Dual Destinies
 
The characters depicted in this story are not mine. Ranma 1/2 and all 
related characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I wrote this 
story purely for fun.
 
<>: Thoughts
{" "} Telepathic communication 
 
 Chapter 5
 The Training Begins
 
 Ranma Red and Ranma Blue arrived at the vacant lot at precisely 
midday. As they stood to wait for Taron and Soren to contact them, the 
two Saotomes began discussing their future plans. 
 "So what do you plan to do after all this is over?" Ranma Red asked.
 "Well, I was hoping to wait until I've finished high school before me 
and Ucchan tie the knot. Since Pop did take that okonomiyaki cart, I 
shouldn't have too much trouble convincing Mr. Tendo to break my 
engagement with Akane. If worse comes to worse, I'll just marry 
Ucchan right on the spot! Ain't nobody gonna stop me from marrying 
my Ucchan!" Ranma Blue smiled with a dreamy look on his face, which 
then turned into one of concern as he gazed at his brother. "I'm kind of 
worried about you, bro. How are you going to convince them to let you 
marry Shampoo?"
 Ranma Red nodded. "I know. The Tendos and especially Akane, don't 
think those Amazon laws hold any valid claim. I could always ask the 
old ghoul for some help, but I don't want to hurt Akane or her family."
 "You know, you really should stop calling Cologne an old ghoul. 
After all, you're going to become part of her family."
 Ranma Red considered the thought for a moment, then nodded. 
"Sorry about that. I guess that was a force of habit. I'll call her Cologne 
from now on."
 {"Bravo!"}
 Both twins looked and around, then remembered that Taron and 
Soren could communicate with their minds.
 {"I'm proud of you Ranma Red. You too Ranma Blue. You guys are 
finally starting to lose some of those bad habits of yours."} Taron 
commented.
 {"Yes. It's a good start. You are learning responsibility, compassion 
and respect!" As you will soon find out, your separation will also 
reflect on your personalities. You'll find yourselves much better off."} 
Soren added.
 {Hey Taron! Are we starting our training now?"} Ranma Blue asked.
 {"Yes we are. However, in order to train you properly, we have to be 
in the physical world with you. Hold on a moment."}
 There was a sudden bright flash of light that appeared in front of the 
two boys. When it died down, the two Ranmas beheld the immortal 
twins. Taron was dressed in his white Chinese shirt, black pants and 
Kung fu shoes. Soren was identical in appearance, except that he wore a 
black Chinese shirt.
 "So what's the first part of our training?" Ranma Red asked.
 "This!" Soren answered as he reached behind his back and tossed two 
items at his students. Both Ranmas did not realize what those items 
were until they found their lines of vision blocked by masses of fur. 
Then all of a sudden, the twin Saotomes began to quiver when they 
heard the things meow.
 Ranma Red's eyes became as wide as headlights when realized that a 
white and black cat was holding onto his head. Ranma Blue was no 
better as his teeth began to chatter at the sight of an orange, striped 
tabby on his face. Their fear of felines began to build and swell inside 
their minds. The pressure soon became unbearable as they tried to hold 
in their automatic reactions. Finally, the inevitable happened.
 "YAAAAAHHHHH!!! CAT! CAT! CAT!" Both Ranmas screamed as 
they began to run in wild circles, desperately trying to pull off the 
felines from their faces. This of course startled the cats, which caused 
them to react instinctively. They gripped their faces even tighter.
 Taron and Soren shook their heads sadly as they watched their pupils 
run to and fro like chickens with their heads cut off. All the while, both 
Ranmas were screaming repeatedly, "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT 
OFF!"
 "It is as we expected." Taron said to his brother. "The Cat Fist 
training had damaged BOTH of their minds! I always knew that Genma 
was stupid, but I didn't think that he would go this far!"
 "Just remember, Ranma was subjected to the training repeatedly. Not 
just with fish sausage, but also with smelt, dry sardines and fish cakes! 
That idiot father of his actually thought it would make a difference!" 
Soren sighed as he watched the two Ranmas suddenly stop, and drop to 
all fours. "Well, here it comes."
