DISCLAIMER:  The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the
property of Ms. Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Kitty,
Viz Video and all other associated parties.  This
fanfiction does not intend to reap profit or benefit 
of any kind; it was created for entertainment purposes only.


******

"  " spoken
'  ' thought
*  * emphasis


******



Leaving


Prologue


     The sky was losing its light blue to a dark one as the sun was
disappearing under the horizon. Ranma packed the last of his things
and buried the fire under some dirt. After shouldering his
backpack, he looked around. The waterfall filled his ears, being
merely fifty feet away. Even in the darkness of the cliff on the
other side of the river, he could still see the gentle spray of
mist in the air.

     It was a really weird area. If one faced the waterfall, from
the elbow in the river a few hundred feet ahead, one would see a
forest on the left and a vertical cliff on the right, at a perfect
angle from the waterfall.

     Ranma gave one last look and headed back home. One weekend
wasn't long, but he would return in a week, this time with everyone
else. This had been his first training trip alone. More like a
thinking session away from the chaos, really. Truth was he hadn't
done much thinking, instead discovering something entirely new to
him.

     He smiled. In one week he would return, never to leave again.
But first, he had to catch his train so he wouldn't get to the
Tendo home too late. 'One week.' he thought. 'More like five days,
really. Five more days of answering to them and then I can be free.
I can be released from this curse I too long have called my life.'

     He stopped for a moment, lowering his head with his eyes
closed, a sorrowful expression on his face. He took in a deep
breath and let it out. 'You made the decision, Ranma, now live with
it.' He chuckled at the irony and continued his way.


******

     "Do you think he'll do it, father?"
     "I truly believe so, my daughter. He has suffered for too
long. There is no other escape."
     "But it is so sad, leaving his friends and family behind."
     "Yes, it is, but above all one must consider his own
happiness. If he is not happy and cannot change his life, he must
end it."
     "I know... I hope he will be safe, wherever he is going."


******

     After the five days were over, Ranma knew he was making the
right decision. There was no way to make somebody happy, only a way
to make one person ecstatic and the rest mad and jealous. So,
everyone would be sad, the result of taking every emotion and
spreading them around evenly.

     Without looking, Ranma reached with his foot and zipped down
his tent. This was the last night of his life. One would think he'd
visit the four girls to get a little fun, but that would be cruel
to them in the long run. They'd only miss him more, and he wouldn't
cause them more pain for his pleasure. There was also the fact that
any of them would surely blurt it out as he jumped from the cliff
in the morning.

     And he'd do it in front of all of them. Instead of camping at
the bottom of the waterfall, like on his weekend alone, he had
taken them on the cliff itself. There was a small point, right over
the waterfall, about five or six feet long, perfect for admiring
the view or jumping to one's death.

     The fall wasn't very high, only a hundred seventy, eighty feet
at most. The reason it was deadly was the stone needles hidden
under the white waters of the waterfall. And Ranma had made sure to
mention it when he presented it. "Welcome to Needles falls!" he had
shouted, the name bringing the obvious questions. It was a good
thing it had been so late when they got there, else there would
have been a fight and he was sure somebody would have picked him up
and thrown him down. Not that he'd mind, he just wanted to do it on
his own terms.

     Ranma turned on his little lamp and took out a large book with
leather covers. He knew he wouldn't get one wink of sleep the
entire night, so he didn't bother to even try. He'd keep himself
occupied, even if he knew it wouldn't mean much afterwards. If he
didn't do something, he'd be so bored he'd jump right away, and
that wasn't what was planned.

     With so much free time, Ranma decided to truly understand the
text instead of simply reading it. He read every paragraph at least
three times, truly committing the information to memory,
understanding it in every detail. Forty-five pages later, he could
see the light of the sun starting to come through his tent. He
closed the book and sighed. 'Why isn't anything ever easy?' he
asked himself before slamming the book shut and putting it away in
its plastic bag.

     The book safely hidden, Ranma left his tent and slowly walked 
to the small rocky point, letting the morning air and the sun rays
enter him one last time. Soon, Ranma Saotome would be dead.

     He stood there, letting the wind play with his hair, one foot
away from a long and ultimately deadly fall. He let the calm
scenery enter him, closing his eyes to better feel it. He didn't
know how much time had passed when he felt a presence coming behind
him, the footfalls barely audible yet unmistakable.

     "Hello Ranma." Kasumi said, calm and cheery as ever. "Hello
Kasumi." Ranma replied. "Beautiful morning, isn't it? It's so calm
and relaxing... I can't remember the last time I felt like that...
I don't think I've ever been like that..."

