[FanFic][Ranma][Divergence][Rev] Reflections Vol 1 Part 02


Ranma Nibunnoichi - Reflections : Vol. 01 - Stuck in the Middle
With You A V. Morgan avmorgan27@comcast.net


Repost Note: Fixed formatting errors.


Diverging continuation of the Two Ranmas story (V35 P1-4).
Revision. Mature Content Warning. Disclaimer and Notes at the
end of Part One. Original Version can be found at
FanFiction.Net in the R rated category:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1029261/1/


Part Two: Divide and Conquer

A peaceful calm fell over the Tendo household after Anma and
Anko were deposited in separate rooms to sleep off the battle.
Soun finished his cigarette out on the veranda, listening to the
koi splashing inn the pond, and let out a long sigh. Nabiki,
walking by sucking on the last of a Popsicle, just shook her
head and smiled to herself. Under one arm, she carried a basket
with her bath things crammed inside. She passed by Genma, still
in panda form, carefully setting up the pieces on the Shogi
table, glancing earnestly in his old friend's direction. Ranma
entered the sitting room, spotted his father, and slumped across
from Akane at the table with a grunt of disdain. The evening
breeze tickled the wind chimes, eliciting the feeling that the
calm would last. The middle Tendo daughter knew better. It was
simply too much to hope that the clones would remain unconscious
through the night. Nabiki would not have even covered a bet that
the two would remain out of commission until the rest of the
household was ready to turn in for the night. As a result,
Nabiki was hardly surprised to find the couple mooning over each
other in the furo when she went in to take her bath. She
surreptitiously snapped a few pictures and thanked the Kami that
Akane had allowed her to bathe first tonight. Finishing up the
last of the roll of film in her camera, Nabiki cleared her
throat.

"It's probably a violation of some natural law that Akane did
not find you in here first," she grinned, watching them both
start in shock. It did not take much imagination to picture the
explosion accompanying a visit from Akane. Shallow as their
experiences were, the death-trap-in-a-dress with the hair-
trigger temper who was known as Akane had made an impression on
both of them. Since her target of choice was Ranma shaped, it
was not hard to classify her as a threat to their own well
being. Most importantly, however, their privacy had been
interrupted. Not feeling comfortable continuing their activities
in Nabiki's presence, they tripped over each other to vacate the
bath. Shaking her head, Nabiki shut the door after them and
sighed, "Unbelievable. They're both just like him."

A short while later, as Nabiki rinsed the soap and shampoo away,
and slipped into the warmth of the furo, Kasumi was trying to
complete her chores for the night. Opening the closet under the
stairs, to put a couple of small boxes up for storage, she was
surprised by the sight of the clones furiously ablaze with
tension, struggling with nerves and apprehension to consummate a
kiss.

"Oh my! Please excuse me," she blushed, quickly stashing the
boxes on a shelf above the pair, and shutting the door. Having
averted her eyes at once, she had not noticed the two jumping
apart, their hair standing on end, clutching their hearts and
panting in shock. Entering the living room, Kasumi cautiously
approached Genma. "Mr. Saotome, I really think you need to talk
to Ranma's twins."

The panda grunted, his attention unwaveringly focused on the
game with Soun.

"About what, Kasumi?" Ranma asked, rising from his spot at the
table and facing her curiously.

"Ah, well�" Kasumi blushed and fidgeted uncharacteristically.

Ranma swallowed nervously.

"It's kind of startling. I mean, they are so much like you,
Ranma-kun."

Ranma opened his mouth to protest, but Akane interrupted. "What
have they done this time, Oneechan?"

"I think they are trying to make out under the stairs. Only,
they don't seem to be doing a very good job of it�" Kasumi
trailed off as Ranma and Akane rushed out of the room. It was
hard for her to determine which of them had looked more
disturbed.

Ranma and Akane found the closet door ajar as they approached.
Looking inside, it was evident that the couple had fled after
being discovered. They looked around the house and dojo for a
while, trying to find them, but had little success. Frustrated
by the fruitless search, and reminded by his stomach that he had
not finished dinner, Ranma wandered into the kitchen to prepare
a snack. Turning on the lights, he spotted the couple in the
corner, eyes closed and lips a hair away from touching. Ranma
stood there for a moment in a kind of shock. With one eye
twitching, he struggled with a feeling he could not describe. It
was if he was standing outside of himself, trying to stop what
was happening by sheer will, but at the same time feeling a
perverse fascination. He could feel their chi billowing around
them like a furnace. The harder they tried to close the
distance, the more powerful the energy surrounding them became.
It was like they were trying to force two magnets together the
wrong way.

In spite of himself, Ranma became intrigued by the phenomenon.
On the surface, the energy they were generating was consistent
with their respective genders, so they ought to have been
clicking together. It certainly was not a product of shyness or
uncertainty, such as Ranma had experienced the time Akane had
dared him to kiss her in the dojo. If there was a truly
shameless couple anywhere in Tokyo, it was the pair right in
front of him. On some obtuse level, Ranma took their inability
to succeed in their endeavor as a personal insult. Finally he
could not take it. Oblivious to Akane frozen in outrage and
apprehension behind him, he grabbed the girl and whipped her
around to face him. "What's with you? You didn't have any
problems kissing Ryouga!" he accused. The couple blinked at him
in confusion.

"Ranma!" Akane shouted in disbelief, startling her fiance and
causing his duplicates to cringe. The surge of anger washed out
the concern that had gripped her when she caught Ranma staring
at Anma and Anko. "Are you trying to encourage her!?" Akane
demanded righteously, as she pounded Ranma to the floor.

"That's not it at all!" Ranma raged, rebounding instantly.

"Seemed like it to me," the clones muttered, mystified.

"You stay out of this!" Akane and Ranma growled.

