I thought I'd never do a Ranma 'fic, but this leapt out of my head.
All the characters are Rumiko Takahashi's.  All rights reserved.

"< >" is speaking a foreign language.

Breaking point
	By Matthew "Bastet's Chosen" Lewis



	"Nabiki!  Have you no shame?"

	"What ever do you mean, Akane?"

	"You took all of Ranma's money, when he didn't even do 
anything that time."

	"Oh, so the 'insensitive jerk' deserves a break this time 
Akane?"

	"Maybe he does Nabiki.  My birthday's coming up and-"

	"Oh, I get it now.  Don't worry Akane, Ranma will just 
borrow money from me.  You'll get your gift, never fear."

	"This isn't about that!  You are such a cold-bitch if you 
think everything comes back to money!"

	"You have no right to judge me, Akane, and you're not on 
the moral high ground, the way you manipulate Ranma."

	"Me?  You're the only manipulator here!"

	"Akane, how long do you think Ranma would have lasted if he 
couldn't bargain well?  How many years did he and his father 
live without a regular job?  He lets me have the money, Akane, 
and it's because his honor makes him guilty about staying in our 
house.  Do you know why I take it Akane?  Because I have to run 
several businesses just to keep the Dojo going.  Ranma know 
this, he's had to live without money.  Do you think I could 
sneak up on him?  Do you think he couldn't intimidate the boys 
not to buy photos of him?  But you, you use Ranma's feelings for 
you to get you what you want, and then you and your lover 
torment him for your amusement."

	"Lover!?  I'll kill that pervert for saying-"

	"Shut the hell up Akane, I'm not your gullible fianci.  If 
you didn't want us to know Ryouga is P-chan the he shouldn't use 
the furo to change.  And only Ranma is besotted enough to 
believe that you couldn't figure it out.  Azusa figured it out 
on her own, for Gods' sakes, with all the clues Ranma throws 
you, you'd have to be blind not to know.
	"You keep stinging Ranma along, for your own amusement or 
for Daddy's promise, I'm not sure which.  You toy with him, 
taking everything he says the wrong way, despite knowing how 
awkward he's socially, and that his father made him that way by 
isolating him.  You even beat him and make him pay for the 
damage you cause when he lets you hit."

	"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard Nabiki!  Ryouga 
isn't P-chan; I've seen him wet.  And Ranma always insults me, 
he's never nice.  AND HE DOES NOT LET ME HIT HIM!"

	"Okay, Akane, keep playing your game.  You're too stupid to 
figure out the truth about your pet.  Ranma only insults you, 
and when he does, it's not so that you'll pay attention to him.  
And you have some awesome power when you're made that lets you 
defeat the greatest martial artist on the planet.  I'm glad we 
got that straight."

~~~

	"Ran-chan, you look awful, what's the matter?"

	"I- She- Akane's been sleeping with Ryouga!  I though she 
didn't know, but she-"

	"Oh Ran-chan!  Have an okonomiyaki.  I knew she didn't love 
you, and now that you've realized it, you've come to me!"

	"God damn it Ukyou, I've had enough of this!  I want it to 
stop.  Akane was using my lo- my feelings for her so she could 
play with my mind, and now you're using my friendship to try to 
become my wife."

	"Well then, Ranma, listen to this!  My friendship for you 
is part of my love and my being your fiancie.  You get them as a 
package, and if you want to get rid of the second two you have 
to get rid of the first.  And if you do that, then you'll have 
to wait and see if a new friendship forms, because the old one 
will be gone, understand?"

	"I guess the choice is obvious, when you put it that way."

	"Ran-chan?  Ran-chan, come back!  I didn't-  it wasn't 
supposed to happen like that- it-"

~~~


	"I can't believe Nabiki, saying things like that!  Just 
because I lost my temper doesn't give her the right to say I'm 
sleeping with someone.
	"That's right P-chan, and I'm going to prove her wrong once 
and for all!  Hey Nabiki look at . . ."

	". . ."

	"Ryouga you bastard!  . . . You- you- caught my mallet!"

