Notes: There’s an idea for a VERY strange Darkfic slithering around in the back of my mind. I didn’t even know I had the CAPACITY to think of something this warped. SHIVER Well, It may end up forcing me to write it some day, but hopefully not today.

Also, this chapter’s rather depressing.

Chapter 5. Shattered bonds.

The rest of that day of school passed relatively quickly for Ranma. Hiroshi and Daisuke had laid off of him a bit after lunch, and Kuno was in too much pain to cause trouble. As the final bell rang, Ranma left the classroom, noticing that Akane had been glaring at him for the whole afternoon. He had tried to avoid thinking about the youngest Tendo, as it seemed like she REALLY hated him here. True, it had looked like they hated each other before, but this somehow felt more… real. For some reason, this made Ranma feel depressed. After all, he had killed for her, hadn’t he? Dismissing these depressing thoughts from his head, Ranma started towards Ranko’s school.

As he approached the gates, Ranma saw Ranko waiting there, a group of girls hidden behind the wall behind her. He couldn’t see them, but they were so obviously trying to sneak around that he could pick out their over excited battle auras. “Hey Ranko, what’re your friends doin over there?” Ranma asked, pointing at the wall.

The younger sibling shrugged. “I donno.” She said, looking at the wall. “You guys in there?” She asked, not having the Chi reading abilities of Ranma but having heard them giggle occasionally before he showed up. After she had said this, two heads, those of the friends that she always hung around with, poked from behind the wall, blushing.

“Hi Ranko.” Said one, waving. “Erm… yeh.” The other echoed, before running off.

“That was strange.” Ranma muttered, before looking down at his little sister. “So, ready to go?” He asked, offering his hand.

Ranko nodded, taking it and walking off. As the two siblings walked off, two confused middle school girls looked after them.

HR

“So daddy, you want me to come with you to the Saotome place? Why?” Nabiki asked, from her position on the couch in the middle of the Tendo family living room, typing away on a calculator. Actually, she knew perfectly well why she was going but pushing her father’s buttons was funny.

“Well..” Soun said, transparently trying to make up a lie. “Nodoka san asked me to get you to help with their finances. You’re so good with ours, and all.” He said, quickly.

Nabiki mentally snorted but outwardly just put down her calculator and nodded. She may as well let her father off the hook.

“I’m coming too!” Akane said, getting up from a chair near the television.

“Huh? Why sis?” Nabiki asked, looking with a raised eyebrow at Akane.

“That Pervert Ranma is up to something, I just know it.” Akane said, remembering the many plans of the secondary pervert brigade that she and her friends had foiled in the past. It was true that Ranma and his friends, while pretending to be with Kuno so that they didn’t get beaten up, weren’t nearly as persistent or rude as the blue thunder, but a lesser pervert was still a pervert, and Akane had to protect her non-combatant sister.

Nabiki shrugged. “All right Akane. Let’s go.” She said, thinking that the addition of her little sister could make things interesting.

HR

At the Saotome home, Ranma and Ranko had just gotten home, and Genma was sitting at the kitchen table for some reason.

“Hey pop. You’re home from the Tendo place early.” Ranma joked, Remembering how late his father had come home the day before. Genma just grunted, sounding strangely like a member of the ursine species at the time.

“So Ranko, you ready to go and train like I promised yesterday?” Ranma asked, looking down at the girl.

Ranko nodded slowly, and the two walked out to the Dojo. The place was rather small, and it had a shelf that held several Katanas and Bokken. Ranma guessed that the only person who had used this place before he had started yesterday was his mother. “Okay Ranko. Try and fight me, so I know how skilled you are. Don’t worry, I won’t hit back for the first fight.” Ranma said, falling into a defensive stance.

“Right.” Ranko said, nodding. Charging forward, she threw a punch, her hand held in a slightly strange position. Ranma realized that she was trying to emulate a real martial artist’s move, but had obviously only seen it from a distance. Deciding to give her a learning experience, Ranma held up a forearm to block rather than dodging the blow. The girl’s strike was actually surprisingly strong for her size, but the fist bent at an odd angle as it wasn’t held right and she let out a soft cry of pain. Pulling back, Ranko cradled her hand. “Ow, that hurt.” She muttered, rubbing at the wrist.

