Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ nor profit from this fanfiction.

Screw Honor

by MalletGirlAkane

Plans

Shampoo left first, to no one's surprise. The moment her violet eyes had finished skimming Ranma's sloppy handwriting the note had fallen from her fingers as she bolted. Whether she even stopped by the Nekohaten before leaving Nerima was never really known by those left behind, but by the following morning the café had been boarded up and no sign of its previous occupants remained.

Hibiki Ryoga was the second to leave, though it would not do him much good as he soon got lost anyway. After laying waste to the back wall surrounding the dojo with a cry of, "Saotome Ranma, prepare to die!" and then being convinced that the target of his ire was nowhere in the vicinity, he had been shown the note. At first he had crushed the edges between his clenching fists, muttering about real men and running away from responsibility. As his eyes hit the bottom all color immediately drained from his face. Looking up into a pair of icy chocolate-brown eyes he had squeaked something which sounded vaguely like, "All Ranma's fault" and disappeared faster than even the buxom Chinese Amazon had managed.

It was not exactly known how the Kuno siblings had gotten wind of Ranma's flight. Nabiki had seemed unusually cheerful following their departure, leaving nothing but a trail of black rose petals and ringing silence in the absence of annoying laughter and bad poetry; but then, the large majority of the Nerima population had seemed happier for it as well.

At first, Kuonji Ukyo had loudly proclaimed that Ranma had just needed to get away from it all for a while, that he would never seriously break off their engagement and that he would obviously be back in no time. A week later her declarations had become rather less forceful and more desperate. Two weeks following Ranma's disappearance, Ukyo quietly closed Ucchan's and slipped away in the middle of the night.

Within a month they were all gone, every martial artist with a claim on Saotome Ranma's head, with the exception of a man and his three daughters. Life in the weeks following the discovery of 'The Note' became as peaceful and tranquil at the Tendo residence as anyone could want. It drove them all to the brink of insanity. Tendo Soun sat, for hours at a time, staring at an empty shoji board and muttering under his breath, when tears did not flow freely down his cheeks. Nabiki alternated between rejoicing over the lack of household repair bills and lamenting over the loss of the greater portion of her income. Kasumi jumped at small noises, expecting a wall to be used in lieu of a door or an unconscious body to be rocketed through the roof at any moment. And Akane… well, they spoke in quiet voices around Akane and never mentioned a certain pig-tailed martial artist by name.

Outwardly, the youngest Tendo took Ranma's departure extremely well, which may have been what worried her family the most. She had smiled cheerfully, chatted with animation, and had not raised her voice since the night prior to his leaving. Even her reaction to the truth about her beloved pet had been met with only a cool suggestion that someone warn Ryoga that if she ever saw him or P-Chan again the consequences would be painful.

When they were certain that she could not hear them, her concerned family whispered their worries to each other. Would she leave to find Ranma as well? What would they do if Ryoga showed up again? What would happen without Ranma around for Akane to vent her considerable temper on? Akane was oblivious to their fears, noting only that everyone seemed to be smiling around her an awful lot.

It was nearly two months after the initial exodus that they found another note. By that time they had received word from just about all of their old acquaintances (except Ryoga) questioning whether Ranma had returned yet and had anyone found him? The second note had been very similar to the first. I need to take care of things on my own, please don't look for me, I'm sorry. It was a complete surprise, after so long, when Akane disappeared as mysteriously as Ranma.

But then, that had been their plan all along.

A young woman with short, dark blue hair disembarked from the airplane and looked around herself nervously. She was only one of the small crowd observing their recently gained destination, but there was something about her which drew the eye. Perhaps it was her appearance, undeniably beautiful though not in a flamboyant or showy way. Perhaps it was her dress, feminine yet modest and just a little childish. Or perhaps it was the sparkle of anticipation in her eyes which she could not hide from the world. Regardless of why, everyone who laid eyes upon the young foreign girl that day agreed, something good was in store for her. Something as special as she was.

