LizMUN's notes: Like mentioned before, this fic was written to show how 
truly insane I be, Muahahaha! ::gets wacked:: Anywhoo's, all characters 
are creations of Takahashi-sensei! We are not worthy of your greatness! 
Anywhoo's, This fic was made for entertainment purposes only.  Please 
don't sue me!Someone already threw away the dot-matrix printer.. so if 
you're to sue me, now all you'll get is a broken Tamagotchi.
C&C is greatly appriciated, even if you think I should jump into Spring 
of drowned Purple Dinosaur for writting this fic.
Enjoy!
Rated Y-16 because of language. I'm such a potty mouth!

======================================================================

Sibling Rivalry
Part 2

	The night was setting in Nerima, and the clouds have come and gone, 
leaving a crisp, chilly, clear night at it's wake. Ranma had eventually 
returned from Dr. Tofu's, and everything went back to routine: Ranma and 
Akane argue, Ranma stuffs his face durring dinner, Akane comments on his 
lack of dinner skills, Ranma retaliates, Ranma is punted into the sky, 
Nabiki mumbles on something like expenses, Soun sobs because he's 
loosing against Genma, Genma sweats, hoping Soun doesn't notice some of 
his stones missing. Kasumi smilling, and clears up the table.  All in 
all.. an typical evening. 
	Ryouga was now spredding out his sleeping bag in the dojo.  Akane was 
insisting that he'd sleep with Ranma and Genma in the guest room, but he 
declined.  One, they'd probably fight, and not get any rest, second; he 
didn't want to face Ranma now.  Was he really his brother? Or was it 
just a hallucination? He hoped to the gods that it was the latter.  But 
Fate seemingly had a twisted sense of humor, so he was ready to be 
disapointed.
	"Ryouga. We gotta talk!"
	Ryouga looked up, and saw Ranma leaning casually against the entrance. 
	"As much as I'd like fight you Ranma, It can wait till tomorrow."
	"No it can't. And I don't want to fight, I just want to know what were 
you doing with this?" Ranma flings something at Ryouga, who nimbly 
catches it.  He looks at it and blinks.  It was the picture he had in 
his pack:  The one with him, as a young baby, being held by his parents, 
and some friends of the family, he supposed, with their baby. Ryouga 
clutches it possesivly, and glares at Ranma.
	"Where did you get this?"
	"You dropped it, at the clinic. Now, I want to know, where did YOU get 
it?"
	"It's none of your business!"
	"Like Hell it is! That's MY mom, and the old man in that picture! Why 
do you have a picture of MY folks?"
	Ryouga looked as if he was going to hurl.  Those were Ranma's parents? 
Could Auxilio be telling the truth. No! Probably some sort of 
coincidence. Damnit! It's too sickeningly twisted to be a coincidence. 
Ryouga looks back at Ranma, who was now more confused than angry. 
	"Hmph.. wouldn't you like to know. So.. those are your folks?"
	"What's with you, man? You look like you've seen a ghost!"
	"Like I said, This can wait till tomorrow." Ryouga tucks himself into 
his sleeping bag and falls instantly to sleep. Ranma felt like kicking 
him awake, but the guy was half-dead already earlier.
	"Okay Ryouga, tomorrow.  But you're going to tell me even if I have to 
beat it out of you."

