Disclaimer: The characters of Ranma ½ belong to Rumiko Takahashi
Tears of Anger
Ranma ½
By Acetalon
Chapter 1: Whats wrong?

	In any persons life, strange things happen rarely.  Multiple
fiancee's, magic curses, death threats several times a day, and
getting smacked by a mallet daily is something that occurs rarely.
In Nerima, this stuff happens everyday.  Especially to one such
unlucky individual named Ranma Saotome.  Today was no different.



	Everyone at the Tendo Dojo is gathered around the table,
eating breakfast.  Ranma and Genma, who were sparring a few minutes
ago, looked winded.  Genma looked like he would have fallen over,
sleeping like the dead if it wasn't his incredible stomach that
refused to let him sleep until it was full.  Ranma, on the other hand,
looked perfectly fine for someone who had been sparring for an hour.
Both were slightly damp since, like always, they managed to knock each
other into the koi pond and had to change back.


	"Honestly Ranma, why do you have to do this everyday?" demanded
a very irritated Akane.


	"Hey, I gotta keep showing the old man that I'm not slacking
off in my training," came the reply.  After a moments thought, he added,
"Besides, it's a good warm up."


	Genma, upon hearing this, stops feeding his mouth just long
enough to shout in response, "Foolish boy! If I had been going all out,
you wouldn't even be in condition to TALK to us right now!" Ranma
snorted.


	"Admit it Oyaji, you WERE going all out.  Even if you weren't
I still coulda beat ya."


	Akane looked at her watch.


	"Look, Ranma! We're gonna be late!"


	Grabbing his pigtail, she sped down the road to school.  Ranma
followed, unable to shake her off.



	"Jeez Akane. I can run a lot easier without you pulling my hair
you know," Ranma said sourly, as they walked up to the school.

	"Well we would have been late if I hadn't, stupid" snapped
Akane.

	"You could have gone on ahead you know.  I don't know anyone
who enjoys being dragged to school by their hair, tomboy" came the
response.  Akane answered by malleting him into low orbit, compliments
of Air Akane.



	There was no one at the front of the school.  They were all
watching Ranma from their classes.  The only one that was outside was
Kuno.

	"Strange," thought Ranma.  "Usually there's a whole crowd out
here watching the fight.

	When Ranma landed from his little flight a few feet away,
he saw why.  Kuno was carrying a real katanna.


	"Whadda ya want now, Kuno?" asked Ranma in a tired voice.  He
had been getting  of this morning battle.  Doing it every day he
went to school was not fun.

	"You shall address me as Upperclassman, fiend!" shouted the
self-delusional maniac.  "The heavens have deemed this day the fall
of your trickery, Saotome.  For it is the day they have granted me
divine strength so that I shall use to end your existence now and
rescue the fair Akane Tendo and the captive pigtailed goddess!  I
shall not settle to beat you in combat, but you destroy you and
forever end your black magic!  Prepare thyself, fiend!" Then, after
his long, one breath speech, he charged.

	The battle did not last long.  Though Kuno now had a steel
katanna, he wasn't any faster.  A slight side step to Kuno's charge
and a kick to his gut silenced him for the remainder of the morning.




	Ranma, for once, did not fall asleep in his classes.  Instead
he was always staring straight ahead, as if in deep thought.  This
made his classmates more nervous than if Miss Hinako came and
threatened to drain everyone for not paying attention.

	"Man, whats up with Ranma?" wondered Hiroshi as he sat by
Daisuke, eating his lunch.

	"Dunno, but everyone's noticed it."  When Daisuke gestured to
around the room, Hiroshi saw that he was right. Everyone was
avoiding Ranma, everything from just glancing at him nervously to even
openly avoiding him.

	Akane's friends were all talking about his strange actions.

	"Hey Akane, is there something wrong with Ranma?"

	"Yeah, he looks odd today."

	"I had a class with him.  He didn't fall asleep ONCE."

	"Have you noticed anything else different about Ranma
before, Akane?"

	Akane perked up at that last question.

	"Besides actually LISTENING to the teacher for once, no I
haven't.  Why?"

	Her friends just rolled their eyes.

	"Come ON Akane! You can't tell us your not dying to know why
he's acting so strangely today."

	Apparently Akane wasn't.  She left in quite a hurry once they
stopped talking to her an started talking about Ranma again.

	If anyone was watching Akane closely, they would have noticed
that her eyes narrowed as she walked away and she was clenching her
fists tightly.  It didn't take a genius to figure out why she was
angry about all the talk of Ranma.

	Akane was jealous.


	"Why does HE get all the attention?  One slight change in
attitude and everyone thinks that theres something wrong with him,"
thought Akane furiously.  "Well, I'm not going to let it bother me.
Its their choice."

	Although she repeated this to herself several times, It didn't
work.  By the end of the day,  she was so frustrated that at the first
sight of Ranma all she was thinking about was how much of an impact
Ranma had in their school and how much he deserved to be hit.  When
she was close enough she clocked him into low orbit for no reason at
all except to satisfy her anger.




	The whole day that Ranma wasn't paying attention in class he
was thinking about what to do with his life.  All the fights and near
misses.  The battle at Jusendo was the last straw.  He didn't want
any more blood feuds or life threatening situations for anyone he knew.

	"What do I do now?"  he asked himself.  "I'm tired of fighting
guys who want to kill me.  I'm tired of fighting because of misguided
love.  I'm tired of fighting delusional kendo creeps.  I'M TIRED OF
FIGHTING FOR THINGS I NEVER WANTED DAMMIT!"

	Ranma clenched his hand, watching as it turned white, and
silently wondered how much longer this would go on.  His thoughts
were abruptly ended as he felt a fist connect with his jaw, sending him
up in the air.

