Chapter One: Down the Middle.
Akane Tendo was not a heavy or even deep sleeper, months of being on guard in her own bedroom barricading herself in from the hordes of perverts that had continuously attacked her at school had destroyed that.
So unlike many people who were usually shook awake, her eyes snapped open and she struck out at the two forms lingering above her.
"OW!" "ARGH! THAT HURT, YER TOMBOY!"
The world resolved itself in Akane's mind and she sat up and almost leaped out of her skin, as two Ranma's stood staring at her.
So it hadn't been a dream, she thought, "W-what happened to you, err - two?"
Both were looking at her with stunned expressions, the Ranma on her left wore a more hurt expression, holding his right cheek, while the Ranma on the right had a slightly more angry expression, holding his left.
"Geez!" exclaimed the Ranma on her right, frowning, "no 'Sorry, didn't mean to hit you so hard,' as usual."
"The way you woke her up, I am not surprised!" said the other Ranma, almost shrieking.
"Fine," said the first Ranma, "you explain it to the tomboy, I'm getting something to eat." With that, and a passing glare at Akane as he rubbed his cheek, the angry Ranma got up and left for the kitchen.
Akane looked at the Ranma left behind, he did not look at her, he was looking down at his hands.
"Ranma, what happened tonight?" Akane asked, looking out the window she saw that yes it was indeed still night time, how she going to explain two Ranmas to the family tomorrow?
"Ryouga dropped by for a visit," he said, quietly, still not looking at her, "I don't what got into him, he attacked me, I - I didn't start it though," he stuttered, looking up at her for a second, before hiding his eyes with his ruffled bangs again, "He had something, I don't what, it looked like a staff of something like that, he was so angry, I don't think I've ever seen him like that, not even with the Shi-Shi Hoka Dan. Then he said a couple of things, I got angry at him then he leapt at me and I was too distracted by what he said, then - then all I remember after that is waking up to your bea - I mean, you waking me up, like this." he gestured to himself, still dressed in the battered tux.
"Why would he do this to you?" she asked, looking at Ranma, not missing the slip, but that could wait.
"'Cos he didn't want you to marry me," said Ranma, coming back from the kitchen, finishing off a sandwich. "Can't imagine why that is." He added with a smirk.
Suddenly the Ranma closer to Akane burped, "Excuse me, - I mean, us, err."
Akane looked dumbstruck from one Ranma to the other, "How can we get you back together, - I mean, - well you know what I mean!" she said, feeling angry, not sure if was with herself or with the way that one Ranma was looking at her, while finishing his sandwich or way the other was looking away from her, a slightly miserable expression on his face.
Suddenly the Ranma finishing his sandwich, now licking his fingers grinned, "Hey, don't worry about it," he said, confidently, "now the world has to deal with two Ranmas, heh-heh!"
Both Akane and the other Ranma face-faulted to the floor.
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Ryouga Hibiki made himself scarce as soon as the tip of the staff had touched Ranma's head. He had seen it connect then the flash of blinding light, he had been told what the staff would and could do, but seeing the results had been quiet different.
Two Ranmas? He thought, Interesting, I get to kick Ranma's ass twice!
"Hibiki, over here!" said a voice to his left.
Ryouga turned, seeing no one down the dark alleyway, he turned back and continued on.
"Ryouga Hibiki!!"
Ryouga turned around to see a figure in a cloak and cowl standing behind him, a thin almost transparent scarf flaying in the wind as it was hung loosely around the figure's neck.
"I did it," said Ryouga simply, grinning at the figure. "I used the staff on Ranma."
The cowl lifted in the shifting wind slightly, showing the feral grin underneath.
"Good, Pig-boy," said the figure, "anyone associated to Happy should suffer, as I have suffered. Fem-boy will not have long. The staff should see to that. But if it doesn't, you have the other two items I gave you?"
"Why are doing this?" said Ryouga suddenly, wondering who this person was, he still had not seen his face. "What has Ranma and Happy done to you?"
"I told you," said the figure, "don't you remember?"
##################******Flashback******###################
Ryouga was running down a dirt track somewhere in the USA, or was it Africa? He could never tell, he wondered how he could get so far in so little time, well at least some of the people he had run into could speak Japanese.
Little did Ryouga know, he was still in Japan (nearby crowd of touring telepaths face-fault!), but his pain at what had happened that morning was still with him. If only he had gotten there sooner, then maybe Akane would be running beside him, or he would have carried her in his arms.
Damn you Ranma, I will defeat you, coward, thought Ryouga, fists tightening as though he was strangling that half-man.
