Author's Note: First Ranma 1/2 fic... It's kinda… cute… which is weird for me. I don't really try to write cute things. O.o I'll come up with a better title later.

Disclaimer: ... I don't own anything, really I don't.

Broken Engagement

Akane watched uninterestedly as the crumbling remains of a cinder block gathered around her bare feet. As the dust from the rubble cleared, she wiped the small beads of sweat off her forehead with her sleeve and made her way to the entrance of the Tendo Dojo. She stomped her way inside, completely destroying the sign on the wall with one swing of her experienced fist.

She needed to vent.

Ranma had done it again... at school this time. He had unjustly compared her and her abilities to those of his other fiancées. Deciding that it was the last straw, and that she wanted nothing else to do with the two-timing martial artist, Akane ran home fuming right after school without waiting for her "groom to be" to catch up with her speeding footsteps.

She tried... always... to impress him, and her latest batch of cookies turned out to be edible... even tasty. Every time she felt a strong sense of pride and accomplishment, Ranma would always be there to make a vulgar comment about something or other to put her in a bad mood.

Flashback

The bell rang, signaling lunchtime, and the crowds of Furinkan High students stampeded over to the door, practically trampling on each other in attempts to exit the classroom in a rush of feet and skirts.

"Hey Akane!"

The girl in question turned to find her pig-tailed fiancé walking over in her direction. "Hmm?" she asked, stopping to wait up for him before leaving the room after her classmates.

"Ya got any food on you? I'm starving!"

She smiled. "You're in luck!" She held out a plate of shapeless lumps in front of a disgusted Ranma. "Try these! I made them yesterday!"

His face turned green. "Uh... on second thought, I can always wait until after school to eat."

"But Ranma!" Akane persisted. "I tried them before I brought them to school! They're edible! Just try some!" She shoved the plastic plate under his nose in an attempt to get him to wolf down some of her cookies.

Before the pigtailed boy could protest, the chalkboard behind the two of them began to crack, and Ukyo came out from behind the wall. She spotted Ranma and immediately walked over. "Ranma, honey!" she cooed. "I brought you some lunch! I'm testing a new sauce for my okonomiyaki. Could you try it and tell me how it tastes?"

The boy only felt his mouth water as he shoved Ukyo's pancake down his throat. "Yum! Dis is delicious, Ucchan!" Before he could fully swallow,Akane introduced the top of his head to her large mallet.

"Ranma, you jerk! You won't eat my cooking, but as soon as Ukyo gets here, you'll eat hers?"

Ranma regained his balance and faced his fiancé head-on. "Sorry, Akane. I'm just not in the mood for food poisoning right now!"

The young Tendo raised her arm and smacked him across the face. "Idiot! I worked so hard on these, and this is the thanks I get?"

"Why the heck should I be thanking you! You can't cook, you can't fight, you can't control your temper... and you're not even half as cute as Ucchan! I don't know why we're still engaged!" Ranma retorted, his cheek turning red from the contact with Akane's palm just moments ago.

End Flashback

The youngest Tendo brought her arms over her head to help loosen her muscles before sparring with her invisible partner. The last thing she needed was to add injury to insult. Ranma would have a field day.

Akane just couldn't understand him. Whenever another male expressed interest in dating her, he would always become... no, appear jealous and kick the other guy in the face. However, when the two of them were alone, all he could do was insult and make fun of her. He would constantly tell her about her terrible cooking or accuse her of being a wide-hipped tomboy. Akane felt her anger build as she began leaping about the training hall with agility.

"So what if I can't cook as well a Ukyo!" she yelled to no one, punching the air in the process. "So what if I'm not as cute as Shampoo! He doesn't have to say it to my face!" Akane did a back flip in mid-air and landed squarely on her feet.

She hated the whole situation. She tried her very best to be someone that Ranma would finally accept. His teasing was unwanted, and she didn't need to be made inferior by his three other fiancées. But as much as she wanted these things, she knew they wouldn't happen fast enough for her liking. There just wasn't a way to change Ranma overnight. Heck, he hadn't even changed in the whole year and a half she knew him.

All his rude remarks had finally forced the young Tendo to make up her mind. She wanted to talk to Ranma and make amends before finally forcing their fathers to break the engagement.

Akane felt hot, unwanted tears forming and burning behind her eyes, but she chose to ignore them and began throwing punches around the dojo again while yelling to help rid herself of blinding fury and jealousy.

"I knew I'd find you here." a voice drawled from behind her. "Then again, the busted sign out front was a dead giveaway."