~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~

	"Geeze Old man! You've been putting too much weight!" 
	*SPASH!*
	"Growlf?"
	"HEY NO FAIR! PUT ME DOWN!"
	*SPLASH* 
	"This was my best shirt!"
	*Wack* 
	"Grarrll"
	*Punt* *Wham*
	"What do you mean I'm acting like a girl! I'll show you!"
	*Smash* *Crack* *Thud*
	"Ranma! Dinner's is Ready!"
	"Serves you right, Pop! Huh? Okay Kasumi! Thanks!"
	"Ranma?"
	"What, Akane?"
	"Where's Ryouga?"
	"Ryouga? Oh yeah! Forgot about the moron!"
	*Wham*
	"Honestly, Ranma!"
	Ranma crawled his way out from under the huge mallot Akane had so 
generously implanted onto his head, and mumbles a few curses as he makes 
his way to the Dojo. A whole day has passed, since that incident with 
Ryouga.  Last he left the guy, he was deep asleep.  Dr. Tofu had said it 
was normal, given his circumstance.  His circumstance with his 
near-death experience.  He'd just hope the moron hasn't awoken and 
wondered off while he was at school.  He slides open the door. 
	"Yo, Ryouga! You awake?" Ranma looks around the room.  The sleeping bag 
that was set out last night was now neatly wrapped, tied, and placed in 
a corner along with the rest of Ryouga's stuff. The boy, in question, 
was sitting, crossed legged, against the wall on the opposite end of the 
room. He was looking down at something, a small sheet of paper. Before 
Ranma could sneak up to see what it was. Ryouga quickly tucks it into 
pocket.
	"Okay Ryouga.. spill it!"
	Ryouga looks at Ranma, then turns away and sighs. 

	"What's taking them so long?"
	"Well, I don't hear any fighting.." Nabiki raised a brow. Things were a 
bit too quiet.
	"Oh my, I hope they don't take too long, their dinners are getting 
cold."
	"It's getting late! I'll go get.. Ranma?" 
	Ranma stomps over to Genma, who was still in his panda form.  He grabs 
him by the fur, and picks him up.
	"Hey pop, What's this I hear about a deal you and Mom made about a 
house in Kyoto?"
	Genma's eyes go wide. A huge sweat-drop forms in the back of his head. 
He pulls out a sign.
	~"I have no idea what you're talking about! I never made a deal with 
Yuria and Kenshito Hibiki!(1) You got the wrong guy!"~
	"Hibiki?" Akane blinks. 
	Nabiki smirked. This could get interesting.
	"Saotome? What is the meaning of this?"
	Ranma grabs a kettle and pours it on Genma, who turns back into his old 
self, clothes and all. Genma closes his eyes in meditation, crossing his 
arms, and legs.
	"Okay Pop! Spit it!"
	There was an unconfortable silence for a while. Then Genma looks up, 
his eyes having a far-away look.
	"Ranma, what do you remember when you were a baby?"
	"What's that gotta do with anything?"
	"Just answer the question."
	"Nuthin.. I guess."
	"Hmm.."
	"Should I?"
	"You do not remember anything? Anyone?"
	"Saotome, what are you implying?"
	"I suppose you would have found out sooner or later, boy. *takes in a 
deep breath.* It was just after you had just been born, Ranma, but, the 
thing is, you were not an only child!"
	"WHAT?!" 
	"You were a twin. The eldest of two boys. Ah! How we were blessed to 
have two children to carry on the Saotome School of Martial Arts. At 
least, we had hoped for it to be that way.  But, back then, times were 
rough. We hardly had enough to feed ourselves, but now with two extras, 
we could not..." *Smack*
	"HEY! Who you calling 'extra'?"
	"Let me finish, boy! *ahem* We were in a peril. Our only option was to 
give up one of you. You, being the eldest, had to stay, for it was to be 
you that was to carry on the Saotome school."
	"Oh my!"
	"But what happened to your other son?" Akane was in near tears at such 
a sad story.
	"That is where the Hibiki's come into play. They were friends of 
Nodoka. Yuria was an old high-school friend, who had married into a rich 
family, but alas, she could not bear a child. We all talked it over, and 
agreed to let the Hibiki's adopt "Rykia," as we had named him, in 
exchange for a home, and provisions."
	"So you're telling me you Sold one of your children?"
	"You're surprised Ranma? He's done it to you before, only he got paid 
in food. I think a house was a good deal."
	"Nabiki!" Akane glares at her sister, then looks at Ranma, who was 
about to kill his father.
	"We knew Rykia was going to be well taken care of, that is why the deal 
was made. We wouldn't give him to just anyone!"
	"Then what about the House? Why haven't we checked up on them! Why is 
this the first time I've heard about this!?"
	"The house.. well.. uh.. wisoet."
	"What?"
	"We.. sold it."
	At this everyone, except Genma and Kasumi, facefaulted.  Ranma 
retaliates, and grabs The scruff of Genma's gi.
	"YOU SOLD IT!?"
	"The house was too big for us to care for it. Plus we needed the extra 
money. And after doing so, we couldn't bear to show our faces to the 
Hibiki's."
	"I wonder why." Akane no longer was feeling sympathy for Genma. 
	"But One day, we couldn't stand it, so we came for a visit. When we 
arrived at their home, they were gone. Like they up and left, no note, 
nothing. We waited at their house for a week. But they did not show. We 
assumed they disapeared, or moved away."
	"Or.. they got lost." Ranma realized.
	"Lost? Hey!  So.. what you're saying is... Rykia.. is Ryouga?"
	"Well, Him and Ranma do look alike." Nabiki smirked. Gears already 
working overtime, comming up with plans to make this a very profitable 
experience."
	"I never thought anything of it. Hibiki is a common name, you know." 
	"Poor Ryouga! Where is he, anyway?"
	Ranma gets up from his seat, and runs over to the dojo. He stops before 
entering. A million things going in his mind, but for now, he pushes 
them aside. He takes in a deep breath, and enters.
	"Ryouga?"
	The dojo was empty. No bags, nothing. 
	"Oh no. He's not getting away that easily!" Ranma runs out of dojo, and 
hops over the wall, looking franticly for Ryouga.
	
