Chimidoro no Ryuu
Chapter 3
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Hino, Ron
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*** WARNING! FIRST DRAFT! ***
Chapters 3-6 are in desperate need of revision, perhaps even total rewrites of the plot. I've sat on them for a while, but I'm not sure what elements I want to keep and what's a useless pile of biological waste. I've been told I let people get too far out of character, but sited examples and suggestions would be much appreciated, as well as anything else that sucks about it. Please review these chapters and then forget you ever saw them! Only Chapters 1 & 2 should be considered ready for public viewing.
Suggestions to hinoron@hotmail.com
Thanks much for your assistance.
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Just a brief foreword:
1. Ranma and friends are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and a bunch of corporations.
Except for the new characters, everyone else belongs to her and them. I don't
own them. Please don't take ideas or (my) characters from this story without my
permission.
2. "Chimidoro no Ryuu" means, loosely translated (by which I mean, badly
translated) "Bloody Dragon". That would make the full name of the School
"Chimidoro no Ryuu Ryu" (ryu meaning a martial arts school/style). To avoid the
confusion, it will always be written as the Chimidoro no Ryuu School, or the shorter Chimidoro school, though in the second case it is a reference more to Reiko's family name then the school's title.
3. I got the term Luanshengniichuan from a Chinese-born friend of mine (Thanks
Wei!). The 1st term she gave me was Shuangbaotainiichuan. I picked the shorter
of the two, (interesting how they're only 4 and 5 'letters' respectively in
Chinese, and 17 and 20 in English). What does it mean, you ask? Geez, can't
you wait 6 lines?
And with that out of the way, we begin again.
[Jyusenkyo]
"Luanshengniichuan?"
"Yes, Miss. Is very very cursed spring. There very tragic story of
mother of twin girls, who trip and drop babies into spring, 460 year ago. Only
honorable ancestor who guard spring keep crying woman from jumping into spring
after two baby. Now, whoever fall in spring, become twins... I think. Very
strange and cursed spring, even for Jyusenkyo." The guide finished. This was
probably the most feared of all the pools he guarded, according to what had been
passed down to him by his father.
The girl who had come to him was recovering from serious injuries, in fact
her arm was still in a sling. There was slightly insane gleam in her eyes as
she gazed down into the pool in question. The guide hoped she wouldn't try to
jump into the spring.
The results of more than one dunking in Jyusenkyo springs were often
unpredictable and dangerous.
"So if girl fall in spring, she turn to two babies?" Shampoo asked
carefully.
"No know for sure. I never see anyone fall in that spring in all time I
work here. Maybe two baby, maybe two young girl, maybe just one girl, with twin
baby sister. No know. Please step back from pool Miss."
Shampoo thought about it for a moment. "Is worth risk."
"No Miss! Please no jump!"
"What you talking? Shampoo want you fill barrel with Luanshengniichuan
for take back to Japan!"
"Oh."
***
"Keep trying Ranma. Clear your mind."
"It's clear dammit!" Ranma-chan growled.
"If it were really clear, you wouldn't be angry enough to cuss at me. Let
it go." Reiko answered. She sat calmly on one of the big rocks on the bank.
Ranma-chan sighed and focused. The water of the little stream swirled
around her ankles. Reiko nodded with approval. Ranma-chan built her ki and
released it upwards, taking water with it. The water sprayed about as high as
her waist. Reiko had been able to raise the water as high as the high tree
branches.
Ranma-chan sank to her knees in the shallow water, panting heavily. "How
was that?"
"Much better Ranma. You're progressing quite quickly, but you've still
got a long way to go. This is sort of like a muscle that you've never used in
your life. You have to build it up strong before you can do anything useful
with it."
"So I can't even _try_ the Higi Ryuuseishou yet?" Ranma-chan asked,
frustrated.
"You could," Reiko shrugged, "but you'd only fall flat on your face."
Ranma-chan flopped on her back in the creek, groaning.
"Stop whining!" Rei snapped. "It took me half a year to learn this. I
think it should only take you a month. Not all techniques are easy to pick up."
Ranma-chan lay in the water, lolling her head around form side to side.
"Say Reiko, I've been thinking."
"I'll call the newspapers." Reiko smirked.
"No seriously. This technique is supposed to push against the air around
you and shoot your body forward to strike the opponent, right.
"Right."
"What if you could push down while you were standing still? Would you be
able to float in the air?"
Reiko rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Theoretically, it's possible, but I
sure as hell can't do it. You saw how hard it is to move a bit of water, can
you imagine how strong your ki would have to be to lift a human body? Shit
Ranma! If you meet up with a guy who can float himself in the air using his ki,
turn and fucking RUN the other way. That's just scary.
"Actually, I guess I could use it to give myself a boost when jumping,
might be able to add a metre or two to my distance. It'd be pretty draining
though, so I'd only use it in an emergency."
"Why do you say 'I' and not 'we', shouldn't I be able to do it too?"
"Not for quite a while, Ranma. Now get back up and try again."
Ranma-chan groaned again and stood up, shaking some of the water out of
her hair.
If nothing else, this was the cleanest training she'd ever done.
***
One Sunday morning a week later, Reiko was resting from her training in
the Hiryuushotenha. She was finally ready to learn the final blow, after two
weeks of training. She didn't have the urgency that Ranma had felt when he
learned it in only three days.
Reiko had almost fallen into a lazy Sunday snooze on the porch, when she
felt eyes on her.
She quickly rolled sideways off the porch, landing on her feet. The water
balloon burst across the polished wood.
"Aiya! Shampoo miss!"
"What's with the water balloons, Shampoo." Rei asked in confusion. "I'm
not in the mood to play kid's games."
Shampoo grinned. "Is no game. You know Airen's curse, yes?"
"Who's 'Airen'?" Reiko asked, still confused. She didn't speak any
Mandarin at all.
"Airen is husband, Ranma."
(Author's note: actually, according to my Chinese friend, "Airen" could mean a
wife too. Literally, it just means one's lover.)
"Oh, you mean how he turn's into a girl when he gets wet?"
"That cause he hit with Nyanniichuan water from Jyusenkyo." She hefted
one of the several balloons she carried. "This water also from Jyusenkyo. Evil
girl take Luanshengniichuan!" She cried as she hurled another balloon. She
seemed much healthier now, though Reiko noticed that she was throwing with her
left arm.
Reiko skipped to one side. "So this is water from Jyusenkyo, eh? What
does lon-shen, or whatever, mean in Japanese?"
"Evil girl find out for self." Shampoo yelled. All the commotion was
bringing the other inhabitants out to watch. Ranma decided Rei didn't need help
and watched with interest.
Reiko continued to dodge balloons. "I'm afraid I'm not _that_ curious.
You're going to have to tell me before you run out of balloons."
Shampoo growled. She now held the very last of the Luanshengniichuan
balloons in her hand. She took careful aim at Reiko, who leaned calmly against
the big tree, grinning.
Shampoo missed. The water splashed harmlessly down the tree trunk, as
Reiko was naturally no longer there.
Shampoo sank to her knees in the grass.
"Sham... Shampoo lose."
Reiko walked up cautiously. "So now that you can't splash me, can you
tell what you were trying to turn me into?"
"Shampoo no know Japanese word."
"Yeah right." Reiko muttered. She kicked Shampoo's good arm out from
under her, leaving her face-first in the lawn. She put a foot on the Chinese
girl's neck. "Tell me what kind of spring it was or I'll break both your arms
this time.
"Spring of Drowned Twin Babies!" A scratchy voice yelled.
"What!?" Reiko spun around to face the voice, just in time to take a
water balloon in the face.
"Great going, Great-grandmother!" Shampoo cried. She had been able to
dodge out of the way to avoid being splashed.
"I didn't think you'd be able to handle this one by yourself. Balloon's
aren't the most aerodynamic of missiles. Even I might have had difficulty
hitting her without the element of surprise on my side." Cologne smiled.
"Look!" Akane cried, pointing at Reiko.
Reiko clutched her head in pain as the water soaked her through. The sky
went dark. She screamed as her body shrank into her gi, getting smaller and
smaller. Her cries turned into an infant's wails as she shrank to a baby's age.
She continued to shrink, beyond the point of birth. The fetus became
smaller still, until it was a zygote. It became a single cell, floating in the
air, and would have been too tiny for the horrified watchers to see, if not for
the fact that it was glowing.
Lightning struck from the cloudless sky.
The cell split.
The process began to reverse. The zygote split and grew, forming two
fetuses, two infants, two children. The twins cried in suffering as they
continued to grow. The cries became screams as the children became teenagers.
Soon they were very recognizable as the girl everyone had known as Reiko
Chimidoro, one a mirror image of the other, right down to the scars that covered
their naked bodies.
The screams stopped.
The sky became light again.
And the two collapsed onto the pile of Reiko's clothes.
While everyone else hadn't yet closed their mouths, Kasumi had produced
one of Akane's gis.
"Akane, I think one of them will be needing this."
"U-um, right. Ranma! Don't look!"
"All those fireworks and you don't want me to look?" Ranma asked
incredulously.
