"My family wasn't always like this, Ranma. We were… you can say.. happy together. I am not saying that we are not happy now, but there is a heavyweight in our hearts now, which was not there before."

Akane took a deep breath and looked at their interlocked hands as she said in a soft tone,

"Our mother left us when I was very young. Our father raised us all by himself. We were struggling, but we never gave up and we were always happy with each other. Kasumi oneechan took our responsibilities as a mother at a very young age, and because of her, we never had the hole in our hearts, because she used to fill it with her unconditional love and care. That's why maybe we three sisters' trusted each other with our eyes closed and our bond was so much stronger too!"

"Three sisters?!" Ranma asked in the middle of her speech, "Sorry I interrupted you. But I thought you had only one sister."

Akane gave him a small smile and shook her head,

"No, Ranma. I have two oneechans. One is Kasumi, who is my elder sister and then Nabiki; I am the youngest of them. As I told you before, Akio is my cousin. His mother is my mother's sister and her name is Suki. She used to stay with us when we were young. She was divorced and that's why she used to stay with us with Akio. Eventually, she got married again, five years back; and left this country with her new husband. But Akio didn't want to leave us and since then he has been living with us; we are living together just like a big family."

"Wow! Akio is lucky to be able to stay with you all. I must say he made the right decision..."

Her smile vanished again, she looked down and said,

"Maybe, or.. maybe not." She sighed deeply and said, "My father was a Sensei of this dojo, he used to teach students about martial arts. His students were few, our financial situation was always tight, but thankfully we never needed anything more than that. Three of us and Akio, we always managed to get scholarships for us and we were always busy working for our studies and thats why we learned to be happy with small things.

Sometimes, some students used to come from other places to take lessons from my father. It used to be a long-term course and for that, if they wished they could stay at our house too.

It all started five years back after my aunt Suki got married . One day a guy came to our house and asked to be my father's long-term student. He trained under my father for one year. He became a very loyal student of my father. My father started liking him so much that he started to trust him without any second thought. A year later, he asked my father if he could marry Kasumi oneechan. And to our surprise, my father agreed.."

"Kasumi is married!!" Ranma asked, completely shocked.

Akane looked at him and said in a low tone,

"You can say, she was married, but not anymore." She sighed sadly and continued saying, " His name was Haru, who destroyed our life completely …" His name thick on her lips.

Ranma squeezed her hand and urged her to continue what she was saying..

Akane took a deep breath and said,

"My father was utterly impressed by Haru. Me and Akio also thought that he was a nice guy, but for some reason my both sisters were not happy with him. I was so busy with my daily life that I never paid much attention to what was happening around me, but when I did, it was too late.

The day our father announced the wedding to us we all became shocked. He didn't even ask Oneechan about what she wanted, he just openly declared his decision to us! My sister Nabiki became so furious at dad. She fought tooth and nail with him. I also became angry at my father when we got to know the other obligations they were expecting from my sister..

Kasumi was a bright student, she was studying nursing at that time. She was studying with a full scolarship. That year was her last year to finish her studies. And my father wanted her to quit her studies because that idiot Haru had to leave in a hurry and he wanted to marry her as soon as possible and take her with him."

"THAT'S CRUEL!! How can he expect her to quit her career?!" Ranma couldn't stop but comment.

Akane nodded her head,

"Tell me about it.. Anyways; me, Nabiki and Akio, we all stood like pillars in front of my sister and didn't let my sister agree to this proposal. After two days had passed without any answer, when my father realised there was no way out, he explained his main reason to us. Ranma, my mother, was a businesswoman. She was very good at her field and was very successful as well. But after her sudden… you know, my father couldn't hold onto her lagecy. Her company collapsed , which she made with so much hard work and dedication, all went to downhill. That's why, me, Nabiki and Akio, we are studying business, because it became our goal that one day we will reopen our mother's dream company again. That is what my father wanted us to do too and that's why he never pressured us to do martial arts. He didn't want us to become a martial artist, he was just waiting for us to finish our studies so that we can start what my mother left behind. But to restart that, we didn't have the main thing that is required, which is funding.

