LizMUN's notes: Like mentioned before, this fic was written to show how
truly insane I be, Muahahaha! ::gets whacked:: Anywhoo's, all characters
are creations of Takahashi-sensei! We are not worthy of your greatness!
Anywhoo's, This fic was made for entertainment purposes only. Someone
already threw away the dot-matrix printer.. so if you're to sue me, now
all you'll get is a broken Tamagotchi.
C&C is greatly appreciated, even if you think I should jump into Spring
of drowned Purple Dinosaur for writing this fic.
Enjoy!
Rated Y-16 because of language. I'm such a potty mouth!
======================================================================
Sibling Rivalry
Part 2
The night was setting in Nerima, and the clouds had come and
gone, leaving a crisp, chilly, clear night at it's wake. Ranma had
eventually returned from Dr. Tofu's and everything went back to
routine: Ranma and Akane would argue, Ranma stuffed his face during dinner,
Akane commented on his lack of dinner skills, Ranma retaliated, Ranma was
punted into the sky, Nabiki mumbled on something like expenses, Soun
sobbed because he was loosing against Genma, Genma began to sweat, hoping Soun
wouldn't notice some of his pieces were missing. Kasumi smiled and cleared
up the table. All in all.. it was a typical evening.
Ryouga spread out his sleeping bag on the dojo floor. Akane
had insisted that he'd sleep with Ranma and Genma in the guest
room, but he had declined. One, they would probably fight, and not get any
rest, second; he just didn't want to face Ranma now. Was he really his
brother? Or was it just a hallucination? He hoped to the gods that it
was the latter, but fate seemingly had a twisted sense of humor, so he
was ready to be disapointed.
"Ryouga. We gotta talk!"
Ryouga looked up and saw Ranma leaning casually against the
entrance. Ryouga sighed and continued his task.
"As much as I'd like fight you Ranma, It can wait till
tomorrow."
"No it can't. And I don't want to fight, I just want to know
what were you doing with this?" Ranma flung something at Ryouga, who
nimbly caught it. Ryouga looked at it and blinked. It was the picture he
had in his pack: The one with his parents, holding him when he was just
a baby. Along with his family were some others in the picture. Perhaps
they were friends of the family, he supposed. In their arms they held their
baby. Ryouga clutched the picture possessively and glared at Ranma.
"Where did you get this?"
"You dropped it at the clinic. Now, I want to know where did
YOU get it?"
"It's none of your business!"
"Like Hell it is! That's MY mom, and the old man in that
picture! Why do you have a picture of MY folks?"
Ryouga looked as if he was going to hurl. Those were Ranma's
parents? Could Auxilio be telling the truth. No! This was all just some
sort of coincidence. Damnit! It was too sickeningly twisted to be a
coincidence. Ryouga looked back at Ranma, who was now more confused
than angry.
"Hmph.. wouldn't you like to know. So.. those are your folks?"
"What's with you, man? You look like you've seen a ghost!"
"Like I said, This can wait till tomorrow." Ryouga tucked
himself into his sleeping bag and fell instantly to sleep. Ranma felt
like kicking him awake, but the guy had been half-dead already earlier.
"Okay Ryouga, tomorrow. But you're going to tell me even if I
have ta beat it out of you."
~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~
"Geeze Old man! You've been putting too much weight!"
*SPLASH!*
"Growlf?"
"HEY NO FAIR! PUT ME DOWN!"
*SPLASH*
"UGH!! This was my best shirt!"
*Whack*
"Grarrll"
*Punt* *Wham*
"What do you mean I'm acting like a girl! I'll show you!"
*Smash* *Crack* *Thud*
"Ranma! Dinner's is Ready!"
"Serves you right, Pop! Huh? Okay Kasumi! Thanks!"
"Ranma?"
"What, Akane?"
"Where's Ryouga?"
"Ryouga? Oh yeah! Forgot about the moron!"
*Wham*
"Honestly, Ranma!"
Ranma crawled his way out from under the huge mallet Akane had
so generously implanted onto his head. He mumbled a few curses as he
made his way towards the Dojo. A whole day had passed since that incident
with Ryouga. Last he left the guy, Ryouga was deep asleep. Dr. Tofu had
said that it was normal, given his circumstance. Yeah, his circumstance
with his near-death experience. He just hoped that the moron hadn't already
awaken and was wandering off while they were at school. He slid the door
open and entered.
"Yo, Ryouga! You awake?" Ranma looked around the room. The
sleeping bag that had been set out last night was now neatly wrapped, tied,
and placed in a corner along with the rest of Ryouga's stuff. The boy,
in question was sitting crossed-legged against the wall on the
opposite end of the room. He was looking down at something, a small
sheet of paper. Before Ranma could sneak up to see what it was, Ryouga
quickly tucked it into pocket.
"Okay Ryouga.. spill it!"
Ryouga looked at Ranma briefly, then turned away and sighed.
~~~~
"What's taking them so long?"
"Well, I don't hear any fighting.." Nabiki raised a brow.
Things were quiet enough to worry.
"Oh my, I hope they don't take too long, their dinners are
getting cold."
