Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma and co…

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Chapter 13: Ranma vs Ranma

"Saotome Ranma. Psst!!" someone whispered as Ikuyo and Ranma no onna passed with Akane in her arms.

Ranma turned slightly as she stopped. "Who's there?"

"Look up, dear." Ranma obeyed hesitantly to see a short form standing on the limb of a tree. It wore a dull brown cloak covering its whole body except its eyes. The form pulled down the cloth to free its mouth as it jumped down. "Saotome Ranma, Ikuyo! I kill!!" the form lifted it's dainty hand and flung it.

Ikuyo blocked Ranma and Akane with her arms covering her face.

"Oops…uh….I mean….tricked ya!!" the form jumped up once again and released the cloak revealing…Ranma?!

"Ranma-kun…what are you doing there?" Ikuyo asked.

"That ain't me!!" Ranma yelled as she placed Akane against a nearby tree and got in front of Ikuyo.

The Ranma-copy seemed disappointed as she opened her palm. In a small black of pink puff a gray pail was resting in her palm. "That form will not do, Ranma-kun."

"Huh?" the pail fell from her hand. Ranma-chan jumped out of the way but a second pail hit her over the head, showering her with steaming water.

"Ranma-kun…" Ikuyo stepped toward him but jumped back as he growled and ripped the bucket off his head.

"You wanna fight me?! Then c'mon!" he got in a stance. The girl did as well.

"Ready, Ranma-kun?" she smiled.

Ranma glared up at the copy but said nothing.

She smiled nad lunged forward, her hands fast as she punched him across the face and landed on one hand on his head before doing a handspring and landing on the limb of a tree.

"I…" Ikuyo shook slightly as she wrung her hand tightly. "I…know this-." A hand shot out, slicing across her cheek.

She turned slowly, in shock as she stared at the offender. Akane stood, her eyes glazed over and her face expressionless.

"A-Akane-chan?" her cheek dripped with blood from where the girls' nails had sliced across.

"Akane?!" Ranma turned quickly to catch a glimpse of her but was grabbed by the shoulders and flipped over Ranma-copy's head. His back slammed into a tree. He quickly recovered and fought with undivided attention once more.

"Akane-chan? Doushite? Tell me?" she whispered as hse backed away from the possessed girl.

Akane charged forward, planting a fist in Ikuyo's stomacha nd lifting her upward. Her other fist joined in and launched the Clarinet Martial artist into the sky.

Blood dripped from the stunned Ikuyo's mouth but hse recovered quickly and pulled her clarinet off her back. She pulled the mouth-piece off the clarinet and blew hard, the loud squeak turnede to an airy and soothing sound, making Akane sway in place. She shook her head ot clear herself and jumped upward with amazing speed, jumping from tree branch to tree branch until she got to where Ikuyo had landed, hanging from a branch by her hand, the other blowing hard into the mouthpiece. A sort of glass shattering squeak erupted formt he mouth-piece once more. Akane seemed unfazed but when she reached out to attack, Ikuyo's clarinet was firmly planted into her stomach.

She was pushed to the ground, shortly followed by fastening reeds that held her fast to the tree she had slammed into.
Ikuyo landed on the ground and lifted her hands. "Ready, Akane-chan? Time to leave this place." She firmly placed her mouthpiece back onto the clarinet's body and held it above her head. "Boushi-shukketsushi!" the clarinet stopped in mid attack.

"Akane-chan, like I was asking. What kind of guy do you want anyway?" she asked softly this time.

"A nice, but tough one. You know, someone like Dr. Tofu." Akane smiled at the doctor/chiropractor/martial artist.

"No…really? He's so dull." She said as she looked sidelong at the doctor.

"Ikuyo!" Akane scolded.

"I think…wouldn't you want excitement?" she asked as she looked up at Akane.

Akane sat huffily down on the chair as she glared at Ikuyo. "What are you getting at?" she growled.

"Well…y'know…you never show interest in guy's…ever and-."

"They're all jerks." Akane interrupted.

Ikuyo stared at the girl. "So…a few kick's and slaps and punches and they're all ready on the road to…semi-respect for you." she said proudly.