The couple slipped away as Akane and Ranma continued shouting at
each other. Even when they slipped outside they could still hear
the quarrel. The exchange quickly devolved into insults and
violence followed by an eerie silence, punctuated only by Akane
stomping up to her room. Unconcerned, the couple sought out a
private perch on top of the house, determined to get on with
"binding" as Anko so eloquently put it.

Ranma slowly picked himself up off the kitchen floor, swallowing
the surge of fury inspired by Akane's "conversation stopper" and
looked around. As expected, the lovebirds had flown the coop.
While he had tried to explain to Akane, who did not listen to a
word, that he had only been confused by odd repulsion he had
detected between the copies, they had gotten away. Taking a deep
breath and letting it out in a long sigh, Ranma shook his head.
Why didn't Akane notice something weird was goin' on with those
two? Ranma asked himself. He had seen then snuggle and kiss
before on their return from Mirror Mansion. Kasumi noticed they
were havin' problems, and she usually misses stuff like that.
What's really strange is, why did it make me feel so strange?
Kinda dizzy, like I was workin' out on top of a mountain, and
kinda like maybe I was fallin' off the edge�

Ranma shook his head. There was something very strange about
this situation, stranger than having the two of them around,
stranger than the usual weirdness that scared him. The funny
part was, he was not afraid, it was just the feeling, like when
he first heard a c- one of those furry, pointy eared demons
meowing. Squaring his shoulders, Ranma assured himself that he
was not afraid of what his reflections might do. It was just
creepy. Why am I even tryin' to stop them? I don't care what
they do together as long as they aren't getting me in trouble
with anyone else.

But, Ranma knew he would be held responsible, that everyone
would keep on judging him on the basis of what they did.
Frowning, he slipped out into the backyard through the kitchen
door. He knew he would have to continue searching for the
troublemakers, but for the moment he just wanted to be alone and
look at the stars. He was still angry about the things Akane had
said to him before stomping off. The beating he had received was
already forgotten, but her accusations still burned in his mind.
The fact that she refused to hear his explanation gnawed at him
worse. The fact that she still held him responsible, and
despised him, for things that he was not responsible for--for
things that happened to him, rankled the worst. He could have
come to terms with and gotten over all of the things that had
happened to him since Jusenkyo, if they had not earned him so
much pity, spite and contempt from Akane.

Why do I care what she thinks anyway? Ranma thought petulantly,
turning around and preparing for a leap to the roof. Before he
could make another move toward his closest sanctuary, Ranma's
mind flashed over a number of moments when a different Akane had
allowed herself to be glimpsed. An Akane that appeared more
frequently before strangers and casual acquaintances, Ranma
noted unhappily. The only time Akane had been unconditionally
sweet and kind and understanding with Ranma had been that short
time after they first met, when Akane had believed Ranma was
really a girl. Even after Akane had accepted the curse, she had
still been quick to call Ranma a pervert or a freak. Sometimes,
Ranma thought, It's like� I'm not enough of a girl for her.

Ranma pushed that thought out of his mind and leaped up to the
roof. As he landed lightly on the tiles, he caught sight of Anma
and Anko. From the first glance, it was obvious that the pair of
them were trying to get back into the mood, stroking each other
in a loose embrace while leaning in toward each other for a
kiss. Ranma stared at the two of them for a moment, all
indifference toward their antics blown away by their invasion of
his roof top retreat, and finally lost it. The minute he tried
to get away from his troubles with them, they cut in ahead of
him. Unless he did something now, he would never have a moment's
peace. It was time to put his foot down. Whipping the compact
mirror out of his shirt, he advanced on them. "That does it. If
the two of you don't break it up this instant, and go to your
rooms, one of you is going inside this with Happosai for the
rest of the week!" Ranma threatened.

"Ha! We know all about that trap, Ranma!" Anko declared, jumping
to her feet with Anma. The clones took up guard positions
against Ranma, waiting for him to make the first move. "You'll
never trick us into it!"

"I've seen you use it, and Anko's told me all about it," Anma
informed Ranma with a smirk.

Ranma bit his lip, cursing himself silently. It would have been
nice if they had just taken his threat as a warning. He was dead
serious, and prepared to carry out his threat. By opposing him,
they forced him to, and being trapped in a confined space with
the warped old master was not a pleasant fate. Clearly, they did
not think he was capable of beating them, looking eager and
ready to meet his challenge, but Ranma felt confident he could
trick one of them into the mirror. As his copies, he knew
exactly what they were capable of, and no one could know him
better than he knew himself.

"Have it your way." He tucked the compact away and stared them
both down.

Without warning, he darted in close. Ranma started with a
careful sequence of thrusts and feints. Each move exploded from
him, as he forced the other two into motion. As expected, they
evaded the initial string of kicks and foot sweeps, jumping high
to get clear and landing on opposite eaves of the roof. Ranma
stood alone at the peak and center of the roof.

"Why are you doing this?" Anko asked, touching down at one end
of the peak.

"Why won't you leave us alone?" Anma demanded from the opposite
end.

"Like you don't know!" Ranma accused, glaring.

Anma and Anko did not linger. They sprinted in toward Ranma
along the tiled crest, silently coordinating a high-low attack.
Ranma literally climbed out of the way, hopping onto Anko's
striking foot, then bouncing up to spring board off of Anma's
striking fist. He stayed in the air, riding the tide of blows
for a few moments as the two worked through a series of close in
strikes and grappling moves.

"Hold him, Anko!" Anma commanded.

"I'm trying, Anma!" she cried, trying to take advantage of her
superior speed.

"Come on! Give it up!" Ranma retorted, easily slipping out of
her grasp before she could pin him effectively. "Why do you have
to be so difficult!?" he complained.

"You started this!" the pair protested.

Anma and Anko redoubled their efforts. They struck quickly and
precisely, hoping to disrupt the rhythm of Ranma's evasions,
wearing grins of concentration and determination the equal of
Ranma's own. Each strike, grab, thrust, punch, kick, and reverse
was met and countered, but all of it was a smoke screen. Ranma
knew that they were really trying to trump this threat by taking
the compact from him.