Akane had been standing in the airport for a good ten minutes. The light of excitement, which had been clear on her face when she had exited the plane after her long trip across the Pacific, had faded somewhat to be replaced with worry. The trepidation was just beginning to give way to anger- an emotion only he could truly provoke anymore, it seemed- when a playful finger poked her gently in the back of the head.

She had planned this moment for over two months now. She would turn to him and give him her best smile, the one she knew he thought was cute, no matter how much he denied it. Overwhelmed, he would open his arms to her and, crying his name, she would rush into his tender embrace.

Of course when she turned to see Saotome Ranma standing behind her, actually there like they had planned so long ago, all coherent thought fled from her mind. They stood there, grinning at each other moronically, for at least a quarter of an hour; satisfied to simply bask in each other's presence and internally marvel at how much they had missed one another. At last, realizing with a little start what a sight they must be, Akane felt a blush rise in her cheeks and said, "What are you grinning about, Baka?"

He crossed his arms, the smile never faltering, and replied, "You're here."

"Of course I am. Did you really doubt it?"

Ranma tilted his head a little, as if trying to memorize her from every angle. "Ya left yer home and yer fam'ly with barely a word- for me. Can ya blame me if I'm amazed?"

Akane blushed and dipped her head, preparing to refute his statement, but Ranma's next words brought her eyes immediately back to his.

"I got somethin' ta tell ya'," he said, his face dark and serious. Akane felt a cold weight settle in the bottom of her stomach at that expression.

He scratched the back of his neck nervously as he spoke, eyes darting around as if to make absolutely certain no one they knew was around to overhear. "I've been practicin' this for two months… ok… longer than that. So just shut up and let me say it, ok?"

Her immediate reaction was to kick him for the rude way he was speaking to her, but so curious and anxious was she to hear what he had to say, she merely nodded her acquiescence.

Ranma took a deep, soothing breath and launched into his well rehearsed speech. "Akane, our engagement was a really stupid idea from the start. Our Pops had no right to decide somethin' like that for us. Thanks ta their pushin', at first I didn't want nothin' ta do with ya. But in the last couple years… things have changed. I've risked my life for you and you've risked yer life for me more times than should happen ta any six people. Ya can't just blow that off, ya know? There's a bond between us that I don't think anyone else back home can even begin ta understand." He faltered, "And… and…"

Up until this point she had been smiling encouragingly, nodding her agreement at key points in his little oration. Now, seeing him hesitate, she reached out and took both his large hands in her own, willing courage to him through their connection.

Her touch indeed seemed to soothe him for, after taking one more deep breath (a panicked gasp, really), he blurted, "AndIloveyou!"

There was no way for her to express all of the intense joy, excitement, and relief she felt upon hearing those rushed, ineloquent words. So she did not try. She just squeezed his hands a little tighter and replied, "I love you too, Ranma."

He understood.

Author's Note:

I had a hard time writing the second half of this chapter so I decided that I was overworked and exhausted. After all I got up at 6 o'clock this morning to get ready for a major examination which I have to pass in order to get my degree, took said exam, then went to work for six hours! I felt I'd earned a little nap, planning to awaken refreshed and ready to write.

My muse, on the other hand, had different ideas. The moment my head touched the pillow she said, "Oh no you don't!", grabbed me by the ear, shoved a notebook and pen into my hands and forced me to finish the thing right then and there- without even letting me get up to turn the light on! This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I'm going blind.

Also a quick note on the title… The true title of this story is, as it was originally posted, "Screw Honor." You might have noticed that I have labeled it "Screw Honor" at the top of this chapter as well as the prologue. The only reason it is called "Forget Honor" is because I'm deathly afraid of doing something that won't like and having a story removed or worse. So whether I'm being paranoid or not, this story will be labeled "Forget Honor" but called "Screw Honor."