The characters depicted in this story are not mine. Ranma 1/2 and all
related characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I have written
Dual Destinies purely for entertainment.
[]: Thoughts
{" "} Telepathic communication
Chapter 4
Double Trouble
Ranma Red and Ranma Blue found themselves standing on the
streets of Nerima. They looked around and saw that they were about ten
blocks from the dojo. It was early morning and the sun was just starting
to come up over the horizon. Fortunately for both Saotomes, none of
the streets were very crowded, and they did not meet anyone they knew.
As they began to walk in the direction of the dojo, they discussed the
events that had happened to them.
"You know, it's kinda weird walking beside myself like this." Ranma
Red remarked.
"No more weirder for me than it is for you. I always wondered what
it would be like to have a brother." Ranma Blue replied.
"Yeah, the same thing goes for me too. By the way, have you thought
about what we're going to say to Pop and the Tendos?"
"No, I haven't. How about you?"
"I don't have a clue. It'll be hard enough to explain that we're twins,
but when they hear that we want to marry Shampoo and Ukyo, then it's
going to really hit the roof!"
"It's funny though. I've… we've known Ucchan since we were six.
I've never thought of her as anything but a good friend. But now, I…
really… love her! She's… I don't know! I'm just so new at this love
stuff! I'm just getting used to the fact that I'm admitting it! I can't seem
to imagine what life would be without her! It's like I've always loved
her, but I was too scared to say it!"
"Same thing with me!" Ranma Red agreed. "Heck! I already said that
Shampoo was really cute! She's nice toward me, cooks great and she
doesn't smash me when something goes wrong! I'll admit that she can
be… OVER-AFFECTIONATE, but… I don't mind it now. I can't stop
thinking about her! It's weird! She and her great-grandmother have been
trying to get me to follow that Amazon Law all this time, and now I
want to marry her! Funny how that works out!"
"Yeah. I guess when we were one guy, we just couldn't show how we
felt about them. Come to think of it, we couldn't even show how we felt
about Akane."
"Akane." Ranma Red became silent after saying her name. After a
minute of deep thought, he then said in a quiet voice, "She's not going
to take this very well. Neither will her family or Pop."
"Not exactly something to look forward to after discovering your
long lost twin brother." Ranma Blue heard his stomach rumble. At the
same time, Ranma Red's stomach also gave out its protest to be fed.
"Hey! That's right! We haven't eaten since last night!"
"Yeah! I'm starving! How much money do you have?" Ranma Red dug
into his pockets. Unfortunately, that was when he remembered that he
had given all of his money to Nabiki the day before. She had taken a
photo of him kissing Shampoo and had blackmailed him with it. He then
looked at his brother, who also realized that he was in the same
predicament.
The twins shrugged their shoulders in depression.
{"Don't worry you two!"} A familiar voice said.
The two brothers began looking around for Taron, whom they had
heard in their heads. They couldn't see where their benefactor was.
{"Don't bother looking for me or my brother, guys! We're still in
the Realm of Infinity. We've been monitoring you since you got back
to Earth."}
{"That's right!"} Soren added. {"We're using telepathy to
communicate with you two. Don't bother speaking out loud. We can
hear your thoughts. We'll soon be teaching you two how to do this, so
you'll be able to communicate with each other as well as other people."}
[Cool!] Ranma Red thought.
[Hey Taron! Why were we sent back to Earth?] Ranma Blue asked.
[Aren't we supposed to be in training against the Dark World?]
{"Not yet Ranma Blue. Right now, Soren and I thought it would be
better for the two of you to have some time to yourselves. After all,
you two have been through quite an experience! Don't worry, you'll be
going through your training soon enough. By the way, if you're hungry,
go three blocks to your left and ask the manager if he needs help
moving some boxes."}
[Huh?] Both Ranmas thought.
{"Trust me!"} Taron assured.
The twins approached a small café that was just opening up for the
breakfast business. Inside, they saw an old man who was trying to move
several heavy boxes from one side of the room to the back. Unfortunately,
he was having a hard time of it. Both Ranmas rushed to his side when they
saw him bend over and clutch his back as he tried to lift a heavy crate.