"Are you hinting…at Ranma?" Akane said as she stared suspiciously at the martial artist.

Ikuyo stopped as she fell to her knees. She had given the Icy disease a chance to spread through her body. "Akane-chan…" she shivered as the cold spread through her limbs. "I'm sorry…Akane-chan…I'm so sorry." Her eyes closed slowly as her clarinet slipped form her hands. It crashed to the ground, the keys clattering together. "I'm sorry…Koyaga-kun…I can't…make it…" she whispered as her face turned deathly pale and she fell to the ground.

"Ikuyo!!" Ranma called out to her as he watched her fall to the ground. "Ikuyo!! Iku-chan!!"

Akane slumped against her clarinet reed-restraint. "I-Ikuyo-ch-chan…" she whispered.

"Akane…"

"Remember your opponent?!" Ranma-copy yelled as she planted a Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken into his face.

Ranma grabbed her hands and planted the same Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken into her stomach.

Her mouth spit out something rather unlikable and her hair fell limp revealing long brown hair, which curled at the ends. Her face changed to eyes of a deep forest green but her body size stayed the same.

"Damn…"s he curses loudly as she jumped backward in a triple handspring. "Ranma-kun, you're very good de gozaru. It as more then a privilege to fight you. But…" she stopped as he cast a glance at the muttering Akane and the shivering Ikuyo. "Ikuyo-chan is injured as well as the poor Akane-san…" she looked sad.

"Feh! Why would you care? You're the one fightin' me!" he yelled.

"I never wanted to be apart of Kiyoja's army but…time's have been bad here de gozaro yo. I'm sorry, Ranma-san."

"W-Wait….Miyo-chan…" Ikuyo's frail whisper came.

"Ikuyo-chan?" the girl named Miyo was by Ikuyo's side in an instant.

"Thank…you…for helping….Akane-chan…"

"It's alright…de gozaro." Miyo smiled. "Lo Mein and I work together, ne Lo Mein-chan?"

"Hai…" she seemed to appear out of no where. Lo Mein's hair was over her shoulder in a tight braid of fiery red.

"Where's the ninja…Sasuki or somethin'…" Miyo said as she stood and produced a brown red and blue cloak like Lo Mein's own.

"Sasuke…ma'am…" came Sasuke's voice from behind the overbearing Lo Mein.

"Oh yeah…" Miyo jumped upward and in the pink smoke in her palm puffed a little book. "Sasuke…you're the…uh…servant of Kuno Tatewaki…" she sighed. "He's worthless."

Sasuke gasped but said nothing. "Let's take him along…he's such a charm to be around…Kinda cute too." Lo Mein said as she turned with a swirl of red and blue robes.

"You have the worst taste, Lo Mein-chan…well…Take care, Ranma-kun! Akane-chan!" she said as she waved. "Ikuyo-chan! Kill Kiyoja for me!"

"H-Hai…" Ikuyo shivered again but stood slowly.

"Are you okay, Iku-chan?" Ranma asked as he picked up Akane and pushed onto his back.

"Yeah…let's get to the capital, though, before we miss our chance."

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"Hmm…I lost Lo Mein's and Miyo's chi…" Kiyoja said quietly.

"What was that, Empress?" her servant asked as they walked down the long corridors of the palace.

"Uh…nothing!!" she said in her fake Empress voice.

"Oh…"

They're betraying me…I know it!

"I need to go somewhere…alone!" she said the last part loudly as her servant prepared to follow her.

"Hai, Empress-san." He turned and walked away down the corridor.

Kiyoja jumped out of the window nearest her and landed on a tree branch. Pulling a wooden flute from her pocket, she played a soft tune and was gone in a flash.

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Was that good? I hope so…anyway…I know that Miyo-chan changed form bad guy to good girl so quickly you probably couldn't catch it but I didn't want her to be evil. Most of the people in Kiyoja's army was…well *SPOILER* made by her.

Anyway, this story is rapidly coming to a close…only about three or four more chapters so…yeah…

Next chapter:

Chapter 14: Spring of Drowned Kiyoja