"It's getting late! I'll go get... Ranma?"
Ranma stood at the door way briefly then stomped over towards
Genma, who was still in his panda form. He grabed him by the fur and
picked him up to eye level.
"Hey pop, What's this I hear about a deal you and Mom made
about a house in Juuban?"
Genma's eyes went wide and a huge sweat-drop formed on the back of
his head. He pulled out a sign.
~"I have no idea what you're talking about! I never made a deal
with Yuria and Kenshito Hibiki!(1) You got the wrong guy!"~
"Hibiki?" Akane blinked.
Nabiki smirked. This could get interesting.
"Saotome? What is the meaning of this?" questioned Soun.
Ranma grabbed a kettle and poured it on Genma, who turned back into
his old self, clothes and all. Genma closed his eyes, crossing his arms
and legs as if in contemplation.
"Okay Pop! Spit it!"
There was an uncomfortable silence for a while, then Genma
looked up, his eyes having a far-away look.
"Ranma, what do you remember when you were a baby?"
"What's that gotta do with anything?"
"Just answer the question."
"Nuthin.. I guess."
"Hmm.."
"Should I?"
"You do not remember anything? Anyone?"
"Saotome, what are you implying?" questioned Soun again,
not wanting to stay in the dark about the conversation... and getting
quite irritated at the process.
"I suppose you would have found out sooner or later, boy.
*takes in a deep breath.* It was just after you had just been born,
Ranma, but, the thing is, you were not an only child!"
"WHAT?!"
"What the...? Then what was all that crap you told me when I
asked ya if you had any other kids." Ranma countered.
"You only asked if I had any illegitimate children, boy.. now
shut up and listen! You were a twin, the eldest of two boys. Ah! How we were
blessed to have two children to carry on the Saotome School of Martial
Arts. At least, we had hoped for it to be that way. But, back then,
times were rough. We hardly had enough to feed ourselves, and now with
two extras, we could not..." *Smack*
"HEY! Who you calling 'extra'?"
"Let me finish, boy! *ahem* We were in a peril. Our only option
was to give up one of you. You did not want to hear the other option.
You, being the eldest, had to stay, for it was to be you that was to
carry on the Saotome school."
"Oh my!"
"Took the words right out of my mouth, sis." Nabiki smirked.
"But what happened to your other son?" Akane was in near tears
at such a sad story.
"That is where the Hibiki's come into play. They were friends
of Nodoka. Yuria was an old high-school friend, who had married into a
rich family, but alas, she could not bear a child. We all talked it
over, and agreed to let the Hibiki's adopt "Rykia," as we had named
him, in exchange for a home and provisions."
Ranma just clenched his eyes, a little nerve bulging on his forehead.
"So you're telling me, is that you sold one of your children?"
"You're surprised Ranma? He's done it to you before, only back
then he got paid in food. I think a house was a good deal."
"Nabiki!" Akane glared at her sister, then looked back at Ranma,
who looked as if he was about to kill his father.
"We knew Rykia was going to be well taken care of, that was why
the deal was made. We wouldn't give him to just anyone!"
"Then what about the House? Is it the same house Mom lives in now?
Why haven't we checked up on them! Why is this the first time I've heard
about this!?"
"The house.. well.. uh.. wisoet."
"What?"
"We.. sold it."
At this everyone, except Genma and Kasumi, face faulted. Ranma
staggered up from the floor and grabbed the scruff of Genma's gi.
"YOU SOLD IT!?"
"The house was too big for us to care for it. Plus we needed
the extra money. And after doing so, we couldn't bear to show our faces
to the Hibiki's."
"I wonder why." Akane was no longer was feeling sympathy for
Genma.
"But one day we couldn't stand it so we came for a visit.
When we arrived at their home, they were gone. It was as if they up and
left with no note, nothing. We waited at their house for a week, but
they did not show. We assumed they disappeared, or moved away."
"Or.. they got lost." Ranma realized.
"Lost? Hey! So.. what you're saying is... Rykia.. is Ryouga?"
"Well, they do both look alike." Nabiki smirked. Gears
already working overtime, coming up with plans to make this a very
profitable experience."
"I never thought anything of it. Hibiki is a common name, you
know." Genma retorted in his own defense.
"Poor Ryouga! Where is he, anyway?"
Ranma got up from his seat and ran over to the dojo. Before
entering, he stopped briefly, a million things were going in his
mind. What will he say to him when he saw him? What would he do? Well,
there was no time to think of that now. Pushing those thoughts aside,
he took a deep breath and entered the dojo.
"Ryouga?"
The dojo was empty. No bags, nothing.
"Oh no. He's not getting away that easily!" Ranma ran out of
dojo and hopped over the wall, looking franticly for any trace of Ryouga.
~~~~
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go to look
for Ryouga as well!"
Akane quickly got up from the table and walked out toward the
dojo. Upon reaching her destination, she leaned against the outer wall
and sighed. Actually, she had just wanted to obtain some peace in order
to sort the mumbo-jumbo that was clashing within her head. Ryouga and
Ranma... BROTHERS?! Could it be? All this time and they did not know.