Akane stood rigid as she recognized the sound of Ranma's voice, the cause of her discomfort. She could just picture his cocky grin as he leaned on the doorframe with his hands in his front pockets. Oh how she would've loved to smack that smirk right off his face. "Ranma… go away." she said without turning around to face him. "You're the last person I want to see!"

"Oh I get it!" she could hear his voice coming closer; he was walking towards her. "You're still mad that I didn't eat your stupid cookies. C'mon, Akane! I always tell you that your cooking stinks!"

Akane rubbed her eyes viciously on her sleeve, but the redness of her face didn't hide the fact that something was wrong. "I'm serious, Ranma! Get lost!" She swung her leg at him, and he easily dodged it.

"Woah, girl! What's got your panties in a twist?"

She turned to glare, and the pigtailed boy faltered at the not-so-hidden tear streaks on her face. "None of your business! Now get out!" She turned the other way to walk to the other end of the dojo so she could put as much distance between them as possible. Ranma followed her.

"H-hey... are you... crying?"

Akane picked up some weights from the floor and began thrusting them upward with more force than was necessary. "Feh! As if I'd be that stupid to let you see me crying!" Suddenly, Ranma's face appeared in front of her own.

"You were crying!"

With an audible growl, Akane dropped one weight and punched Ranma's head into the floor. "Oh, shut up!"

"As uncute as ever! If you couldn't tell, I wasn't trying to make fun of you or nothin'!" He stood up and rubbed the bump that was rapidly swelling on his forehead, spitting out splinters of wood.

"Yes you were, Ranma! The last thing I need are your insults! You don't know how much it hurts to hear you call me 'uncute' and 'stupid' all the time!" She jabbed him in the chest with every word she spoke.

"Don't try to blame me! I'm not the only one who doesn't like you! Ucchan, Shampoo, and Kodachi all insult you too!"

Akane's eyes burned again with fresh tears. "That's not the point! You're the only one who makes me feel bad!"

Ranma was rendered speechless. He blinked... and blinked again. He floundered intelligently for a response. Akane had just spilled her guts out to him, and all he could do was stutter like an idiot. One of his hands fidgeted nervously and he hung his head, the fingers on his free hand going up to rub the back of his neck sheepishly.

I really am a jerk... he thought. "Akane... hey! Were are you going!" he yelled at her retreating back.

"I'm leaving!" she responded. "Since you weren't planning on getting out anytime soon, I figured it made sense!" She continued to stomp toward the exit with her hands fisted at her sides, "And I think you should know..." she said much more softly, pausing with one foot out the door. "I'm going to have the engagement broken tonight at dinner.

Ranma's mouth dropped open slightly and his arms hung pointlessly at his sides. He tried urgently to retort, but his voice wasn't working properly. "Akane... I... I don't – "

"Ranma, it's okay. I'm sorry too." She turned and smiled sadly at his disbelieving face before continuing down the front steps. "I don't want to get in your way anymore. It's too much pressure. Look at it this way," she continued, "You don't have to deal with a violent tomboy anymore.

"Akane! Wit a sec!" Ranma found his voice and held out a hand as if to stop her by using some invisible force. She answered with a raised eyebrow. "C-could you spar with me at least? One last time?"

She hesitated before turning around. "Er... sure, I guess." She shrugged.

The two teenagers set up at each end of the dojo facing each other. Akane in her old yellow gi and Ranma in his usual red silken Chinese shirt. "I won't go easy on you, Ranma!" Akane said loudly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." The two of them bowed before preparing to strike.

With ease, Ranma lifted himself off the ground in a graceful flip as Akane ran at him. He landed behind her on one foot and held out his hands in front of him. "C'mon, Akane! You're better than that!"

Akane rushed at him again and aimed a high kick at his gut. Again, her fiancée jumped just high enough to avoid contact. Her ankle nearly skimmed the tips of his toes.

She suddenly had a strange bout of déjà vu. "C'mon! Hit me back!"

Ranma didn't respond and continued to back up and dodge Akane's blows until she punched the wall behind him.

"Ranma! You jerk!" Akane removed her fist from the whole in the wall and flicked the wood-shavings off her fingers. "Why'd you keep dodging?" Again, she charged at him and thrust her hands toward his face with a yell.

"You know, Akane." he said as he moved his head out of the way of her flying limbs and grasped her fist in his own. "I really meant it."

"Meant what!" Akane jerked her hand out of his grasp.

"You really are cute when you smile."

Momentarily, Akane forgot about the fight and her look of anger turned to a face of shock. Her fists began to slow their swing, and brown eyes widened slightly, and she found herself wondering if he was being honest... but it was only briefly. "You really think I'm dumb enough to fall for that twice?"