Ranma reached out and took hold of his sister's wrist, hitting a few pressure points that Doc Tofu had taught him to dull pain. There was no actual damage, just a nerve that had been temporarily pinched by the awkward punch, so Ranma didn’t bother to tell Ranko to rest the hand. “All right. That punch hurt you because you were holding your hand wrong. Try this…” Ranma said, starting to teach his sister. Unlike Akane, Ranko only had the barest notion of fighting ability. Enough to take down a bully maybe, but nowhere near martial artist levels.

About ten minutes later, Nodoka walked into the Dojo to see a rather unexpected sight. Her son was standing in one place while her daughter moved and threw punches, practicing against his guard.

“Good Job Ranko. I actually felt that one a bit!” Ranma said, as the girl put all of her strength behind one blow. Coming in for another one, The two stopped as Nodoka cleared her throat.

“What are you doing, children?” Nodoka asked, looking the two over.

“I promised to show Ranko some moves.” Ranma explained, letting down his guarding stance.

Ranko lowered her fists at this point as well, smiling as she heaved for breath. “Yeh, and it’s, fun!” She panted.

Nodoka narrowed her eyes. “You have been given permission to teach students?” She asked, looking at Ranma with slight disapproval.

“No, but Ranko really wants this, she’s a family member and do ya honestly think pop would teach her?” Ranma asked, throwing up his hands. “Besides. I wouldn’t wish pop’s trainin methods on anyone!”

Nodoka blinked. She had to admit that her son had a few good points. Ranko WAS his sister, and part of the family. Genma WOULD never teach her. Then, the last part of his statement got through. “What do you mean you wouldn’t wish any of your father’s training methods on anyone?”

“Well, I certainly ain’t gunna throw Ranko off a three story roof to teach her how ta fall right. I was thinkin more along the lines of a small tree, or a fence. Strapping raw stakes to her legs and getting her to outrun wolves would be a bad idea too, ‘cuz when they catch ya it hurts like hell.” Ranma said, offhandedly, not really realizing what his mother’s reactions to this explanation would be.

“Th… Those are your father’s training methods?” She asked, her knuckles turning white as she clenched them in the formal Kimono she was wearing. She had given up baring a sword everywhere several years ago, but the action was a force of habit.

“You Okay mom?” Ranma asked, noticing his mother’s action.

“Yes, I’m fine Ranma. Continue with your training but ask me before you do anything dangerous, all right?” Nodoka asked, as she left the room. ‘Thank goodness I never let Genma take Ranma on that ten year training trip… but wait, if Ranma knows of Genma’s training methods then he was put through them anyways…” She thought, becoming slightly confused but still VERY determined that her husband was sleeping on the couch tonight.

Back in the Dojo, Ranko looked at Ranma and laughed. “Wow, those were some pretty strange training methods you thought up.” She said, looking at Ranma. Her laughter died as she saw the confused look on her brother’s face. “You mean you weren’t joking?” She asked, nervously.

“Nope, I wasn’t. Don’t worry though, I won’t do that to you.” Ranma Reassured, before turning back to the centre of the room. “Wanna continue sparring?”

“Sure.” Ranko said, as she turned back as well.

HR

Twenty minutes later, Nabiki, Akane and Soun walked up the front walk of the Saotome home and knocked on the door.

“I’ll be there in a minute!” Came Nodoka’s voice, from deep in the kitchen. A few seconds later, the older woman opened the door, wearing an apron over her Kimono. “Oh, Hello Tendo San, Akane Chan, Nabiki Chan.” She said, narrowing her eyes when she said the middle girl’s name. She knew that her son had been slightly forward with her, but she felt that beating him into the hospital was uncalled for.