Poor Ryouga, she thought. She sighed, Rolling her eyes, she scoffed
briefly, remembering when Ranma had posed as Ryouga's sister, Yoiko.
When his so-called 'sister' got lost, she remembered how heartbroken
Ryouga was for having lost her. Of course Akane had suspected early
on that Ranma was the one that had been posing as Ryouga's sister,
but he was so damn sure! Almost desperate! That jerk Ranma deserved
more than what he got after being found out. Playing with Ryouga's
emotions like that! The nerve of him!
But now... now it was no longer pretend. Ranma. She hated to
admit but she felt a little sympathy for him. A little, got it? Still,
all of Ranma's life was spent on training. His only childhood friend
that he distinctly remembered was Ukyou. But they were just friends,
and they mostly spent their time sparring for an okonomiyaki. Technically,
both Ranma and Ryouga had been lonely all their lives, and now they'll...
Suddenly a noise broke her from her thoughts. She looked up.
"R-R-Ranma? .......Ryouga??"
She walked over behind the dojo cautiously. Nothing. She was about
to turn back when she saw something small and dark begin to emerge from a
bucket. Akane gulped. Its beady black eyes, reflecting from the
moonlight, glowed sharply as it looked over at Akane.
*Bwee?*
"P-Chan!" Akane let out a huge sigh of relief, then giggled,
chiding herself for having gotten so worked up over nothing! She picked
up her pet pig and looked at it, playfully admonishing it for having
startled her.
"Oh P-Chan, you naughty piggy! Where have you been? Awww! Look
at you! You're soaked! C'mon! Let's give you a nice warm bath or you'll
yourself a death from cold!"
The pig's eyes widen rapidly at this, then began to struggle free of
Akane's vice grip.
*BWEE! BUKII! BWEKII*
"P-CHAN! What's the matter with you?"
"So there you are!"
Akane turned around to see a drenched Ranma-chan, arms folded,
looking back at the two.
"What happened to you?" Akane asked.
"Someone decided to throw out their dish-water. Of course I just
happened to be at the right place, at the right time." Ranma rolled his eyes.
"So? Where's Ryouga? Did you find him?"
"Uhm.. he'll be back. He always does. In the meantime, I'm
going to take a bath." Ranma held out his hand, palm up. Akane looked
at it, and just blinked.
"What?"
"I.. uh.. well.. you don't want him to catch a cold too!" Ranma
pointed at P-chan, who was casually looking away.
"Nah-uh, Ranma! You always end up teasing him, or hitting my
poor P-Chan! I can do it perfectly fine by myself!"
At this Ryouga's and Ranma's eyes went wide.
"B-but..Aw C'mon Akane! Geeze! I've no time for this."
Before Akane could respond, Ranma snatched P-chan from her
grasp and sprinted into the house.
"RANMA!! OOooo! Honestly!"
~~~
Ryouga-kun and Ranma-kun sat there, opposite ends of the
steaming tub, not looking at each other. A disturbingly uncomfortable
silence passed between the two.
"Okay...When?"
Ryouga looked up and blinked. He looked at Ranma, who was
crossing his arms and looking down at the water.
"Huh?"
"When? When did you know that... "
"..... Yesterday."
"Yesterday? How?"
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"Don't give me that crap, Ryouga! You owe me an explanation!"
"I don't owe you anything, Ranma!"
Again the silence came. Disturbed by a few noisy *Plunk's* as
drops of condensed water fell from the tile roof onto the tile floor.
It continued liked this for a few more moment until Ranma
couldn't stand the silence anymore.
"C'mon Ryouga! I want to know who told you!"
"*Scoff* You wouldn't believe me, anyway." Ryoga stated, looking
away from his rival.
"Try me!"
~~~
*Pliku.. pliku*
Ranma wrinkled up his nose, blinking at what Ryouga had just told
him. The guy was right.. he didn't believe him.
"That has got to be.. the lamest thing I've ever heard! Code
17?"
"Grrrr.. You calling me a liar?"
"You want me to actually believe you? It could've been
after-effects of that old ghouls' potion, or just Akane's cooking by
itself!"
*Pop..pop* "Raaannn-maaaa!" Ryouga raised his fist up to strike
at Ranma for insulting Akane's cooking again. Ranma went into
defensive form, which was kind of odd looking as he was still chest-deep
in water. Ryouga's fist was pulled up like an archer drawing up his
bow. But the arrow was never released. Ryouga shakingly let down his
fist and he looked away from Ranma. Sighing in resignation, he steps out
from the tub. Ranma looked at him, blinking.
"Believe what you want Ranma, but you heard it from yo.. the
old man. This is not easy for me too. *hmph* You think I like the idea
of having you as a brother? Ranma, ever since I met you, my life has
been a living hell! There isn't a day that goes by that I wish I never
met you! And now this? Believe what you want, Ranma. As for me.. as
much as I WANT to, I can't deny this, which is why... *sighs* Which is
why, I'm calling it all off."
Ranma backed up at this, hands in that in that Takahashi-"Oh
Shit!"-pose.
"W-w-what? You're what?"
Ryouga, now fully dressed, looked back at Ranma and scowled.
