Author's note: This is the final chapter. Please see my profile for more information about this. A crappy ending is better than no ending at all.

Chapter No. 11
"Someday, somehow"

On hindsight, it was all Ranma's fault. Everything is Ranma's fault. If I happen to trip over my own feet and stub my toe, it is Ranma's fault. That is one of the divine truths.

"Why didn't you tell us Akane didn't love you?" Soun demanded using his frightening balloon-face technique. For once, Genma was in his human form and even he was glaring at Ranma. This was probably to take attention off his own blatant shortcomings as a father.

"It's not my fault Akane won't come out of her room," Ranma grumbled. As if he didn't feel bad enough. "Pining over the stupid pig."

"Go talk to her," Genma commanded. "You're her fiancé."

Ranma shook his head. "Not any more. The engagement is off. You can't force her to marry me if she loves someone else and you can't force me to marry her either."

Soun continued to glare at him. Then he spoke. He sounded much too calm. "How long did you know about this?"

"About what?"

"That my daughter loves Ryoga, of course." Soun sighed and at that moment, he seemed so much older than usual.

Ranma couldn't help but be moved by Soun being uncharacteristically subdued. "It's not the end of the world, ya know," Ranma said in an attempted comforting tone. "Ryoga's a martial artist too. I'm sure he'd make a good heir to the dojo if... that's what you're worried about."

"The agreement still holds, Saotome," Soun said to Genma, thus choosing to completely ignore Ranma.

"Indeed it does." Genma nodded solemnly.

Ranma was at a loss for words. "What, you're not...!"

How insensitive were these parents? It would hurt Akane to be with someone she didn't love and it would hurt Ranma even more because he actually kind of, sort of liked her. Right now, all Ranma wanted to do was forget about all of this engagement business.

"Ranma," said Genma suddenly. "We're pairing you with Nabiki."

"Or with Kasumi. You have a choice," Soun interjected.

"W-Wait. What?" Ranma half-shouted. Not what he expected to hear.

At that precise moment, Nabiki was passing through the room, carrying her expensive crocodile handbag. "I'm off!" she announced. She was probably going shopping.

"Wait," Soun told her. "Take Ranma with you. Make it a date."

Ranma would normally have protested, and it showed how broken-hearted he was that he said nothing at all.

Nabiki stopped and considered Soun's request. "Okay," she said finally, to which Soun and Genma heaved heavy sighs of relief. "But only if you double my allowance," she added.

"Done," said Soun.

"Have fun, Ranma!" Genma said cheerfully, before proceeding to push his son out of the house and lock the door behind him. For extra measure, he even hired armed guards wearing black suits and matching shades to patrol the outside of the Tendo Dojo, thus ensuring that Ranma went on his date.

Ranma was spectacularly unimpressed.

"Nabiki, I'm not going to buy you anything," he said.

"I know you won't," Nabiki chuckled. "You'd make a lousy husband."

"Gee, thanks," said Ranma indignantly. On one hand, he wasn't too interested in becoming a husband; on the other, it would be nice to know that if he ever did become a husband, others would be confident in the knowledge that he was Good At It. Martial arts... Marital arts...what was the difference?

"But you know," Nabiki continued casually. "It's not like you're a total jerk. Too bad about Akane, huh?"

Ranma regarded Nabiki with suspicion because Nabiki was being suspiciously nice.

"I'm still not going to buy you anything," he said.

Nabiki shrugged. "Such is life."

The curtains opened upon a life-changing showdown between Ryoga and Mousse. The arena at the centre of the Amazon tribe was the place where all major showdowns took place. Rather similar thoughts went through their heads as they faced each other.

If I win this fight, then I'll be worthy for the girl I love!

Cologne stood by the side of the arena next to Shampoo. They were the only spectators of the match. Cologne raised her wrinkly hand.

"Fight!" she announced crisply.

And so the final battle began. The two combatants leaped towards each other to initiate the first of blows upon each other.

"This tough for Ryoga," Shampoo commented. Cologne knew what her great-granddaughter was talking about: Mousse was a master of hidden weapons. Being a seasoned martial artist, Cologne knew just from watching Ryoga for only a few seconds that the young man had a fighting style that was very straightforward. This was the sort of style that Mousse could easily take advantage of.

That was precisely what happened.

First, Mousse began to throw knives at Ryoga, which he deflected by throwing his razor sharp bandanas at. Then Mousse threw ticking time bombs, followed quickly by a grand piano.

"How'd you hide that in your robe?" Ryoga demanded as he narrowly dodged the impromptu weapon. The piano landed with a crash and a terrible-sounding chord.

Although wincing at the sound, Mousse smirked. "I have my ways."

And so the battle went on, the odds clearly tilted in Mousse's favour. Ryoga was on the back foot, dodging Mousse's weapons but finding no opening to launch his own attacks.

Shampoo gazed on thoughtfully. This looked bad for Ryoga.

"Well, great-granddaughter?" Cologne said suddenly. "Do you have faith in this friend of yours?"