*BASH*
"They're naked, baka!"
Akane stepped off of Ranma's head and quickly ran to the twin Reikos. She
dressed one unconscious girl in her gi, and the other in Reiko's.
"What you thinking, Great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked. "They no twin
babies. What do now?"
"I'm not sure Shampoo, but we must turn this to our advantage. How about
'divide and conquer'?"
"Is good strategy." Shampoo said. The twins were beginning to stir.
Shampoo jogged up and turned one groggy girl to face the other, whom Akane was
trying to reassure.
"There no can be two Reiko Chimidoro. You must fight, kill her, so you
can be the only one. That only way to continue normal life."
"What the hell are you talking about, Shampoo?" Akane yelled. "This is
all your fault!"
Ranma blinked in surprise. "You mean it's not my fault for once?" He
muttered to himself, rubbing his head.
The twins looked at each other; then, almost simultaneously; they smiled
grimly.
"She's right, though." One said.
"We must fight." The other agreed, standing.
"Dominance must be established, if nothing else."
"I agree. Although, we did promise not to kill anymore, and..."
"...even under such unusual circumstances, that promise must hold."
"Then let's begin." They both took fighting stances.
"No!" Akane yelled. "You'll get hurt!"
Shampoo giggled. Her plan worked perfectly.
The twins smirked again. "No need..."
"...to worry, Akane."
"Neither of us..."
"...is going to have a scratch."
"Huh?" Akane said
"What?" Shampoo said.
Both twins spun away from each other and turned on Shampoo. One crouched
low for a hard punch to Shampoo's gut. The other leapt for a simultaneous
flying kick to her jaw. Shampoo flew back from the double blows and slammed
against the tree. She slumped to the ground, out cold.
"Now for..."
"...the other one." The twins growled, facing the old woman.
"Man! I wouldn't want to be in the old ghoul's place right now." Ranma
whispered.
Cologne took a few steps backward. Logic told her that Reiko Chimidoro
was not quite in her league, but for those who knew it, the Bloody Dragon
School's name created a kind of fear like no other.
And she had to face two of them.
Both Reikos leapt at the old amazon like snarling beasts, but their
fighting method(s) weren't wild. Cologne was hard pressed to fend off the
vicious attacks of such a skilled (pair of) fighter(s). Fortunately, they
seemed to be taking turns, one for a few moments, then the other.
Unfortunately, that meant Cologne was constantly busy defending, and would
tire twice as fast at the twins. Whatever advantage the old woman had in skill
was inadequate against this vicious pair.
After a short while, Ranma realized that the twins had changed tactics;
they were both going around in circles. Was Reiko trying to use the
Hiryuushotenha? No, maybe it was Cologne. Both twins seemed absolutely
infuriated. They were not putting forth the 'soul of ice' necessary to contrast
an opponent's hot battle aura. It must be Cologne's spiral then.
Cologne was almost surprised to realize that they were going in circles,
but that suited her fine. She began dodging in the appropriate directions to
form the spiral. With the battle aura these two were putting out, this
Hiryuushotenha was going to be a powerful one.
Cologne was one step away from the finishing blow when both Reikos stopped
dead. They cooled their auras rapidly, then simultaneously struck upward
creating two powerful Hiryuushotenha tornadoes formed from the trail of their
OWN battle auras. The twin tornadoes spun in the same directions, both
clockwise, which meant that the point where they met (where Cologne was
standing) was being crossed by two violent winds going in opposite directions.
Cologne screamed long and loud as she was savagely buffeted into the sky.
The two Reikos caught their breath and smiled at each other.
"That was..."
"...really cool!"
"Think she'll live?"
"Do we really care?"
"No, but what about that promise?"
"Oh yeah. Well, I don't think he'll count it if..."
"...if the death was accidental."
"Right.
Akane and Ranma walked up to the pair.
"This is... weird." Akane said, looking from one to the other.
"You have no idea." Both Reikos said simultaneously.
"Yeah, like, what do we call the two of you?" Ranma asked.
"Reiko." Both said. They looked at each other in surprise.
"But I'm the original." Both insisted. They blinked at each other, then
sat down hard in the grass.
"I guess that this means..."
"...that we both have the same memories."
"So we're not just twins..."
"...We're perfect copies."
"So we have to call you Reiko1 and Reiko2?" Ranma asked.
"But who would be one..."
"...and who would be two?"
"We're both 'Reiko'"
"We even think the same way."
"This is giving me a headache." Ranma said.
"Me too." Akane said.
The twins sighed and looked at each other.
"So what now?"
"You're asking me?"
Kasumi stepped over Shampoo's body and offered a suggestion. "Why don't
you two go have a bath? You're all sweaty from exercising."
"Not a bad idea..."
"...for a start."
"Simplicity first..."
"...then the complicated stuff later."
With that, both rose and headed for the bath. The one in Akane's gi
paused and turned back for a second. The other stopped and waited.
"Thanks for the gi, Akane. I'll change into something else after my bath
and give it back."
"No problem." Akane said.
The Reiko in the red gi cocked her head at the other as they headed
inside. "So we can think separately. I didn't even think of thanking her."
"Well, you're not wearing it." The other reasoned.
"Good point. I suppose the only thing that separates us now..."
"...is the memories and experiences we create form this point on."
They entered the change room and stripped.
They smiled at each other.
"At least we can both say that..."
"...we have the most beautiful sister we've ever seen." They both
chuckled.
As the stepped into the bathroom, both made for the stool in front of the
shower. They stopped and looked at each other, smirked, and started a round of
Janken (rock-paper-scissors) to decide who would go first. After 7 ties, one
shoved the other onto the stool. They helped each other wash their hair and
scrubbed each other's back.
"You know," the one washing said, "I've been thinking."
"I'm probably thinking the same thing, but shoot."
"Would it be wrong for us to... you know."
"No. Why should it be?"
"Exactly, because it would be just like..."
Ranma, having gotten himself splashed by Happosai for a grope, was waiting
outside the bathroom. She hoped to be able to change back before the freak got
back. He should be returning to earth any second now. What was taking the
twins so long? Ranma slid the changeroom door open and listened near the
bathroom door. She heard one or both of them (it was hard to tell) making
strange moaning noises.
"Are they giving each other backrubs or something?" She pondered. She
knocked on the sliding door.
"Hey, can you two hurry up, please?"
"Just a few more minutes, Ranma. We're..."
"...Almost there!"
Ranma scratched her head. "Almost where?" she muttered to herself, before
returning to the hall.
The twins finished their... activity, which stretched the definition of
masturbation about as far as it can go, and decided they needed to wash again.
After a quick scrub, they both slid into the hot water of the Tendo's huge
bathtub.
Outdoors, Kasumi was hanging up the laundry when she heard thunder begin
to rumble.
"Oh my. I better get this down then." She looked up at the sky and
stopped. There were no more clouds then usual, but the sky was rapidly
darkening by some other means, as though night was suddenly dropping on them at
11:30 am.
"Oh... dear!"
Ranma was tapping her foot impatiently outside in the hall when the
screams started. They drowned out the sharp crack of thunder that startled
Kasumi into grabbing the laundry and dashing inside, clouds or no clouds. Ranma
pulled open the door and bolted into the changeroom. The twins were still in
the bathroom. She hesitated a moment; they were naked after all. However
concern soon overrode embarrassment and she dashed inside.
Ranma was just in time to see Reiko collapse facedown into the bathwater.
She quickly ran forward and pulled the unconscious Reiko out, looking
around.
"Where's the other one?"
Pulling Reiko out and setting her head on her lap had gotten Ranma a little bit wet. As her body changed into his body, understanding dawned.
"Oh, I get it! She changed back into an only child."
Ranma had just finished a quick check of Reiko's breathing when the Akane
came running through the door.
"What was that screa- Ranma?"
"Hey Akane, she chang-"
*SLAP*
"OW! What did I do?"
"That's what I want to know!" Akane boiled. "What did you do to her
while she's taking her bath that made her scream like that, huh? YOU ANIMAL!"
*BASH*CRUNCH*BANG*
"I didn't do nothin'! Waah! Akane, put down the ax, please!!!"
"I'll castrate you, you HENTAI!"
Hours later, when Reiko was awake, and Ranma's privates were safe (for the
moment), the whole story came out.
"When I... or her... um... well one of us, at any rate." Reiko said,
clearly still confused. "That person got into the tub, and nothing happened,
but when she- I- ARGH! When we both were in, the change started."
"I suppose both twins have to get wet with hot water for the change to
occur." Soun said.
"Interesting." Genma said.
"Funny," Reiko growled, "the word I would have chosen is excruciating."
"It really hurts that much?" Ranma asked.
Rei nodded. "It's like no pain I ever felt in my life. I'm not sure
quite how to explain it... Imagine what it's like for a human body to grow up.
Everything that happens to it; every cut, scrape, bruise, and broken bone; every
headache, muscle cramp, pins-and-needles and case of indigestion. Now imagine
having all of them at almost the exact same instant. And you can feel it both
times, getting younger and growing back up."
"Wow." Akane said quietly.