"Goodbye, Ranma." And with that, Ryouga quickly exited the bathroom
through the door... well, window actually... leaving behind a startled
Ranma.
"....wha... HEY! RYOUGA! WAIT!"
Ranma quickly hopped out of the tub, quickly putting on his
black pants and wrapping a towel around his neck. He followed Ryouga's
trail. (The small crater on the ground from where he landed, and the
new hole in the wall leading to the street.) Ranma looked left, then
right, then up on the rooftops. Nothing. Realizing Ryouga's now long
lost, he growls.
"Ryouga, you JERK!"
~~~
It was near midnight and Ranma was still lying awake in his
futon. His mind repassing over what Ryouga said.
*~"...Ranma, ever since I met you, my life has been a living
hell! There isn't a day that goes by that I wish I never met you!..."~*
Ranma sighed. He couldn't understand why he was so worked up
about it. Ryouga had said that to him countless times before, why should
now be any different?
~Maybe because now, it's a whole different ball game. Ryouga is
your brother! Not just your rival. Brother! And now you have a brother
who hates you! You finally have a brother, and he HATES you!~
Ranma growled, and shook his head, trying to knock out that
voice from his thoughts. He looked back to the familiar ceiling once
more. Moments pass quietly. Then, the rest of their conversation
entered his mind.
*~"...Believe what you want, Ranma. As for me... as much as I
WANT to, I can't deny this, which is why... *sighs* Which is why, I'm
calling it all off."~*
"So why? Why the fucking hell, after all this, is he's just
calling it off?"
Suddenly, a new voice answered, unlike his other voice, which
sounded more like him, this one sounded a bit like his cursed form.
~He's calling it off, because you are his family! Kin. Blood.
To kill you, is to kill his own self. He doesn't hate you, he needs
you. Find him Ranma!~
Ranma shook his head again. Not clear his mind, but to pitty
himself. This was one mess he just couldn't get out of, no matter how hard
he'll try.
~~~
Ryouga had been walking non-stop all night. He never looked up
to see where he was. Of course, this caused him to receive a few
goose-eggs thanks to random poles or trees. He sighed. How easy it was
for Ranma to deny all this. Even after hearing it from himself, and
Genma, he was still denying the truth. Typical. That jerk was to
thick-headed for anything. Just look at the way how he treated Akane!
He should be bowing before the gods to have such a fiancée such as her.
*Sighs*
Ryouga looks up finally, and found himself in a clearing. It
was a beautiful place. There was a little lake nearby, surrounded by
willows and covered in lily pads. Nearby was a fallen log. Odd how it
resembled more like a bench. He shrugged. He looks around some more.
He kind of noticed that there was not as much trees around as expected,
but he figured it was the mist, which had now rolled in, and was now
surrounding the clearing. The mist seemed to be blocking any view
further into the forest. The ground itself was soft and wet because
of the fog. Not wanting to soak himself laying in the grass, he hopped
onto a tree branch, and laid his back against the trunk.
He had forgotten his pack back at the dojo, and was mentally
kicking himself for running out so unexpectedly, but he had no choice.
If Ranma wasn't going to accept the truth, that was fine with him. He
didn't need him. He's lived just fine being an only child. He was used
to it. He has already got a family, and to hell with the Saotomes.
After all, they didn't want him. Since the moment he was born, they
spurned him. They hated him. Why else would they give him away. For
what, some food? Damnit! They actually gave their son away! They
didn't want him. His real parents.. didn't... want him.
Ryouga harshly wiped the tears coming from his eyes and clenched
his fists. Already he was feeling his depression boiling up. Damn, Damn,
DAMN! This is no time to feel self-pity. But it just wasn't fair! Ranma
wasn't the one given up like a sack of rice! If he ever got back to the
Tendo Dojo, he was going to give Ranma one hell of a..... Damn. He
forgot. He called it off. Why the hell did he call it off? Even he
didn't know. Ryouga yawned involuntarily, feeling the sleep coming to
overtake him. He yawned again. Tomorrow, he would think about it
some more. He crossed his arms across his chest and closes his eyes.
Falling into a deep sleep.
Two minutes later, a policeman walked across the clearing,
whistling softly to himself. Night-shifts in Nerima weren't so bad.
After all, the Martial-artists of this town usually chose daytime to
cause their mayhem. As he strolled across the park, he failed to
notice one of the martial artists sleeping soundly on top of a
tree-branch. Well, whether he actually failed to see him or he know
better than to wake him up, only he knew.
~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~
(1): (hehe.. do any of you "Fist of the North-Star" people recognize
these names? I thought so!) Dun worry.. they had nothing to do with the
story.. (that is unless you WANT them to) I just liked the names.
and as always:
C&C Wanted:
Please apply within.
~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~
Ja ne! (Stop this Crazy thing!)
Evil Kasumi
*~"She's really a very sweet girl. She's just a violent maniac!"~*
"If Everyone jumped off a cliff, I'd wait till I was last in line.