"I didn't start this! You two are out of control!" Ranma
accused.

"We're not hurting anyone!" Anko declared.

"Why do you have to interfere?" Anma asked angrily.

Their close-in grappling disguised their attempts to pat him
down and locate the compact. He put up enough to a defense to
keep their hands from diving into the folds of his clothing, and
keep them focused on their efforts to snatch the compact he had
carefully palmed and shifted into ki-space. It was the same
technique Mousse used, on a massive scale, for his hidden
weapons technique. Ranma was still trying to figure out the
version Akane used, which allowed her to occasionally summon an
familiar weapon to hand in moments of righteous anger--but since
she could not do it consciously at will, and she typically used
it when Ranma was distracted, he had not yet solved the mystery.

"I can't let you two�" Ranma could not complete the sentence. He
still could not really deal with their mutual affection. His
mind flashed back to the sight of them pawing at each other, and
he experienced a sudden queasiness as it crossed threads with
the feel of their hands darting all over his body, trying to
slip inside his shirt and pant's waist.

"Hey!" Anma cried out as Ranma lashed out in a burst of
desperation.

"Gotta get away�" Ranma gasped, on the verge of a panic attack.
He broke through the fence of lashing limbs and launched himself
over the length of the covered walkway, landing on the dojo
roof. Anma and Anko followed immediately, working together to
pin Ranma down, forcing him to expend energy dodging their
gauntlet of attacks.

"You can't run away now, Ranma!" Anko declared, determined to
disarm Ranma of his one effective weapon.

"If you'd just keep your hands to yourselves," Ranma pled
angrily, blocking and deflecting their probes more forcefully,
"I wouldn't have t' fight with you!" He could feel his skin
tingling from every contact they had made, and he was growing
desperate to end the fight.

"It's much more fun putting my hands all over you!" Anko
taunted, allowing one of her probes to turn into a caress.
Watching Ranma cringe, she realized she had found the hole in
his defenses. With a wicked grin, she looked at her counterpart
and proposed, "We'll stop fighting if you agree to take turns
snuggling with us."

Ranma stared at her in wide-eyed alarm, grabbing Anma and
thrusting him forward as Anko lunged forward in a patented glomp
attack. From that point, the conflict dissolved into utter
chaos. The battle coursed between the roof, nearby trees and the
compound wall. Oddly, none of them attempted to leave the
immediate premises. One way or another, they each sought to
resolve the conflict right there in the yard. Unfortunately,
their contest had drawn itself out long enough for the rest of
the household to pour out onto the veranda to see what the
commotion was all about.

"Oh, look! Ranma's playing with his new twins," Kasumi chirped
in delight.

"What are they fighting about now?" Nabiki inquired laconically.

"See, Tendo? I told you my son would deal with those two," Genma
announced proudly, towling himself off from a recent application
of hot water. "Come on, Boy! Put those impostors in their
place!" he goaded his son on aggressively.

"Which one is Ranma?" Soun asked, studying the fight with a
frown of confusion.

"Why are you still encouraging them, Ranma!?" Akane shouted
angrily.

As everyone commented or complained, their heads bobbed and
turned following the action. Nabiki, in particular, focused in
on the exchange studiously. From listening to the shouts,
threats and insults that were being traded, she realized that
Ranma was trying to capture one of the clones in the trap
mirror. "I think he's trying to trap them in the compact with
Happosai," she informed the group.

Akane glanced at her sister, and then turned back to the action
with a more pensive look. It had sounded to her more like the
two reflections were trying to encourage Ranma to do perverted
things with them, as they molested her fiance in a fashion only
Happosai could duplicate.

"Where is it!?" Anko demanded petulantly, pressing herself up
against Ranma's chest.

"I'll beat it out of you, if that's what it takes!" Anma
threatened.

"Fine!" Ranma shouted back. "Just don't TOUCH me like that
again!" Ranma did not know if Anma was just following Anko's
lead in probing into more daring regions, or if she had goaded
him into searching where it would be too forward for her to
reach as a girl. If anything could provoke him to bring out the
compact without a clear shot at one of them it would be either
of them trying to stick a hand down his pants again.

"That must be where he's hiding it!" Anko cried
enthusiastically, making a move to dive right at Ranma's crotch.
"He sure has something there worth hiding!"

"Well, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!" Anma declared,
grabbing Ranma by the belt and preparing to thrust a hand in.

Ranma twisted free and jumped across the yard to escape,
clutching one hand over his heart while the other was clamped
securely over the cloth belt holding his pants up. "Whatta ya
think you're doin'? You're a guy, damn it!" he cried out in
disbelief. He had thrown away a chance to catch one of them in
the mirror, but he had not been willing to risk being dragged in
along with them. The new tactics Anko was employing were making
Ranma more desperate to end this fight than any other in his
life. The same tactics did not work in reverse, since Anko
simply welcomed any threateningly intimate gestures on Ranma's
part. "I gotta stop this�" Ranma panted under his breath.

Anma and Anko were being far cautious, however, leading Ranma to
think they had figured out his strategy. When they tried to
retrieve the compact from where they thought it was, they were
prepared for him to try springing it on them. They would
actually open themselves up for an instant hoping to lure the
compact out into the open where one or the other could make a
grab for it. But, that gave Ranma an idea.

"That's enough!" Ranma turned on his opponents with renewed
confidence.

Anma paused, wary of the change in Ranma's demeanor.

Anko grabbed her partner by the shoulder and nudged him on,
"Come on. He's not that tough. I wish I'd known your weakness
before, Ranma."

"Give it up. You're nothing next to Happosai," Ranma snorted,
conjuring up the mental and emotional defenses that allowed him
to prevail in combat against the master molestor himself. Taking
a stance, he urged them to come at him.

With a shared nod, the copies indulged him.