"No wonder you scream." Ranma said.
"I actually don't mind being a twin; it's a little confusing trying to
sort it out when I'm just me again, but having a sister- er... being sisters is
kinda nice. But the changing..." she trailed off. No one said anything for a
while.
Akane was thinking about Reiko's childhood. Constantly being beaten and
hurt by her insane father, Reiko's 'instant' was probably a lot more painful
than most people's might have been.
Akane was taking a bath, when she heard a knock on the inner door. She
started a bit; there weren't many people in this house (or the city, for that
matter) who could make it that far without making any sound.
"Akane, can I join you?" Reiko asked.
"Sure."
Reiko sat down on the stool and set about washing herself, with warm water
of course.
"So, how are you handling all this?" Akane asked from the tub. Reiko's
hands froze.
They started again a moment later, as Reiko finished and settled herself
into the bath. Only then did she answer. Akane thought she looked awfully pale
for someone sitting in hot water.
"Akane... do you ever get scared?"
"Huh? Well, sure, sometimes. Doesn't everybody?"
"I don't. Ever. I get angry instead. Maybe my father trained me that
way, maybe I made myself that way so I wouldn't be afraid of him, but in either
case, I never get scared. Not since Mom died."
Akane didn't know what to say.
"Akane, I'm... scared."
"Reiko..."
Akane watched in shock as the stone-faced warrior began to crack before
her eyes. A tear rolled down Reiko's cheek as she started to shake. "I... oh
fuck, I'm crying! I'm sorry, I..."
Akane hugged Reiko. "Don't apologise, let it all out."
And as the final tumbler, shame, fell free, the floodgates opened wide and
Reiko sobbed into Akane's shoulder. She clutched Akane like she needed her to
live. Reiko cried for a long time. Akane felt a little weird having another
girl's naked breasts pressed against her own, but Reiko really needed this.
Akane knew her priorities.
"You know, [sniff] it's not just the pain..."
"Hmm?"
"The change, it's not the physical pain that's the worst. The change
brings back all the painful memories and emotions too. I saw flashes of growing
up; the day Mom died, all the times he hurt her. All the nights I cried myself
to sleep in her arms, before she went to lie down beside that monster like the
dutiful wife she was. Every one of those moments, all piled on top of one
another in the space of a few seconds. It's like my heart rips apart from
grief.
"I know I'll get used to it, getting hit with the pain. I'll harden
myself against the pain, and eventually I won't feel it anymore. That's fine
for the physical suffering, but I want the grief. I want to be sad when I think
about my mother. That's the pain that drives me on, gives me purpose. If I
become indifferent to my mother's death, what kind of monster would that make
me? I don't want that to happen. I can't let that happen. I have to get rid
of this curse!"
"Shh, don't think of it like that. Every time you feel grief for your
mother, treat it as a reminder of what you have to do. Then you'll never become
indifferent."
"[Sniff] Maybe you're right. I maybe I won't become indifferent, maybe
I'll just go insane." Reiko laughed at that thought.
Akane tried to.
Reiko let go of Akane and stood from the bath. "Time to be the fearless
warrior again." She grinned. She paused at the door. "Akane... thanks."
"Anytime." Akane smiled.
"Oh, no! She's leaving?" A slightly scratchy voice whined.
Reiko and Akane both spun towards the window. Happosai had been sitting
unnoticed on the window ledge.
"I was kind of hoping for some sort of hot lesbian scene." He grumbled.
Akane shrieked and sank deeper into the water, covering her front. Reiko
didn't bother. She leapt across the intervening distance like a panther,
pouncing on Happosai and knocking them both out into the yard.
Perhaps Happosai might have been able to dodge better if he hadn't been
concentrating on Reiko's firm breasts, swinging freely through the air. Oh, he
loved the way they bounced as the two (people) landed, she driving his breath
away (by slamming him into the ground). How delightfully they moved as she
pivoted to draw back her arm for the vicious crane strike. And one mustn't
forget the mossy grotto between her thighs, which spread slightly for his
viewing pleasure as she lifted him well off the ground with a groin kick. Hmm,
it seemed that extreme pain was threatening to break his concentration. He
redoubled his efforts to take in her lovely body. Her breasts lifted adorably
as she raised both arms, curling her hands into ripping Tiger-claw strikes.
Shortly after she raked them down, his observation was being blocked by some
unimportant warm red liquid that frustrated him by dripping into his eyes. He
couldn't see anything through this stupid red junk! Soon, the world faded from
the warm red to a cold black. Damn!
Reiko wiped her fingers off on the grass. "I thought this guy was
supposed to be some great master. He went down without throwing a punch. Hmph,
well that's what you get for eavesdropping on a private conversation you
hentai!" Reiko turned to see that most of the household was staring at her from
the living room. "What?"
"Um, maybe you should put some clothes on?" Kasumi suggested politely.
Reiko blinked and remembered her current state. "Oops!" She calmly
covered her important bits.
Akane ran from the bath in a white cotton yukata, with another under her
arm. After pausing to kick the slack-jawed Ranma in the back of the head, she
threw Reiko some cover in all due haste.
"Why'd you jump out like that without clothes?" Akane demanded.
"Sorry about that, I guess everyone has their own set of priorities.
Ranma will agree with me, I'm sure. Ranma?" Reiko pulled him up by his pig-
tail and slapped him awake.
"Uhh?"
"Ranma, if Happosai splashed you into a girl when you were naked, what
would you do first; cover yourself, or bash him?"
"Bash him." Ranma said without hesitation.
Reiko dropped his head back to the floor. "See?"
"But Ranma's a guy; you're a girl!" Akane insisted.
Reiko shrugged. "I guess I'm just not much of a girl, then."
"Don't say that! What about what you just-"
Reiko snapped her a cold glare that cut Akane's sentence off short.
"What were you just saying, Akane?" Nabiki asked.
"N-nothing. There's nothing. She's never shown a moment of feminine
weakness, to my knowledge."
Reiko smiled, giving her a wink.
"Lunch is ready, if you two want to get dressed." Kasumi said happily.
***
"Great-grandmother, evil-girl beat Shampoo, twice. Must give Kiss of
Death?"
"Hmm. According to tradition, yes. On the other hand, it would be
foolish to go after her in the same way as you did Son-in-law when you thought
he was a girl. We must satisfy our honour, but I don't think we can do it in
the normal way. Chimidoro Reiko was too much for you before, and thanks to that
botched-up curse, she's now twice as dangerous. To formally give the Kiss of
Death would only warn her of the coming danger. If we are to kill her, we shall
have to use our brains more than our Amazon strength."
"Great-grandmother have gift for understating obvious." Shampoo muttered.
"Lights out you two." The nurse said, as she slid the curtain between
their hospital beds.
"Hmph. Well, it appears we'll have plenty of spare time to come up with a
plan." Cologne muttered.
"What Shampoo say before?" The girl sneered.
"Watch your tone! If my arms weren't encased in plaster, I'd smack you
for your impudence!"
"Shampoo safe then, crazy old woman!" She stuck out her tongue audibly.
"Nyee!"
"Why you little brat! I- ARRRGH! That hurt!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Alright you two! Time to go to sleep!" The nurse said insistently.
***
"That wretched... Girl!" Kodachi snarled, frustrated at not being able to
find an appropriate adjective. Why couldn't she have a more distinguishing
characteristic, like the pig-tailed-girl?
"Curse her! She frustrates me at every turn! I can't even curse her in
the traditional Kunou family manner!"
"Why not simply use her name, Mistress?" Sasuke asked. He stood at the
side of her bed, fanning her with a palm branch.
She swatted at him, but missed when moving brought pain... well, discomfort anyway. "Urgh! Oohh."
"Mistress! Please, you'll aggravate your injuries." Sasuke pleaded.
Kodachi had little choice but to relent. The severe blow to her solar
plexus was badly bruised, or had been a week ago. To move about normally was
slightly uncomfortable, therefore, the noble heiress to the house of Kunou was
bedridden, being waited on hand and foot by her loyal Bootlic- um, Ninja,
Sasuke.
"That trollop doesn't deserve the dignity of being referred to by her
name. What was it again, anyway?"
"Chimidoro Reiko, Mistress."
"Hmph! A filthy commoner, no doubt. Yet one should be certain of such
things. Sasuke! I want you to check her background. I want to know exactly
who it is I must destroy to free my Darling Ranma."
"Yes Mistress! I'll go immediately to city hall and have her name traced.
If a nobleman so much as sneezed on one of her ancestors, I'll discover it."
"Not now, you fool! Who would fan me if you left? Go tomorrow, on your
day off."
"B-but Mistress, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of me having a-"
"SASUKE!"
"[sigh] yes Mistress."
"And fan harder. I'm getting flushed here."
"Yes Mistress."
***
Reiko went to her first day of school quite nervous. She was not
particularly concerned about classes, fitting in, or normal stuff like that.
She had more important things to worry about. However, she didn't even know about the devious plans others were creating against her.
Not that she'd give a damn if they were.
No, Reiko was walking to school with Ranma, Nabiki and Akane looking left,
right, and behind her in a cautious pattern for an entirely different reason.