"Are you okay?" Ranma Red asked.
The old man shook his head as he winced in pain. The brothers
helped the old man to a table. As he sat down, each Ranma took a chair
and sat on either side of him.
"Thank you boys!" The old man said. "I'm glad that you two came
along. My back had given out again! My stupid employee forgot to
move those things to the storage room last night, and I'm afraid I'm in
no condition now to move them myself!"
Remembering what Taron had said, Ranma Blue asked, "Hey! We can
help you!"
"Yeah! We could move that stuff! No problem!" Ranma Red agreed.
The old man brightened up when he heard their offer. "You can? That
would be great! Tell you what. If you could move all those boxes and
arrange them in the storeroom, I'll give you both some breakfast! On
the house! Anything you want! Deal?"
"Deal!" Both Ranmas replied.
Ten minutes later, both Saotomes were finished stacking up the
boxes and were ready to have breakfast. As the two emerged from the
storeroom, the old man was already firing up the grill.
"Good job boys! I'll have the grill warmed up in a few minutes. Say,
would one of you take that curtain and set it up outside?" He pointed to
a blue shop curtain that was neatly folded up on a nearby table.
"Sure! No problem!" Ranma Blue replied as he picked up the curtain
and headed out the door.
As Ranma Blue was finishing up with the curtain, he glanced to his
left and then spotted a familiar figure walking up the street toward the
café. He frowned as he saw the familiar bandanna.
[Now where the heck am I?] Ryoga Hibiki was once again totally
lost. As he scratched his head, he looked around for some kind of
landmark. It was then that he spotted a familiar person who was hanging
up a shop curtain. As soon as he saw that pigtail, his eyes became red
with rage.
"Ranma! Prepare to Die!!!" Ryoga's standard battle cry echoed
through the streets as he began charging. Ranma Blue finished hanging
up the curtain, then jumped down to engage the lost boy. As he took a
ready stance, he soon discovered that his ki levels were dangerously
low. He tried to generate some of his usual confidence chi, but it was
then that he became a little dizzy and unbalanced.
[What's wrong with me?]
He was barely able to avoid Ryoga's first attack, which was consisted
of a few savage punches, followed by a roundhouse kick.
Inside the café, Ranma Red had also heard Ryoga's shout. Looking
outside the window, he saw his brother dodge a flying kick as Ryoga
leapt at him. He also noticed that Ranma Blue was not really doing as
well as he should be since his movements were sluggish and the timing
was off somewhat.
[Damn! Why did we have to meet up with him now?] Ranma Red
got up and ran out the door to assist his new sibling. As he began
powering up his own ki energy, he realized that he too wasn't up to
snuff. He almost tripped over his own feet as he came through the door.
"Now you will pay for cheating on Akane!" Ryoga roared as he threw
another savage punch at Ranma Blue's face.
Ranma Blue dodged the punch and sent a kick to the side of Ryoga's
head. The twin Ranma became a bit irritated that his kick seemed to
lack a substantial amount of his usual strength. Fortunately, Ryoga was
off balance when the kick was delivered and the lost boy staggered
back. It was then that Ranma Blue saw his brother come out the door.
Just as Ryoga turned, Ranma Red delivered another kick to his other
temple, blindsiding him and making him dazed.
"We gotta finish this fast!" Ranma Red shouted as he took a stance.
Ranma Blue was about to object to his brother's interference, but
then reconsidered. It wouldn't do for Ryoga to learn the truth yet, and
keeping him confused and off balance could only help. Besides, he was
hungry. He nodded to his brother and took the same stance and began
focusing whatever ki he had. His brother did likewise.
Just as Ryoga was about to get his senses back, he looked toward the
direction where that last kick came from. He looked up and saw Ranma
was poised and ready. Ryoga snarled as he prepared to attack. Then he
heard a voice behind him. To his surprise, it was Ranma's voice.
"KATCHU!" Ranma Blue shouted.
