough for a little boy.

"Well, I don't see your mommy anywhere, do you?"

The boy hesitated, before nodding slowly. "No, she's at work."

"So how did you end up here?"

The kid wiped the tears from his eyes. "I got lost while I was looking for my ball," he held out the blue ball that was his favorite toy in the world. "I was with my Auntie."

Ranma sighed exasperatedly. Now he was stuck babysitting. "Fine, let's go find your aunt, then."

The boy hesitated again. "But how do I know you're not a stranger?"

"Because I used to live here and this is such a small town that I probably already know your mommy." He assured him.

"Well," the little boy thought for a second before smiling and walking towards him. "Okay, then I'm sure my mommy would be okay with that." He stated.

Ranma gave a small grin. "I'm sure she would. Now, first of all, what's your name kid?"

"Kenji." He replied. "What's yours?"

"Ranma"

Kenji smiled. "Really? My mommy used to know someone named Ranma. She went to school with him, I think."

Ranma shrugged. "This town's so small that everyone probably went to the same school. What's your mommy's name, anyway?"

Kenji was about to answer when he realized he didn't know. He smiled sheepishly, "I don't know, I just call her mommy."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Well what do other people call her? What does your aunt call her?"

Kenji thought for a moment. "It starts with an A."

"Akira?"

"No."

"Atsuyo?"

"No.."

Ranma gave up. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter anyway. Where does your aunt live? Do you know the address?"

Kenji shook his head sadly, lowering his eyes with shame. "no, sorry."

Ranma sighed and scratched his head. "It's not your fault, kid." He looked down only to see Kenji yawning and dragging his feet. Ranma reluctantly crouched down in front of the kid, his back facing him.

"Get on, kid. It'll be faster anyway."

Kenji smiled and jumped onto his shoulders.

"Maybe this way you can spot your aunt or something." Ranma muttered.

The two of them walked around aimlessly for about a half an hour before Kenji noticed the Cat Café that the scary old lady lived in. He tapped Ranma on the head and pointed at the café.

"There's a really old lady who lives there. My aunt knows her, maybe she can help." He offered hopefully, glad to finally have an answer to something.

Ranma glanced over to where the kid was pointing, and immediately recognized it. "The Cat Café! I can't believe it's still here! You're aunt knows Shampoo, Mousse, and Cologne?" he asked disbelievingly.

Kenji shook his head in confusion. "There's just one old lady who lives there alone, not three people. My uncle was talking the other day about a girl with purple hair named Shampoo who moved away two years ago..you think that's who you're talking about?"

Ranma's shoulders slumped. "Shampoo's the only girl with purple hair I know, I guess they're not here then." He frowned. He had really wanted to find somebody else he knew before he went back to see her..

Kenji pulled his hand back. "We could still ask her. She's really scary, but my mommy likes her, so she can't be that bad."

"You really love your mom, don't ya kid?" Ranma observed.

Kenji nodded emphatically. "She's the best mommy I ever had!" he yelled happily.

Ranma gave another little smile. "I'm sure she is kid" he said, going along with it. "But what about your dad, don't you like him to?" he asked as he headed toward the café down the street.

Kenji frowned. "I don't have a daddy."

Ranma turned his head to look at him. "You don't? But everybody's got a dad, even me. Where's yours?"

Kenji shook his head helplessly. "I don't know. My mommy never told me, and I don't ask cuz she gets all sad and cries in her sleep."

Ranma sympathized. "I know what that's like. I didn't know my mom for a long time either. Don't you want to see him though?"

Kenji's brow furrowed. "No way!! He makes mommy cry, and auntie Kasumi says he was a really horrible man."

Ranma stopped dead in his tracks in front of the Cat Café, his hand on the door. "What did you just say your aunt's name was, kid?" he asked as he pulled the door open.

"Auntie Kasumi, and Uncle Tofu" he answered happily, but Ranma wasn't listening. Instead his jaw had dropped open seeing a very very familiar old lady staring back at him.

"Hello, Ranma Saotome. Welcome home."

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The end

No, I'm kidding, hehe. I'll give you guys a little more, I know how much you guys hate cliffhangers..

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"Cologne!!" Before Ranma could get anything else out, he found himself on the ground with a five huge lumps on his head, as Cologne hit him repeatedly with her old staff, making sure that Kenji was out of the way first, of course.