She just didn't want to get wet.
"What are you so nervous about?" Ranma asked her. Paranoia just didn't
seem to fit Reiko's confident (ok, arrogant) personality.
*SPLASH*
"Things like that." Reiko answered, as Ranma-chan stood glaring at the
little old lady washing the street in front of her door. Reiko had avoided the
hazard by a good 3 metres more than she'd needed to. In fact, she was hiding
(not that that was a very wise word to say to her face) behind Akane.
"Calm down, Reiko." The youngest Tendo insisted. "Getting hit with water
isn't something that happens every day."
"It does to him." Reiko countered, pointing at the soggy Ranma-chan.
"I've heard the tales."
"You are not going to get wet today!" Akane tried to change the subject.
"Nabiki, Reiko's going into your class, right? What's the schedule for today?"
Hopefully, Reiko could concentrate on the challenge of being in a new school
rather than constantly looking out for water all day.
Nabiki thought for a minute. "Let's see... Math, English, Economics,
Classics, gym..."
"What are you guys doing in Gym?" Akane asked. She was rewarded to see
Reiko look at Nabiki with interest.
"I think it's swimming." Nabiki said.
Reiko did a 180. "I'm going home."
Akane and Ranma-chan each grabbed an arm.
"You are going to school!"
"Relax Reiko!"
"Let go you idiot! You're wet!" Reiko snapped.
"Just a bit damp. It won't trigger the change in you. Trust me, I _have_
experience!" Ranma-chan sighed.
"You can tell them you don't swim." Akane offered.
"Then they'll try to teach me! Let me go!"
"You'll think of something! Now come on, we're going to be late!" Akane
cried.
Nabiki sighed and shook her head as she looked on. Ranma-chan and Akane
were resorting to dragging Reiko to school by force.
"I got her arms!" Ranma-chan said.
"I got her fe-" *WHAP* "OW! I guess I don't." Akane groaned, picking
herself of the ground.
"What'd you kick her for?" Ranma-chan demanded, managing to keep his grip
on Reiko's other end, for now.
"I'M NOT GOING! DO YOU HEAR ME? I'M NOT STEPPING WITHIN A FUCKING
KILOMETRE OF THAT POOL!"
Nabiki looked at her watch and decided to walk ahead. She sighed tiredly,
wondering if it were not too late to get the newly aquaphobic psychopath put
into some other class. On the other hand, as the last year and a bit had
clearly shown her, weird people could be very profitable if handled right.
"PUT ME DOWN OR I'LL RIP YOUR LUNGS OUT!"
"You promised me you wouldn't kill people anymore, remember?" Ranma-chan
teased.
"THEN I'LL JUST EAT YOUR EYES! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"
Then again, some business ventures just weren't worth the risk.
***
Cologne awake lay in the hospital bed long after the lights were turned out. Even after Shampoo's breathing had become the deeper, steadier rhythm of sleep, she was still awake, weighing her options.
While Shampoo would be out of here in a few days, she on the other hand, was going to be immobile for quite some time. While the girl could probably carry out much of whatever sneaky plan the old woman came up with, Cologne had to admit that this opponent was far too dangerous for her to take on alone, should the trap be discovered before it was sprung. There was always assassination; a sniper's bullet from afar, but that was so... impersonal. The Amazon way was to show your strength in personal combat, but Reiko was way out of Shampoo's league, and now with her ability to effectively double her fighting strength, she was beyond Cologne's ability as well.
That part was a bit hard to swallow, but it was the truth.
The Amazon way was combat, but assassination would more likely succeed.
What to do? What to do?
Then she had a solution. She didn't like it. In fact, if the village council got wind of it, Cologne could expect challenges of her right to lead the tribe to be coming at her left and right; and in the Joketsuzoku, challenges came with a blade before words.
No. The council must never know of this.
The Sisters of the Bloody Hand had been banished for a reason.
***
...
"So what are you doing here anyway, Genma? I thought you'd be at a dojo
of your own." Taiyama asked.
"Um... well... we don't have a dojo of our own just yet. We're still on
our training journey, but we've settled down for a while here at the home of my
good friend Soun, to help him with his classes. He has no sons to assist with
the teaching you know."
"Ah... I see." Taiyama nodded.
Akane almost rose from her seat to accost Genma, but a tiny headshake
convinced her to save it for later. Soun also glared at his friend, wondering
why he hadn't mentioned the engagement to Akane. The joining of the Tendo and
Saotome schools was something in which he knew Genma took great pride. He must
have a good reason for denying it. Soun was patient enough to wait.
Further conversation was halted as the four martial artists in the room heard the sound of a heavy pack thumping quietly to the floor in the front hall. No one had heard the shoji doors slide open and closed, which meant that whoever was in the hall had manipulated them silently, for a devious purpose. Ranma rose to challenge the intruder, but Taiyama put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. When Ranma sat down and looked at him quizzically, the big man just put a finger in front of his lips for silence. Taiyama grinned arrogantly, knowing he could easily avoid that weak girl's attack.
A blur of red death shot through the doorway. Taiyama attempted to roll away, but he wasn't nearly fast enough to avoid the 'weak' girl he'd raised. The Tendos and Saotomes all jumped back in horror as the reddened tip of a katana suddenly was protruding from the centre of Taiyama's torso.
The big man didn't move. As his eyes slowly widened in fear, a dark wet line crept up the black gi from the sword tip to his right shoulder. The line grew broader as the blood spread. Reiko grasped his hair with her left hand and jerked back, the sudden movement causing the deep cut to split apart. It spurted blood over half her face, but she didn't flinch. In fact, she licked the blood from her lips with relish.
She put her cheek up against his, grinning maniacally as she whispered into his ear.
"What does karma feel like father?" She hissed. "Does it hurt? Do you see all the things you've done to deserve this flashing before your eyes? There's quite a few. I wouldn't want you to lose consciousness before you've remembered at least a few of the more important ones. How about we start with Mom?
"That wonderful woman gave you everything she had to give. She gave you her body, her family's money, her complete obedience, a child, and eventually, even her life. And what did you give her in return? You took her pride, her money, her spirit. You raped her, you beat her, you insulted her for crying when you hurt her, and then you killed her for your own selfish pleasures. Think back. Think hard. Was there ever even a single thing she failed to give you?
"Ah yes, a son. She had three miscarriages before I was born, and two after. I wonder if it ever occurred to you why that was? Are you really so stupid to think that massive body blows to the stomach might not affect her unborn children? You murdered every one of those children with your own hands, and who knows; one of them might even have been the son you wanted so badly. You killed a piece of her with every one of those bloody fetuses too, and when she had nothing left in her to give you, not even blood, you tried to console yourself with the knowledge that at least you could marry your daughter off to some bastard to be your male heir, and give you a grandson.
"Well, I have some knowledge you can take with you to hell, father; you'll never have a grandson, because I'll never spread my legs for a man like you, or any other type of man!"
Taiyama's body was shivering with agony as Rei shoved his head forward again, pulling the sword out of him as she stood and raised it over her head.
"YOU'RE INHUMAN LEGACY DIES WITH YOU, YOU BASTARD!" Reiko screamed, bringing down the blade in a fatal arc that sent her father's head rolling onto the Tendo's coffee table. There it stopped, his dead face frozen in an expression of fear that looked up at his blood-soaked daughter.
Reiko was panting with emotion, as the rest of the living occupants cowered in shock at the far end of the room. She collapsed to her knees, leaning her forehead on the handgrip of her father's sword. She began to laugh. It was a harsh, cruel sound that she hoped would echo in his dead ears all the way down to his final judgment.
The laughter dissolved into sobs.
"Mom... it's finally over. You can rest in peace now. He'll never hurt you again."
Kasumi, shaking badly, stepped forward to try and comfort her, but her father grabbed her arm and pulled her abruptly back, shaking his head sharply as he continued to stare wide-eyed at the blood covered killer who still held the sword.
Reiko continued to kneel there, sobbing for her mother's memory, for a very long time.
Reiko awoke with tears in her eyes. She looked around and discovered she was in Akane's bedroom. She wiped the tears away and smiled before rolling over and going back to sleep.
That was one of her favorite dreams.
***End of chapter 3***
Well, we got a little ecchi in the bathroom their with the twins, but that's about as close as I usually come to writing a sex scene. Sorry hentai fans! :)
Come to think of it, I remember there being some sort of twin-water being brought in by Pantyhose Tarou to splash Happosai with in his second appearance. I probably didn't have to go bugging my Chinese friends for translations. (Author goes to look it up) Here we go, Vol. 23. Hmm. Takahashi-sama calls it Shuanshentsuniichuan. That's a mouthful too, and I'm not quite sure it was supposed to do what I wanted my twin-water to do. But now everyone probably thinks that's where I got the idea. Figures, I finally come up with an idea I'm pretty sure no other fanfic author has used yet, and it's Takahashi-sama herself who makes me look like a hack. Oh well...
Questions, comments, suggestions and even whining, can all be directed to me at
hinoron@hotmail.com
Ja na!