My father has discussed this matter with Haru and he took his weaknesses as a chance. He offered our father that if Kasumi marries him he will help us with the fundings that we would need to restart the company. Haru was rich, and that was more than enough reason for my father to accept his proposal.

After hearing his reasoning, we still opposed his decision. But he didn't give up trying. Our father repeatedly bagged Kasumi to accept this proposal and to our surprise, one day Kasumi agreed to go with the marriage.

We kept pleading her not to accept this proposal; Nabiki was so determined that she wouldn't let Kasumi sacrifice her career and marry that guy. But Kasumi decided to sacrifice her dream, because she also wanted to rebuild our mother's company."

Akane's voice trembled slightly as she said,

"You know Ranma, me, Kasumi , Nabiki and Akio, the four of us always used to talk about fulfilling my mother's wish. We were so proud that we shared the same dreams! We vowed to each other that we would stick together and together we would work hard for that, but... but we never imagined that .. we have to face this ruthlessness for dreaming so big.."

Akane broke down into sobs as she said that. The next action came to Ranma somewhat naturally. He instantly laid his arm around her shoulder and gently patted her arm to give her some comfort. Akane sniffed and wiped her tears with her hand as she said in a shaky tone,

"I am sorry, Ranma. I didn't want to cry like this, but whenever I think about those dreadful days, I feel frustrated at everything that happened!..."

Ranma sighed and pulled out his handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to Akane. She looked at him with grief in her eyes. She slowly thanked him and took it from his hand. Then after some moments she continued saying,

"Kasumi married him and left with him. After this incident, the relation between Nabiki and father became bad. It was so bad that she moved away from the house and started living with her friend. One year has passed this way. Kasumi did not contact us much, she became completely distance with us. Sometimes we used to talk over the phone, but it was for a very short time. All the time Kasumi used to ask for Nabiki, but she was not living with us anymore, so she used to hangup without getting any news about her. I started to feel uncomfortable for her; I asked my father to give me her address. I wanted to see her so badly, thats why decided to visit her, unannounced. I went there with Akio to surprise her; but to our horror, we couldn't find them there. It was a false address. We returned home immediately, feeling lost and devastated ; and thankfully that day Nabiki came back home with the news about her passing all her exams and to tell us about the new company she joined a month ago.

I couldn't control my emotions after seeing her, I told her everything and that very night we started looking for Kasumi. Nabiki had a very strong contact with people, she used all her power and even asked her new boss to help her. Nabiki's boss, Mr. Tatawaki Kuno was a great gentleman and very powerful; he is a business tycoon. He is the uncle of the friend my sister was living with.

With all the help in hand, within 24 hours we tackled down where Kasumi was living. But before we met her, Kuno suggested we find out what the actual scenario was. And when we found out the real truth; that revelation shocked us all."

Akane greeted her teeth, her eyes furious as she recalled the day,

"Ranma.. That night, we found out that Haru was a traitor. Haru had no interest in any women! He had married my sister because he and his rich family wanted to hide this matter from this society and their relatives!"

Ranma became speechless, he blurted out angrily,

"THAT IS INSANE! HOW COULD THEY DO THAT!!"

"They are rich, they can do anything. And specially, if they find prey like my father." Akane sighs and said, " My father had shared every weakness with him and obviously, he grabbed the opportunity!"

"But that's unacceptable!! What ya did to him then?"

"That same night, we went to their house unannounced. Her inlaws were not allowing us to see Kasumi, but they didn't know who they were dealing with! I was so angry at that time that I didn't even care and started breaking their stuffs like some damaged bricks! They had no other choice but to bring Kasumi to us and we didn't let Kasumi stay there anymore."

"What about that traitor? Ya cant just let him get away this easily!"

"We didn't want to, but Kasumi stopped us. She said she knew about it before the marriage and Haru had told her everything before the marriage."

"I don't understand… Why did she marry him then?" Ranma asked in a soft whisper, feeling lost.

Akane sighs and said,

" Because she didn't want to upset our father. He begged her so much that day that she couldn't stop herself. And Haru also told her that if she helps him in this situation he would also help our family with the money we need to start our mother's company . And Kasumi being Kasumi agreed because of us."