“Hello Saotome san. May we come in?” Soun asked, bowing to the woman. Nodoka nodded, and the group walked into the Saotome home. As Nodoka lead Soun in to see Genma, Akane and Nabiki looked around the place. It was smaller than their house, but Nodoka kept it almost as clean as Kasumi’s standards. Wandering around as they really didn’t have anything else to do at the moment, the two Tendo sisters found the door to a Dojo, where they saw something that caused their eyes to widen in surprise.

In the middle of the Dojo floor was Ranma Saotome, Pervert, Game Otaku and all around Geek, training and sparring with his little sister. The girl was darting in with fast strikes and kicks, slightly clumsily executed but very fast, and Ranma was just standing and blocking, occasionally dodging by swaying to one side or another.

“All right Ranko. Time for dodging practice.” Ranma said, cracking his knuckles. “I ain’t gunna be hitin anywhere near my full strength, so it won’t really hurt. Just try ta dodge the blows, okay?”

The girl nodded, and Ranma started striking out with slow, deliberate shots, causing his sister to dodge them. As he was increasing his speed, he heard someone clear their throat. Looking up, Ranma saw Akane and Nabiki standing in the doorway. “What are you two doin here?” Ranma asked, looking confused as he stopped his assault and Ranko stopped dodging.

Nabiki shrugged. “Daddy said that I was here to help Mrs. Saotome with her taxes, but he was lying. I have no idea why I’m here, and Akane is along to “Protect me.””

“What are you doing fighting with your poor little sister?” Akane asked, cracking her knuckles. You see, she hadn’t actually had a good person to really spar against for years, and her martial advancements came from the brawls with the Hentai horde. Because of this, she wasn’t terribly good at determining when someone was having a sparring session and when they were actually fighting, and she didn’t really realize that Ranma was holding back significantly. “You should be ashamed of yourself!” She said, stomping over and glaring at Ranma.

“Whadda ya mean, you tomboy?” Ranma asked, his automatic reaction to Akane kicking in as soon as she yelled at him. “All I was doin was sparrin with her, and she asked me!”

“Tomboy, eh?” Akane said, her hand twitching for any blunt instrument. Ever since she had been engaged to Ranma, he had been calling her an “Uncute Tomboy” and it drove her up the WALL! Finding no blunt instrument of pain, she punched forward.. Only to have Ranma, who was still in sparring mode from his bout with Ranko, raise an arm and block it. Akane gaped as her fist stopped on Ranma’s arm. He should NOT have enough power to block that punch. Kuno couldn’t even do that! Then again, she had forgotten that Ranma had beaten the crap out of Kuno two days in a row.

“You done, Akane?” Ranma asked, narrowing his eyes. Normally, When Akane hit him, he could see at least SOME justification for it. This time, she had just lashed out because he was training his sister in the art.

Akane growled, dropping her fist to her side, as Nabiki and Ranko watched, Nabiki interestedly and Ranko slightly frightened. As the tension in the room rose, it was broken by Genma and Soun, who walked in smiling happily.

“Ranma, Ranko, Nabiki, Akane. We have an announcement to make to you!” Soun said, happily.

Ranma had a sinking feeling as he heard this, Glancing around for an escape rout.

“Really daddy? What could that be?” Nabiki asked, playing her part.

“Nabiki and Ranma are now engaged in order to preserve the family honour!” Genma said, loudly.

Instantly, Ranma had moved to Genma and grabbed him by the collar. Everyone was rather stunned by the speed at which Ranma had moved. “What old man? He growled, holding his father up by the front of the Gi.

Genma couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated, but he continued anyways. “You heard me, boy! You and Nabiki are to be wed.”

“Oh happy day!” Soun said, holding a set of victory fans and dancing around.

Akane began to generate a red battle aura, as she yelled “I won’t have that… Pervert as part of my family!” Practically spitting the word pervert.

Ranma reacted as if he had been slapped. For some reason, Akane’s words hurt him on a level that he refused to acknowledge the existence of. The pure loathing in her voice was audible to anyone. Ranma had NEVER heard Akane sound like that before, no matter how angry she got.