"You wish to defeat Ranma Saotome that much?"
"What?" stopped and turned to the voice, seeing a figure, about as tall as him, dressed in a cloak and cowl, sat at the side of the dirt path. "Who are you?" he got into a defensive stance.
The figure cocked his head to the side. "Names don't mean that much to me, pig-boy," the figure stood up, managing to keep the sun behind him and obscuring Ryouga's view of his face somewhat. "However defeating Saotome is. What would you say if I told that I have a way, several in fact, of defeating Saotome?"
"I'd say 'what's in it for you?'"
The figure chuckled, "Let's just say, any student of Happosai, shouldn't have a happy time."
##################******End of Flashback******###################
"That explains nothing!" Ryouga growled.
"If you really wanted an explanation," said the figure, slightly angry, "then you would have asked it at the time! Enough of this needless talk," the figure stopping, flicking it's flimsy scarf over a shoulder, then the figure continued in a calmer tone, "Ranma has seven days, a week to resolve himself into a whole, if he doesn't then both sides will be lost. You can defeated him like he is, he will be weak and then you can take you're prize, Ryouga," the figure's smile broadened, "Fem-boy will be out of the picture and you can take his tomboy from him. But if he does get back together, then you still have the other 'tools' I gave you, use them wisely and you won't have to use the last one."
Ryouga glared, "I won't use that weapon, only a coward like Ranma would use a weapon like that!" he exclaimed.
The figure pulled Ryouga's travelling pack and umbrella from his cloak and threw them at Ryouga, who easily caught them.
"Return in six days," said the figure, "try and keep in the area, don't get lost, and above all, don't run into Ranma or Akane until it is time. Got it?"
"Got it." Grinned Ryouga, shouldering his pack and flicking up his umbrella as it began to rain.
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Morning came to the Nerima district, in one part of the district, (A/N: I dunno where the Saotome home is!) lay the crumbled household of Nodoka Saotome, while further a shocked scream was heard from the Tendo Dojo.
"NANI!?! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY MANLY SON!?!"
Followed instantly by:
"NODOKA, SILENCE! I HAVE A HEADACHE!"
Followed even more instantly by:
BAM!
"OW!"
"Thank you, Akane-Chan."
"No problem, Auntie."
"'Morning Pop, Mum," said one of the Ranma's, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he settled his eyes on his father and glared hard. "Don't shout at Mum, Pop."
{I'm just a panda!} Said Genma, suddenly turning into his panda form and acquiring a beach ball from nowhere.
"Oh, good morning, mother," the other Ranma glanced briefly at the panda, "Pop."
"Err, 'morning, err Akane." Said both Ranma's, at the same time, they shot a look at each other, missing Akane's sudden blush as she backed out of the room.
Nodoka had recovered herself enough, to look at her son - err - sons. "Ranma, what happened to you? Were you trying to cure yourself?"
"Nah, mum," said the Ranma on the left, with a slight frown, "I was sloppy, Ryouga touched me with a strange staff last night, that's all."
"So which one of you is really Ranma?" she asked, sliding her katana carefully out of its sheath behind her back.
"That's the thing, mother," said the other Ranma, with a careful smile, "you see we both are him - me - us, err."
"You are not!" exclaimed the Ranma on the left, "I ain't a sputtering cry-baby."
"WHAT?" Ranma shrieked.
"I don't shriek like that, neither!" said Ranma, promptly.
"I STRIKE!" shouted Nodoka, bringing the katana down in an over swing to bury it in between the two Ranmas.
"MUM, DON'T DO THAT!" exclaimed the two Ranmas loudly.
"What's g'ing on?" asked Nabiki, scratching her head, having just woken up from a great dream. She looked into the Saotome's room to see two Ranmas, one dressed in pyjamas and the other dressed in a tank top and boxers. "Oh." She said simply.
"Breakfast is ready," said Kasumi, sticking her head in, then she saw the two Ranmas, "Oh, my!"
"My thoughts exactly," said the Ranma in pyjamas with a bright smile. The other Ranma just looked on dumbly. Then they both jumped up and scrambled to the bathroom.
Later the Saotomes and the Tendos sat down to breakfast, the two Ranmas retold the story that they had related to Akane the night before.
"So how come he got through your defences?" asked Nabiki pointedly, raising a slim eyebrow.
"I-" started the Ranma in the blue Chinese shirt.
"- was distracted," finished the Ranma in the red Chinese shirt and white sash. "caught me in the , err, -"
" - wrong mood." Continued the Ranma in blue Chinese shirt.
