Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½. Plain and simple.

AN: As you may have noticed, LIFS (Losing Innocence, Finding Self- catchy, eh?) isn't really humor based- yet. My one shot is just...dark I suppose. With this story, I'm trying to create a more lighthearted feel. Sometimes you'll have to forgive my so called sense of humor- but I'm working on it!

Where Kindness Leads You

Chapter 2: The Path I Walk

Dinner that night was a quiet affair at the Tendo Dojo. This in and of itself was quite commonplace- anywhere else in the world. To those who knew of the Tendo homestead, either by association or reputation, this was a sure sign that Armageddon was approaching. But there was still time- after all, the true herald of the Nerimian Judgment Day was a Kasumi Tendo acting violent. That could never happen, it was just not possible, even in Nerima! ...Yep, they were all doomed.

Within the center of the upcoming Apocalypse, the residents remain blanketed in silent tension. The Tendo doom bringer, er, caretaker sat in her usual place gazing serenely at the gathered people. Akane glared daggers at Ranma, who had started to simply ignore her lately. The chaos magnet stole nervous glances toward the Tendo Patriarch. Soun had a haunted look directed at his eldest daughter, his face frozen as if he wanted to cry but was too terrified of what might happen. Nabiki calmly took all of this in stride, mentally tallying the damages their home would incur when the frenzied melee began. Genma was conspicuously absent, for health reasons.

Finally, the silence was broken by Ranma, who sighed contentedly before directing a thankful smile at Kasumi. "Thanks Kasumi, the food was as delicious as usual."

Now, it is said that all living creatures are gifted by Mother Nature and Father Time with a sort of danger sense. That meaning, they were equipped to sense when things around them were about to go wrong. However, there were always exceptions. Be it fate or some other celestial power at work, one such exception was none other than Akane Tendo. Sadly, she was clueless to the events transpiring around her- but maybe whatever deities that watched over mankind would find it in their hearts to save the violent gorilla from herself. ...Oh yes, tomboys were about to go on the endangered species list.

"Ranma, how dare you flirt with my-!"

Ranma, instantly sensing an incoming malleting, had already squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation. So, it comes as no surprise that he completely missed what happened next. Namely, Kasumi shoving a good amount of rice into her younger sister's open mouth, unceremoniously and effectively silencing her. "-mmmfffff!" "You really need to eat more, Akane. It is very important that you keep up your strength."

Not one to be deterred by anything as trivial as food stuffs or common sense, the youngest Tendo daughter once again made a valiant attempt at venting her frustrations on her reluctant fiance. "You pervert, lea-!"

And, of course, met with the same results as the previous attempt. "Now Akane, you know it is very rude to speak with your mouth full."

Nabiki's eyebrow quirked ever so slightly at her elder sister's odd behavior, but she quickly dismissed it as years of stress finally catching up. 'She's been working so hard...I guess it's starting to get to her. I'd better arrange for her to take a vacation soon.'

Having noticed that he had yet to receive his daily malleting, the pigtailed fighter cautiously opened his left eye. After several seconds without painful incident, he finally relaxed and sat back down. Meanwhile, Soun watched on with a mixture of fear and awe. His precious daughter had been acting so strangely...and her movements were so fast even he couldn't make out more than a blur of motion. There was only one explanation...his poor baby was possessed by a demon! Oh, the horror! 'Hold on Kasumi, Daddy's coming to rescue you!'

Akane merely fumed where she sat, glaring at the Saotome heir with impotent rage.

Morning arrived once more at the Tendo household, the usual start of a new day and the beginnings of new headaches. Having, for once, gotten a good night's sleep without the constant snoring of his father, Ranma managed to awaken several minutes early for a change. Yawning and stretching languidly, he stood up and blinked in confusion. 'Where's Pops? First he misses dinner, now he isn't even here with his usual morning greeting. Guess he went on a training trip or somethin'. Probably figured he needed it to even stand a chance against me- not that it'll help any.'

Grinning victoriously, he reached toward a nearby glass of water to ease his thirst.

-Thump- The water in the glass rippled lightly.

-Thump- The sound was getting closer, and the rippling effect increased accordingly.