The question startled Shampoo. Because it meant something to her, didn't it...? She had given up ever being with Ranma for Ryoga's sake. It wasn't possible for her not to have faith in him, she realised.

"Ryoga win!" she answered, a bit louder than she intended. "Ryoga friend!"

And then she looked up at the young martial artist in question. Had he heard her...? Maybe, maybe not. But he was fighting harder than ever now. Whipping out his umbrella, he completely blocked a yo-yo thrown in his general direction. Then he rapidly brought himself out of his cover and launched a heavy punch in Mousse's direction.

It connected. Right in the stomach.

"Oof!" Mousse's glasses fell off his nose and he fell to his knees. Without his vision, Mousse was forced to scramble around on the cold hard pavement of the arena in order to fumble around for his glasses.

Ryoga stood over him and pointed the tip of his umbrella directly at Mousse's head.

"I win," he declared.

"Not yet," Mousse hissed.

"Wha-!" But Ryoga couldn't say any more because at that moment, Mousse grabbed onto his legs and dragged him down to his level.

"Even if I can't see," said Mousse, "you're so close I can fight you blind!"

The frustrated bewilderment on Ryoga's face was evident. "N-Ngoooooooh!"

Cologne watched this all take place with shrewd amusement. "Well, now! This is interesting!"

Shampoo knew what Cologne was thinking. The Breaking Point was a skill only useful at close range. If Ryoga couldn't handle himself here against Mousse, there was no way he could use the Breaking Point.

What followed was a rough and intense tumble between Ryoga and Mousse. Countless blows were exchanged. Eventually, one man stood up, his face bruising, but a clear victory grin on his face. The other man was out cold.

The one on the ground was Mousse.

Months passed.

Eventually, Akane came out of her room and smiled again. Even though her feelings hadn't changed a single iota, she held on to her sweet secret close to heart.

The day when Ryoga came back wasn't a day where Akane got up out of bed and looked up into the early morning horizon and thought, "Today, maybe, his training might be done." Instead, it was one of those humid, rainy days where it feels like everything is smothered under a layer of dampness. It was one of those days which make even the most cheerful of people just a little bit annoyed.

After beating up Ranma approximately seventeen times by lunchtime, Akane's frustration still was not totally vented yet. Life in Nerima was a little more complicated these days, what with her father's old master Happosai returning and a Ranma running into a new fiancée he didn't know was his fiancée. Akane didn't care overly much for any of this, except maybe when Happosai was panty raiding again.

When Ryoga came back, it was not with a sudden knock on the door that made Akane's heart leap into her mouth in that good, romantic way. Instead, Akane found him when she was chasing Happosai. She knew him because he was being chased by a dog and he happened to be in his P-chan form.

Akane instantly forgot about Happosai's latest misdemeanour and exclaimed, "Ryoga, is that you?" But the pig simply squealed and tried to hide itself behind a nearby dustbin.

"Is Ryoga," said a voice behind Akane, and the girl turned around and found herself face-to-face with Shampoo. "Ryoga chicken," Shampoo said.

The pig squealed indignantly once more.

Akane should have felt so incredibly happy, but for some reason, the sight of Ryoga and Shampoo drained her somewhat. Still, she leaned down and picked up Ryoga and said, "It's time for a hot bath for you."

"Is goodbye," Shampoo said abruptly.

Akane looked at her. "What? What do you mean?"

Shampoo sniffed. "Shampoo go home, drink tea, train hard."

"O-Oh." Akane blinked.

"Goodbye," Shampoo said again, and with that, she was gone. It was like her, really, not to be overly emotional about something like this. She'd said and done enough for Ryoga already. There wasn't anything more to prove.

Ryoga made a little sniffling nose, as if he wanted to say something, but his pig body couldn't handle speech.

Akane wondered why in all this time, Ryoga hadn't bothered to visit the Spring of the Drowned Man. Maybe he got lost after Shampoo guided him all the way to the spring? That actually sounded kind of feasible and in actuality, that was the truth.

Although of course it didn't matter because Akane didn't mind Ryoga as a perverted pig. P-chan was very cute, after all. It was hard not to like him.

Only now, finally, did Akane feel her heart warmed by Ryoga's presence.

"I have so much to tell you, you know," she whispered into the pig's ear.

As she clutched Ryoga close, she felt the warmth of his blush against her skin. She could even fancy that she knew what he would have said to her at that moment.

"I'm home." Because Ryoga Hibiki, so often lost and astray, had one constant in his life, and that was what drew him to Akane's side.

The end.

... or is it?

Not only was Ranma unimpressed by Ryoga's return, Soun and Genma shared the sentiment.

"I don't approve," Soun said flatly.

"B-But! Father!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Ryoga shrunk away from the sight of Soun's balloon-head.

Heh, thought Ranma childishly. Now someone else could finally be subjected to the pain.

The saddest part about all of this was that Ryoga had spent months honing his martial arts skills and mastering the Breaking Point. So eager he was to finally win Soun's favour that he stood up and declared: "I will show you my strength!"

And he did.

The Tendo Dojo was not left standing.

Soun was even less impressed than he was before.