To everyone's surprise, Ranma suddenly became the only one
capable of getting in clean hits. Taking advantage of the
openings they created to provoke or sucker him into using the
compact, he was able to strike them soundly and solidly. That
brought their flirtation and molestation to an end. They resumed
the offensive with more conventional attacks, but they were
still limited by their determination to bring the compact into
play. He employed his new strategy brilliantly, holding the
compact in reserve while gradually wearing them down with clean,
unopposed shots, and focusing everything else on defense.

Unfortunately, Akane had been stuck on the sidelines for too
long. Having watched Ranma strugging against two to one odds,
she convinced herself that he could not beat them on his own.
After all, they were both as good at martial arts as he was, if
their experiences with the female copy the week before were
anything to go by. So, without any warning, she decided to jump
in and help him.

As she did, the clones instantly changed their strategy.

"Akane! This is my fight! Get out of the way or you'll get
hurt!" Ranma warned at once.

"Don't be an idiot, Ranma! It's two against one!" Akane retorted
angrily.

"Look who wants to play!" Anko stopped focusing on Ranma, and
turned to confront Akane.

Anma continued pressing Ranma with probing thrusts. "I don't
need your help, Akane!" he shouted, adding to the confusion.

"Don't you dare pretend to be me!" Ranma growled, engaging his
duplicate with more fury.

"Oh no you don't! That's my line!" Anma responded with equal
animosity.

"Pay attention to who you're fighting!" Anko shouted, driving
forward at Akane with an aggressive series of strikes.

Akane dodged frantically, straining to evade the lightning kicks
and punches Anko was delivering. The diminutive redhead pressed
on, deliberately pushing Akane to her very limits, but carefully
not exceeding them.

Ranma could only spare part of his attention to follow the fight
between the girls as Anma danced around him, forcing him to spin
inside his orbit to keep his opponent in his field of view. The
fighting was more equal now that the other boy was concentrating
on keeping Ranma tied up while Anko dealt with Akane.

"Akane! Get outta there before you get hurt!" Anma paused to
shout.

"I can handle myself! Just hurry up and use the compact!" Akane
returned between wild punches. She could not understand her
failure to connect with Anko, but her temper was rising, and the
mallet that never let her down was itching to come into play.

"You're talking to the wrong guy!" Ranma shouted out in
indignation, then followed up with, "But go ahead and listen to
him. This isn't your fight!"

"Which one IS Ranma?" Soun asked from the sidelines.

"I've lost track," Nabiki admitted.

"Oh, Akane! You girls shouldn't be fighting!" Kasumi
reprimanded, holding a hand over her mouth in shock.

"You call this fighting?" Anko jeered, giving Akane a
speculative look. Dodging casually around all of the raven-
haired girl's attacks, she yawned. With a precisely timed series
of gentle thrusts, she deflected a storm of heavy blows and
tapped at Akane's ankle, hip and shoulder, sending the girl into
a wild spin that ended with the girl crashing face first into
the grass. "Give it up, Akane. You're just to fat, slow and
clumsy to be a real martial artist," Anko criticized
dismissively.

Ranma and Anma whipped around a few more times, with Ranma's
head snapping around in alarm to track his fiancee's fall. On
the next revolution, he spotted Akane angrily heaving herself
back to her feet and summoning her mallet.

"That was a dirty trick!" Akane snarled furiously, hefting her
mallet and charging Anko.

Ranma's back was to the action when the two girls met. Only a
solid thunk and a whoosh of air blown out of stunned lungs
served to announce the result of their clash. Ranma's fears were
confirmed when he glimpsed Anko tapping Akane's mallet against
her palm while watching the youngest Tendo struggle to remain on
her feet, bent over and gasping like a fish out of water.

Anko was hefting the mallet, in position for a devastating down
swing when Ranma was forced to return his attention to Anma's
next offensive. The two exchanged a violent series of blows, one
of them desperate to end things quickly, the other determined to
stretch the fight out. While there was one rebellious thought in
Ranma's head about Akane finally learning what it was like to be
on the receiving end of that infameous hammer, genuine fear for
her safety drowned it out.

Ranma heard the horrible thunk of wood on flesh and whipped
around, standing amazed for a second to see that Akane had
actually kicked the hammer out of Anko's hands. One arm was
clenched over her bruised diaphragm, the other raised in a
fisted defense as Akane glared at her foe.

Ranma could not take the suspense anymore. Trying to end the
fight before Akane got seriously hurt, or distracted him enough
for Anma to get the upper hand, Ranma took the first opening his
clone offered and tried to end it. Producing the mirror and
flipping it open lightening fast to catch the wide-eyed gaze of
his opponant, Ranma thought his victory was assured. Anma,
prepared for this maneuver since the start of the fight, moved
his hand just an instant before Ranma brought the compact in
line, and caught him by the wrist. In a deft motion, he twisted
Ranma's wrist and broke his hold on the mirror. Catching the
mirror in the same movement, he flipped it around in Ranma's
face.

"Oh, man!" Ranma barely got out, before being sucked into the
mirror.

-----

It was not uncommon for Ranma's mind to rapidly rehash events,
whenever an opponent managed to out maneuver him. It pulled up
every incident in recent memory that had a bearing on and could
have contributed to his current setback, and then tried to find
a common denominator. The first thing that flashed to mind was
when Akane had dragged him into the panty fight with Anko. The
next thing that popped up was when Akane had pounded him one
time too many in the kitchen, sending him up to the roof where
he got into another battle with the clones. The third, and most
damning recollection was of the point in the fight where Akane
had jumped in and caused him to act in haste, falling into
Anma's trap. A conclusion was quickly reached and then rejected
on the grounds that it was too obvious--and beyond his ability
to circumvent. That entire process was worth about one blink.
The next blink of thought was devoted to the situation his
current set back was thrusting him into. Being captured in the
trap mirror was a little like falling off a cliff, or down an
open manhole. Having been sucked into it several times before,
he was already prepared for the ambient light of the crystal
faceted chamber. Like a c- creature he was loathe to name, he
flipped in the air and landed gracefully on his feet, adjusting
automatically to the internal gravity of the compact. All in
all, the transition was no more disorienting than stepping
inside the house after an evening workout.