Chapter 3
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Hino, Ron
================================================================================
*** WARNING! FIRST DRAFT! ***
Chapters 3-6 are in desperate need of revision, perhaps even total rewrites of the plot. I've sat on them for a while, but I'm not sure what elements I want to keep and what's a useless pile of biological waste. I've been told I let people get too far out of character, but sited examples and suggestions would be much appreciated, as well as anything else that sucks about it. Please review these chapters and then forget you ever saw them! Only Chapters 1 & 2 should be considered ready for public viewing.
Suggestions to hinoron@hotmail.com
Thanks much for your assistance.
================================================================================
Just a brief foreword:
1. Ranma and friends are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and a bunch of corporations.
Except for the new characters, everyone else belongs to her and them. I don't
own them. Please don't take ideas or (my) characters from this story without my
permission.
2. "Chimidoro no Ryuu" means, loosely translated (by which I mean, badly
translated) "Bloody Dragon". That would make the full name of the School
"Chimidoro no Ryuu Ryu" (ryu meaning a martial arts school/style). To avoid the
confusion, it will always be written as the Chimidoro no Ryuu School, or the shorter Chimidoro school, though in the second case it is a reference more to Reiko's family name then the school's title.
3. I got the term Luanshengniichuan from a Chinese-born friend of mine (Thanks
Wei!). The 1st term she gave me was Shuangbaotainiichuan. I picked the shorter
of the two, (interesting how they're only 4 and 5 'letters' respectively in
Chinese, and 17 and 20 in English). What does it mean, you ask? Geez, can't
you wait 6 lines?
And with that out of the way, we begin again.
[Jyusenkyo]
"Luanshengniichuan?"
"Yes, Miss. Is very very cursed spring. There very tragic story of
mother of twin girls, who trip and drop babies into spring, 460 year ago. Only
honorable ancestor who guard spring keep crying woman from jumping into spring
after two baby. Now, whoever fall in spring, become twins... I think. Very
strange and cursed spring, even for Jyusenkyo." The guide finished. This was
probably the most feared of all the pools he guarded, according to what had been
passed down to him by his father.
The girl who had come to him was recovering from serious injuries, in fact
her arm was still in a sling. There was slightly insane gleam in her eyes as
she gazed down into the pool in question. The guide hoped she wouldn't try to
jump into the spring.
The results of more than one dunking in Jyusenkyo springs were often
unpredictable and dangerous.
"So if girl fall in spring, she turn to two babies?" Shampoo asked
carefully.
"No know for sure. I never see anyone fall in that spring in all time I
work here. Maybe two baby, maybe two young girl, maybe just one girl, with twin
baby sister. No know. Please step back from pool Miss."
Shampoo thought about it for a moment. "Is worth risk."
"No Miss! Please no jump!"
"What you talking? Shampoo want you fill barrel with Luanshengniichuan
for take back to Japan!"
"Oh."
***
"Keep trying Ranma. Clear your mind."
"It's clear dammit!" Ranma-chan growled.
"If it were really clear, you wouldn't be angry enough to cuss at me. Let
it go." Reiko answered. She sat calmly on one of the big rocks on the bank.
Ranma-chan sighed and focused. The water of the little stream swirled
around her ankles. Reiko nodded with approval. Ranma-chan built her ki and
released it upwards, taking water with it. The water sprayed about as high as
her waist. Reiko had been able to raise the water as high as the high tree
branches.
Ranma-chan sank to her knees in the shallow water, panting heavily. "How
was that?"
"Much better Ranma. You're progressing quite quickly, but you've still
got a long way to go. This is sort of like a muscle that you've never used in
your life. You have to build it up strong before you can do anything useful
with it."
"So I can't even _try_ the Higi Ryuuseishou yet?" Ranma-chan asked,
frustrated.
"You could," Reiko shrugged, "but you'd only fall flat on your face."
Ranma-chan flopped on her back in the creek, groaning.
"Stop whining!" Rei snapped. "It took me half a year to learn this. I
think it should only take you a month. Not all techniques are easy to pick up."
Ranma-chan lay in the water, lolling her head around form side to side.
"Say Reiko, I've been thinking."
"I'll call the newspapers." Reiko smirked.
"No seriously. This technique is supposed to push against the air around
you and shoot your body forward to strike the opponent, right.
"Right."
"What if you could push down while you were standing still? Would you be
able to float in the air?"
Reiko rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Theoretically, it's possible, but I
sure as hell can't do it. You saw how hard it is to move a bit of water, can
you imagine how strong your ki would have to be to lift a human body? Shit
Ranma! If you meet up with a guy who can float himself in the air using his ki,
turn and fucking RUN the other way. That's just scary.
"Actually, I guess I could use it to give myself a boost when jumping,
might be able to add a metre or two to my distance. It'd be pretty draining
though, so I'd only use it in an emergency."
"Why do you say 'I' and not 'we', shouldn't I be able to do it too?"
"Not for quite a while, Ranma. Now get back up and try again."
Ranma-chan groaned again and stood up, shaking some of the water out of
her hair.
If nothing else, this was the cleanest training she'd ever done.
***
One Sunday morning a week later, Reiko was resting from her training in
the Hiryuushotenha. She was finally ready to learn the final blow, after two
weeks of training. She didn't have the urgency that Ranma had felt when he
learned it in only three days.
Reiko had almost fallen into a lazy Sunday snooze on the porch, when she
felt eyes on her.
She quickly rolled sideways off the porch, landing on her feet. The water
balloon burst across the polished wood.
"Aiya! Shampoo miss!"
"What's with the water balloons, Shampoo." Rei asked in confusion. "I'm
not in the mood to play kid's games."
Shampoo grinned. "Is no game. You know Airen's curse, yes?"
"Who's 'Airen'?" Reiko asked, still confused. She didn't speak any
Mandarin at all.
"Airen is husband, Ranma."
(Author's note: actually, according to my Chinese friend, "Airen" could mean a
wife too. Literally, it just means one's lover.)
"Oh, you mean how he turn's into a girl when he gets wet?"
"That cause he hit with Nyanniichuan water from Jyusenkyo." She hefted
one of the several balloons she carried. "This water also from Jyusenkyo. Evil
girl take Luanshengniichuan!" She cried as she hurled another balloon. She
seemed much healthier now, though Reiko noticed that she was throwing with her
left arm.
Reiko skipped to one side. "So this is water from Jyusenkyo, eh? What
does lon-shen, or whatever, mean in Japanese?"
"Evil girl find out for self." Shampoo yelled. All the commotion was
bringing the other inhabitants out to watch. Ranma decided Rei didn't need help
and watched with interest.
Reiko continued to dodge balloons. "I'm afraid I'm not _that_ curious.
You're going to have to tell me before you run out of balloons."
Shampoo growled. She now held the very last of the Luanshengniichuan
balloons in her hand. She took careful aim at Reiko, who leaned calmly against
the big tree, grinning.
Shampoo missed. The water splashed harmlessly down the tree trunk, as
Reiko was naturally no longer there.
Shampoo sank to her knees in the grass.
"Sham... Shampoo lose."
Reiko walked up cautiously. "So now that you can't splash me, can you
tell what you were trying to turn me into?"
"Shampoo no know Japanese word."
"Yeah right." Reiko muttered. She kicked Shampoo's good arm out from
under her, leaving her face-first in the lawn. She put a foot on the Chinese
girl's neck. "Tell me what kind of spring it was or I'll break both your arms
this time.
"Spring of Drowned Twin Babies!" A scratchy voice yelled.
"What!?" Reiko spun around to face the voice, just in time to take a
water balloon in the face.
"Great going, Great-grandmother!" Shampoo cried. She had been able to
dodge out of the way to avoid being splashed.
"I didn't think you'd be able to handle this one by yourself. Balloon's
aren't the most aerodynamic of missiles. Even I might have had difficulty
hitting her without the element of surprise on my side." Cologne smiled.
"Look!" Akane cried, pointing at Reiko.
Reiko clutched her head in pain as the water soaked her through. The sky
went dark. She screamed as her body shrank into her gi, getting smaller and
smaller. Her cries turned into an infant's wails as she shrank to a baby's age.
She continued to shrink, beyond the point of birth. The fetus became
smaller still, until it was a zygote. It became a single cell, floating in the
air, and would have been too tiny for the horrified watchers to see, if not for
the fact that it was glowing.
Lightning struck from the cloudless sky.
The cell split.
The process began to reverse. The zygote split and grew, forming two
fetuses, two infants, two children. The twins cried in suffering as they
continued to grow. The cries became screams as the children became teenagers.
Soon they were very recognizable as the girl everyone had known as Reiko
Chimidoro, one a mirror image of the other, right down to the scars that covered
their naked bodies.
The screams stopped.
The sky became light again.
And the two collapsed onto the pile of Reiko's clothes.
While everyone else hadn't yet closed their mouths, Kasumi had produced
one of Akane's gis.
"Akane, I think one of them will be needing this."
"U-um, right. Ranma! Don't look!"
"All those fireworks and you don't want me to look?" Ranma asked
incredulously.