-THUMP- He could feel it now, the floor beneath him quaking at the approach of something...something...

"Tomboyasaurus Rex..." Ranma whispered to himself in detached awe. Internally, he was smiling- and it was not a very nice smile. So, she expected to give him the usual wake up call, eh? Positioning himself beside the door, he stretched his leg out and waited. 'Moments like these make all the craziness worthwhile.'

Akane flounced, er, daintily pranced toward the guest room currently occupied by her intended victim. Bucket of cold water in hand, she grinned mischievously. 'Finally, I can work some stress off on that jerk. This'll teach him not to ignore ME. Besides, it's not like he's good for much else.'

Pausing just outside the room, the harbinger of aquatic vengeance inhaled deeply before sliding the door open and charging forward. "RanmaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Barely managing to keep himself from laughing at the thoroughly soaked Tendo girl's plight, he said in a tone of mock concern, "Gee Akane...are you alright? You should be careful walking in here, I think one of the floorboards are loose."

From the floor, said girl was quickly approaching the boiling point, if the steam rising from around the bucket on her head was any indication. Dusting his hands lightly, he gleefully stepped on and over the fallen form of his usual tormentor. 'Today might not be such a bad day after all. If I can at least avoid the usual lunatics until lunch time, I'll be happy.'

Whistling jovially and slightly off key, Ranma made his way toward the bathroom in order to prepare himself for the day's usual hectic events.

As with dinner the previous day, breakfast was also a relatively quiet affair. Kasumi was in the kitchen cleaning up, and Nabiki had gone off to school early for business reasons. Akane stared uncertainly at Ranma, stuck between anger and confusion. Did he have something to do with her earlier, ahem, accident? Ranma, for his part, ignored the world around him in favor of his meal. Soun appeared to be engrossed in the morning newspaper, occasionally stealing anxious glances toward the kitchen over the top of it. 'I must find a way to contact Genma! Together, we shall conquer the demon that has taken over Kasumi's body!'

Tact is a valuable asset in any negotiation or verbal confrontation. Most normal people, that is to say people outside Nerima, possessed tact to varying degrees. Akane Tendo was known quite well for this aspect. Meaning, she was known to have the tact of a rabid grizzly bear on steroids. "Come on you pervert, we're going to be late for school!"

Casually glancing at the irate girl, Ranma was about to make his usual witty retort when he was saved from his own foot-in-mouth disease by Kasumi as she reentered the room. "Akane, you should go on ahead. I need to speak to Ranma about something."

Grumbling to herself about the unfairness of the world, Akane grabbed her things and stomped out the door. Soun quickly vacated the room when Kasumi shot him a pointed look. It wasn't that he was afraid of his eldest daughter, demonically possessed or not, far from it. He simply...respected her wishes, that's all.

Glancing about the recently vacated room, Ranma's eyes finally came to rest on Kasumi. Fidgeting nervously for a moment, he finally worked up the courage to address the older girl. "Um...what was it you wanted, Kasumi?"

Giving the pigtailed youth a reassuring smile, she held up a large bag. "Here's your lunch, Ranma. Akane seems to have forgotten hers...such a pity."

He was so deeply focused on the food before him, it never crossed his mind that he could take Akane's lunch to her. Selective memories are truly a beautiful thing. He was snapped out of his food induced stupor by Kasumi, who delicately cleared her throat before continuing. "Ranma, I need to go to the market today, and since it's on the way I thought it would be nice to walk you to school."

Blinking twice in surprise, Ranma stumbled for words before managing to recover himself enough to answer. Scratching his head out of nervous habit, he nodded slowly, vaguely aware of alarm bells ringing in his head as he replied, "Sure Kasumi, that'd be nice. But if any of the usual crazies attack, please get yourself to safety."

Favoring the sometimes girl with one of her brightest smiles, she happily nodded in compliance. "Of course, Ranma. We should get going now, I wouldn't want you to be late after all."

Collecting their respective things, the pair exited the Tendo home, pausing to admire the beautiful new day before proceeding onward.