With the exception of several things. First, what he had just
left was more than just a work out. His final challenge to
separate the mirror clones had ended disastrously. Thanks to
that, he was barreling headlong into�

The sudden spash of water as a cold waterballoon burst on the
back of Ranma's head and drenched him forced her mind to jump
straight to its second point.

"Hotcha! I knew you wouldn't leave your dear old master alone
for too long!" the shriveled old man crowed as he rested his
bald head on the bosom of damp martial artist.

"Oh man! I really don't need this!" Ranma-chan wailed, kicking
herself into overdrive to escape from the pervert's relentless
glomp attack. Armed with a wealth of lingerie and his favorite
"student", the old man could not contain his glee.

"Oh, Ranma-chan! Let me help you try on these silky darlings!"

In spite of her terror, Ranma-chan turned part of her mind to
wondering how much worse things outside must have turned. With
her out of the way, there was no one left in the house who could
stop his twins from� It did not bear thinking on.

On the other side of the mirror, Anma came to a graceful
landing, snapping the compact closed. Straightening up, head
slightly bowed to hide a smirk of victory, he held up and
clenched his fist. "Got him!" The rest of the household looked
on as a pillar of chi spiraled around him in a halo of
illumination. Naturally, this display put no one at ease. In the
heat of combat, it had been impossible to keep track of which
Ranma was which.

The battle between Akane and Anko had stopped abruptly when
Ranma was suddenly whisked into the mirror. The exchanged
glances and then focused on the Ranma that had emerged
victorious. The same question was on eveyone's mind, but rather
than simply put it into words, Genma appeared at the boy's side
with a bucket of water drawn conveniently from the pond.

As Genma attempted to douse him, Anma jumped up, catching the
bucket with his knee and spilling its contents over the panda-
man. "What do you think you're doin'?"

"Take a wild guess!" Akane shouted, picking up the garden hose
laying conveniently at her feet and aiming at "Ranma-kun" as
Nabiki helpfully turned on the faucet. The boy danced away from
the sudden stream. Akane dutifully pivoted in place, sending the
spray in pursuit and unintentionally giving Anko--standing right
next to her--the first blast in the face.

"Hey! What didja do THAT for!?" she gasped in shock.

"Quit tryin' to turn me into a girl!" Anma yelped, still evading
Akane's attempts to drench him.

"Quit hopping around and take it like a man!" Nabiki groused.

Anma ignored that comment, managing to evade the stream until he
was able to land on the hose, cutting off the flow with his
foot. "I'm serious! I ain't goin' to bed all soakin' wet!"

"Won't be the first time," Akane pointed out, shaking the hose
to squirt the last of the water on him. He twisted artfully to
evade the splash. "I'm not going to bed until I know which of
you is in there!" she pointed at the compact.

"And give HER the opportunity let him out in the confusion?" he
challenged, pointing to Anko. It was an obvious point. Once
"Ranma" was changed, there would be little way to tell "her"
from an equally soaked Anko. Anma hoped everyone bought it. He
and Anko had been given ample opportunity to converse, so he had
already heard how masterfully she had exploited her resemblance
to sow confusion. He did not want to resort to his final option
if Akane called his bluff. He was prepared to tell them he would
shatter the mirror if they did not back off and leave him and
Anko alone, but he had no idea what would happen to Ranma and
Happosai if he actually did. Fortunately, he was not playing
cards. Sagging a little, he confessed, "I really don't wanna go
through all of that again. Can't we just call it a night?"

"Besides," Nabiki put in thoughtfully, "if he IS the wrong
Ranma, we'd have to let Happosai out to get the real one back."

"Good point," Akane muttered. She dropped the end of the hose
and nodded to her sister to turn off the faucet. There was more
than one way to see if "Ranma-kun" was a counterfeit. "Go put
this love bird to bed, and we'll clean up the mess," she clapped
a hand on Anko's shoulder.

Nabiki quirked an eyebrow. It was not hard to guess what her
little sister was thinking. The real Ranma would march the copy
up to bed and go to his own room. The fake, if it was he, would
have to decide between revealing himself or acting like the real
Ranma. I am going to have to keep an eye on her, if she can come
up with something this devious, Nabiki thought.

Anko gazed at Anma suspiciously, as he approached to escort her
away. During the battle, the extent of her coordination with her
confederate had been an exchange of knowing looks. She thought
she had kept track of which boy was which. Now she was not so
sure. Either way, her best option was to go along with "Ranma"
until she had a chance to determine who he was, and thus, what
her next move should be.

"I'm takin' you to Akane's room. Are you gonna to give me any
trouble?" he confronted her.

"Are you gonna let him out of that thing?" she asked, allowing
her concern to reinforce the belief that Anma had been the one
trapped in it just in case he really had not.

"Please, Son! Don't let the Master out!" Soun wailed, kneeling
before Anma and pulling on his shirt. The tears gushing forth
were almost enough to make a true Jusenkyo victim retreat.

"I dunno," Anma debated, carefully shying away from the fountain
of tears. "Can't let them starve in there. Guess I haveta let
'em out in the morning, if they haven't killed each other by
then," the boy rubbed the back of his head. He shrugged and
looked at Anko meaningfully. "If you behave tonight, I'll let
them out in the morning," he promised offhandedly.

For a moment, the thought of ANYONE trapped in a confined space
with Happosai hung grimly over everyone's heads. Akane itched to
douse the boy, just to make sure the worst had not happened.
While she debated, Anko nodded in agreement with the boy's
conditions and followed him meekly upstairs. After helping put
things in order, a quick task since there had been no real
property damage for once, Akane made a detour through the
kitchen on her way to bed. As she came upstairs, with a glass of
water in her hand, Anko was dragging Ranma's futon into Akane's
room, looking dejected. Akane peeked into the guest room and saw
Ranma laying out a blanket on the hard floor. She went in to
"talk" to him. As she entered the room, Nabiki stepped out from
beside the door and snatched the glass from her hands.