	Ranma landed directly into a pond with a splash that soaked the
couples sitting and watching the birds.  The men that were splashed had
a grimace on their faces.  They went over to help their
wives/girlfriends/fiancees.  When Ranma (girl type) looked at them he
felt a sense of longing, a tug at his heart.  Sighing sadly to himself,
he knew he'd never get a chance at love like that.



	At the Tendo Dojo, Soun and Genma were playing their game of
shoji.  Like always, they were trying to find ways to make each other
look away so they could cheat.  Kasumi was in the kitchen, cooking
dinner while singing a happy little tune about love.  Nabiki was going
over the amount of money she had made over the last week.  Akane was
doing something to relieve frusteration, which was breaking bricks and
punching a dummy that sported a pigtail.

	"Your move, Saotome."

	Genma looked around, trying to think of something to distract
Soun.

	"It sure is a beautiful afternoon Tendo," remarked Genma,
gesturing to the sky.

	"It sure is, Saotome," replied Soun, without taking his eyes off
the board.

	This time Genma was getting nervous.  There was ALWAYS something
he could use as distraction at this time!  Then, an idea came to him.

	"Say, Tendo.  Ranma's been gone for a while, hasn't he?"

	(Soun looked up)

	"Why, your right Saotome.  Wonder where he is?"

	"Maybe he's out buying an engagement ring for Akane!"

	"Saotome, do you really think so?  I would be so happy if he
did!" (Soun does a little dance while he cries.  Genma starts
rearranging pieces on the board while Soun in his own little world.)
Then Ranma-chan came home.

	"Hey everyone, I'm home," he announced in a low voice.  Soun
leaped to his feet.

	"Ranma, is it true you were out buying Akane a ring?  Are you
going to propose to her?  When will you do it?"

	As Soun barraged Ranma with questions, Ranma walked into the
kitchen and poured the hot water that was usually set there for
emergencies.  Then, he started listening to what Soun was asking him.

	"WHAT?! Who said I was out buying an engagement ring?!?"  His
eyes roamed around the room and centered in on a big man crouching over
a shoji board, still rearranging pieces.  He cracked his knuckles.  The
sound froze Genma to the spot.  "Oyaji, did you tell Mr. Tendo I was
buying an engagement ring?" he asked in a seemingly cheery voice.

	"Well son, I might have MENTIONED the fact that you were gone
for a while and that you COULD have been getting something for Akane,"
Genma replied slowly.

	That was the last thing that came out of Genma's mouth before he
went flying.

	"Stupid old man! I would never buy that tomboy an engagement
ring!"

	A brick came at Ranma from the direction of the dojo with
unnerring accuracy, hitting him in the face.

	"Who are you calling a tomboy, pervert?" she yelled at him.

	That's when everyone from the neighborhood decided to drop in on
the Tendo Dojo to cause complete hell.

	The door crashed down and Shampoo entered.

	"Where Violent Tomboy go? She pay for keeping Ranma to self!"

	Next was Ryouga, from the bathroom.

	"Ranma, you'll pay for insulting Akane!"

	Ukyo comes from over the wall.

	"Ranchan, I brought you an okanomiyaki!"

	Mouse bounded over the roof.

	"Saotome, you shall never take Shampoo's heart.  I'm the one who
will do that!"

	The Kuno pair showed up in a rain of red and black roses.

	"I Tatewaki Kuno, shall destroy any that stand between me and
destiny!"

	"Ranma, darling.  It is time for you to leave this ramshackle
home and come live in the splendor of the Kuno Mansion!"

	Happosai was bouncing up and down with glee, a bag of stolen
underwear over his shoulder.

	"What a haul.  What a haul!"

	Then, once everyone saw everyone else, everything before this
was just the calm before the storm.

	(Ryouga, Mousse, and Kuno all start arguing about beating the
crap out of Ranma while he tries to calm things down)

	"I'm going to rip him to shreds, then you guys can have the
rest,"  growled Ryouga.

	"Now just a second Ryo-"

	"I think not, peasant.  I am the one who shall bring divine
justice to the foul Saotome.

	"Kuno, shut up and let me-"

	"No way!"  I'm the one who will give him the beating he
deserves.  Then Shampoo shall be mine!"

	"Why me?" he moaned as he ran over to the female battle in
the room.  He did not want to see the Tendo Dojo fall apart around him,
which it was already starting to do.

	(Shampoo, Ukyo, Kodachi, and Akane are getting into a heated
argument over Ranma)

	"Aiya!  Ranma live with Violent girl too long.  Time for him to
move with Shampoo!"

	"Wha-?"

	"No way!  If Ranchan goes to live with someone, it's gonna be
me!"

	"Wait a min-"

	"Hahahaha!  I, Kodachi the Black Rose, shall give my Ranma
Darling an offer he can't refuse."

	"I never said-"

	"No one asked any of you," yelled Akane.  "Besides, theres no
way Ranma would live with any of you!"

(Happousai bounds over to Ranma, holding a bucket of cold water)

	"Ranma, my boy! Give an old man a good welcoming."

	Happousai splashes Ranma and attempts to grab his (the now her)
chest, which promptly fails as Ranma sends him to the far reaches of
the moon.

	No one paid any attention to Ranma, so of course they didn't
care how Ranma felt.  No one cared that his aura was brightening.
No one cared that his aura was turning a dark red.  And especially
no one cared that he was starting to smile, a mad glint in his eye.



Authors notes:  Done with chapter 1.  It didn't quite turn out the way
that I wanted it to, but I think it turned out ok.  I'm hoping chapter
two will come out quicker than this one, since I had writers block.
Questions? Comments? E-mail me at:
Ace_talon@hotmail.com

or go visit the fanfic forum at:
http://www.delphi.com/ranma_fanfics/start/