Three minutes later, Ranma and Kasumi were enjoying the peace as they made their way toward Furinkan High School. Such peace never lasted long in Nerima, so it was to be relished and appreciated to its fullest. Out of respect for the older girl walking beside him, the pigtailed martial artist chose not to walk along the fence as per usual. Besides, walking beside someone who had no ulterior motives or blind rage directed toward him felt...nice.

And then he heard it. Sighing softly in resignation, Ranma screwed his eyes shut and awaited the imminent arrival of the Amazonian Bicycle of Death.

Slash!Slashslashslashslashslashslash!

Cautiously opening his eyes a moment later, Ranma was amazed to find- nothing. No bicycle embedded in his skull, no Shampoo initiating a Flying Death Glomp, nothing but the usual morning crowd going about their business. 'Eh...musta been hearin' things. Guess the stress is getting to me.'

Chuckling to himself uneasily, he directed his attention to his companion. "Eheh, sorry 'bout that Kasumi. Lets uh, get going before something happens."

The eldest Tendo daughter gave Ranma another warm smile, which quickly took on a more sinister look as she glanced back at her handiwork.

On the canal bank below, a certain purple haired Amazon had swirls in her eyes as she lay among the twisted scrap that remained of her bike. "Aiyah..."

Several moments later, Ranma and Kasumi were within sight of Furinkan High. By now, the Saotome heir's paranoia had hit an all time high. Casting his alert gaze all around, he was determined to spot any incoming danger before it became a threat to the innocent walking beside him. Experience dictated that the longer things stayed peaceful, the bigger things would blow up in the end. Unfortunately, he picked a bad time to be right for once. 'So whose it gonna be up first today? Mousse, Ryouga, Kuno...'

Wincing at the insane laughter erupting nearby, Ranma tiredly palmed his face and sighed. 'Kodachi it is then.'

Slash! Slash! Rip!

Looking up once more, he blinked in surprise at the unexpected scene before him. Kodachi stood amidst the shredded remains of her ribbon, swaying unsteadily on her feet and her eyes unfocused. "Ranma-sama, I regret to inform you that I have a previous obligation I must attend to. Good day."

Sweatdropping lightly, the pigtailed fighter slowly drawled out in reply, "Um...right, sure."

He watched in mild concern as the insane gymnast began to stumble off towards her own school, before dismissing it and turning once more to Kasumi. 'One of her concoctions probably just backfired, that's all. She should have an antidote somewhere.'

"Well, um, guess this is my stop Kasumi. Thanks for walking with me, it was nice. I'll uh, see ya at home later."

"Have a nice day in school, Ranma. At least try to pay attention today, alright?"

Giggling at Ranma's sheepish grin, she turned and continued on her way to the market as the pigtailed boy leaped over the wall and into a tree before vaulting into his classroom via the window just as the bell rang. Behind her, Kodachi managed to take a few more steps before collapsing on the ground, twitching.

Unbeknownst to any of them, a dark figure watched from the shadows. 'What's wrong with Kasumi? I bet it's all Ranma's fault! Well, he better at least have enough honor to help me find a way to make her better."

Adjusting his bandanna, the fanged boy began heading toward the school. And ended up walking face first into a streetlight- in New Guinea. "Ow! Ranma, this is all your fault, I just know it!"

School had gone by without a single hitch so far. Which was why Ranma was internally praying to every deity he could think of. 'Okay, okay, calm down. Things can't possibly get that bad today. I mean, at least school's gone by the same way as usual.'

Thinking back to the past few hours, Ranma couldn't keep an irritated frown from appearing on his face. 'Stupid samurai wannabe...his poetry will be the death of me long before that sword of his.'

As soon as he had entered his classroom, Kuno had charged forth with righteous fury in his eyes, spouting the usual nonsense, which was promptly ignored. Two and a half seconds later, he was promptly tossed out the window and into the school pool. A quarter of an hour later, one of the guys in his class "accidentally" spilled a bottle of ice water on him, instantly her. Before Ranma had a chance to inflict bodily harm on the boy that was now ogling her, along with the rest of the males in the room, Kuno made his reappearance. Spotting the Pigtailed Girl, he ran forward to embrace her. Which led to his second flight to the swimming pool, this time with company. Ranma hadn't forgotten about the little pervert with the ice water, after all.