Ranma shrugged and jumped over her aimed kick again. "I'm being serious! And you know what?"

"What!"

Suddenly the Saotome turned red and appeared to lose his nerve. "Well... uh, I mean... It's true that boys, um, tease girls when they like 'em... Know what I mean?"

Akane immediately turned as pink as he was, and suddenly the atmosphere became extremely awkward. Both were looking at the other as if hoping them to speak first. They felt completely idiotic standing there with their arms hanging at their sides and their faces clueless and scarlet like a scene in some sort of shoujo manga.

They stood there for nearly five minutes in silence. The only sounds were from the house to where Ranma's dad had apparently just arrived.

"Oh hello, Mr. Saotome!" Kasumi's voice floated through the open door of the dojo. "Shall I boil you some hot water before I make dinner?"

Hearing of dinner, Akane remembered what she was planning to do at table that night and came to her senses.

"That's it! I'm leaving!" She said, regaining her composure. "If you can't fight fairly, then I don't want to be a part of it." She stomped to the exit again. "Have a nice life!"

Reacting much slower than his fiancée, Ranma didn't realize she was leaving until her right foot was already out the door. "Oh no you don't!" He tore after her and whirled her around by grabbing her shoulder. He saw her flush as her eyes widened noticeably.

"What the – "

"Look, Akane! It wasn't easy for me to say that!" He gestured behind him to remind her of what happened.

"No one made you say it!" she yelled.

"But I was taking a guilt trip, okay? Look, you're not stupid, you're not ugly... and your cooking has actually gotten better! Okay!"

Akane raised an eyebrow and pretended to be uninterested. "Well – "

But she was cut off when Ranma leant in and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was sweet, gentle, and innocent. During the five seconds that it lasted, her eyes fluttered shut and Ranma moved his hand off her shoulder and down her arm to grasp her hand once he felt her relax. Their hands remained their only other contact point, as they stood a good foot apart.

When he moved back, Ranma expected to feel the hard wooden surface of Akane's magic mallet on the top of his head, so he closed his eyes and put his hands above his face to shield himself. When nothing happened for a few seconds, he looked toward his fiancée, curious to see her reaction. She was quiet, and her hand had moved up to lightly touch her mouth. She had the same expression on as the time when Ryoga's umbrella chopped off her hair.

Ranma began to panic. "L-look, Akane! I-I'm sorry! Ok? No need to get upset!" He sprung away from her and started pleading for mercy.

Without responding, Akane stepped forward toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt Ranma freeze first, and then relax. "Thank you," was all she said.

He patted her awkwardly on the back. "Sure. So... uh... Are you still my 'uncute' fiancée?"

Akane pulled back and beamed. "Of course. And, Ranma?"

"Hmm?" He asked, as he flicked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I – "

At that moment, their fathers and Nabiki came out from behind a door with a video camera.

"Just act natural, you two!" she whispered. "You're doing great!" Both Ranma and Akane sprang five feet away from each other, and they could hear their fathers sobbing uncontrollably in the background.

"Nabiki!" Akane cried. "How long were you watching!"

Her older sister winked. "Long enough, Akane. Long enough." She laughed when she saw the two other teenagers flush in embarrassment. "So if you two could just do that again so I can get the camera angle right – "

"Hey! Don't you have anything better to do than spy on people!" Ranma asked aggressively through clenched teeth.

Nabiki rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I'll make you a deal." She grabbed Ranma by the pigtail and whispered in his ear: "Ten thousand yen... and this," she thumbed the camcorder, "stays confidential."

Before the boy could respond, both Soun and Genma threw themselves on him and wept into his Chinese shirt. Then there was utter chaos for the next five minutes.

"Well done, boy!"

"Oh Ranma! Take good care of my daughter!"

"Who said anything about getting married, pops?"

"Nabiki, turn off the damn camera!"

"Do you hate my little girl so much... Raaanmaaaa!"

"Ten thousand yen!"

"Nabiki!"

"Akane! Help me!"

"Raamaaa!"

Eventually, Akane stole the tape from her sister and cracked it over her knee. "There! Now will you leave?"

Nabiki wiggled her eyebrows. "Dear sister, this doesn't change what happened." She began batting her eyelashes and making kissy faces.

Ranma and Akane turned beet red. "It wasn't like that!" The two of them said simultaneously.

"Yea! Why would I wanna kiss a macho chick like her?"

Before he knew it, Ranma was flying out through the roof of the dojo courtesy of his fiancée. "You jerk!" he heard echoing in the dojo below him.

Author's Notes: Oh wow... O.o That was the worst ending I've ever written.