*BASH*
"They're naked, baka!"
Akane stepped off of Ranma's head and quickly ran to the twin Reikos. She
dressed one unconscious girl in her gi, and the other in Reiko's.
"What you thinking, Great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked. "They no twin
babies. What do now?"
"I'm not sure Shampoo, but we must turn this to our advantage. How about
'divide and conquer'?"
"Is good strategy." Shampoo said. The twins were beginning to stir.
Shampoo jogged up and turned one groggy girl to face the other, whom Akane was
trying to reassure.
"There no can be two Reiko Chimidoro. You must fight, kill her, so you
can be the only one. That only way to continue normal life."
"What the hell are you talking about, Shampoo?" Akane yelled. "This is
all your fault!"
Ranma blinked in surprise. "You mean it's not my fault for once?" He
muttered to himself, rubbing his head.
The twins looked at each other; then, almost simultaneously; they smiled
grimly.
"She's right, though." One said.
"We must fight." The other agreed, standing.
"Dominance must be established, if nothing else."
"I agree. Although, we did promise not to kill anymore, and..."
"...even under such unusual circumstances, that promise must hold."
"Then let's begin." They both took fighting stances.
"No!" Akane yelled. "You'll get hurt!"
Shampoo giggled. Her plan worked perfectly.
The twins smirked again. "No need..."
"...to worry, Akane."
"Neither of us..."
"...is going to have a scratch."
"Huh?" Akane said
"What?" Shampoo said.
Both twins spun away from each other and turned on Shampoo. One crouched
low for a hard punch to Shampoo's gut. The other leapt for a simultaneous
flying kick to her jaw. Shampoo flew back from the double blows and slammed
against the tree. She slumped to the ground, out cold.
"Now for..."
"...the other one." The twins growled, facing the old woman.
"Man! I wouldn't want to be in the old ghoul's place right now." Ranma
whispered.
Cologne took a few steps backward. Logic told her that Reiko Chimidoro
was not quite in her league, but for those who knew it, the Bloody Dragon
School's name created a kind of fear like no other.
And she had to face two of them.
Both Reikos leapt at the old amazon like snarling beasts, but their
fighting method(s) weren't wild. Cologne was hard pressed to fend off the
vicious attacks of such a skilled (pair of) fighter(s). Fortunately, they
seemed to be taking turns, one for a few moments, then the other.
Unfortunately, that meant Cologne was constantly busy defending, and would
tire twice as fast at the twins. Whatever advantage the old woman had in skill
was inadequate against this vicious pair.
After a short while, Ranma realized that the twins had changed tactics;
they were both going around in circles. Was Reiko trying to use the
Hiryuushotenha? No, maybe it was Cologne. Both twins seemed absolutely
infuriated. They were not putting forth the 'soul of ice' necessary to contrast
an opponent's hot battle aura. It must be Cologne's spiral then.
Cologne was almost surprised to realize that they were going in circles,
but that suited her fine. She began dodging in the appropriate directions to
form the spiral. With the battle aura these two were putting out, this
Hiryuushotenha was going to be a powerful one.
Cologne was one step away from the finishing blow when both Reikos stopped
dead. They cooled their auras rapidly, then simultaneously struck upward
creating two powerful Hiryuushotenha tornadoes formed from the trail of their
OWN battle auras. The twin tornadoes spun in the same directions, both
clockwise, which meant that the point where they met (where Cologne was
standing) was being crossed by two violent winds going in opposite directions.
Cologne screamed long and loud as she was savagely buffeted into the sky.
The two Reikos caught their breath and smiled at each other.
"That was..."
"...really cool!"
"Think she'll live?"
"Do we really care?"
"No, but what about that promise?"
"Oh yeah. Well, I don't think he'll count it if..."
"...if the death was accidental."
"Right.
Akane and Ranma walked up to the pair.
"This is... weird." Akane said, looking from one to the other.
"You have no idea." Both Reikos said simultaneously.
"Yeah, like, what do we call the two of you?" Ranma asked.
"Reiko." Both said. They looked at each other in surprise.
"But I'm the original." Both insisted. They blinked at each other, then
sat down hard in the grass.
"I guess that this means..."
"...that we both have the same memories."
"So we're not just twins..."
"...We're perfect copies."
"So we have to call you Reiko1 and Reiko2?" Ranma asked.
"But who would be one..."
"...and who would be two?"
"We're both 'Reiko'"
"We even think the same way."
"This is giving me a headache." Ranma said.
"Me too." Akane said.
The twins sighed and looked at each other.
"So what now?"
"You're asking me?"
Kasumi stepped over Shampoo's body and offered a suggestion. "Why don't
you two go have a bath? You're all sweaty from exercising."
"Not a bad idea..."
"...for a start."
"Simplicity first..."
"...then the complicated stuff later."
With that, both rose and headed for the bath. The one in Akane's gi
paused and turned back for a second. The other stopped and waited.
"Thanks for the gi, Akane. I'll change into something else after my bath
and give it back."
"No problem." Akane said.
The Reiko in the red gi cocked her head at the other as they headed
inside. "So we can think separately. I didn't even think of thanking her."
"Well, you're not wearing it." The other reasoned.
"Good point. I suppose the only thing that separates us now..."
"...is the memories and experiences we create form this point on."
They entered the change room and stripped.
They smiled at each other.
"At least we can both say that..."
"...we have the most beautiful sister we've ever seen." They both
chuckled.
As the stepped into the bathroom, both made for the stool in front of the
shower. They stopped and looked at each other, smirked, and started a round of
Janken (rock-paper-scissors) to decide who would go first. After 7 ties, one
shoved the other onto the stool. They helped each other wash their hair and
scrubbed each other's back.
"You know," the one washing said, "I've been thinking."
"I'm probably thinking the same thing, but shoot."
"Would it be wrong for us to... you know."
"No. Why should it be?"
"Exactly, because it would be just like..."
Ranma, having gotten himself splashed by Happosai for a grope, was waiting
outside the bathroom. She hoped to be able to change back before the freak got
back. He should be returning to earth any second now. What was taking the
twins so long? Ranma slid the changeroom door open and listened near the
bathroom door. She heard one or both of them (it was hard to tell) making
strange moaning noises.
"Are they giving each other backrubs or something?" She pondered. She
knocked on the sliding door.
"Hey, can you two hurry up, please?"
"Just a few more minutes, Ranma. We're..."
"...Almost there!"
Ranma scratched her head. "Almost where?" she muttered to herself, before
returning to the hall.
The twins finished their... activity, which stretched the definition of
masturbation about as far as it can go, and decided they needed to wash again.
After a quick scrub, they both slid into the hot water of the Tendo's huge
bathtub.
Outdoors, Kasumi was hanging up the laundry when she heard thunder begin
to rumble.
"Oh my. I better get this down then." She looked up at the sky and
stopped. There were no more clouds then usual, but the sky was rapidly
darkening by some other means, as though night was suddenly dropping on them at
11:30 am.
"Oh... dear!"
Ranma was tapping her foot impatiently outside in the hall when the
screams started. They drowned out the sharp crack of thunder that startled
Kasumi into grabbing the laundry and dashing inside, clouds or no clouds. Ranma
pulled open the door and bolted into the changeroom. The twins were still in
the bathroom. She hesitated a moment; they were naked after all. However
concern soon overrode embarrassment and she dashed inside.
Ranma was just in time to see Reiko collapse facedown into the bathwater.
She quickly ran forward and pulled the unconscious Reiko out, looking
around.
"Where's the other one?"
Pulling Reiko out and setting her head on her lap had gotten Ranma a little bit wet. As her body changed into his body, understanding dawned.
"Oh, I get it! She changed back into an only child."
Ranma had just finished a quick check of Reiko's breathing when the Akane
came running through the door.
"What was that screa- Ranma?"
"Hey Akane, she chang-"
*SLAP*
"OW! What did I do?"
"That's what I want to know!" Akane boiled. "What did you do to her
while she's taking her bath that made her scream like that, huh? YOU ANIMAL!"
*BASH*CRUNCH*BANG*
"I didn't do nothin'! Waah! Akane, put down the ax, please!!!"
"I'll castrate you, you HENTAI!"
Hours later, when Reiko was awake, and Ranma's privates were safe (for the
moment), the whole story came out.
"When I... or her... um... well one of us, at any rate." Reiko said,
clearly still confused. "That person got into the tub, and nothing happened,
but when she- I- ARGH! When we both were in, the change started."
"I suppose both twins have to get wet with hot water for the change to
occur." Soun said.
"Interesting." Genma said.
"Funny," Reiko growled, "the word I would have chosen is excruciating."
"It really hurts that much?" Ranma asked.
Rei nodded. "It's like no pain I ever felt in my life. I'm not sure
quite how to explain it... Imagine what it's like for a human body to grow up.
Everything that happens to it; every cut, scrape, bruise, and broken bone; every
headache, muscle cramp, pins-and-needles and case of indigestion. Now imagine
having all of them at almost the exact same instant. And you can feel it both
times, getting younger and growing back up."
"Wow." Akane said quietly.