Ryoga looked behind him and his eyes widened as he saw another
Ranma dressed in a blue shirt.
"TENSHIN!" Ranma Red shouted.
Ryoga looked back at the Ranma he was facing and saw that his shirt
was red.
"AMAGURIKEN!!!" Both Ranmas shouted.
Ryoga could do nothing but stand in shock as the two Saotomes
charged in from both sides and began raining high-speed punches on
him like a pair of machine guns. In less than a second, the Hibiki boy
found himself subjected to the force of 1024 rapid-fire blows. His
body flared with pain as he was struck in the head, chest and midsection.
Ordinarily, Ryoga could take several amagurikens, due to the high
endurance that he gained from the Bakusai Tenketsu training. However,
the surprise of seeing two Ranmas, plus the power of two amagurikens
occurring simultaneously on both sides of his body, was just too much
for him to handle. After the last punches hit home, Ryoga slumped into
unconsciousness.
Both Ranmas stood in relief as their mutual enemy dropped. Then
they dropped to their knees in exhaustion. They looked up at each other
and smiled. In the past, Ranma had always resented having people
interfere with his fights. This time however, each Ranma was glad that
the other helped out. It was that special bond of understanding between
brothers that both Saotomes were just discovering.
{"Way to go you two!!} Taron commented.
[Taron? You saw the whole thing?] Ranma Red asked.
{"We both did."} Soren added. {"I was impressed by your teamwork!"}
[But, it wasn't a fair fight! I should have beaten Ryoga by myself!]
Ranma Blue thought.
{"Don't let it bother you! When you go up against the Dark World,
you'll find that your opponents are not so honorable. The more important
thing is that you trusted each other. Trust and cooperation are very vital if
you are to beat the Dark World. There may be a time in which your
brother is the only thing that stands between victory and death! Besides,
you made the right decision by taking out Ryoga quickly. It wouldn't do if
certain people were to learn about you two right now. When he wakes up,
he'll probably dismiss this event as a dream or a hallucination. At worst,
he'll think that you came up with some new technique or that someone
else was disguised as you."}
[What's wrong with us Taron?] Ranma Blue queried.
[Yeah. I feel so weak. The Chestnut Fist took a lot out of us! I don't
get it! Usually, we could do ten Chestnut Fists without getting winded.
That one time took just about all we had!] Ranma Red asked.
{"That's understandable."} Soren replied. {"You see, when we split
you two, we also had to split your ki energy in half. Each of you have
only half of your original ki. Don't worry though. We'll show you two
how to rebuild your ki and a few other ways you can manipulate it as
well."}
{"In any case, we're very happy to know that you two are getting
along so well. After you guys have eaten, make sure you are not spotted
by anyone. At noon, head down to the vacant lot behind Ryoga's house.
That's the one place where we know that Ryoga won't find you. That's
where we will begin your training. We'll check back with you guys
later."}
Both Ranmas sighed as they picked up Ryoga and hauled him into the
café. Luckily, the manager had his first aid kit on hand. After patching
up Ryoga's injuries, they placed him on a cot that was set up in the
storeroom. They then settled down to eat breakfast.
Half an hour later the twins exited the café. After thanking the
manager for the food, they asked him to look after Ryoga until he came
to. As they walked down the streets, they mentally prepared themselves
for the trials ahead.
To be continued…
AUTHOR'S NOTES
I just couldn't resist that scene with Ryoga confronting the twins like
that. Ever since I had created Ranma Red and Ranma Blue, I kept on
thinking what something like that would look like! I'll admit that it was a
bit on the unfair side, but after all the trouble that Ryoga had caused
Ranma, I felt as if Ranma needed to deal out some payback. Just
remember, the lost boy did team up with Mousse that one time in the
anime.
As you may have noticed, both Ranmas are now becoming a little
more mature, now that they have been separated and I will be
developing their character more in the future.
I really couldn't think of any major changes to this chapter while
doing my rewrite so there isn't much addition in this one. The only
thing that bothered me was that the twins had shown no after affects
from the process, which split them. So I added it in.