Then, the fall won't be so steep and so hard."- me
http://members.nbci.com/GodsEvilSis
**COR's Keeper of the Heituenniichuan**
truly insane I be, Muahahaha! ::gets whacked:: Anywhoo's, all characters
are creations of Takahashi-sensei! We are not worthy of your greatness!
Anywhoo's, This fic was made for entertainment purposes only. Someone
already threw away the dot-matrix printer.. so if you're to sue me, now
all you'll get is a broken Tamagotchi.
C&C is greatly appreciated, even if you think I should jump into Spring
of drowned Purple Dinosaur for writing this fic.
Enjoy!
Rated Y-16 because of language. I'm such a potty mouth!
======================================================================
Sibling Rivalry
Part 2
The night was setting in Nerima, and the clouds had come and
gone, leaving a crisp, chilly, clear night at it's wake. Ranma had
eventually returned from Dr. Tofu's and everything went back to
routine: Ranma and Akane would argue, Ranma stuffed his face during dinner,
Akane commented on his lack of dinner skills, Ranma retaliated, Ranma was
punted into the sky, Nabiki mumbled on something like expenses, Soun
sobbed because he was loosing against Genma, Genma began to sweat, hoping Soun
wouldn't notice some of his pieces were missing. Kasumi smiled and cleared
up the table. All in all.. it was a typical evening.
Ryouga spread out his sleeping bag on the dojo floor. Akane
had insisted that he'd sleep with Ranma and Genma in the guest
room, but he had declined. One, they would probably fight, and not get any
rest, second; he just didn't want to face Ranma now. Was he really his
brother? Or was it just a hallucination? He hoped to the gods that it
was the latter, but fate seemingly had a twisted sense of humor, so he
was ready to be disapointed.
"Ryouga. We gotta talk!"
Ryouga looked up and saw Ranma leaning casually against the
entrance. Ryouga sighed and continued his task.
"As much as I'd like fight you Ranma, It can wait till
tomorrow."
"No it can't. And I don't want to fight, I just want to know
what were you doing with this?" Ranma flung something at Ryouga, who
nimbly caught it. Ryouga looked at it and blinked. It was the picture he
had in his pack: The one with his parents, holding him when he was just
a baby. Along with his family were some others in the picture. Perhaps
they were friends of the family, he supposed. In their arms they held their
baby. Ryouga clutched the picture possessively and glared at Ranma.
"Where did you get this?"
"You dropped it at the clinic. Now, I want to know where did
YOU get it?"
"It's none of your business!"
"Like Hell it is! That's MY mom, and the old man in that
picture! Why do you have a picture of MY folks?"
Ryouga looked as if he was going to hurl. Those were Ranma's
parents? Could Auxilio be telling the truth. No! This was all just some
sort of coincidence. Damnit! It was too sickeningly twisted to be a
coincidence. Ryouga looked back at Ranma, who was now more confused
than angry.
"Hmph.. wouldn't you like to know. So.. those are your folks?"
"What's with you, man? You look like you've seen a ghost!"
"Like I said, This can wait till tomorrow." Ryouga tucked
himself into his sleeping bag and fell instantly to sleep. Ranma felt
like kicking him awake, but the guy had been half-dead already earlier.
"Okay Ryouga, tomorrow. But you're going to tell me even if I
have ta beat it out of you."
~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~
"Geeze Old man! You've been putting too much weight!"
*SPLASH!*
"Growlf?"
"HEY NO FAIR! PUT ME DOWN!"
*SPLASH*
"UGH!! This was my best shirt!"
*Whack*
"Grarrll"
*Punt* *Wham*
"What do you mean I'm acting like a girl! I'll show you!"
*Smash* *Crack* *Thud*
"Ranma! Dinner's is Ready!"
"Serves you right, Pop! Huh? Okay Kasumi! Thanks!"
"Ranma?"
"What, Akane?"
"Where's Ryouga?"
"Ryouga? Oh yeah! Forgot about the moron!"
*Wham*
"Honestly, Ranma!"
Ranma crawled his way out from under the huge mallet Akane had
so generously implanted onto his head. He mumbled a few curses as he
made his way towards the Dojo. A whole day had passed since that incident
with Ryouga. Last he left the guy, Ryouga was deep asleep. Dr. Tofu had
said that it was normal, given his circumstance. Yeah, his circumstance
with his near-death experience. He just hoped that the moron hadn't already
awaken and was wandering off while they were at school. He slid the door
open and entered.
"Yo, Ryouga! You awake?" Ranma looked around the room. The
sleeping bag that had been set out last night was now neatly wrapped, tied,
and placed in a corner along with the rest of Ryouga's stuff. The boy,
in question was sitting crossed-legged against the wall on the
opposite end of the room. He was looking down at something, a small
sheet of paper. Before Ranma could sneak up to see what it was, Ryouga
quickly tucked it into pocket.
"Okay Ryouga.. spill it!"
Ryouga looked at Ranma briefly, then turned away and sighed.
~~~~
"What's taking them so long?"
"Well, I don't hear any fighting.." Nabiki raised a brow.
Things were quiet enough to worry.
"Oh my, I hope they don't take too long, their dinners are
getting cold."
"It's getting late! I'll go get... Ranma?"