"No wonder you scream." Ranma said.
"I actually don't mind being a twin; it's a little confusing trying to
sort it out when I'm just me again, but having a sister- er... being sisters is
kinda nice. But the changing..." she trailed off. No one said anything for a
while.
Akane was thinking about Reiko's childhood. Constantly being beaten and
hurt by her insane father, Reiko's 'instant' was probably a lot more painful
than most people's might have been.
Akane was taking a bath, when she heard a knock on the inner door. She
started a bit; there weren't many people in this house (or the city, for that
matter) who could make it that far without making any sound.
"Akane, can I join you?" Reiko asked.
"Sure."
Reiko sat down on the stool and set about washing herself, with warm water
of course.
"So, how are you handling all this?" Akane asked from the tub. Reiko's
hands froze.
They started again a moment later, as Reiko finished and settled herself
into the bath. Only then did she answer. Akane thought she looked awfully pale
for someone sitting in hot water.
"Akane... do you ever get scared?"
"Huh? Well, sure, sometimes. Doesn't everybody?"
"I don't. Ever. I get angry instead. Maybe my father trained me that
way, maybe I made myself that way so I wouldn't be afraid of him, but in either
case, I never get scared. Not since Mom died."
Akane didn't know what to say.
"Akane, I'm... scared."
"Reiko..."
Akane watched in shock as the stone-faced warrior began to crack before
her eyes. A tear rolled down Reiko's cheek as she started to shake. "I... oh
fuck, I'm crying! I'm sorry, I..."
Akane hugged Reiko. "Don't apologise, let it all out."
And as the final tumbler, shame, fell free, the floodgates opened wide and
Reiko sobbed into Akane's shoulder. She clutched Akane like she needed her to
live. Reiko cried for a long time. Akane felt a little weird having another
girl's naked breasts pressed against her own, but Reiko really needed this.
Akane knew her priorities.
"You know, [sniff] it's not just the pain..."
"Hmm?"
"The change, it's not the physical pain that's the worst. The change
brings back all the painful memories and emotions too. I saw flashes of growing
up; the day Mom died, all the times he hurt her. All the nights I cried myself
to sleep in her arms, before she went to lie down beside that monster like the
dutiful wife she was. Every one of those moments, all piled on top of one
another in the space of a few seconds. It's like my heart rips apart from
grief.
"I know I'll get used to it, getting hit with the pain. I'll harden
myself against the pain, and eventually I won't feel it anymore. That's fine
for the physical suffering, but I want the grief. I want to be sad when I think
about my mother. That's the pain that drives me on, gives me purpose. If I
become indifferent to my mother's death, what kind of monster would that make
me? I don't want that to happen. I can't let that happen. I have to get rid
of this curse!"
"Shh, don't think of it like that. Every time you feel grief for your
mother, treat it as a reminder of what you have to do. Then you'll never become
indifferent."
"[Sniff] Maybe you're right. I maybe I won't become indifferent, maybe
I'll just go insane." Reiko laughed at that thought.
Akane tried to.
Reiko let go of Akane and stood from the bath. "Time to be the fearless
warrior again." She grinned. She paused at the door. "Akane... thanks."
"Anytime." Akane smiled.
"Oh, no! She's leaving?" A slightly scratchy voice whined.
Reiko and Akane both spun towards the window. Happosai had been sitting
unnoticed on the window ledge.
"I was kind of hoping for some sort of hot lesbian scene." He grumbled.
Akane shrieked and sank deeper into the water, covering her front. Reiko
didn't bother. She leapt across the intervening distance like a panther,
pouncing on Happosai and knocking them both out into the yard.
Perhaps Happosai might have been able to dodge better if he hadn't been
concentrating on Reiko's firm breasts, swinging freely through the air. Oh, he
loved the way they bounced as the two (people) landed, she driving his breath
away (by slamming him into the ground). How delightfully they moved as she
pivoted to draw back her arm for the vicious crane strike. And one mustn't
forget the mossy grotto between her thighs, which spread slightly for his
viewing pleasure as she lifted him well off the ground with a groin kick. Hmm,
it seemed that extreme pain was threatening to break his concentration. He
redoubled his efforts to take in her lovely body. Her breasts lifted adorably
as she raised both arms, curling her hands into ripping Tiger-claw strikes.
Shortly after she raked them down, his observation was being blocked by some
unimportant warm red liquid that frustrated him by dripping into his eyes. He
couldn't see anything through this stupid red junk! Soon, the world faded from
the warm red to a cold black. Damn!
Reiko wiped her fingers off on the grass. "I thought this guy was
supposed to be some great master. He went down without throwing a punch. Hmph,
well that's what you get for eavesdropping on a private conversation you
hentai!" Reiko turned to see that most of the household was staring at her from
the living room. "What?"
"Um, maybe you should put some clothes on?" Kasumi suggested politely.
Reiko blinked and remembered her current state. "Oops!" She calmly
covered her important bits.
Akane ran from the bath in a white cotton yukata, with another under her
arm. After pausing to kick the slack-jawed Ranma in the back of the head, she
threw Reiko some cover in all due haste.
"Why'd you jump out like that without clothes?" Akane demanded.
"Sorry about that, I guess everyone has their own set of priorities.
Ranma will agree with me, I'm sure. Ranma?" Reiko pulled him up by his pig-
tail and slapped him awake.
"Uhh?"
"Ranma, if Happosai splashed you into a girl when you were naked, what
would you do first; cover yourself, or bash him?"
"Bash him." Ranma said without hesitation.
Reiko dropped his head back to the floor. "See?"
"But Ranma's a guy; you're a girl!" Akane insisted.
Reiko shrugged. "I guess I'm just not much of a girl, then."
"Don't say that! What about what you just-"
Reiko snapped her a cold glare that cut Akane's sentence off short.
"What were you just saying, Akane?" Nabiki asked.
"N-nothing. There's nothing. She's never shown a moment of feminine
weakness, to my knowledge."
Reiko smiled, giving her a wink.
"Lunch is ready, if you two want to get dressed." Kasumi said happily.
***
"Great-grandmother, evil-girl beat Shampoo, twice. Must give Kiss of
Death?"
"Hmm. According to tradition, yes. On the other hand, it would be
foolish to go after her in the same way as you did Son-in-law when you thought
he was a girl. We must satisfy our honour, but I don't think we can do it in
the normal way. Chimidoro Reiko was too much for you before, and thanks to that
botched-up curse, she's now twice as dangerous. To formally give the Kiss of
Death would only warn her of the coming danger. If we are to kill her, we shall
have to use our brains more than our Amazon strength."
"Great-grandmother have gift for understating obvious." Shampoo muttered.
"Lights out you two." The nurse said, as she slid the curtain between
their hospital beds.
"Hmph. Well, it appears we'll have plenty of spare time to come up with a
plan." Cologne muttered.
"What Shampoo say before?" The girl sneered.
"Watch your tone! If my arms weren't encased in plaster, I'd smack you
for your impudence!"
"Shampoo safe then, crazy old woman!" She stuck out her tongue audibly.
"Nyee!"
"Why you little brat! I- ARRRGH! That hurt!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Alright you two! Time to go to sleep!" The nurse said insistently.
***
"That wretched... Girl!" Kodachi snarled, frustrated at not being able to
find an appropriate adjective. Why couldn't she have a more distinguishing
characteristic, like the pig-tailed-girl?
"Curse her! She frustrates me at every turn! I can't even curse her in
the traditional Kunou family manner!"
"Why not simply use her name, Mistress?" Sasuke asked. He stood at the
side of her bed, fanning her with a palm branch.
She swatted at him, but missed when moving brought pain... well, discomfort anyway. "Urgh! Oohh."
"Mistress! Please, you'll aggravate your injuries." Sasuke pleaded.
Kodachi had little choice but to relent. The severe blow to her solar
plexus was badly bruised, or had been a week ago. To move about normally was
slightly uncomfortable, therefore, the noble heiress to the house of Kunou was
bedridden, being waited on hand and foot by her loyal Bootlic- um, Ninja,
Sasuke.
"That trollop doesn't deserve the dignity of being referred to by her
name. What was it again, anyway?"
"Chimidoro Reiko, Mistress."
"Hmph! A filthy commoner, no doubt. Yet one should be certain of such
things. Sasuke! I want you to check her background. I want to know exactly
who it is I must destroy to free my Darling Ranma."
"Yes Mistress! I'll go immediately to city hall and have her name traced.
If a nobleman so much as sneezed on one of her ancestors, I'll discover it."
"Not now, you fool! Who would fan me if you left? Go tomorrow, on your
day off."
"B-but Mistress, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of me having a-"
"SASUKE!"
"[sigh] yes Mistress."
"And fan harder. I'm getting flushed here."
"Yes Mistress."
***
Reiko went to her first day of school quite nervous. She was not
particularly concerned about classes, fitting in, or normal stuff like that.
She had more important things to worry about. However, she didn't even know about the devious plans others were creating against her.
Not that she'd give a damn if they were.
No, Reiko was walking to school with Ranma, Nabiki and Akane looking left,
right, and behind her in a cautious pattern for an entirely different reason.