"You crazy old bat! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he yelled, rubbing his head as he stood back up.

"What are you talking about!! Don't play dumb, Ranma Saotome! You've been gone six years and everything that could possibly go wrong has!"

Ranma was immediately surprised. He'd never heard Cologne yell like that, she was usually such a calm person.

"Wait, hold on a sec. Could you at least answer my questions first?" He asked, very confused.

Cologne glared at him before taking a deep breath and settling herself on the table. "You may look different but your personality sure hasn't changed much." She muttered.

"Fine, I'll answer your questions, but then you have to answer mine, alright young man?" she bargained.

Ranma nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. Kenji just sat in a nearby chair, bouncing his ball on the table.

"First of all," Ranma pointed out, "not that I mind, but that's the first time you've called me by my first name instead of 'son-in-law' or somethin'."

Cologne sighed. "That's because Shampoo's already married, moron."

Ranma's eyebrows lifted disbelievingly. "She did? To who?"

"Mousse, of course. Who else?"

"When did that happen?"

"About three years ago, when she realized you weren't coming back and discovered that she really loved Mousse. I've already become a great great grandmother" she said proudly.

"No kidding? Wow, Shampoo and Mousse tying the knot, I never would have guessed,.guess duckman was probably pretty happy about that arrangement." He muttered. He couldn't believe it, no more Shampoo to worry about. He was glad that she'd finally gotten the idea that they weren't meant to be.

Cologne sighed frustratingly. "You're not asking the right questions, Ranma."

"Yeah, yeah. Fine, what happened to everyone? The city looks the same, but I don't recognize anyone.." His voice faded.

Cologne's scowl turned to a sad frown. "yes, most people left after high school. Most people just don't like small cities like Nerima. And after you left, a couple people left because you were the only reason they stayed."

Ranma cocked his head questioningly. "Like who?"

"Like Ryouga, for one. He left to look for you, but with his bad sense of direction, he ended back up here. Ukyo took pity on him and decided to travel with him, to help him find you. Still, I think Ukyo went more for Ryouga's sake then yours. That girl had too much sense to think that she really would have become your fiancé, and she realized it. The two of them said that if they didn't find you in a few years, they'd return, but that was about three years ago. After the two of them left, Shampoo finally accepted your departure, and turned to Mousse. And then there's the Kuno's.."

Ranma grinned. "What happened to those idiots?"

Cologne sighed. "Well, the Kuno's pretty much lost all of their money, basically. Kodachi spent most of their family's fortune on private investigators to find you, but they were smart, took the money and ran. After that, the Kuno's slowly lost the rest of their money trying to get back on their feet, and suddenly they disappeared. This whole town has pretty much returned to the way it was before the Kuno's and you moved here. I just came back to look after." she hesitated.

Ranma blinked. "Look after who?"

Cologne looked at him closely for a few moments. "You're not gonna like what you hear."

Ranma grew suspicious. "What?"

Cologne glanced at Kenji playing in the back of the room.

Ranma followed her level gaze. "Look after the kid?"

Kenji seemed to sense he had an audience and moved over to their table. "What kid?" he asked.

Cologne smiled at the boy. "Nothing, Kenji, just go play for a while."

Kenji nodded and started to walk away when he remembered something and came back over. "Oh, yeah. My auntie told me to tell you that Uncle Tofu wanted some of your ramen for a couple of his patients tomorrow, if you don't mind."

Ranma's mind stopped. He froze. He immediately turned to the kid, urgency in his voice. He put his hands on Kenji's shoulders, looking at him closely. "What did you say your uncle's name was, Kenji?"

Kenji looked at him questioningly. "Uncle Tofu, and Auntie Kasumi. I also have another aunt, but she lives in the city. She doesn't come to visit anymore though." he said sadly.

Ranma picked the boy up and sat him on the table. "Kenji, this is really important. Is your aunt, the one who lives in the city, is her name Akane?"

Kenji's eyes lit up. "No! But I remember now, my mommy's name is Akane!"

Ranma abruptly fainted.

"Oh dear." Cologne muttered.

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An hour later..

Ranma opened his eyes and slowly sat up, realizing he had a slight headache. Where am I? he thought.