"Did your father know about it too?"

"No.. He didn't. Only Kasumi knew about it. But when we brought Kasumi back to our home and told him everything he became devastated. He started blaming himself for everything and couldn't forgive himself. I was crying and stayed by Kasumi and father all the time; but Nabiki didn't show any reaction that night. But I could tell that she won't let it go that easily. And as I thought, the thing Nabiki did the next day, changed everything."

Akane took a deep breath and said,

"Next morning, she came back home, marrying non other than Mr Tatawaki Kuno, who was much older than her age .. He was almost the same age as our aunt Suki, but she didn't care about that.."

"But why?!! I don't understand, Akane.."

"She wanted to get revenge on my father for ruining Kasumi's life. Nabiki and Kasumi were very close to each other and Nabiki used to love her more than anything. She was angry at our father for ruining Kasumi's life, she was furious at him for using her as a tool. She didn't want to believe that our father didn't know about this matter. And to punish my father, she married Kuno and told him that he didn't need to worry anymore, because now Kuno would help him with as much money as he wished to have.

That day my father hadn't said anything to her and he locked himself inside his room.. Kasumi scolded Nabiki so much that day and told her to apologize to our father. But Nabiki didn't feel a bit guilty about what she did and left with Kuno.

Next day, when we went to call our father we found a note from him. In that note .. he said that… he has failed as a father and he won't be able to face us anymore. That's why he left us and went for a long road trip, asking us not to search for him anywhere."

"He left!? But he shouldn't have.." Ramma said in a soft tone.

"I know.. But I can also understand why he gave up…"

"Do you know where he is now?"

"Yea, although he told us not to search for him, Nabiki looked for him and found him training in a rural place where lots of people his age get trained in meditation. He was in a safe place that's why we didn't disturb him anymore and decided to let him live his life the way he wanted to and give him some break."

"But what about you guys?" Ranma asked in a worried tone.

"Father has left us some money. But we used the major part of it to get Kasumi oneechan divorce. Everything became normal again except for Kasumi Oneechan and Nabiki's relationship. Kasumi stopped talking with her and blamed her for our father's disappearance. She told Nabiki if she continued being Kuno's wife, she won't accept her as her sister anymore."

"Don't mind me asking this, Kane; how is this Kuno guy?"

Akane looked at Ranma and said with a small tired smile on her face,

"He is a little weird, but.. I really like him. Although he is older, he is truly innocent. And please don't say it to my sister or Akio, they will freak out if they hear it that I said it about him.."

"But why? If he is good then why are they objecting?"

Akane sighed and said,

"Well, Kasumi thinks that our father abundant us because Nabiki has married an old guy to take revenge on him. He couldn't take the shock and that's why he left us."

"Hmm, that makes sense though.. But this misunderstanding can't go on like this. Have you tried to resolve this matter between them?"

"Yes, I tried; but after the wedding incident Kasumi became way too sensitive about this matter and that's why we try our best to avoid doing such things that might make her uncomfortable. Well, that is the reason why we don't bring any friends over to our house anymore. And that is why I don't even dare to think of teaching in our dojo as well. It's all messed up, Ranma… Anyway, although everything became normal again for us, Kasumi's health started to drop off. We had to drag her to see a doctor. That Dr knew my sister very well, because of her nursing career. He told us that she was falling into depression and suggested us that we make her continue her studies. Kasumi was a very good student and they didn't want to lose her.

But the problem was, she didn't have any scholarship and the fees were too high for us to bear. Because of her educational record, they gave her a huge discount but still that was not enough. We didn't have that much money left on us because we had to use all the money to move her divorce case. Knowing all the scenarios, she wanted to quit but we didn't let that happen. The problem was, Kasumi gave us one more condition that for her education or any other need we can't take help from Nabiki or Kuno. They wanted to help us so badly, but we couldn't take any help from them because of Kasumi's promise. Akio and I both promised her we wouldn't take any help from them and forcefully made her restart her classes although we didn't have any idea how we were going to manage the fees for her semesters.