"Nabiki!" Akane squeeked in surprise and irritation.

The middle sister casually gulped the contents of the glass and
handed it back to her. "Thanks, Akane!" she stepped out into the
hall and jerked her head for Akane to follow her to her room.
Closing the door after her little sister, Nabiki caught her with
a stern look, "I know what you're thinking. I think it's a set
up too, but as long as they think we believe them, they have to
play their parts. It's a shame if we're right, but Ranma can
take care of himself for one night. It's a small price if it
allows us to sleep peacefully tonight."

"If there was room to run in there, I might not be worried�"
Akane commented uneasily.

"He was a boy when he went in," Nabiki assured her sister.
"Happosai might drive poor Ranma crazy, but he certainly can't
molest him. He will be huddled up in his collection, staying as
far away from the boy as possible. Probably."

"I suppose you're right," Akane sagged and returned to her room.
She noticed the redhead was already sprawled on the futon, fast
asleep. Slipping into bed, she quickly resolved to fake sleep
and keep an eye on the girl. It did not matter if the other
Ranma was real or not. SHE was still trouble.

In a short time, a peaceful quiet descended once more over the
Tendo Dojo. Genma and Soun quickly faded to sleep followed
shortly by Kasumi and Nabiki. Akane held out for a couple of
endless hours. Anma slipped away from her door on silent bare
feet as the sound of Akane tossing and turning became evident.
Slipping out the guest room window, and over the roof, he was
soon at Akane's window. He was surprised to find it locked, but
shrugged and pressed his hand to the window. Summoning up his
confidence, he allowed his aura to flare up, watching as some of
it materialized inside the glass. He sharpened his
concentration, until the energy inside the room shaped itself
into a tiny ball. The almost harmless, mini- mokotakabisha sped
away from the window and slammed into the girl on the futon.
Rather than blasting her out of bed, it passed harmlessly into
her, causing her own aura to flare up with a shock.

Jumpstarted into consciousness, the girl sat up like a bolt and
stared out the window. A second ball of light shot at her from
the window, and her hand rose unconsciously to catch it. It
dissipated on contact as if were a ball she had summoned and
tossed from one hand to the other. Again, her aura flared around
her, infused with the energy of her "other half."

Anko smirked in wonder, then stood and crossed silently to the
window. With great caution, she eased the glass open and swung
herself out into the arms of her beloved. Her quick impulsive
kiss brushed across his lips, and the two padded over the roof.
Dropping down into the yard, they found a shadow behind the
training hall and slipped into each other's arms. She licked her
lips, savoring the first kiss they had managed since they had
been broken apart on the train. Looking up into Anma's eyes, in
heated anticipation of another, she noticed that strange
resistance had suddenly sprung up between them again. The same
look of frustration crossed their faces, as they leaned in with
determination. The mixed emotions fed into their auras, causing
them to clash with a palpable resistance.

"What is going on?" the boy frowned and pulled back.

"I don't understand. Why are you pushing me away?" Anko sounded
hurt and confused.

"I'm not!" Anma protested earnestly. The problem that had
stumped Ranma earlier now reared its head for his twin to
contemplate. Turning the same type of mind on the problem he
began trying to puzzle his way through the mystery.

-----

The moon was high and almost full in the skies of Nerima. The
eternally lost boy was grateful for the light, since he was
forced to walk through the night to make up for that detour in
Osaka. He was fairly certain he had wandered into Kyoto, as he
paused to reorient himself once more for Tokyo. Glancing up at
the sky, fixing on an arbitrary grouping of stars, he pumped his
fist into his palm with assurance. Without a doubt, that way led
to Nerima! As he raced the other way down the street, following
a disturbingly familiar wall, he stumbled through a powerful,
and familiar aura.

"Ano! That was Ranma! I am sure of it!" he screeched to a halt.
"I wonder what he's doing in Kyoto?" He puzzled that
imponderable for a moment before grinning, "This is my chance to
pay him back without anyone around to interfere!" Thinking back
to the horrifying and humiliating scene he had endured a few
days earlier, a sickly green and purple aura pulsed around him.
There he had been, sitting on a bench awaiting his date with
Akari, when that perverted transsexual had jumped on him and
kissed him like there was no tomorrow. Even when his nemesis had
been under the influence of the koi fishing rod, he had not
managed to disgrace Ryouga so! "This time, I really AM going to
kill him for the hell he has put me through!"

Unfortunately, his quarry was not exactly in sight. Ryouga tried
to compose himself as he slipped carefully up the wall. He did
not dare attack until he had Ranma in his sights. As he cleared
the top of the wall, he remembered the lame excuse Ranma had
come up with to explain his actions. The very notion of a cursed
mirror that spat out perverted copies of who ever looked into it
was ludicrous. If that was true, he criticized, peering down
from the top of the wall, why had Ryouga not seen Ranma and this
alleged duplicate together, like he was seeing now? Even if such
nonsense were true, knowing Ranma, he would have been hiding
behind the bushes molesting his female half like the two Ranma's
before him. No chance that pervert would let such a cute girl
have a chance at Ryouga!

As his eyes narrowed in on the boy in that embrace, targeting
the lethal bandannas whirling in his right hand, he suddenly
felt a twinge of recognition. "You sick, perverted bastard!
Cheating on Akane with YOURSELF!!? PREPARE TO DIE!!!" Ryouga
hurtled forward, in the wake of the iron cloth shuriken,
readying his umbrella in his other hand.

Too shocked to prepare for the attack, the couple was only saved
by the force of their strange repulsion throwing them away from
each other the instant they were distracted from trying to
overcome it. The rigid bandannas embedded themselves in the
outer wall of the training hall, as the couple rolled to their
feet on either side.

"What didja do THAT for?" they shouted in unison.