"I see," said Nabiki from one Ranma to the other, she noted the differences, the Ranma in the blue shirt, kept his eyes on his food, rather than look at anyone, as if he were embarrassed, his voice was slightly calmer than the other Ranma. The Ranma, in the red shirt and sash, seemed impatient, with a slight frown on his face, he was looking at his food also, but pointedly not looking at Akane.
Nabiki smirked and threw her glass of water at the red shirted Ranma.
"What'd you - do - that - for?" Said the now both female Ranmas, they looked at each other, the blue shirted Ranma-chan was completely dry, but also completely female.
"WAAHH! NOW MY LITTLE GIRL HAS TWO CURSED FIANCÉS!" sobbed Soun Tendo, as suddenly as the waterworks started, they stopped, "Ranma, son, now you can honour your second arrangement to Ukyou."
Both Ranma-chans baulked, "WHAT!?!"
"That's not possible, Dad," said Nabiki, as the two Ranma-chan looked at her, one with hooded eyes, the other with slight annoyance. "their still the same person."
"Huh?" came the echo of the Ranma's, intelligently.
"What d'you mean, sis?" asked Akane, looking closely at her sister.
{What?} Signed Genma, still in panda form from the morning.
Nabiki rolled her eyes and then splashed the dry Ranma-chan with hot water from her teacup, both turned back to normal their normal states.
"Oh, my!" said Kasumi and Nodoka at the same time.
"Couldn't you have just said that, instead of chucking water at me?" deadpanned the Ranma in red.
Nabiki smirked.
"So what do we do about this?" said Akane, getting angry at this and pointedly not looking at her father, being drugged after escaping near death is not an endearing thing to one's daughter after all.
"You could wait for Ryouga to return," the two families face-faulted, bar Nodoka who did not know Ryouga's 'affliction' for getting lost. "or you could try and find me yourselves." Even further face fault.
"Why is everyone acting like this?" asked Nodoka, concerned.
The two (er, three) Saotomes and the Tendos face faulted through the floor.
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"Oh, don't worry about it Ranma," said Akane, grinning, "now you're twice the pervert!"
"Hey!" "Watch it, yer tomboy!" both Ranmas glared at the blue short haired girl.
Akane and the two Ranmas, were now walking their usual route towards school, although this being the weekend school was out, so to speak.
But the two Ranma's had decided they needed to get out of the house for a while, away from their katana wielding mother for one.
Akane had 'decided' to join them, after being pushed out by her father, not in front of Mrs. Saotome of course.
The one she had silently dubbed 'angry' Ranma, was walking along the top of the chain-link fence, while the one she had dubbed 'silent' Ranma, walked beside her. Akane could not bring herself to say 'caring' Ranma, she knew that in some way it was true he was caring, but some part of her, especially so soon after the wedding disaster, was not willing.
"So what are you going to do then?" she asked, looking at the two Ranmas.
Akane had seen enough doubles of Ranma to last her a life time, Copy-Cat Ken, Ranma's Evil Girl-Side, Shadow Ranma and even his Girl-Type and Boy-Reflection, so she was not completely overwhelmed by this, at least not after the first time, she thought with embarrassment.
"Dunno," said the Ranma up on the fence, deciding to walk along on one leg. "maybe play a few tricks on the fiancées." He grinned.
"I really think I, we - err," said the other Ranma, "that problem should be sorted out." He said finally, after a thought.
"Humph," said the Ranma on the fence, "whatever, maybe I could challenge Mousse, see how good he is against two of us, after all he ganged up on us once."
"Shampoo will be there," said the other Ranma, bowing his slightly.
The Ranma on the fence growled, "Maybe not there then."
"Ra - Ranchan!?!" exclaimed a voice, both Ranma and Akane looked up, to see Ukyou Kuonji walking up to them.
Ukyou then noticed the other Ranma, standing on the fence. "Ranchan?" then her eyes crossed and Ukyou dropped to the grounded.
Both Ranma sighed, "Why is everyone doing that lately?"
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A/N: OK, OK, not much happened in this chappie, and seeing Ukyou faint was just a cheap laugh, however the story will get better, I promises, so please review, any suggestions for future events, character prat falls or just any comments in general, please keep them coming. Oh yeah, if you have bypassed the prologue to read this chap, please go back and read the prologue, posted the wrong thing, but that has been corrected. So 'til next chappie,
ja ne!
PS: Is this HTML format working? hopefully it putting the point across.
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