Nabiki stayed cool, but noticed the look on Ranma’s face as Akane yelled. “Daddy, are you sure this is a good idea?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, we have tried this before.”

“No, Akane and Kasumi have tried it before. You have not, and we hope that it works out better this time.” Soun explained, ignoring the incandescent beacon of his youngest daughter behind him.

Finally coming out of her Rage, Akane began to think clearly. She had to protect her middle sister from the Pervert, Ranma. He may not have done anything in the past few days, but he had done a LOT before, and he had almost done something horrible to her eldest sister. He seemed to have become stronger in the art as well, and that couldn’t be a good thing. “Ranma, I challenge you!” Akane said, loudly.

Everyone, including the still stunned Ranma, turned towards Akane. “What did you say, Akane?” Genma asked, worried.

“I challenge Ranma Saotome of the anything goes school on his Honour. If he is truly a practitioner of the school, he must accept. If he loses to me, he is not worthy of uniting the schools.” Akane said, remembering her father’s old teachings that Anything goes martial artists had to accept any challenge.

The old men sputtered for a moment, before Ranma responded. “I… accept.” He said, slowly. He didn’t want to fight Akane, but his honour as a martial artist was at stake and no matter what had just happened, he had to defend it. It was all he really had, aside from Maybe Ranko. He had once, deep in his mind, also thought he had Akane but the way she looked at him and spoke to him today told him that he didn’t have her anymore.

“Ranma, you can’t!” Soun protested, having never seen Ranma’s new fighting ability and thinking that his own daughter was going to shatter his beloved dream of uniting the schools.

“yes, I can Mr. Tendo.” Ranma said, flatly, as he walked to the middle of the Dojo.

As the only one with a semi-clear head, Nabiki walked in between Ranma, who seemed to be the next thing to dead And Akane, who was letting off a large and angry battle aura. “This fight will continue until one side submits or is knocked out. Fatalities or serious injuries are prohibited. Begin!” She yelled, dropping her arm and backing away from the two.

With a battle cry, Akane charged forward and swung a fist out towards Ranma, the end of the arm and hand enveloped in a red battle aura. With a loud thunk, it hit the pigtailed martial artist and knocked him back.

‘I gotta fight or I’ll lose!’ Ranma’s mind screamed, as Akane pushed him back with the power of her blow. ‘It’s… Akane.’ Another part protested, feebly. ‘She hates you, you moron! FIGHT HER BACK!’ The first part screamed, and Ranma countered Akane’s opening punch with a rapid flurry of light punches of his own.

The Tendo Heir fell back, rubbing at her shoulder where one of Ranma’s punches had connected. “Why you…” She muttered, charging in again, doing as her fighting style dictated and battering at her opponent until he fell.

On the sidelines, Ranko was looking at her brother with worry in her eyes. He seemed not to have any spirit in his movements, as if he couldn’t find the will to fight. It was like every part of him was protesting against fighting the girl before him, despite her opening challenge.

Soun and Genma were worried as well. If Ranma lost this match, Their dreams of uniting the schools would be shattered forever. Someone who wasn’t worthy could never do it, and if Ranma lost the match he would be considered unworthy.

Nabiki watched with a cold and calculating eye, but behind it she could feel a slight pang of concern for Ranma. Over the last couple of days that she had watched the boy, she had begun to like him and now her sister was beating the crap out of him.

‘Man, This pervert’s really tough.’ Akane thought, as she struck at Ranma, the blows he had landed at the beginning of the fight now a distant memory. She could feel his defences weakening though, and knew that she was breaking through them.

Ranma was having a mental war. One side of his mind screamed that he was fighting Akane, and that he couldn’t hurt her. The other side was replying that she evidently hated him and he must win, if only to prove himself. What decided the two was a cry that Akane made as she came in for the attack that could have destroyed his guard. “Die, Pervert!” She yelled, jumping up and coming down with a kick to Ranma’s chest… that never hit. As Akane passed through the empty air that Ranma had once occupied, she felt many impacts along her back and shoulders. They weren’t punches, but finger strikes. Each one landed on a nerve cluster, and the girl found herself unable to move. With a single finger poke to the side of Akane’s head, Ranma sent her over on her side, laying still.