 The cats had decided that now was the time to leave. They quickly 
disengaged themselves from the Saotome brothers and ran off. Ranma 
Red and Ranma Blue were now looking at Taron and Soren like cats that 
were just about to pounce on an unwary bird.
 Taron and Soren maintained their calm as they waited for their 
students to attack. With a loud meow from both, the twins launched 
themselves at the immortals. As they streaked toward Taron and Soren, 
the two readied their 'claws' for the impending mauling.
 Taron was the first to counter his opponent. Stabbing forth with a 
speed that made both the Cat Fist and the Chestnut Fist seem slow in 
comparison, he began using his index fingers to hit several pressure 
points on Ranma Blue's body. The cat-boy became limp as he lost all 
control to his voluntary muscles. Ranma Blue fell lightly on the ground 
in front of Taron. He meowed with confusion as he remained sprawled 
on his belly.
 Soren handled his Ranma just as easily. Just as Ranma Red was about 
to begin slashing at his face, Soren lashed out with an open hand. The 
hand glowed with a red light as Soren caught the other Saotome twin by 
the junction where the shoulder met the neck. The red energy spread 
out from his hand and bathed Ranma Red's body. Soren then brought his 
pupil close to his face and uttered one word.
 "Calm."
 Instantly, Ranma Red became less tense and his eyes lost all 
aggression. The red light faded away and Soren released his student. 
Ranma Red landed on all fours, then sat on his haunches. He began 
licking the back of his hand.
 The two immortal twins shook their heads in disgust as they 
observed their champions. One didn't have to be psychic to know that 
they were not pleased.
 "It is very apparent that the two of them have gained an irrational fear 
of cats from the training." Taron noted.
 "Yes, but we must get rid that phobia. The Dark World probably 
knows of their weakness and will try to exploit it." Soren added.
 "Very well then. Exorcisms are your department. Go to it."
 Soren closed his eyes and began concentrating. The two Ranmas 
suddenly found themselves levitated above the ground and then 
suspended about five feet in midair. Ranma Red began to struggle, but 
Taron put a stop to it by hitting the same pressure points as he did with 
Ranma Blue. With both Ranmas limp, Soren began to invoke the spell 
that would free them from their fear of felines. The two Saotomes 
looked in confusion as Soren extended an index finger towards them. 
The tip of his finger glowed with a tiny ball of white light as he touched 
a spot on Ranma Red's forehead. Soren repeated the motion on Ranma 
Blue, then stepped back.
 The two Ranmas lost consciousness as they began to glow with 
white auras. Suddenly, twin blasts of chi energy shot upward from their 
floating forms. The energies swirled and mingled in the air, finally 
separating and took on the ghostly shapes of cats. Both shapes meowed 
once, then dispersed into tiny sparks. After they were gone, Soren 
gently levitated the Saotome brothers to the ground, laying them on 
their backs. Their auras faded and a minute later, both of the twins 
regained consciousness. 
  As the two sat up, they looked at their mentors with confusion.
 "What happened?" Ranma Red asked. "I remember you throwing us 
the cats but not much else."
 "Same here. Why did you do that?" Ranma Blue added. He was a little 
surprised that he wasn't angered. Instead, he felt refreshed. It was if a 
huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Ranma Red was also 
feeling the same way. 
 It was at that time that a stray cat had wandered into the lot. The gray 
and white striped feline ambled over to Soren and nuzzled his leg, 
hoping for a handout. Soren looked down and saw the cat. Reaching 
behind him, he pulled out a small fish and tossed it toward the 
Saotomes. The fish landed on the ground between the twins, instantly 
alerting the tabby. The cat pounced on the tasty tidbit and began to eat.
 Both Ranmas looked at the cat and were more than amazed when 
they did not feel the slightest bit of fear from being so close to it. 
Ranma Red reached out slowly with a hand and began to gently stroke 
the cat's back. Ranma Blue followed suit and started to pet the feline's 
head. After a minute or so, the cat decided to take its meal somewhere 
else. Picking up the fish in its mouth, it ran out of the lot and disappeared.
 Ranma Red and Ranma Blue looked up at Soren and Taron with awe. 
The two immortals smiled as they began their explanations.
 "The Cat Fist was created by a demon of the Dark World some five 
thousand years ago." Taron said. "He had intended to corrupt our 
champions with the lure of its power, knowing that the technique would 
also bring madness."
