A/N: One quick clarification. In my story Ranko is not Ranma's other half, or Ranma in girl form. Ranko is the girl who drowned in the spring in Jusenkyo. I thought that calling her Ranko would be more appropriate, but essentially, Ranko is a different person to Ranma. Just wanted to confirm that.
Chapter 3
It was a bright and early morning. Normally Genma would get up and go to train with his son in their early morning warm-up. However, as he walked towards the living room to get his son up, he noticed that Ranma and Ranko were already up. It seemed like they were in a conversation. The sensible thing which Genma should have probably done was walk away until their conversation was done. Yet, instead of that, he decided to eavesdrop on their conversation. It was clear that Ranma was the one asking questions whilst Ranko answered them for him.
"So your name is Ranko?" Ranma asked.
"Yes, you're Ranma, right?" Ranko asked in return.
"Yeah, that's me. You're from Jusenkyo aren't you?"
"Yes."
"How come we're split apart?"
"Because your body is apparently in some sort of conflict, which is why I've been taking control when you turned into a girl. Apparently the only thing we can do is stay separated for 1 month, until your body gets rid of that conflict." She replied, reiterating what Happosai had told everyone.
"1 month?!" Ranma yelled. He was clearly in shock, which was probably due to the time they had to be split apart being so long.
"Yes you idiot! 1 month!" Ranko yelled. It was apparent that she was getting fed up of all the questions being thrown at her.
Ranma didn't reply. He continued staring straight ahead of him. 1 month? He would be a normal person for one month; it was like his dreams had come true. But is that what he really wanted? Did he really want to get rid of the curse once and for all?
"Ranma?" Ranko asked, noticing the guy in front of her had a distant look in his eyes.
He still didn't reply. He was busy thinking about what he really wanted. He was reminded of his nightmare just a night ago. He wondered that if he did get rid of the curse, would he end up regretting it?
"Ranma?" Ranko asked again, hoping to get a response out of him this time.
He still didn't respond.
"Ranma!" She yelled, slapping him in the face. Ranma's eyes jolted back to reality as he stared back into Ranko's eyes. Ranko withdrew her angry gaze immediately and stared back into his eyes. They were in complete silence for a couple of minutes. Ranma and Ranko were staring at each other in the eye, while Genma was anxious to see what would happen next. What he didn't notice, though, was that he was about to step onto the broken piece of the floor, which would definitely make a loud sound. It did make a loud sound, which Genma cringed at. Ranma and Ranko broke their gaze and turned to see who their intruder was. Genma could only smile sheepishly at them as they both stared at him.
"What were you doing here, pop?" Ranma asked.
"I came to wake you up for our early morning workout, but I see you're a bit preoccupied right now." Genma said teasingly. He got the response he was looking for. Both Ranma and Ranko blushed, which very quickly turned into glares. Genma started shivering.
"Look, it was only a joke!" Genma laughed nervously, hoping that he would get out of the mess he got himself in, in one piece.
"Right. Anyway let's start the morning workout." Ranma said. His voice was very sinister and maniacal. Genma knew what this meant. His son would not hold back in the morning spar.
"Ri-Right! Let's go." Genma stated nervously.
"Wait! Let me join you!" Ranko pleaded, hoping to get involved in their workout.
"Ranko? Why do you want to join us?" Ranma asked.
"Because I'm also a martial artist, so I'm interested. And I would probably get bored staying here. So, what do you say?" She asked again, hoping to get a good answer.
"Okay, why not? You can join us." Genma replied.
"Thank you very much Mr Saotome." Ranko said in response. She also bowed her head in respect to Genma.
"Oh, it's nothing. You can even spar with us if you want." Genma offered. His main reason for offering that was to see how strong she was.
"Okay then, I'll spar with both of you after you two are done." Ranko replied in a happy tone.
"It's done!" Genma said loudly as he began walking towards the dojo, with Ranma and Ranko in pursuit. He wanted to see whether Ranko could match Ranma and himself in combat. She probably won't though; I don't think she's that strong.
Okay, I take what I said back, she is that strong. Genma thought as he got beaten almost instantly by Ranko. He didn't even know how it happened. One moment he was in his fighting stance, the next he was on the floor.
"Talk about embarrassing, you lost even quicker than when I beat you." Ranma stated casually, further destroying his father's pride.
"Alright then, you fight her! Let's see how quickly you lose to her!" Genma yelled in his angry response, hoping to see his ungrateful son get beaten down by the seemingly skilled martial artist Ranko.
"Well, what do you say, Ranko?" Ranma asked as he looked at her directly.
"Sure, bring it on!" She replied, she agreed quickly because she felt quite confident after her victory against Mr Saotome. She was also happy to have another opponent.