Ranma stood at the door way briefly then stomped over towards
Genma, who was still in his panda form. He grabed him by the fur and
picked him up to eye level.
"Hey pop, What's this I hear about a deal you and Mom made
about a house in Juuban?"
Genma's eyes went wide and a huge sweat-drop formed on the back of
his head. He pulled out a sign.
~"I have no idea what you're talking about! I never made a deal
with Yuria and Kenshito Hibiki!(1) You got the wrong guy!"~
"Hibiki?" Akane blinked.
Nabiki smirked. This could get interesting.
"Saotome? What is the meaning of this?" questioned Soun.
Ranma grabbed a kettle and poured it on Genma, who turned back into
his old self, clothes and all. Genma closed his eyes, crossing his arms
and legs as if in contemplation.
"Okay Pop! Spit it!"
There was an uncomfortable silence for a while, then Genma
looked up, his eyes having a far-away look.
"Ranma, what do you remember when you were a baby?"
"What's that gotta do with anything?"
"Just answer the question."
"Nuthin.. I guess."
"Hmm.."
"Should I?"
"You do not remember anything? Anyone?"
"Saotome, what are you implying?" questioned Soun again,
not wanting to stay in the dark about the conversation... and getting
quite irritated at the process.
"I suppose you would have found out sooner or later, boy.
*takes in a deep breath.* It was just after you had just been born,
Ranma, but, the thing is, you were not an only child!"
"WHAT?!"
"What the...? Then what was all that crap you told me when I
asked ya if you had any other kids." Ranma countered.
"You only asked if I had any illegitimate children, boy.. now
shut up and listen! You were a twin, the eldest of two boys. Ah! How we were
blessed to have two children to carry on the Saotome School of Martial
Arts. At least, we had hoped for it to be that way. But, back then,
times were rough. We hardly had enough to feed ourselves, and now with
two extras, we could not..." *Smack*
"HEY! Who you calling 'extra'?"
"Let me finish, boy! *ahem* We were in a peril. Our only option
was to give up one of you. You did not want to hear the other option.
You, being the eldest, had to stay, for it was to be you that was to
carry on the Saotome school."
"Oh my!"
"Took the words right out of my mouth, sis." Nabiki smirked.
"But what happened to your other son?" Akane was in near tears
at such a sad story.
"That is where the Hibiki's come into play. They were friends
of Nodoka. Yuria was an old high-school friend, who had married into a
rich family, but alas, she could not bear a child. We all talked it
over, and agreed to let the Hibiki's adopt "Rykia," as we had named
him, in exchange for a home and provisions."
Ranma just clenched his eyes, a little nerve bulging on his forehead.
"So you're telling me, is that you sold one of your children?"
"You're surprised Ranma? He's done it to you before, only back
then he got paid in food. I think a house was a good deal."
"Nabiki!" Akane glared at her sister, then looked back at Ranma,
who looked as if he was about to kill his father.
"We knew Rykia was going to be well taken care of, that was why
the deal was made. We wouldn't give him to just anyone!"
"Then what about the House? Is it the same house Mom lives in now?
Why haven't we checked up on them! Why is this the first time I've heard
about this!?"
"The house.. well.. uh.. wisoet."
"What?"
"We.. sold it."
At this everyone, except Genma and Kasumi, face faulted. Ranma
staggered up from the floor and grabbed the scruff of Genma's gi.
"YOU SOLD IT!?"
"The house was too big for us to care for it. Plus we needed
the extra money. And after doing so, we couldn't bear to show our faces
to the Hibiki's."
"I wonder why." Akane was no longer was feeling sympathy for
Genma.
"But one day we couldn't stand it so we came for a visit.
When we arrived at their home, they were gone. It was as if they up and
left with no note, nothing. We waited at their house for a week, but
they did not show. We assumed they disappeared, or moved away."
"Or.. they got lost." Ranma realized.
"Lost? Hey! So.. what you're saying is... Rykia.. is Ryouga?"
"Well, they do both look alike." Nabiki smirked. Gears
already working overtime, coming up with plans to make this a very
profitable experience."
"I never thought anything of it. Hibiki is a common name, you
know." Genma retorted in his own defense.
"Poor Ryouga! Where is he, anyway?"
Ranma got up from his seat and ran over to the dojo. Before
entering, he stopped briefly, a million things were going in his
mind. What will he say to him when he saw him? What would he do? Well,
there was no time to think of that now. Pushing those thoughts aside,
he took a deep breath and entered the dojo.
"Ryouga?"
The dojo was empty. No bags, nothing.
"Oh no. He's not getting away that easily!" Ranma ran out of
dojo and hopped over the wall, looking franticly for any trace of Ryouga.
~~~~
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go to look
for Ryouga as well!"
Akane quickly got up from the table and walked out toward the
dojo. Upon reaching her destination, she leaned against the outer wall
and sighed. Actually, she had just wanted to obtain some peace in order
to sort the mumbo-jumbo that was clashing within her head. Ryouga and
Ranma... BROTHERS?! Could it be? All this time and they did not know.