	"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go to look for 
Ryouga as well!" 
	Akane quickly gets up from the table, and walks out toward the dojo. 
Upon reaching her destination, she leans against the outer wall and 
sighs.  Actually, she had just wanted to obtain some peace in order to 
sort the mumbo-jumbo that's clashing within her head. Ryouga and Ranma 
BROTHERS?! Could it be? All this time, and they did not know.  Poor 
Ryouga.  She sighs. Rolling her eyes, she scoffs remembering distinctly 
when Ranma was posing as Ryouga's sister, Yoiko.  When his 'sister' got 
lost, she remembered how heartbroken Ryouga was for having lost her. Of 
course Akane had suspected Ranma was just posing as Ryouga sister, but 
Ryouga was so damn sure!  Almost desperate! That Bakka Ranma deserved 
more than what he got, after being found out.  Playing with Ryouga's 
emotions like that! The nerve of him! But now, it's no longer pretend.  
Ranma.  She hated to admit, but she felt a little sympathy for him. A 
little, got it? But. All of Ranma's life was spent on training. He's 
only had one childhood friend that he distinctly remembers, Ukyou.  But 
they were just friends, and mostly spent their time sparring for an 
okonomiyaki. Both, Ranma and Ryouga had been lonely all their lives, and 
now they'll...
	Suddenly a noise breaks her from her thoughts. She looks up.
	"Ryouga? .......R-R-Ranma?"
	She walks over behind the dojo cautiously. Nothing. She's about to turn 
back when she see's something small and dark emerge from a bucket. Akane 
gulps. It's beady black eyes, reflecting from the moonlight, glow 
sharply. It looks at Akane.
	*Bwee?*
	"P-Chan!" Akane sighs, then giggles, chiding herself for getting so 
worked up over nothing! She picks up her pet pig.
	"Oh P-Chan! You're soaked! C'mon! Let's give you a nice warm bath or 
you'll catch a cold!"
	The pig's eyes widen, then begins to struggle free of Akane's vice 
grip.
	*BWEE! BUKII! BWEKII*
	"P-CHAN! What's the matter with you?"
	"So there you are!"
	Akane turns around to see a drenched Ranma-chan, arms folded, looking 
back at the two. 
	"What happened to you?"
	"Someone decided to throw out their dish-water. Of course I happened to 
be at the right place, right time."
	"So? Where's Ryouga? Did you find him?"
	"Uhm.. he'll come back. He always does. In the meantime, I'm going to 
take a bath." Ranma holds out his hand, palm up. Akane looks at it, and 
just blinks.
	"What?"
	"I.. uh.. well.. you don't want him to catch a cold too!" Ranma points 
at P-chan, who was casually looking away.
	"Nah-uh, Ranma! You always end up teasing him, or hitting my poor 
P-Chan! I can do it perfectly fine by myself!"
	At this Ryouga's and Ranma's eyes went wide.
	"B-but..Aw C'mon Akane! Geeze! I've no time for this."
	Before Akane could respond, Ranma snatches P-chan from her arms, and 
sprints into the house. 
	"RANMA!! OOooo! Honestly!"