 "When our champions fell victim to the Cat Fist's adverse side-
effects, I used a technique which freed the demon's influence from 
their minds. You see the training for the Cat Fist is really an arcane 
ritual to summon up the demon's power and the use of the technique is 
more like a possession than a martial arts move. To counter it, I used 
my powers to exorcise the spell from them. Just as I have done with the 
two of you." Soren smiled.
 "So we're no longer afraid of cats?" Ranma Red inquired.
 "Well, it would not do for you to marry Shampoo, unless you 
conquered your fear of her Jusenkyo curse." Soren replied.
 Ranma Red nodded.
 "After we had freed our previous champions from the Cat Fist, the 
demon still decided to make things difficult by leaving the instructions 
to the technique into the hands of several martial artists. It was his hope 
that the Cat Fist would one day corrupt one of our future champions. 
When Genma came across it, his plan succeeded." Taron became very 
irritated at this fact.
 "Yes. Despite the fact that we added that THIRD PAGE, he still 
submitted his son to that horrible training! I swear, an overcooked 
cabbage has more intelligence than him! You'd think a martial artist 
would read the whole instruction manual BEFORE trying to learn the 
technique!"
 "That man is an absolute moron!"
 "The only thing good that ever came out of him was Ranma!"
 The twin immortals fumed for a few more minutes, then calmed 
down. Turning back to their students, they began their instructions.
 "Now that you both have been cleansed of the Cat Fist, it is time that 
you began your training." Taron said as he and his brother sat down in 
front of both Ranmas.
 "Yes. Now please sit in a lotus position." Soren added.
 The two Ranmas crossed and locked their legs in the indicated position.
 "As you recall, we did promise to teach you how to communicate 
with your thoughts. This ability will be very useful in the near future as 
you battle the Dark World. There will be times that one of you will be 
in the Spirit Plane, while the other will be on the Earth Realm. Close 
communication between the two of you will be essential. This skill will 
also enhance your other senses and increase your perceptions."
 "To begin, we want you both to clear your mind and begin 
meditating." Taron said as the lesson began.
 
Somewhere on the other side of Nerima…
 Ryoga Hibiki was a sorry sight to behold. As usual, the eternal lost 
boy had no idea where he was going. That was not the surprising. What 
was surprising was that he looked more bruised and battered than he ever 
did during his usual, 'long-trip-to-find-somewhere-close' journeys. The 
beating that he received at the hands of the Ranma twins left him in both 
physical and emotional pain. His body was a mess. It was covered in so 
many bumps and bruises that his skin was almost totally purple. He had a 
bandage wrapped around his forehead, and he had a gauze patch taped to 
either side of his cheeks. His face was swollen in several places and he 
had several welts raised on his head. His hair was frazzled and he was 
sore all over his upper body. He also had several bandages wrapped 
around his midsection underneath his clothes. 
 <Curse you Ranma! I don't know what new technique you've 
discovered, but I will make you pay for what you've done to Akane and 
me!> Ryoga was so deep in thought that he wasn't watching where he 
was going. As a result, he ended up at the front gate of the one place he 
could never find if he tried. The Tendo dojo.
 "Ryoga! Hi!" Akane called as she came out of the house.
 Ryoga froze as he heard her voice. >Oh no! It's Akane! I can't let her 
see me like this!> Ryoga did not face his secret love as he responded, 
"Oh… hi Akane, uh… nice day we're having."
 "Ryoga? What's wrong? Why won't you turn around? Are you hiding
something?"
 "ME?! Hiding?! Oh… it's nothing A-Akane. Heh heh heh."
 "If it's nothing, then why don't you turn around. I mean, I'd rather talk 
to your face instead of your back." Akane began to walk around toward 
Ryoga's front.
 Ryoga desperately turned the other way, trying desperately to hide 
his appearance from her. Akane then reversed her direction and over to 
the other side. Ryoga turned to avoid her. Then Akane reversed her 
direction again. Ryoga reversed with her. This strange little dance went 
on for about a minute, until Akane became a bit irritated.
 "Ryoga, why won't you face me?"