They both went off to the opposite sides of the dojo and turned around. They had mirrored fighting stances and were ready to fight, glaring at each other in the eye. The Tendo family had all woken up at this point to see what the big fuss was. Any sleep they had in their eyes had immediately been removed from seeing what was about to happen.
"Alright! 3! 2! 1! Fight!" Genma yelled at the top of his lungs, whilst banging the gong that he had pulled out from seemingly nowhere.
Within seconds the two were at each other's throats. As the first few blows connected, Ranma started to fight on the offensive, as he normally did, attacking and searching for any weak point in Ranko's defence. However, Ranko appeared to be dodging his blows in such an easy manner that she made Ranma look incredibly slow, when it was the other way around. She wasn't tiring out either, that was what annoyed Ranma. As he was about to attempt another punch, he was quickly beaten down by a quick kick from Ranko.
As he got up, reeling from the kick, Ranma quickly realised that Ranko was no ordinary martial artist. He decided to concentrate on his defence and let his muscles settle into the rhythm of their little dance. As he expected, Ranko started to go on the offensive, trying to break through his defences. Unluckily for her, Ranma had a lot of practice in using his defence. He had gotten most of it from battling Ryoga and all the other people who tried to attack him.
After several minutes of attempting to get past Ranma's defences, Ranko still didn't show signs of losing her temper. She was slightly shocked at how strong Ranma was, though. She had expected a quick defeat like her previous match with Genma, not an equal opponent.
After more time had quickly passed between the two, Genma realised that those two were evenly matched. They had counters for each of each other's moves. It was impossible for either of them to win. He decided that those two would have to stop, before they use up all their energy in this one fight.
"Stop! That's enough you two. This match is a draw! Besides it's time for breakfast!" Genma declared, hoping that the two would cease their breath-taking fight. As much as he would have liked to continue watching that fight, he couldn't allow them to waste all their energy this early in the morning.
Ranma and Ranko both heaved a sigh of relief. They were both kneeling down onto the floor, breathing slightly quicker than normal. They both looked up towards each other. Ranma smirked as he got up from kneeling on the floor.
"Heh, it's been a while since I've had such a strong opponent. Nice match Ranko." Ranma stated as he walked up to her. He held out his hand for her to pick up. She picked it up, wearing the same smirk that Ranma had just now.
"The same goes to you Ranma Saotome. Same to you." She grinned at him. He returned her grin as he helped her get up. As soon as she got up, they both turned around to see the Tendo family and Genma look at them dumbfounded. Since when did Ranma act so…noble? He's not meant to act noble!
"Well, shouldn't we be eating breakfast by now?" Ranma asked them, wearing the same smirk he had moments ago.
The surprised family just nodded and went off to go and eat.
"Oh and Kasumi, can you please make a bit extra than normal? I think me and Ranko will need it after a match like that." Ranma reminded her. He was actually very hungry. He imagined that Ranko would be as well. As he thought about Ranko, one question came to his mind immediately. Why is she so strong?
After everyone had finished eating breakfast, well after Ranma and Ranko had finished their large supply of food, they turned to ask Ranko a few questions. Soun Tendo was the first.
"So, Ranko, how did you manage to beat Genma here so easily?" He asked, desperate to know how his friend got defeated so quickly. Ranma had told them of Ranko's spar with Genma and how Genma had lost almost instantly.
"I just managed to catch him off guard very quickly, that's it." Ranko said casually. She was quite tired from sparing with Ranma so she didn't have too much energy to respond in a better manner. She also didn't feel like bruising the man's ego any further, after all he allowed her to spar with them. She then looked to Akane, who looked as if she was about to burst from asking her question.
"How on earth did you get so strong? You're as strong, if not stronger than Ranma is!" Akane yelled, asking that one question which was on everyone's mind. Ranma would normally rebuke at being called weaker compared to someone else but he also wanted to know why Ranko was so strong, so he resisted the urge to deny Akane's statement.
"I've been learning martial arts since I was 2 years old, and I've been training every day since then." Ranko replied. She only gave the brief account of why she was strong though, these people didn't need to know that her father continually pressed her to become one of the strongest fighters in the world.
"That's amazing! This means you started learning martial arts at around the same time when I began teaching Ranma the martial arts." Genma stated quite loudly.
"You and Ranma also have mirrored fighting stances as well." Akane added, noticing how similar the two were in their fighting life.
"Huh? Now that I think about it…..you're right Akane! They have the exact same stance and fighting ability! This can only mean one thing!" Genma yelled out, noticing what Akane had picked up on. He had a strange glint in his eyes. This was noticed by Ranma.