     Kasumi frowned, ever-so-slightly. Those were the words of
somebody deep in depression, yet no matter how keen her senses she
could only feel an eery calm from Ranma. It could only mean... She
refused to accept it.

     After awhile, Ranma spoke. "Could you get everyone, Kasumi? I
have something to say. It's rather important, so wake them all." He
was talking slowly and softly, not having moved from his position,
looking down the waterfall.

     "Of course." She tried not to appear to be hurrying while
returning to the camp. Something was wrong. Definitively wrong. She
had always wondered how Ranma could go through so much and not be
affected, and now she had her answer. It had been buried deep and
now he was insane.

     She woke up everyone, trying to stay nice despite her feeling
of urgency. It was only five minutes until they were all relatively
properly dressed and following her to the cliff's edge, some
protesting more than others. Ranma apparently hadn't moved, but
turned as they approached, an eerily calm smile on his face.

     Ranma raised a hand to stop any remarks those that didn't like
him were about to say, and put it down. "I'm sorry for waking you
this early, but I couldn't wait. Not anymore." Ranma looked down
briefly.

     There was a sorrowful tone to this that found Kasumi's ear,
but she saw she was the only one who had heard. It seemed Ranma had
chosen his moment, making sure no one would understand the deeper
meaning of his words before it was too late.

     "For the past two and a half years, I've been through hell.
Each of you only has to deal with me and one or two others, but I
have to face each and everyone of you, and I can't do it anymore.
This situation is out of control. There are no solutions, since
nobody is willing to compromise. So I'm removing the source of all
the problems. Me."

     There was a few gasps and widened eyes, but Ranma cut any 
replies. "I can't solve this and I can't run away. The only solution 
I can see for everybody is to kill Ranma Saotome. I chose this place 
and told you about it for a reason. I'm jumping. Bakusai Tenketsu."

     Before anyone had done more than a step forward, Ranma stabbed
his finger in the rock in front of him. Considering the breaking
point technique, the explosion was rather small, but the point
still detached itself from the cliff, letting gravity take control.

     Everyone rushed to the cliff's edge, all yelling out his name.
He was still standing on the rock as he fell, and he looked up at
them, waving. "Good bye! I love you all!" he shouted before he
began falling backwards, finding himself under the large rock
before hitting the waters. They all knew he had no escaping his
chosen fate.

     The four fiancees and the mother broke down in tears and sobs,
falling on their knees and hiding their faces in their hands.
Nabiki just stared at where the rocky point had been, the waterfall
below, unable and unwilling to believe that what she just saw had
happened. Soun had fainted the moment Ranma had disappeared below
the cliff, while Genma had walked away, wishing to be alone with
his silent tears. Cologne simply shook her head, ashamed.

     The last three, however, were far from being sad. They still
had the good sense of not laughing and celebrating in front of
everyone else, so just had some rather large grins on while looking
at each other with glee. Their greatest enemy, the one responsible
for all of their suffering, had just killed himself, showing how
much of a coward he really was. Life couldn't be more sweet that
day, and it was only beginning.


******

     Ranma's body was never found. The river had been checked
thoroughly, and the divers didn't want to risk going near the
waterfall. Besides, if it had happened as the witnesses had said,
the body was surely crushed under the rock that had fallen with
him, so there wasn't much left anyway.

     On a side note, Akane finally found out about Ryoga. She had
been crying near the foot of the waterfall and he had came to
comfort her. One small gust of wind had sent a little too much
water in the air for Ryoga's liking, but too late, Akane had seen
him. On that day, pigs could fly. Well, one of them did.


End Prologue

******


     Note from Author:

     This isn't my first fic, though it's the first I've sent out to the 
big wild beyond. Unlike what it seems, this isn't a dark fic. There are 
more than enough fics out there dealing with characters coping with 
Ranma's death. I am aware that Ranma killing himself in this fashion is 
OOC, but it's obvious he faked it, and the rest of this fic is about the 
others finding out about Ranma's new life and what they will do about it 
(not much idea there, BTW).

     I'm hoping to send the first chapter in a few days, but knowing 
myself it'll be at least a week. In the meantime, I'm hoping for some 
C&C and future ideas on this fic. It's been a dormant idea in my head 
for too long, I'd appreciate your inputs. Please send everything 
directly to me, at ranma_666@hotmail.com, but don't expect replies soon.

     I'd also appreciate a little help. I'm using WordPerfect 5.1 to 
write and it isn't exactly effective to transport in that little box 
they give at Hotmail. I'm alos as to how I can archive my fics 
elsewhere. I have no idea how the Web really works and I'm very new at 
this. Thank you in advance.
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com