"Shut up! It's time for you to die!"

"Uh� who?" the boy asked, shocked by this intrusion.

"What do you mean, 'Who?'"

"Who do you mean, 'Die'?" the boy pointed between himself and
Anko.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" the girl asked timidly.

"Who is he?" the boy asked, frowning.

This actually stopped Ryouga for a second. Gaping in sheer
disbelief he roared, "What is this!? Have you been playing with
Shampoo's shampoo? I've been through hell because of you! Both
of you!"

Anko stiffened at this, "You're that guy I kissed! Geez, I'm not
THAT bad!"

"YOU KISSED HER!? And you're COMPLAININ' about it?" the boy
shouted at Ryouga and slid into an aggressive stance. "Oh, that
does it. You've gotta die!"

"Bring it on, little girl!" Ryouga matched him.

"You asked for it," Anko fumed, catching him off guard with a
roundhouse kick to the jaw. Ryouga staggered back a hair and
glared at her.

"I was talkin' to him!" Ryouga roared.

"Who are you calling a girl!" Anma lashed out with a series of
lightening kicks and punches. The first barrage slipped through
the lost boy's guard, forcing him back a step. "Man, you're
tough!" Anma noted in surprise. Even Ranma would have tried to
evade those blows, but the stranger just blocked them cold.

"You really have forgotten me, haven't you, Ranma?" Ryouga
looked vaguely surprised. "Not that it matters, I am still going
to kill you!"

"I don't know what your problem is, bandanna boy, but you picked
the wrong couple to mess with!" Anma warned. Anko nodded in
agreement. Without a word, the couple slipped into a
devastating, coordinated attack. In an instant, Ryouga found
himself at the center of a whirlwind of unstoppable blows. Even
with his incredible toughness, he was feeling the blows raining
down upon him. He had not counted on a copy of Ranma being as
good as Ranma. He closed his guard and waited for an opening, a
cloud of gloom settling around him as he realized the folly of
his assault. Finally, an opening presented itself.

"SHISHIHOKODAN!" he roared, releasing a massive chi-blast into
Anko's midsection. She flew back and became imbedded in the wall
surrounding the compound with a resounding boom.

The noise roused everyone from their beds. Akane sat bolt
upright and noticed at once that Anko's futon was unoccupied.
She raced to the window and threw it open. The distant sound of
fighting revealed that the commotion was taking place around at
the front of the house, by the training hall. Racing out her
door, she almost collided with her sisters in the hallway.
Dodging past them, she flew down the stairs and out the front
door, followed at a distance by her family and Genma.

In the yard, she saw "Ranma" and Ryouga whirling around each
other as Anko limped towards them with murder in her eyes.
Before Akane could do anything, Ryouga continued in his derisive
rant.

"I can't believe you'd do THAT with a copy of yourself!" Ryouga
sneered. "It's bad enough that you always cheat on Akane, but
doin' it with yourself!? You make me sick!"

"Who are you to judge m�" Anma collapsed under the concussion of
Akane's mallet.

"RAAANMAAAAA! I can't BELIEVE you!" Akane was pissed. At last,
Ranma had shown his true stripes, getting rid of the male copy
and molesting the female copy himself! It did not even occur to
her that Ryouga could not know there was now a male copy of
Ranma. Anma barely managed to twitch out of the way as she
reared back and brought the hammer down again.

Before Ryouga could take advantage of this interruption, Anko
stopped an arm's length behind him and thrust forward with an
expanding ball of energy. The devastating chi attack was
released as her palms hit him in the middle of his back,
"MOKOTAKABISHA!"

Ryouga flew to the opposite end of the compound, his body making
an impression similar to the one Anko had climbed out of on the
other side of the front yard. Anko raced after him, charging up
for another blast, as Anma lurched off in the same direction to
escape from Akane's wrath.

"You can't run away, Ranma!" she raced after the couple,
determined to help Ryouga fulfill his oft-repeated pledge.
Ryouga, peeling himself out of the wall, took one look at the
oncoming traffic and bolted down the side yard. As he barreled
forward, he spotted the moon reflected in the koi-pond and
skidded to a halt. Akane was right behind him. There was no way
he could safely pass that water in a combat situation. Turning
around, he raced into the teeth of the clones' combined attacks.
The couple was so surprised at his sudden charge that they
barely managed to dodge his lunging thrust. The umbrella's tip
caught at Anma's shirt and ripped the front open. A small, flat,
oval object flew out of the torn garment to land at Akane's
feet.

"Hey! That was my favorite shirt!" Anma cried out. Then, after a
double take, he protested in misery, "That was my ONLY shirt!"

"What is it with you and your shirts!? Pay attention to the
fight, sissy!" Ryouga goaded.

Akane, recognizing the mirror instantly for what it was, threw
herself into a flip to avoid stepping on it. Carefully, she
turned and crouched to pick it up. Behind her, as she had turned
her back to retrieve the fragile mirror, the fighting slowly
advanced upon the pond. In spite of his best efforts, the couple
was hemming Ryouga in, forcing him back to the waters of doom.
With each step, his panic grew. Akane was hardly paying
attention as she turned the trap over in her hands suspiciously.
She flipped it open, and bit her lip.

 From behind her there was a loud splash.

Akane turned and looked, seeing both boy-type and girl-type
versions of Ranma regaining their feet in the pond and turning
to peer for their opponent in the dark depths of the pond.

"I knew it!" Akane cried, quickly patting on the back of the
mirror.

"Gyaaaah! Keepawaykeepawaykeepaway!" Ranma-chan was screaming as
she plopped onto the grass, followed by Happosai. The girl
rebounded and took flight before the old man could land on her
bare back. Her tattered clothing streamed around her like so
much tangled thread clutched tight to her private regions with
white knuckled fists.

"You can't dodge forever, Ranma-chan! Just try on one set!
Please!" Happi pleaded.

"Don't TOUCH me! Try one more time and I'll kill you!" Ranma
promised hoarsely.