Poor Ryouga, she thought. She sighed, Rolling her eyes, she scoffed
briefly, remembering when Ranma had posed as Ryouga's sister, Yoiko.
When his so-called 'sister' got lost, she remembered how heartbroken
Ryouga was for having lost her. Of course Akane had suspected early
on that Ranma was the one that had been posing as Ryouga's sister,
but he was so damn sure! Almost desperate! That jerk Ranma deserved
more than what he got after being found out. Playing with Ryouga's
emotions like that! The nerve of him!
But now... now it was no longer pretend. Ranma. She hated to
admit but she felt a little sympathy for him. A little, got it? Still,
all of Ranma's life was spent on training. His only childhood friend
that he distinctly remembered was Ukyou. But they were just friends,
and they mostly spent their time sparring for an okonomiyaki. Technically,
both Ranma and Ryouga had been lonely all their lives, and now they'll...
Suddenly a noise broke her from her thoughts. She looked up.
"R-R-Ranma? .......Ryouga??"
She walked over behind the dojo cautiously. Nothing. She was about
to turn back when she saw something small and dark begin to emerge from a
bucket. Akane gulped. Its beady black eyes, reflecting from the
moonlight, glowed sharply as it looked over at Akane.
*Bwee?*
"P-Chan!" Akane let out a huge sigh of relief, then giggled,
chiding herself for having gotten so worked up over nothing! She picked
up her pet pig and looked at it, playfully admonishing it for having
startled her.
"Oh P-Chan, you naughty piggy! Where have you been? Awww! Look
at you! You're soaked! C'mon! Let's give you a nice warm bath or you'll
yourself a death from cold!"
The pig's eyes widen rapidly at this, then began to struggle free of
Akane's vice grip.
*BWEE! BUKII! BWEKII*
"P-CHAN! What's the matter with you?"
"So there you are!"
Akane turned around to see a drenched Ranma-chan, arms folded,
looking back at the two.
"What happened to you?" Akane asked.
"Someone decided to throw out their dish-water. Of course I just
happened to be at the right place, at the right time." Ranma rolled his eyes.
"So? Where's Ryouga? Did you find him?"
"Uhm.. he'll be back. He always does. In the meantime, I'm
going to take a bath." Ranma held out his hand, palm up. Akane looked
at it, and just blinked.
"What?"
"I.. uh.. well.. you don't want him to catch a cold too!" Ranma
pointed at P-chan, who was casually looking away.
"Nah-uh, Ranma! You always end up teasing him, or hitting my
poor P-Chan! I can do it perfectly fine by myself!"
At this Ryouga's and Ranma's eyes went wide.
"B-but..Aw C'mon Akane! Geeze! I've no time for this."
Before Akane could respond, Ranma snatched P-chan from her
grasp and sprinted into the house.
"RANMA!! OOooo! Honestly!"
~~~
Ryouga-kun and Ranma-kun sat there, opposite ends of the
steaming tub, not looking at each other. A disturbingly uncomfortable
silence passed between the two.
"Okay...When?"
Ryouga looked up and blinked. He looked at Ranma, who was
crossing his arms and looking down at the water.
"Huh?"
"When? When did you know that... "
"..... Yesterday."
"Yesterday? How?"
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"Don't give me that crap, Ryouga! You owe me an explanation!"
"I don't owe you anything, Ranma!"
Again the silence came. Disturbed by a few noisy *Plunk's* as
drops of condensed water fell from the tile roof onto the tile floor.
It continued liked this for a few more moment until Ranma
couldn't stand the silence anymore.
"C'mon Ryouga! I want to know who told you!"
"*Scoff* You wouldn't believe me, anyway." Ryoga stated, looking
away from his rival.
"Try me!"
~~~
*Pliku.. pliku*
Ranma wrinkled up his nose, blinking at what Ryouga had just told
him. The guy was right.. he didn't believe him.
"That has got to be.. the lamest thing I've ever heard! Code
17?"
"Grrrr.. You calling me a liar?"
"You want me to actually believe you? It could've been
after-effects of that old ghouls' potion, or just Akane's cooking by
itself!"
*Pop..pop* "Raaannn-maaaa!" Ryouga raised his fist up to strike
at Ranma for insulting Akane's cooking again. Ranma went into
defensive form, which was kind of odd looking as he was still chest-deep
in water. Ryouga's fist was pulled up like an archer drawing up his
bow. But the arrow was never released. Ryouga shakingly let down his
fist and he looked away from Ranma. Sighing in resignation, he steps out
from the tub. Ranma looked at him, blinking.
"Believe what you want Ranma, but you heard it from yo.. the
old man. This is not easy for me too. *hmph* You think I like the idea
of having you as a brother? Ranma, ever since I met you, my life has
been a living hell! There isn't a day that goes by that I wish I never
met you! And now this? Believe what you want, Ranma. As for me.. as
much as I WANT to, I can't deny this, which is why... *sighs* Which is
why, I'm calling it all off."
Ranma backed up at this, hands in that in that Takahashi-"Oh
Shit!"-pose.
"W-w-what? You're what?"
Ryouga, now fully dressed, looked back at Ranma and scowled.