 Ryoga was panicking. If he couldn't think of a good excuse, Akane 
would surely see his face. It was then that a shadow fell down and 
blocked out the sun for a moment. Ryoga looked down and saw that the 
shadow was the shape of a bicycle. The shadow became larger and 
before Ryoga's pain-ridden body could react, he was driven face first 
into the pavement as Shampoo's bicycle landed on him.
 "YEEEEEEEOOOOOOWWWW!!!" Ryoga screamed as his injuries 
pressed hard against the concrete.
 Shampoo looked down on what she had landed on as she balanced a 
takeout box on one hand. Seeing that it was Ryoga, she quickly pulled 
her bicycle off the lost boy, and then bent down to help him up. It was 
then that she noticed Ryoga's face.
 "Aiya! Where Ryoga get so many boo boos?"
 Akane then looked at the Hibiki's face and gasped. "Ryoga?! WHAT 
happened to you?"
 Ryoga fumed in pain and silence for a few moments before shouting 
out, "Damn that Ranma!"
 Shampoo and Akane looked at each other and then back at Ryoga in 
disbelief. Then Akane half-shouted, "RANMA did this?!"
 In the Tendo dining room, Ryoga was sitting at the table, nursing a 
cup of tea that was given to him by Kasumi. The Tendo family and 
Shampoo were gathered around the lost boy as they listened in on his 
latest encounter with the pigtailed martial artist. They had not seen 
Ranma for more than a day and were eager to learn his whereabouts.
 Ryoga told them that he had encountered Ranma early today. During 
their usual battle, Ranma had used some new technique that somehow 
doubled his speed. Ryoga swore that Ranma moved so fast that he saw 
two of him for a moment. That was when he received more than 1000 
high-speed punches. When he came to in the café, Ranma was already 
gone. He was so angry that he did not stop to ask the manager on where 
he had gone, and immediately got lost again. It was pure coincidence 
that he came across Dr. Tofu's office and got proper treatment.
 "Aiya! It no possible!" Shampoo stated as Ryoga finished his story.
 "What do you mean? Dr. Tofu told me that he recognized Ranma's 
handiwork! He even counted how many hits I took! One thousand and 
twenty-four punches!"
 Shampoo shook her head. "Even great-grandmother cannot hit more 
than seven hundred! Great-grandmother taught Ranma how to do 
Chestnut Fist! Ranma can do five hundred. Maybe little more."
  Genma looked with a stern gaze. "Hmm, what do you think Tendo? 
Ranma has never been that good!"
 "I don't know Saotome. Could this have anything to do with his 
disappearance? Perhaps he has been training in some new techniques 
that we don't know about."
 As the others began to speculate on the missing Saotome, Akane was 
fuming in silent rage. <That jerk! How dare he hit poor Ryoga like that? 
And to think we were actually getting worried about him! When I see 
him again, he's going to wish he never fought with Ryoga!>
 
 Back at the vacant lot, both Ranmas and their immortal tutors had 
just completed the first step in the training. By the time the sun was 
setting, the Saotome brothers had mastered the ability to project their 
thoughts. The two became ecstatic at their newfound skill and thanked 
their benefactors.
 "You're very welcome boys." Taron said as they all got up.
 "Yes. Well, it is time for us to leave you now." Soren said. " Are you 
sure you don't want to stay over in the Realm of Infinity? I mean, you 
can hardly go home right now. The Tendos are definitely not ready for 
you two."
 Ranma Blue shook his head and said, "Nah! My brother and me have 
already thought about this and we've started to get some ideas. We 
know of a couple of places where we can go for a while."
 "All right you two. We'll meet back here at noon tomorrow. See you 
then." Soren turned back toward his twin and the two disappeared in a 
flash of light
 The Saotome twins began walking toward the Nerima district as the 
last rays of the sunset faded from view. They did not head toward the 
Tendo dojo, but toward the business area. It was about ten o'clock when 
the two arrived at a familiar establishment. The proprietress was just 
taking down her shop curtain as she prepared to close for the night. The 
streetlights cast a somber light, which reflected off the giant spatula 
that was strapped to her back.
 Ranma Blue and Ranma Red watched from around the corner as 
Ukyo went into her shop and closed the door. They then faced each 
other and Ranma Blue took a deep breath.