"What are you saying now, pop?" Ranma sighed out loudly. Whenever his father had that glint in his eyes it only meant trouble for him. To make sure his father didn't further embarrass him he shot a glare towards him. It was a pain for him to actually deal with his father's stupid antics, but he was getting used to it, he also found out how to keep him quiet. Unfortunately for Ranma his glare didn't appear to work, his father just had to ruin his day for him no matter what.
"Why, I'm implying that you two are in love of course!" Genma stated. Kasumi gasped as the rest of the Tendo family went deathly silent. Ranma and Ranko began blushing fervently, which very quickly turned into deadly glares towards Genma. He immediately started walking backwards hoping to avoid the two.
"Ah, you two know that it was a joke right?" Genma asked nervously. Ranma and Ranko said nothing; they just continued to walk closer towards Genma, still holding their deadly glares. He gulped
"Look, why don't we talk this out? I can explain." He laughed nervously, hoping against hope that the two would listen to him. They didn't.
"Get lost old man!" Both Ranma and Ranko yelled simultaneously, they even kicked him out of the dojo at the same time. They both, then, turned around to meet the unwavering gaze of Soun Tendo.
"You two, is what Genma said true?" Soun asked, his voice was completely serious.
"No it isn't, of course not! We don't even know each other that well!" They both exclaimed hoping to convince Mr Tendo that what Genma said was a pathetic lie. However, Soun Tendo was not easily convinced.
"You seem to be talking in unison a lot. Is it just a coincidence?" He argued, batting an eyelash towards them. He didn't want to believe that Genma Saotome was right about those two but the evidence seemed incriminating.
"That's because we've been inside the same body for over 2 years! It's like Happosai said, we would subconsciously know each other!" Ranma countered, trying desperately to prove that there was nothing between him and his female counterpart, Ranko. Why does pop always have to make everything so damn complicated! He thought angrily to himself.
Soun Tendo thought about it for a minute. He supposed that they were right; they had been stuck together in the same body for a while now. They would have gotten used to each other's habits by now.
"Alright then, I agree that there's nothing between the two of you." He declared. Ranma and Ranko heaved a sigh of relief. The last thing they both wanted was to cause tension with the Tendos.
"Say, now that I think about where is the Master any-"
"What a haul! What a haul!" The said master exclaimed as he jumped from the window onto the floor of the Tendo dojo. He then looked around to see everyone looking at him. He eyed Ranko for a while before jumping on her chest.
"Somebody pinch me, because I think I've just died and gone to heaven!" He yelled, rubbing his face all over Ranko's chest. He apparently didn't notice the deadly glare Ranko was sending towards him.
"Grrrrrrrr...damn you dirty old man! Get out of here!" She yelled, punching him in the same direction where Mr Saotome ended up flying.
"Well now, are we done? I have to see Dr Tofu about something. Say, Ranma, Akane would you like to come with me? I'm sure Dr Tofu would like to see you both again" Kasumi asked in her usual sweet innocent voice.
"Yeah, let's go before the freak gets back here." Ranma agreed. He then turned around to Ranko.
"Ranko, you wanna join us?" He asked her.
"Me?"
"Yeah, come join us! It'll be fun." He asked her again, this time smiling at her.
"Well…okay. I'll join you guys then, if it's not too much trouble for you?" She replied. She was blushing at the smile Ranma just gave her. She didn't know why but she was feeling strange about that smile that Ranma just gave her. She began thinking to herself about what it meant.
Akane glared at her, she didn't like how Ranma smiled at her. Why was he acting so differently towards Ranko? He was acting much nicer to her than he did to anyone else, which really annoyed Akane. She also didn't like how Ranko blushed in response. She didn't know what kind of person Ranko was, or whether or not she liked Ranma, but she didn't like what was happening one bit.
"Oh no, that would be no trouble at all. The more the merrier I say, right Akane?" Kasumi responded pleasantly, looking at her youngest sister for a response.
"Yeah she's right, the more the merrier." Akane answered through gritted teeth. She really didn't like the vibe Ranko was giving on Ranma. If she thought she would be able to get closer to him that easily, she obviously didn't know Akane Tendo.
"Uh, let's go before Dr Tofu ends up having to wait for us, he wouldn't want that, right?" Ranma asked, just now noticing the glare Akane was sending him and Ranko. He didn't know what he had done this time but, as usual, it didn't look good for him.
"Right! Let's go. We'll be back soon, father." Kasumi stated as she walked out of the door, with Ranma, Ranko and Akane in pursuit. Ranma for the sake of his life and well-being, Ranko for the sake of figuring out her feelings and Akane for the sake of pummelling Ranma with her huge mallet.