"Goodbye, Ranma." And with that, Ryouga quickly exited the bathroom
through the door... well, window actually... leaving behind a startled
Ranma.
"....wha... HEY! RYOUGA! WAIT!"
Ranma quickly hopped out of the tub, quickly putting on his
black pants and wrapping a towel around his neck. He followed Ryouga's
trail. (The small crater on the ground from where he landed, and the
new hole in the wall leading to the street.) Ranma looked left, then
right, then up on the rooftops. Nothing. Realizing Ryouga's now long
lost, he growls.
"Ryouga, you JERK!"
~~~
It was near midnight and Ranma was still lying awake in his
futon. His mind repassing over what Ryouga said.
*~"...Ranma, ever since I met you, my life has been a living
hell! There isn't a day that goes by that I wish I never met you!..."~*
Ranma sighed. He couldn't understand why he was so worked up
about it. Ryouga had said that to him countless times before, why should
now be any different?
~Maybe because now, it's a whole different ball game. Ryouga is
your brother! Not just your rival. Brother! And now you have a brother
who hates you! You finally have a brother, and he HATES you!~
Ranma growled, and shook his head, trying to knock out that
voice from his thoughts. He looked back to the familiar ceiling once
more. Moments pass quietly. Then, the rest of their conversation
entered his mind.
*~"...Believe what you want, Ranma. As for me... as much as I
WANT to, I can't deny this, which is why... *sighs* Which is why, I'm
calling it all off."~*
"So why? Why the fucking hell, after all this, is he's just
calling it off?"
Suddenly, a new voice answered, unlike his other voice, which
sounded more like him, this one sounded a bit like his cursed form.
~He's calling it off, because you are his family! Kin. Blood.
To kill you, is to kill his own self. He doesn't hate you, he needs
you. Find him Ranma!~
Ranma shook his head again. Not clear his mind, but to pitty
himself. This was one mess he just couldn't get out of, no matter how hard
he'll try.
~~~
Ryouga had been walking non-stop all night. He never looked up
to see where he was. Of course, this caused him to receive a few
goose-eggs thanks to random poles or trees. He sighed. How easy it was
for Ranma to deny all this. Even after hearing it from himself, and
Genma, he was still denying the truth. Typical. That jerk was to
thick-headed for anything. Just look at the way how he treated Akane!
He should be bowing before the gods to have such a fiancée such as her.
*Sighs*
Ryouga looks up finally, and found himself in a clearing. It
was a beautiful place. There was a little lake nearby, surrounded by
willows and covered in lily pads. Nearby was a fallen log. Odd how it
resembled more like a bench. He shrugged. He looks around some more.
He kind of noticed that there was not as much trees around as expected,
but he figured it was the mist, which had now rolled in, and was now
surrounding the clearing. The mist seemed to be blocking any view
further into the forest. The ground itself was soft and wet because
of the fog. Not wanting to soak himself laying in the grass, he hopped
onto a tree branch, and laid his back against the trunk.
He had forgotten his pack back at the dojo, and was mentally
kicking himself for running out so unexpectedly, but he had no choice.
If Ranma wasn't going to accept the truth, that was fine with him. He
didn't need him. He's lived just fine being an only child. He was used
to it. He has already got a family, and to hell with the Saotomes.
After all, they didn't want him. Since the moment he was born, they
spurned him. They hated him. Why else would they give him away. For
what, some food? Damnit! They actually gave their son away! They
didn't want him. His real parents.. didn't... want him.
Ryouga harshly wiped the tears coming from his eyes and clenched
his fists. Already he was feeling his depression boiling up. Damn, Damn,
DAMN! This is no time to feel self-pity. But it just wasn't fair! Ranma
wasn't the one given up like a sack of rice! If he ever got back to the
Tendo Dojo, he was going to give Ranma one hell of a..... Damn. He
forgot. He called it off. Why the hell did he call it off? Even he
didn't know. Ryouga yawned involuntarily, feeling the sleep coming to
overtake him. He yawned again. Tomorrow, he would think about it
some more. He crossed his arms across his chest and closes his eyes.
Falling into a deep sleep.
Two minutes later, a policeman walked across the clearing,
whistling softly to himself. Night-shifts in Nerima weren't so bad.
After all, the Martial-artists of this town usually chose daytime to
cause their mayhem. As he strolled across the park, he failed to
notice one of the martial artists sleeping soundly on top of a
tree-branch. Well, whether he actually failed to see him or he know
better than to wake him up, only he knew.
~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~
(1): (hehe.. do any of you "Fist of the North-Star" people recognize
these names? I thought so!) Dun worry.. they had nothing to do with the
story.. (that is unless you WANT them to) I just liked the names.
and as always:
C&C Wanted:
Please apply within.
~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~
Ja ne! (Stop this Crazy thing!)
Evil Kasumi
*~"She's really a very sweet girl. She's just a violent maniac!"~*
"If Everyone jumped off a cliff, I'd wait till I was last in line.
Then, the fall won't be so steep and so hard."- me
http://members.nbci.com/GodsEvilSis
**COR's Keeper of the Heituenniichuan**