She just didn't want to get wet.
"What are you so nervous about?" Ranma asked her. Paranoia just didn't
seem to fit Reiko's confident (ok, arrogant) personality.
*SPLASH*
"Things like that." Reiko answered, as Ranma-chan stood glaring at the
little old lady washing the street in front of her door. Reiko had avoided the
hazard by a good 3 metres more than she'd needed to. In fact, she was hiding
(not that that was a very wise word to say to her face) behind Akane.
"Calm down, Reiko." The youngest Tendo insisted. "Getting hit with water
isn't something that happens every day."
"It does to him." Reiko countered, pointing at the soggy Ranma-chan.
"I've heard the tales."
"You are not going to get wet today!" Akane tried to change the subject.
"Nabiki, Reiko's going into your class, right? What's the schedule for today?"
Hopefully, Reiko could concentrate on the challenge of being in a new school
rather than constantly looking out for water all day.
Nabiki thought for a minute. "Let's see... Math, English, Economics,
Classics, gym..."
"What are you guys doing in Gym?" Akane asked. She was rewarded to see
Reiko look at Nabiki with interest.
"I think it's swimming." Nabiki said.
Reiko did a 180. "I'm going home."
Akane and Ranma-chan each grabbed an arm.
"You are going to school!"
"Relax Reiko!"
"Let go you idiot! You're wet!" Reiko snapped.
"Just a bit damp. It won't trigger the change in you. Trust me, I _have_
experience!" Ranma-chan sighed.
"You can tell them you don't swim." Akane offered.
"Then they'll try to teach me! Let me go!"
"You'll think of something! Now come on, we're going to be late!" Akane
cried.
Nabiki sighed and shook her head as she looked on. Ranma-chan and Akane
were resorting to dragging Reiko to school by force.
"I got her arms!" Ranma-chan said.
"I got her fe-" *WHAP* "OW! I guess I don't." Akane groaned, picking
herself of the ground.
"What'd you kick her for?" Ranma-chan demanded, managing to keep his grip
on Reiko's other end, for now.
"I'M NOT GOING! DO YOU HEAR ME? I'M NOT STEPPING WITHIN A FUCKING
KILOMETRE OF THAT POOL!"
Nabiki looked at her watch and decided to walk ahead. She sighed tiredly,
wondering if it were not too late to get the newly aquaphobic psychopath put
into some other class. On the other hand, as the last year and a bit had
clearly shown her, weird people could be very profitable if handled right.
"PUT ME DOWN OR I'LL RIP YOUR LUNGS OUT!"
"You promised me you wouldn't kill people anymore, remember?" Ranma-chan
teased.
"THEN I'LL JUST EAT YOUR EYES! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"
Then again, some business ventures just weren't worth the risk.
***
Cologne awake lay in the hospital bed long after the lights were turned out. Even after Shampoo's breathing had become the deeper, steadier rhythm of sleep, she was still awake, weighing her options.
While Shampoo would be out of here in a few days, she on the other hand, was going to be immobile for quite some time. While the girl could probably carry out much of whatever sneaky plan the old woman came up with, Cologne had to admit that this opponent was far too dangerous for her to take on alone, should the trap be discovered before it was sprung. There was always assassination; a sniper's bullet from afar, but that was so... impersonal. The Amazon way was to show your strength in personal combat, but Reiko was way out of Shampoo's league, and now with her ability to effectively double her fighting strength, she was beyond Cologne's ability as well.
That part was a bit hard to swallow, but it was the truth.
The Amazon way was combat, but assassination would more likely succeed.
What to do? What to do?
Then she had a solution. She didn't like it. In fact, if the village council got wind of it, Cologne could expect challenges of her right to lead the tribe to be coming at her left and right; and in the Joketsuzoku, challenges came with a blade before words.
No. The council must never know of this.
The Sisters of the Bloody Hand had been banished for a reason.
***
...
"So what are you doing here anyway, Genma? I thought you'd be at a dojo
of your own." Taiyama asked.
"Um... well... we don't have a dojo of our own just yet. We're still on
our training journey, but we've settled down for a while here at the home of my
good friend Soun, to help him with his classes. He has no sons to assist with
the teaching you know."
"Ah... I see." Taiyama nodded.
Akane almost rose from her seat to accost Genma, but a tiny headshake
convinced her to save it for later. Soun also glared at his friend, wondering
why he hadn't mentioned the engagement to Akane. The joining of the Tendo and
Saotome schools was something in which he knew Genma took great pride. He must
have a good reason for denying it. Soun was patient enough to wait.
Further conversation was halted as the four martial artists in the room heard the sound of a heavy pack thumping quietly to the floor in the front hall. No one had heard the shoji doors slide open and closed, which meant that whoever was in the hall had manipulated them silently, for a devious purpose. Ranma rose to challenge the intruder, but Taiyama put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. When Ranma sat down and looked at him quizzically, the big man just put a finger in front of his lips for silence. Taiyama grinned arrogantly, knowing he could easily avoid that weak girl's attack.
A blur of red death shot through the doorway. Taiyama attempted to roll away, but he wasn't nearly fast enough to avoid the 'weak' girl he'd raised. The Tendos and Saotomes all jumped back in horror as the reddened tip of a katana suddenly was protruding from the centre of Taiyama's torso.
The big man didn't move. As his eyes slowly widened in fear, a dark wet line crept up the black gi from the sword tip to his right shoulder. The line grew broader as the blood spread. Reiko grasped his hair with her left hand and jerked back, the sudden movement causing the deep cut to split apart. It spurted blood over half her face, but she didn't flinch. In fact, she licked the blood from her lips with relish.
She put her cheek up against his, grinning maniacally as she whispered into his ear.
"What does karma feel like father?" She hissed. "Does it hurt? Do you see all the things you've done to deserve this flashing before your eyes? There's quite a few. I wouldn't want you to lose consciousness before you've remembered at least a few of the more important ones. How about we start with Mom?
"That wonderful woman gave you everything she had to give. She gave you her body, her family's money, her complete obedience, a child, and eventually, even her life. And what did you give her in return? You took her pride, her money, her spirit. You raped her, you beat her, you insulted her for crying when you hurt her, and then you killed her for your own selfish pleasures. Think back. Think hard. Was there ever even a single thing she failed to give you?
"Ah yes, a son. She had three miscarriages before I was born, and two after. I wonder if it ever occurred to you why that was? Are you really so stupid to think that massive body blows to the stomach might not affect her unborn children? You murdered every one of those children with your own hands, and who knows; one of them might even have been the son you wanted so badly. You killed a piece of her with every one of those bloody fetuses too, and when she had nothing left in her to give you, not even blood, you tried to console yourself with the knowledge that at least you could marry your daughter off to some bastard to be your male heir, and give you a grandson.
"Well, I have some knowledge you can take with you to hell, father; you'll never have a grandson, because I'll never spread my legs for a man like you, or any other type of man!"
Taiyama's body was shivering with agony as Rei shoved his head forward again, pulling the sword out of him as she stood and raised it over her head.
"YOU'RE INHUMAN LEGACY DIES WITH YOU, YOU BASTARD!" Reiko screamed, bringing down the blade in a fatal arc that sent her father's head rolling onto the Tendo's coffee table. There it stopped, his dead face frozen in an expression of fear that looked up at his blood-soaked daughter.
Reiko was panting with emotion, as the rest of the living occupants cowered in shock at the far end of the room. She collapsed to her knees, leaning her forehead on the handgrip of her father's sword. She began to laugh. It was a harsh, cruel sound that she hoped would echo in his dead ears all the way down to his final judgment.
The laughter dissolved into sobs.
"Mom... it's finally over. You can rest in peace now. He'll never hurt you again."
Kasumi, shaking badly, stepped forward to try and comfort her, but her father grabbed her arm and pulled her abruptly back, shaking his head sharply as he continued to stare wide-eyed at the blood covered killer who still held the sword.
Reiko continued to kneel there, sobbing for her mother's memory, for a very long time.
Reiko awoke with tears in her eyes. She looked around and discovered she was in Akane's bedroom. She wiped the tears away and smiled before rolling over and going back to sleep.
That was one of her favorite dreams.
***End of chapter 3***
Well, we got a little ecchi in the bathroom their with the twins, but that's about as close as I usually come to writing a sex scene. Sorry hentai fans! :)
Come to think of it, I remember there being some sort of twin-water being brought in by Pantyhose Tarou to splash Happosai with in his second appearance. I probably didn't have to go bugging my Chinese friends for translations. (Author goes to look it up) Here we go, Vol. 23. Hmm. Takahashi-sama calls it Shuanshentsuniichuan. That's a mouthful too, and I'm not quite sure it was supposed to do what I wanted my twin-water to do. But now everyone probably thinks that's where I got the idea. Figures, I finally come up with an idea I'm pretty sure no other fanfic author has used yet, and it's Takahashi-sama herself who makes me look like a hack. Oh well...
Questions, comments, suggestions and even whining, can all be directed to me at
hinoron@hotmail.com
Ja na!