We tried so hard but we couldnt manage anything. Nabiki being Nabiki found out about our struggles. She and Kuno came back to our town because of us and tried to convince me and Akio to take help from them which we refused. Seeing no choice, they made a deal with us that, they won't help us directly, but indirectly." She paused for a seconcond, not knowing how to continue from here.

"What happened? How did they help you?"

"Umm.." Akane hesitated at first and said, "Ranma, do you remember I told you that I am working at Akio's friend's restaurant?"

"Yes , I remember that.."

Akane sighed and said,

"I actually lied to you.. It's not Akio's friend, it's Kuno's. I just decided to take a corner so I won't break Kasumi's promise directly. I am not taking any help from Kuno or Nabiki; I am working for the money. This is the only way out for us, because no one would pay me as high as his friend is doing. Plus, they don't have any more contacts in Nerima, that's the only place I could get any job. And with this job, I can manage both my studies and the work together. I know it is tough and uncomfortable sometimes, but as Kuno's relative, they give me extra care and security. Anyways, no one would want to give me a job with this much salary and at this time either. So, that's the reason why I started doing this job. To help my sister finish her studies and to help myself to concentrate on finishing mine too. I can't let go of this job, Ranma. I need this to survive.

At the beginning of this job, I thought I wouldn't be able to do this. I used to cry so much because I used to feel so uncomfortable there. But after a while I got used to it. And then, when I managed to pay the semester fees of my sister with what I earned from there; I stopped complaining."

Akane looked at Ramma with a small smile on her face and said in a genuine tone,

"Ranma, I am so glad to have found a friend like you. I know you might have figured out about my discomfort and that's why you are asking me to quit my job. But now I am sure you know the reason why I can't do that. I need to do this job for me and Kasumi. There is no other choice left for me."

Ranma looked down miserably as no word came out of his mouth. Akane gives him an encouraging smile, she slowly bumps her shoulder with his shoulder as she says,

"Now don't be so sad, please! The good news is I am not going to work there forever, you know! In just eight more months, I will be able to pay off all the remaining fees for Kasumi and then I will quit this job.." She said smiling. But her smile dropped when she saw him sitting silently with no expression on his face. She sighed and slowly stood up and said,

"I have to go, Ranma. Kasumi might be worried for me.." Akane looked down at him with a sad face as he still wasn't looking at her. She sighed and spoke out softly,

"Take care, Ranma. See you tomorrow then.."

Saying that, she slowly started to walk towards her home. She reached her home quickly as it was not so far from the park. As she was opening the gate, she had to pause when she heard Ranma's voice calling her to stop.

She turned quickly and was shocked to see him running towards her in an urgency. He stopped in front of her, panting hard, his eyes desperate as he asked her breathlessly,

"Kane.."

"Ranma.. what are you?"

"If I find a job for you which pays you the same, would you quit this job then?"

Akane couldn't believe what she heard him saying. He looked so tensed at that moment, her heart melted at the gesture of his thoughtfulness. She knows what he is saying is quite impossible, but she wanted to make him feel better. She smiled at him and said,

"Okay then... If you find one, I will quit."

Ranma breathed out with a satisfied smile, he puts his hand in front of her as he asked her,

"Promise..?"

Akane giggled and clasped his hand,

"I Promise, Ranma."


A/N: I had no idea how hard it is to write AU fics! Sometimes it makes me doubt if what I am thinking is in the right way or not. Because it is an Alternative universe fic, I have to change some characters or introduce some new one too. I like Kuno so much and NabikiXKuno is the best pair. Kuno a bit older, sounded so good to me. I am sure he will be much hotter when he will be old ;p. About Kasumi, I know it is sad, but I tried to make it not too sad. The story needs to move and slowly characters will join too. Characters who would make Kasumi live a happy life. So, don't worry. Trust the process. Enjoy the fic. It's a love fic. Drama, yes! But not too much. I hope you enjoyed reading this. If yes, please don't forget to let me know about it. Your reviews really help me to write ans post quickly.

Bayby face, pinklover, Sandy, James birdsong, Webinnova ; thank you for your reviews :) . I really appreciate it .. Thank you..