Suddenly, he froze. It all came back to him, he was in the Cat Café. Akane had a son, named Kenji. Shampoo and Mousse were gone. Akane had a son named Kenji. Ukyo and Ryouga were gone. Akane had a son named Kenji. That thought filled his mind, and his chest hurt. It felt like something had just exploded in his heart.

"Akane,..has...a..son." he whispered.

Cologne was sitting next to him, and Kenji had returned to playing in the back.

Cologne offered him a chair. "You'd better sit down for all of this, Ranma."

Ranma just nodded and sat down, looking at her expectantly.

She took a deep breath before starting. " After you left, Akane was heartbroken. She won't admit it, but your disappearance destroyed her. She never smiled, she didn't laugh, she was just a zombie. We all tried everything to help her, but nothing worked. Shortly after your journey, your dad went out after you, and Tendo died from a severe heart attack. So, Nabiki had to go into the city to look for work, but she never came back." She stopped, giving him a chance to swallow it all.

Ranma just gaped at her. He couldn't believe it. His dad was out there somewhere. Tendo was dead, Nabiki was gone. He couldn't accept it. He had assumed that when he came back, everything would be just as it should be, instead it was like walking into a nightmare.

Cologne started again. "So, for a while, it was just Akane and Kasumi. Since they didn't have any money, they had to sell the house, but they kept the dojo to live in. Over a couple of months, Akane met a man named Daigosuke. He seemed to be taken with her, and we thought he was a nice man, so we convinced Akane to go out with him. After a while, Akane started smiling again, even if it wasn't full-heartedly. The two of them seemed to generally like each other, and they became closer and closer until Akane relied on him completely. Kasumi helped out around town, doing odd jobs to make money, while Akane continued school, but.." Cologne couldn't go on.

Ranma noticed the look on her face and clenched his fist. "What happened, Cologne?" he asked angrily.

She looked down at the table. "One day, when Akane got home from school, Daigosuke was waiting for her. He said that he had wanted to surprise her and take her out, so she went to change. Then, Daigosuke followed her, and when she turned around, he knocked her unconscious, or at least that's what she told us..." Cologne looked up at him, and couldn't say it. Instead she pointed at Kenji. "He had brown hair, and green eyes too. When Akane realized she was pregnant, she quit school, and.."

Ranma couldn't hear anymore, he grabbed the table and threw it at the wall, causing it to shatter into pieces. His eyes glowered with his fierce anger. "Where is this guy?!" he practically screamed.

Cologne shook her head. "We don't know. He disappeared the next day. So, for the past six years, Akane has been working at two jobs to make money and raising her son at the same time, with no one to help her."

Ranma tried to settle down. "Didn't Kasumi help?"

"Well, she and Tofu got married and had a son of their own. They tried to help her, but you know Akane, she didn't want help from anyone. She wouldn't even move in with them.she still lives in the dojo next to that old inn. The only thing she lets them help her with is taking care of Kenji while she's at work."

Ranma's vision blurred with fury. He'd never been this angry in his life. With a start he realized something, and he hated it. He looked at Cologne. "This never would have happened if I hadn't left.." He said, more to himself that anyone else. This is all my fault.he thought. He would have killed himself right then and there if Akane didn't need his help. That was if she ever even spoke to him again..she must be furious.

Ranma whirled around and burst outside, falling to his knees and punching the snow as hard as he could, and a tear even strolled down his cheek. How could he do this to the most important person in his life?

After about fifteen minutes, Kenji came out and tapped Ranma on the shoulder hesitantly. Ranma turned his head. He suddenly knew why the kid looked familiar, he had Akane's face and smile, and yet that bastard's hair and eyes.

Kenji held his ball close to his chest. "You're the guy mommy cries about in her sleep." He said quietly.

Ranma's heart shattered. He'd never felt this much pain in his life. He just wanted to forget everything he'd just heard.

'No, I have to make this right.' He thought. 'I have to find Akane, I have to get her out of this place, and ,.and.I don't know yet, but I have to do something.' he promised himself.

After calming down, he stood up and turned back to Kenji, still standing next to him. "I'm gonna make sure you're mommy doesn't cry anymore, okay?"

Kenji smiled and nodded.

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Tada! Now, go review and tell me whether I should bother continuing with this story or not, okay? Go Review! Oh, and go and read my other story, Real Love is Just a Dream, or the story I co-wrote, To Save the World.

Arigato, Ja!
~Vixie