	Ryouga-kun and Ranma-kun sat there, opposite ends of the steaming tub, 
not looking at each other.  A disturbingly uncomfortable silence passed 
between the two. 
	"Okay...When?"
	Ryouga looks up, and blinks. He looks at Ranma, who was crossing his 
arms, and looking down at the water.
	"Huh?"
	"When? When did you know that... "
	"..... Yesterday."
	"Yesterday? How?"
	"I'd rather not talk about it."
	"Don't give me that crap, Ryouga! You owe me an explanation!"
	"I don't owe you anything, Ranma!"
	Again the silence came. Disturbed by a few noisy *Plunk's* as drops of 
condensed water fell from the tile roof.
	Ranma couldn't stand the silence anymore.
	"C'mon Ryouga! I want to know who told you!"
	"*Scoff* You wouldn't believe me, anyway."
	"Try me!"
	
	*Pliku.. pliku* Ranma wrinkles up his nose, blinking at what Ryouga had 
just told him. The guy was right.. he didn't believe him.
	"That has got to be.. the lamest thing I've ever heard! Code 17?"
	"Grrrr.. You calling me a liar?"
	"You want me to actually believe you? It could've been after-effects of 
that old ghouls' potion, or just Akane's cooking by itself!"
	*Pop..pop* "Raaannn-maaaa!" Ryouga raised his fist up to strike at 
Ranma for insulting Akane's cooking again.  Ranma went into defensive 
form, which was kinda odd looking, as he was still chest-deep in water. 
Ryouga's fist was pulled up like an archer drawing up his bow.  But the 
arrow was never released. Ryouga shakingly let down his fist. He looks 
away from Ranma, and gets out of the tub.  Ranma looks at him, blinking.
	"Believe what you want Ranma, but you heard it from yo.. our old man. 
This is not easy for me too. *hmph* You think I like the idea of having 
you as a brother? Ranma, ever since I met you, my life has been a living 
hell! There isn't a day that goes by that I wish I never met you! And 
now this? Believe what you want, Ranma. As for me.. as much as I WANT 
to, I can't deny this, which is why... *sighs* Which is why, I'm calling 
it all off."
	Ranma backed up at this, hands in that in that Takahashi-"Oh 
Shit!"-pose. (You know.. the one that looks like "I Love You" in 
sign-language?)
	"W-w-what? You're what?"
	Ryouga, now fully dressed, looks back at Ranma. He scowls.
	"Goodbye, Ranma." And with that, he quickly exits the bathroom through 
the door... well, window actually... leaving behind a startled Ranma.
	"....wha... HEY! RYOUGA! WAIT!"
	Ranma quickly hops out of the tub, and quickly puts on his black pants, 
and wraps a towel around his neck.  He follows Ryouga's trail. (The 
small crater on the ground from where he landed, and the new hole in the 
wall leading to the street. Ranma looks left, then right, then up on the 
rooftops.  Nothing. Realizing Ryouga's now long lost, he growls.
	"Ryouga, you Moron!"