Grumbling at the constant displays of stupidity, Ranma, now a he again thanks to a convenient thermos of warm water thoughtfully placed in his pack by Kasumi, stiffened slightly when he felt eyes on him once more. Remembering who it was, and that for now there was no immediate threat, he allowed himself to relax.

Ukyo and Akane had both been sneaking glances at the pigtailed boy all day, but for totally different reasons. Although he had forgiven her soon afterward for her part in the disastrous wedding attempt, Ranma seemed to habitually take on a cold demeanor around the okonomiyaki chef. He never even referred to her as Ucchan anymore, instead calling her Ukyo. It hurt her to think that maybe she had lost him forever, but that was how things appeared to be. And she knew she deserved it.

Akane sent death glares at the aquatranssexual's back throughout the entire class, which was a somewhat pointless gesture since he continued to ignore her. She eased up on the one way staring contest when a sudden thought occurred to her. 'I know, I'll make him lunch! Then he'll have to beg me for forgiveness. Perfect!'

Nobody noticed as Akane quietly slipped out of the room, for once actually employing some level of subtlety. Indeed, the Day of Reckoning was upon Nerima.

Ranma felt a shiver travel up his spine. Oh yes, the fun would begin soon.

Half an hour later, the lunch bell rang just as the pigtailed martial artist casually swatted a deranged kendoist through the window once more. The tingling sensation intensified.

Wasting no time, he leapt through the window before either of his fiances could say a word. The last thing he wanted was to deal with any of his suitors today. He could barely even stand to look them in the eye- the pain of the failed wedding was still fresh. Somersaulting gracefully, he made contact with the ground just long enough to launch himself into his favorite tree. As he began to open the lunch made for him by Kasumi, he heard an all too familiar sound.

-Thump- The leaves around him rustled lightly, but there was no wind.

-Thump- He could feel the tree tremble beneath him, as if in fear of what was to come.

-THUMP- Several leaves shook violently before falling to the ground below.

"Oh for the love of..."

"Ranma! Get down here and try the delicious lunch I made for you!"

The retort died on his lips as Ranma thought of the implications behind that statement. A sense of dread nearly overwhelmed him as he set aside his lunch and hopped lightly to the ground in front of Akane. Eying the tray of oddly glowing slime (which eyed him right back), he asked with as much courage as he could muster, "Akane...where exactly did you get that? I know for a fact that you haven't cooked anything recently, since the kitchen is still in one piece." 'Probably got it from a nuclear waste dumping ground. Definitely an improvement over anything she cooks herself.'

Purposely ignoring the second sentence in favor of answering the first, she ground her teeth a moment before replying in an alarmingly cheery voice, "I got out of class early today, and one of the cafeteria workers was nice enough to let me help prepare today's meal. Now get over here and try it, it's good!"

In the background, several students collapsed, clutching their stomachs and moaning in agony. Numerous sweatdrops appeared around the pigtailed boy's head as he took in the carnage before opening his mouth to reply. "Akane, there is no way in-

Several Minutes Earlier. . .

In the school kitchen, several pots began to rumble ominously. After several seconds, the rumbling stopped just before the lids burst open, and a massive wall of slime oozed forth. Several ichor filled bubbles rose to its surface before popping and releasing a no doubt toxic vapor into the air. Fixing its one, giant eyeball on the kitchen exit, the behemoth goo began to creep across the floor, absorbing whatever utensils weren't nailed down into itself. There was food outside, judging by the vibrations it was picking up through the ground. Loud food, but food nontheless. And it was hungry.

In one of the teacher's lounges situated near the cafeteria, two long time veterans of Furinkan sat next to one another, calmly sipping the life sustaining nectar known as coffee. "Shimada, how long have we taught here?"

"Eight years, Obayashi...eight long years."

The two began to contemplate just how wise a career move this was when they were interrupted by the sound of something slithering wetly down the hallway outside. Peering intently at the door, the duo sweatdropped in unison as the killer slime busted through the door and reared over them. Just before it fell upon them, Shimada abruptly turned to his partner in education and stated, "I just want you to know...I've always hated you."