 "Well, this is it bro! The first night of the rest of your life! Are you 
sure you want to do this now?"
 Ranma Blue was silent for a moment, then nodded. "I have to tell her 
how I feel! I just can't stop thinking about her! Being away from her is 
like missing a part of myself! Taron was right. I do love her! I've been 
feeling this way ever since we got back!"
 "All right Blue. You know I'll be behind you one hundred percent. 
Just be sure that you'll be there when I pop the question to Shampoo!"
 "You know it Red!" 
 Ranma Blue stepped out into the street and walked over towards the 
Ucchan's. When he reached the front door, he began knocking on it. 
After a few minutes, the door opened.
 "I'm sorry but we're closed and … Ran-chan!"
 Ranma Blue barely got to say 'Hi Ucchan' before the brown-haired 
girl embraced him in a grip that was similar to Shampoo's Amazon 
glomp. Ranma returned the embrace.
 "Where have you been?" Ukyo asked, still embracing her fiancée. "I 
haven't seen you since…"
 "Since the day you told me that you loved me?" Ranma Blue finished.
 Ukyo released her grip and turned around in embarrassment. Ranma 
Blue thought her sudden shyness was adorable. "Hey Ucchan, can we go 
inside and talk? There's something that I really need to tell you."
 Ranma Red watched from his corner, as Ukyo gestured for his 
brother to enter and the two went inside. He then waited patiently as he 
looked at the darkened building, which only had one room lit. He 
assumed that Ranma Blue and Ukyo were having a very tender 
discussion in that room. Ten minutes later, he heard a loud crash as 
Ukyo's voice shouted out one word.
 "YES!!!"
 Ranma Red smiled. He could only guess as to what had just been 
said. He had some wicked speculation as to what was happening at the 
moment but decided to banish those thoughts. Another minute later, he 
heard Ukyo's voice again.
 "I LOVE YOU RAN-CHAN!!!"
 <Oh well.> Ranma Red thought. <At least I know he'll be happy!> 
He shook his head and smiled.
 Twenty minutes later, the building shut off its lights and all was 
silent. Ranma Red came out from his hiding place, just as he saw his 
brother exit the building. He had a dreamy look on his face and was 
carrying a large takeout box.
 "So I take it she accepted?"
 Ranma Blue could only nod, as the memories of Ukyo kisses were 
still fresh on his mind. That girl could really osculate!
 "So what did you tell her?"
 Ranma Blue finally shook himself out of his dreamy state and said, "I 
just told her that I loved her and asked her to marry me! I also made her 
promise not to tell anyone about the proposal until the right time. I 
haven't told her about you yet, but she swore not tell anyone that she 
saw me."
 "It's good to know that she'll keep our secret. By the way, I see 
you've brought us some dinner."
 "Yeah, we can eat on our way to the school. We can use that old 
storage room in the basement to hide out in after we sneak our stuff out 
of the dojo. We could also use the gym showers to clean ourselves up."
 "Well, I guess there's no turning back now. Any regrets?"
 "We're not cursed. We're not afraid of cats any more. I've got a twin 
brother. Ukyo is gonna marry me. Can't say I have any regrets right now."
 "Yeah, but you know things are going to get more complicated from 
now on."
 "Things have definitely changed for us. I'd say for the better, don't 
you?"
 Ranma Red was silent for a time, then he nodded. Patting his brother 
on the shoulder, the twins headed toward the Tendo dojo to retrieve their 
belongings. In the Realm of Infinity, two immortals smiled. Everything 
was going according to plan.
 
To be continued… 
 
AUTHOR'S NOTES
 I wrote this chapter not only to please Ukyo fans, but also to solve 
another problem with Ranma, mainly the Cat Fist. Now for those of you 
who think that I am eliminating some of the plot devices by solving 
Ranma's problems, think again. The Ranma brothers will still have 
problems. Just different ones now.
 The story is becoming less zanier than it is in either the anime or 
manga. This ismore of a serious nature. I was inspired to take this route 
after reading Zen'sLong and Winding Road. (I'm still waiting for 
Chapter Three). There will befuture chapters that will be more warm 
and fuzzy as this story progresses.
 As you can see, this rewrite is relatively minor as I couldn't really 
think ofanything else to do with it.