This is my first fanfic ever okay, so be nice. also if there's mistakes, sorry haven't edited yet, but i will. so for now enjoy.

Disclaimer: i don't own Ranma or any related items-ish stuff...things. okay

Prologue: Murder at Midnight

A figure dressed in black ran across the rooftops in the faint starlight. The figure then began to dodge in and out of alleys until it reached a certain house with a dojo. With catlike grace he slipped into an open window at the back of the house. He crept through the silent house methodically going through the rooms looking for his target. As he entered the living room he spotted a middle-aged man sitting absorbed in front of the TV, his back to him. All around him, paper littered the floor along with multicolored balloons. The figure slowly snuck up behind him, navigating his way across the paper strewn floor, and suddenly threw a punch at his head.

Soun Tendo sensed something, or more specifically someone, moving behind him. He may not have practiced the art very much of late, but he still had his instincts, and right now his instincts were telling him to get out of the way. All of a sudden, he abruptly fell to the floor and did a neat roll landing on his feet, facing his attacker. A moment later a leg was aimed at his head which he quickly blocked. A punch to the stomach was redirected into the TV

The two continued fighting wrecking the already trashed house. Finally Soun had his attacker down after smashing him through the table. "Ha!" Soun yelled, triumph written on his face, "I win!"

"No," the figure panted as he reached into his black gi and pulled out a gun, "you lose,"

and he pulled the trigger.

Genma pleasantly strolled towards the Tendo Dojo in the cool breeze. He had spent most of the day there, but Soun was his best friend (more like only), he wouldn't mind. Plus, after spending the evening with Nodaka, who kept nagging him about the marriage of their son, he just wanted to relax with a nice game of shoji. Nodaka was not an easy woman to live with. As soon as Ranma and Akane had shown up, he had snuck away, out the back door of course. It's not that he didn't love his wife, because he did, but she was just to strict at times, and her die hard traditional beliefs became annoying after a awhile. Sure he had married her for that reason, because every martial artist was suppose to have a good traditional wife, but who knew it would back fire like this?

As he rounded a corner the Tendo Dojo came into view, but he immediately noticed all the lights in the house were off a stark contrast to the earlier festivities. It struck him as odd that his friend should go to sleep already, Genma knew Soun Tendo well enough to know he wouldn't hit the hay unless he know where all his daughters were. Akane hadn't come home yet, not to his knowledge anyway unless they had some how passed him on his way. Unfortunately being Genma, he just shrugged it off and kept going at his slow and steady pace. He wasn't worried until he saw the door was slightly ajar, and he broke into a run, bursting through the door.

"Tendo-kun!"

The house looked as if a tornado had been through it, thoroughly wrecking everything in its way. Genma stepped over papers and broken bits of china, flicking the lights on as he went. As he stepped into the living room and looked about, his heart stopped. Soun Tendo lay unmoving on the floor by the wall, facedown. Genma slowly inched towards him then turned his body over, face up. A bullet pierced the middle of his forehead, his dead eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. On his chest was a note held on by a silver dagger. Genma shakily pulled out the dagger with a sickening squelch. As he read the note his blood ran cold:

Genma

this was only a warm up. i'll be back!

-Ronin

'It can't be,' he thought in disbelief, 'can't have found me. There's no way, imposs-'

The dagger fell to the floor with a loud clatter, shaking Genma out of his shock. He crumpled the note and placed it in his pocket. The dagger he wrapped in a cloth and stashed it under a rock in the koi pond just outside. This is a secret that could NEVER get out; he would have to hide it. No one could know... Then Genma determinedly went around the house taking things at random, then he hide them along with the dagger. That done he picked up the phone and called the police as a single tear slid down his cheek.