"Akane, there is no way in helloooooo...!"

Ranma stared, slack jawed, at the mountain of living ooze before him, looking about hungrily with its huge, single eye. The students nearest the monstrosity screamed and began racing toward safety, alerting the rest of the student body, who quickly followed suit. Sensing its prey escaping, the monstrous ooze began to slither forward at surprising speed. "You've got ta be kiddin' me..."

Sighing in resignation, Ranma grumbled to himself as he prepared to launch an attack on the giant slimeball. Akane quickly decided that now was not a good time to force feed the pigtailed fighter, dropping the tray in her hands as she turned to run. The ball of slime on the tray began rolling across the ground toward the creature it had been separated from. "Oh no ya don't!" Ranma shouted as he hurled a small ball of ki toward the fleeing oozeling. The projectile struck its intended target and engulfed it in a small explosion, the smoke blowing away to reveal a greasy splotch on the dirt as all that remained.

Turning his attention to the larger mass of goo before him, Ranma began to formulate a plan. 'No way I'm touchin' that thing. Hitting it with a ki blast would just splatter it all over the place. It seems to be eating everything it can suck into itself, so throwing things at it would be pointless. Looks like I got no choice...I have to try one of my new moves...'

Breathing deeply, he began to focus on the Soul of Ice technique. A corona of frost colored light slowly coalesced around him as he took up a stance. Condensing the frozen aura into his hands, he dashed forward in an apparent suicide rush.

Thrusting his open palms forward once he was within range, he didn't even bother to call out the name of his new technique (after all, who was around to hear him? The ooze wouldn't exactly be impressed). A wide cone of frosty blue energy erupted from his hands, engulfing the man-eating goo and freezing it solid. Ranma stopped to admire his handiwork before lashing out with a negligent kick. Hairline cracks spread rapidly across the surface of the ice statue before it finally shattered into a thousand pieces. Amidst the piles of frozen slime, two figures lay stunned. "Ugh...that's it...I'm retiring tomorrow. They don't pay me enough for this kind of thing!"

Seeing that the gooey menace was taken care of by the resident martial arts supreme, the students filed out of their various hiding places and began to cheer. Scratching his head and shrugging his shoulders, Ranma hopped into his favorite tree once more to eat his lunch, hopefully in peace.

Forgotten among the celebration, the slime quickly melted in the bright sunlight, forming small puddles which slinked off into the street. Disappearing into a storm drain, the ooze began to combine into one large form...

The rest of the day passed without any real incident. Having been kept awake earlier by his thoughts, and feeling drained after using a new technique on such a wide scale, Ranma fell asleep as soon as his head hit the desk. Over the intercom, the assistant principal announced that due to recent events, certain individuals (like you don't know who) would no longer be allowed near the kitchen. Akane flushed with embarrassment when all her classmates turned to look at her, before she snapped out, "What! There's nothing wrong with my cooking!"

They all gave her a look that said "yeah, right" before returning their attention to Ms. Hinako (in her adult form, since one of the panicking students had bumped into her), whose eye twitched periodically as she observed the slumbering form of her favorite target, er student. Grinning wickedly, she stepped out of the room, returning moments later with a bucket of water. Tossing the contents of the bucket at the pigtailed boy, she called out, "Mr. Saotome, time to wake up!"

Not even twitching his head, Ranma raised a finger and directed his energy toward the oncoming H2O. In place of a wet female Ranma was a still sleeping male one, with an elegant ice sculpture adorning his desk. It was in the shape of a horse rearing back on its hind legs, its mane flapping in an invisible wind.

The entire class began to applaud in appreciation of the fine art work, even Ms. Hinako before she managed to stop herself. Grinding her teeth, she practically yelled, "Mr. Saotome, I would like to talk to you after school today!"

All she got in response was a light snore.

AN: ...I must be out of my gourd. (Blinks and scratches head) I know I was having fun with this but...wonder if I went overboard? Er, right. Yes, the Doomsday Slime will be making another appearance later- didn't think it'd be THAT easy to defeat, did you?