“She’ll be able to move again in a few minutes. I win the match.” Ranma said, before walking out of the Dojo. Everyone inside stared at the slumped form of Akane, and then at where Ranma had left. As she saw Nodoka, who had come in during the fight, and her father take care of Akane, Nabiki ran out of the Dojo to find Ranma. Seeing a form on the roof, she wondered how he had gotten there before running into the main house and up the stairs to the second floor. Going through Ranko’s window, which had a small ledge outside of it, Nabiki climbed to the roof of the Saotome house to see Ranma huddled on the very peak, with his shoulders shaking.

“Saotome?” Nabiki asked, walking up to the pigtailed boy.

“Wadda you want Nabiki? Gunna blackmail me for all I got since I defeated yer little sister?” Ranma asked, bitterly.

“Nope.” Nabiki said, sitting down next to Ranma. “She offered the challenge. It wasn’t your fault you were better. Man, I made some major money in the betting pools at school, though.”

“Heh, figured you would.” Ranma said, with a small laugh.

“So, what got you so upset about hitting Akane?” Nabiki asked, raising an eyebrow. “Please don’t tell me you subscribe to that “Guys don’t hit girls” bull.”

“Nah. I used to, until I met some real tough girls a while back. I didn’t hit Akane ‘cuz I just really didn’t wanna hit her. I… well, we were engaged.”

“Yeh, I know that. She ended up beating the crap out of you.” Nabiki said, with a small smirk.

“No. That ain’t what I mean. Remember how I said I remember things different from everyone else?” Seeing Nabiki’s nod, Ranma continued. “Well, the way I remember it Me ‘n Akane were engaged, and I didn’t get the crap beaten outta me. We fought all the time, but I think we kinda liked each other. Right before I ended up here, I ended up killin someone for her. I thought I’d lost her and…”

“Damn Saotome, that’s got to suck.” Nabiki said, feeling sympathy for the boy in front of her. Maybe it was just because she hadn’t really seen anyone other than her family members crumble like this, but blackmailing him just didn’t seem to appealing at the moment. “So, what do you think about our fathers’ plan to marry us?” She asked, changing the subject.

“I donno.” Ranma said, shrugging. “I got a memory of me ‘n You bein engaged for a while, too. Just promise that you don’t sell me ta anyone, and I’ll try, okay?”

“Deal.” Nabiki said, laughing. As she laughed, Nabiki heard someone calling her. “Nabiki! We’re heading home!” Soun yelled, from his position in the Saotome front yard.

“Coming daddy!” Nabiki yelled back, and then looked at the edge of the roof. “Um… Saotome, Can I get a little help here?” She asked, embarrassed.

“No problem Nabiki. Oh, call me Ranma, okay?” Ranma asked, picking the girl up and jumping off of the roof, depositing her next to her father. As Soun was about to start wailing that his daughter and Genma’s son were getting along so well, he was shut up by Nabiki, and the three Tendos walked away from the Saotome house, Akane having to be helped by her father.

Ranma turned for the door and walked inside, entering the living room to see food placed out. Sitting at the table, he began to eat.

Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Ranma stared up at the ceiling. He was going over the events of the day, thinking about what had happened. School had been a disaster, and The fight with Akane was something he would rather not think about at the moment, but training Ranko had been fun. Also, Nabiki wasn’t nearly as cruel to him as he was used to, and he wondered why. Rolling over in his bed, he dismissed these thoughts and went to sleep. Thinking too much was bad for you, after all.

Notes.

OOCNabiki. My characterization of Nabiki is taken from the first few volumes of the Manga, before she became a single dimensional money pit. Keep this in mind. She is IC, but I’m using the character from the beginning of the series. Someone picked this up already, and I forget his name. Sorry man.