Akane looked up at Ranma walking on the fence above her and wondered what he was thinking about, or if he was thinking at all for that matter. Her visit at ranma's had been very brief, or as brief as possible. When Nodaka began trying to urge them into marriage, Akane decided that was her cue to leave. Nodaka wasn't like their fathers, that she could handle. On the contrary, ever the perfect Japanese woman, she had been very subtle. Nodaka began by telling them an early marriage, after all hadn't she been married before 18. Then she told them how fulfilling a married life could be, and how she wished she could have grandchildren before she got too old to take care of them. There were numerous amounts of obvious hints like that and Akane knew she had more. When Akane had had enough Nodaka insisted that Ranma walk her home, to exasperated Akane didn't even put up a fight. Nodaka was probably hoping they'd use their "alone time" to their "advantage." Instead they had walked most of the way in silence, and then stopped at an ice cream shop on the way.

Ranma now looked absorbed in his ice cream, for once he had taken his time to enjoy his treat, instead of inhaling it, as was per usual. Akane paused, puzzled, when Ranma had abruptly stopped and dropped his cone. Then she noticed the read and blue lights flashing on his face and began to worry. She turned the corner and stopped dead in her tracks. What are the police doing at my house? Oh, no, please, no!

"KASUMI! NABIKI! DAD!"

Akane began running for all she was worth, praying to the Kami above that she was only over-reacting.

"Akane, wait!" Ranma yelled, after his momentary shock, trailing behind her.

She quickly ducked under the yellow CAUTION tape and dodged the police officers that blocked her path to the door. The few that tried to stop her soon regretted it. She wasn't the heir to Anything Goes Martial Arts for nothing. By the door stood Kasumi and Nabiki hugging each other.

"What happened?" Akane gasped out of breath.

Then Nabiki turned around and Akane saw that she was crying. Seeing Nabiki cry was horribly wrong. She never showed emotion, not since mother...

"Wh-Where's dad?" Akane asked, panicked, then it clicked, "NO!"

Tears streamed down her face as she blindly stumbled through the hall. She stopped when she heard voices and saw two officers talking in the living room. She decided to listen. Ranma, who had followed her, barely stopped in time to avoid knocking them both over.

"-open window in the back," the taller man was saying, "probably thought the house was empty, then ran into this guy. The old man fought back, so the robber killed him and took anything of value. Just another burglary gone bad. The only thing that puzzles me is the wound in his chest. It doesn't-"

Just then Akane had spotted a body covered with cloth and uttered a strangled cry.

"DAD!" she screamed crouching next to the body. The two cops turned around in alarm and saw Akane kneeling next to the body whose face had become uncovered.

"Hey! You can't-" the shorter man began to shout.

"Daddy! You can't leave! Please wake up! You can't leave!" she sobbed her face buried in his chest. This isn't real. It isn't! It's just a dream that's all, or some sick joke. He's gonna wake up, he will and everybody will come out and say Surprise! Please PLEASE wake up!

The first man restrained his partner, his face full of sympathy. Then he saw a man in Chinese clothing step out of the shadowy hall and walk towards the girl.

"Akane," he said gently helping her up, "come on, you can't be in here" a glace to the officers, "There's nothing you can do." His face looked pained as he said that and he was reluctant to take her away from her father.

"YOU!!" She rounded on the cops, needing to let her anger out, willing to blame anyone. "What happened, how did this happen?! Isn't it supposed to be your job to stop this?! How could you let this happen!?" Tears still streamed down her face, but she looked angry enough to murder (Excuse the pun, just kidding anyway.). All the while the man in the Chinese clothing held her back and was shushing her trying, but failing, to calm her down.

The two cops were dumbstruck and didn't know what to say. Satisfied that they were shamed into silence, Akane let Ranma lead her back outside to Kasumi and Nabiki where she broke down crying again.

The two officers faces were full of pity as they watched the couple leave.

"Well," one said heavily, "now we know who Akane is."

"Yeah, poor kid."

As they exited the room a banner that hung on the wall fluttered to the floor; a banner that read:

Happy 18th Birthday, Akane!