Akane stood there in horror, helpless as she envisioned the last
few hours of Ranma trapped alone with Happosai. "Wh� where did
he get cold water in there?" she asked in shocked disbelief.

The clones stepped up beside her, holding a struggling, familiar
black pig in a combined grip. "We threw in some food and bottled
water when we trapped the old man in there," the boy commented
idly.

"Hey! What are you doing with P-chan!?" Akane cried out
accusatively.

"Huh? Dunno, the little bugger was swimming in the pond," Anma
responded casually.

"Where's Ryouga?" Akane glared at Anma suspiciously. The little
pig froze in horror at Akane's question. Peering curiously
through the darkness, Akane did not notice.

"Who?" Anma and Anko blinked in confusion.

"The boy you two were fighting," Akane retorted with strained
patience.

"Oh, him." Amna shrugged and looked off over the koi pond.
Turning back to look at Akane, he deduced, "Apparently he fled
in terror from our superior skill, while we were trying to get
out of the pond." The little pig fumed, and began scratching and
biting at the couple.

"Oh, here. Give him to me. He hates Ranma, so of course he
doesn't like to be held by either of you," Akane reached over
and took the piglet into her arms. Though shaking in rage, P-
chan gradually relaxed into her grip, a funny look in his eyes.

Ranma came around the opposite corner of the house, having run a
complete lap through the yard. "Excuse me," Anko said, picking
the mirror from Akane's grasp and hefting a bundle under her
other arm. As Ranma-chan whizzed by, Anko held out the bag of
lingerie, food and water, in one hand, pulling the front of her
shirt open with the other. "Hey! Old man! Look at what I have
for you!"

"Sweetie-pie honey-pot!" Happosai swerved, coming in for a
landing on Anko's chest. At the last minute, she let the cloth
fall away from her right hand, revealing the open mirror and
Happosai's startled expression. "Drat! Not again�" Still, as his
body was sucked once more into the mirror, his outstretched hand
closed on the bag of loot and dragged it in with him.

"It's almost not fair," Anma sighed.

Ranma-chan, rising up from where she had cowered behind him,
thumped him on the head. "I have seen hell because of you!"

"Oh please! Don't start. I've already heard it!" Anma rolled his
eyes.

"But you haven't heard the end of it!" Ranma promised darkly.

Akane cleared her throat. While the clones turned to look at
her, Ranma snagged the mirror from Anko's grasp. The two girls
glared at each other for a moment, and then Anma draped the
remains of his shirt over Ranma's shoulders.

"Sorry, it's kind of torn up. Still, it's in better shape than
what you were� er� wearing." Anma rubbed at the back of his head
nervously. Ranma-chan looked at him in surprise as he stepped
carefully away from her. As her look turned suspicious, he broke
down and confessed, "I� er� um� I forgot that he had water in
there."

In a sense, it was an apology, and remained unexpected. Akane
gave them all a funny look, shook her head, and went back into
the house. The trio stood baffled, wondering what she had been
about to say. Shrugging, the couple turned to Ranma- chan as
she cleared her own throat. Holding up the compact, she prepared
herself for the next battle with resignation.

"Now. Once again, while I appreciate you getting Happosai off my
back, there remains the problem of both of you." Her expression
was tired but determined.

"You wouldn't put us in there with HIM, would you?" Anma
cringed.

"If YOU had a curse, I'd be tempted," she glared at the boy.

"I said I was sorry!" he lamented.

"No you didn't. But that's not the point. Are you gonna follow
the rules, or are you gonna force me to make more threats?"
Ranma allowed her gaze to travel from one to the other. They
both seemed meek enough for once. But, there remained an air of
stubborn determination around both of them. The two sulked
unrepentantly until Ranma-chan sighed, opening up the mirror.

Anma stopped her just as she was about to pat it on the back.
"What do you think you are doing!?" The last thing Anma wanted
was to have to go a few more rounds with the tiny, psychotic
pervert. Considering the state Ranma had been reduced to, he
could not believe she would dare to let him back out.

"I can't put one of you in there with him, so I gotta let him
out first," Ranma explained.

"You're serious about putting one of us in there?" Anko could
hardly contain her disbelief.

"I can't let you two cause any more problems for me," Ranma
insisted half apologetically.

"Then you might as well put both of us in there," they sighed.

Ranma-chan looked at them in disbelief. She opened her mouth to
explain how that was hardly a solution when she suddenly
deflated. Turning to reenter the house, she surrendered. "If
that's all that matters to you then fine. Sleep in the dojo.
Have a blast." She stopped at the door and bowed her head. "I
never liked people tellin' me what I have to do. I guess I sorta
think of you both as a part of me, and that I have an obligation
to control you, 'cuz a martial artist has to have self control."
Her hand went to the doorjamb. "I don't really know what you
are, but you're both made from me, by the same spirit. If you
ask me, it don't seem like you've really found someone ELSE to
love. It's just� wrong." With that, she slipped inside in a
cloud of dejection.

The couple stared after her, disturbed by her parting comments.

-----

Revision Note: The first chapter absorbed part of the original
second chapter, and this one has absorbed the original third
chapter. This is going to occur several times as I go through
the earlier parts of the story, because the later chapters were
all closer to nine-thousand words each--twice the length of my
original chapters. So, in each chapter there will be a degree of
expansion, new content filling in details that were previously
only hinted at in a paragraph or two or merging of smaller
chapters with new chapters to fill in the space. That should
hopefully allow the faster, clustered events of the later
chapters to be spread out a little bit as well. Also, the
original title of the second chapter was transferred to serve as
the title of this first volume. I have experimented with a way
to provide a degree of formatting for posting at Fanfiction Net,
and if it helps make this chapter more readable I will reformat
the first chapter and use it throughout. If you don't see a
difference, then that means all of it was picked out by the
weird system they've instituted. You would think that a story
archive site would allow for simple things like tabs and section
breaks�








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