	"I'm sorry Akane, I didn't mean to; you can hit me as much 
as you want.  I just acted on instinct . . . "

	"You caught it.  But you can't- he can't -he can't -he 
doesn't -he can't -he won't.  He won't!"

	Akane, I'm sorry.  Akane, come back!  Please come back . . 
. . Ranma, this is your fault!  For taking Akane from me, you 
will die!"


~~~


"K-Kasumi, where's R-Ranma?"

	"Akane, are you okay?  You don't look very well."

	"I'll be fine; it's just- just a chill.  Where's Ranma?"

	"I think he's in his room.  He went up the stairs right 
after you and Nabiki.  Akane, you feel like ice.  You really 
should wear a sweater if it's cold out."


~~~


	"Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!"

	"Get away from me Ryouga; it was hard enough to keep myself 
from hunting you down."

	"Shut up!  For taking Akane from me, you must die!"

	"That's it pig-boy.  You picked the wrong night to push 
your sick little joke."

*CRACK* *CRACK*

	"You bastard!  How did you?!"

	"Since you're too stupid to notice it bacon breath, when we 
fought before, I never threw a killing or disabling blow, since 
I didn't want to hurt you too bad.  It's much easier to just 
break your arms than stop to you without hurting you.  And since 
you're so weak in your kicking, I don't think you're gonna force 
me to break your legs too."

*CRACK*

	"Guess I was wrong.  Ryouga, I'm not going to kill you, 
because that would make Akane unhappy, and no matter how much I 
hate the sadistic girl she's turned out to be, I also love the 
bitch.  So I think I'll leave you in pain here.  You shouldn't 
bleed to death, unless you move enough for the bones to cut a 
major blood vessel.  Someone will find you by morning, and you 
two can have a nice life together, since you seem to be screwed 
up in the same way."

	"Fuck you asshole!  Shi-"

	"What's that Ryouga?  The pain is too intense for you to 
concentrate?  Guess I'll have to leave you now."


~~~


	"Ranma!  You come to take Shampoo on date!  Yes?"

	"Shampoo leave me alone."

	"Son-in-law."

	"Right now is not the time to annoy me with that, old 
ghoul."

	"<Shampoo, let go of your husband and fetch us some tea.>  
Why have you come to use at this hour, Ranma."

	"I'm leaving Nerima, Cologne, and I want to get more 
training.  That means leaving with you, or with Happosai."

	"And you obviously prefer me over Happosai.  So you have 
accepted your marriage to Shampoo."

	"Ayah!"

	"No, I haven't.  If you want me to be your student then 
you're gonna have to teach me, not force me to marry or have 
children or any of that shit, and not do any of these kiss of 
death stuff or other fucked up laws."

	"And why should you be one setting conditions?"

	"Because you want to teach me.  All teachers want good 
students, and I'm the best.  You also want me to like the 
amazons, and you know that there's no way in hell that I'll 
marry Shampoo.  And you don't want the difficult techniques you 
know to die with you, and I can teach them to later Amazons."

	"<Shampoo, be quiet.>  I see.  Are you in trouble with the 
law?"

	"Nah.  I guess my fights from before could be counted as 
assault, but they're all self-defense.  So?"

	"The deal is a good one.  The only way to keep you from 
marrying Shampoo is to adopt you, and the only way for you to be 
my student is if you are considered a woman."

	"Hey, I ain't no-"

	"Be quiet, Ranma.  This is the only way it can be done. 
Besides, most of the traits you consider manly we consider 
womanly.  To be treated as a man, you must be called a woman.  
Or is that too much of a challenge for you?"

	"I can do anything!  But the others will know I'm guy."

	"A promising burst of logic from you, daughter.  But 
Jusenkyo is not random; it gives each person the alternate body 
best suited for them.  And the girl that drowned in the spring 
was an amazon.  You are a wayward soul brought back to your 
home.  With your fighting skill, that explanation will be 
enough."

	"What's this daughter stuff? Ow!"

	"Be more observant.  I told you I have to adopt you, 
daughter; and you will address me as elder.  If you are to gain 
acceptance, daughter, you must obey all the forms."