	It was near midnight, Ranma was lying awake in his futon. His mind 
repassing over what Ryouga said.
	*~"...Ranma, ever since I met you, my life has been a living hell! 
There isn't a day that goes by that I wish I never met you!..."~*
	Ranma sighed.  He couldn't understand why he was so worked up about it. 
Ryouga's said that to him countless times before.  Why should now be any 
different? 
	~Maybe because now, it's a whole different ball game. Ryouga's your 
brother! Not just your rival. Brother! And now, you have a brother who 
hates you! You finally have a brother, and he HATES you!~
	Ranma growled, and shakes his head, trying to knock out that voice from 
his head.  He looks back to the ceiling.  Moments pass quietly. Then, 
the rest of their conversation enters his mind.
	*~"...Believe what you want, Ranma. As for me... as much as I WANT to, 
I can't deny this, which is why... *sighs* Which is why, I'm calling it 
all off."~*
	"So why? Why the fucking hell, after all this, is he's just calling it 
off?"
	Suddenly, a new voice answers, unlike his other voice, which sounded 
more like him, this one sounded a bit like his cursed form.
	~He's calling it off, because you are his family! Kin. Blood. To kill 
you, is to kill his own self. He doesn't hate you, he needs you.  Find 
him Ranma!~
	Ranma shakes his head again. Not clear his mind, but to pitty himself.  
This is one mess he just can't get out of, no matter how much he'll try.

	Ryouga had been walking non-stop all night.  He never looked up to see 
where he was. Of course, this caused him to recieve a few goose-eggs 
thanks to random poles or trees.  He sighs. How easy it was for Ranma to 
deny all this.  Even after hearing it from himself, and Genma, he's 
still denying the truth.  Typical. That jerks to thick-headed for 
anything. I mean, look at the way he's treating Akane! He should be 
bowing before the gods to have such a fianc�e such as her. *Sighs* 
	Ryouga looks up finally, and finds himself in a clearing.  It was a 
beautiful place.  There was a little lake nearby, surrounded by willows, 
and covered in lilypads.  Nearby was a fallen log. Odd how it looked 
like a bench. He shruged.  He looks around some more. He kinda noticed 
that there was not as much trees around as expected, but he figured it 
was the mist, which had now rolled in, and was now surrounding the 
clearing, it was blocking any view further into the forest. The ground 
itself was soft and wet because of the fog.  Not wanting to soak himself 
laying in the grass, he hops onto a tree branch, and lays his back 
against the trunk.  
	He had forgotten his pack back at the dojo, and was mentally kicking 
himself for running out so unexpectedly.  But he had no choice.  If 
Ranma wasn't going to accept the truth, fine.  He didn't need him.  He's 
lived just fine being an only child. He's used to it.  He's already got 
a family, and to hell with the Saotomes.  After all, they didn't want 
him. Since the moment he was born, they spurrned him.  They hated him. 
Why else would they give him away. For what, some food? Damnit! They 
actually gave their son away!  They didn't want him.  His real parents.. 
didn't... want him.   Ryouga harshly wipes the tears comming from his 
eyes, and clenched his fists.  Already he was feeling his depression 
boiling up.  Damn, Damn, DAMN! This is no time to feel self-pity.  It 
just wasn't fair! Ranma wasn't the one given up like a sack of rice! 
When he gets back to the Dojo, he's going to give Ranma one hell of 
a..... Damn. He forgot. He called it off.  Why the hell did he call it 
off?  Even he didn't know. Ryouga yawned involuntarly, feeling the sleep 
comming to overtake him.  He yawned again.  Tommorow, he'll think about 
it some more. He crosses his arms across his chest, and closes his eyes. 
Falling into a deep sleep.
	Two minutes later, a policeman walks across the clearing, whistling 
softly to himself. Night-shifts in Nerima weren't so bad.  After all, 
the Martial-artists of this town usually chose daytime to cause their 
mayhem.  As he strolled across the park, he failed to notice one of the 
martial artists, sleeping soundly on top of a tree-branch.  Well, 
whether he actually fail to see him or he know better than to wake him 
up, only he knows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(1): (hehe.. do any of you "Fist of the North-Star" people recognize 
these names? I thought so!) 
	
		
	
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