~~~


	"<Ranma's asleep, child, you can talk now.>"

	"<Why did you cancel my marriage to Ranma?  I could have 
had him finally!  Why are you taking him with us?  And accepting 
him, a male, as your student?  What about me?>"

	"<Listen carefully Shampoo.  Ranma wishes to leave Japan.  
It is evident he is angry.  Therefore there is nothing in Japan 
strong enough to keep him here.  He must therefore wish to leave 
the girl he loves and his mother.  No Shampoo, if you were fit 
to be my successor, you would have figured out he does not feel 
that way for you, and you have not made him come closer to such 
feelings.
	"<I can deduce from this that the only hurt strong enough 
to cut Ranma from these ties is his learning of Akane's 
relationship with Ryouga.  I had hoped he would turn to you in 
grief, but he did not.  He is very angry at being manipulated, 
and if I wished to have him, I could not reject his offer.  
Anything else would have his anger focused at us.
	"<He is also right about the techniques I hold.  They most 
not be lost to the amazons, and he is the only one capable of 
learning them.  No Shampoo, while you are skilled, you are not 
near his level.  He will be my successor because I have needed 
one ever since you gave the kiss of death.  You have no instinct 
for leadership or politics, both of which I can see in Ranma."

	"<Great-Grandmother, why are you being so cruel?  I->"

	"<Listen well to me Shampoo.  Look within yourself, and you 
will see you are never happier than when carrying out 
instructions or a plan.  You are the finest warrior the amazons 
produced in a generation.  But you are a follower, and not the 
finest warrior of your generation.  There is no shame in this, 
only in denying your place in the tribe and shirking the 
responsibilities you can bear.  It is your responsibility to 
tribe that we bring Ranma back with us.
	"<We need his strength to train the next generations, and 
his help will give us the advantage over the Musk.  If we are 
lucky, one of use will bear children by him, and we will gain 
his blood in ours.  From your first return, I saw that you would 
not win him, Shampoo, and so the council had to find another way 
to bring him back.  I have allowed you to pursue Ranma because 
it gave me an excuse to be here and a way to train Ranma.  That 
excuse has served its purpose, and outlived its usefulness.>"
	"<As for Ranma's gender; we cannot allow a male to be the 
greatest warrior in the tribe at any time.  The males would 
start getting ideas from Ranma's example and his power.  If we 
have him, and he is not bound by love, he must be a woman.  He 
could be male only as your husband, Shampoo, and then you would 
have been a figurehead.  You would not enjoy that, and I would 
not force it upon you."

	"<I . . . understand, Great-grandmother.>"

	"<Shampoo . . . if you are to win his heart, you must give 
up on him.  Only if you no longer chase him as a husband will he 
consider becoming your husband.  The outer seeming will not work 
for this, you must truly give him up.  Then you can build a new 
relationship that might have romance in its future.>"

	"<Yes, great-grandmother.  I do not really understand, but 
you have never guided me wrongly.  Unless the tribe we 
involved.>"

	"<Would you put yourself over the tribe?>"

	"<No, I would not.>"

	"<Then I have not guided you wrongly, for you acted to help 
the tribe above yourself, as you would have wished.>"


~~~
 
 
	Guess what folks, I'm not sure what I'll be doing with the 
final scene!  That's right, you too can have input into the end of
the story, and if there isn't any, I mught just forget making an 
end.  The cost of your contribution is just that desperatly need 
C&C!  Does the formating work?  Should I scrap the dialogue only 
style?  Are the characters wildly OOC?  Do you like it?  Any and all 
comments and criticism that will help me be a better writer all 
warmly welcomed and begged for.  (All this generally means is give a
reason you liked/hated/were ambibalent about the fic.)




                              ("`-''-/").___..--''"`-._      
      Bastet's Chosen          `6_ 6  )   `-.  (     ).`-.__.`)
   matthew.lewis@Yale.edu      (_Y_.)'  ._   )  `._ `. ``-..-'
                             _..`--'_..-_/  /--'_.' ,'
                           (il).-''  (li).'  ((!.-'                                      

Beware of organizations that proclaim their devotion to the light without 
embracing, bowing to the dark; for when they idealize half the world they 
must devalue the rest.
                           -Miriam Simos