Dual Destinies
 
The cast of Ranma 1/2 was the brainchild of Rumiko Takahashi. I am 
only writing this story for entertainment.
 
<>: Thoughts
{" "} Telepathic communication
 
  Chapter 9
 Broken Promises and Shattered Dreams
 
 Ranma Red and Ranma Blue awoke on a cloudy morning. As they got 
up from the futon they were sharing, they began to recall the events of 
the previous night. They smiled as they recalled their mother's words.
 "The matter is settled. My sons shall marry Ukyo Kuonji and 
Shampoo. I hereby give my blessings."
 Ranma Red turned to his brother and smiled. {"Man! I can't believe 
that we got Mom's blessing!"}
 Ranma Blue was also excited. {Yeah! Things were pretty much touch 
and go for a while! Now that Mom's on our side, Pop is going to have to 
back down!"}
 {"Things are finally looking up!"} Ranma Red then paused as he 
remembered something. {"Hey! Soren and Taron are supposed to 
contact us today!"}
 {"That's right boys!"} Taron said.
 {"Hey Taron! Everything all right?"} Ranma Blue asked.
 {"Everything's fine you two. I can tell by your expressions that you 
managed to convince your mother to accept what's happened."}
 {"You bet! Thanks for sending that goddess over! She was big help!"} 
Ranma Red said.
 {"That's good. Now the reason I've contacted you is to inform you 
that the Contract between the Earth and the Dark World will be expired 
in two weeks. As such, after you have finished up your business at the 
dojo, we must move you forward in your training."}
 {"We're going to be going up against these guys soon?"} Inquired 
Ranma Blue.
 {"That's right. We have to get you prepared for the coming battle. It 
won't be easy, I assure you."}
 {"Don't worry about it Taron! We can handle it!"} Ranma Blue's 
brother said.
 {"For the sake of the Earth, I hope so."}
 
 Later that morning, the Saotome family, Ukyo Kuonji, Shampoo and 
her great-grandmother were walking down the street toward the Tendo 
dojo. As they ambled along, both boys told their mother of their 
experiences over the last ten years. It wasn't long before Nodoka began 
questioning her sons about the members of the Tendo clan.
 "I had not yet gotten acquainted with Soun Tendo or his daughters. 
Since the two of you have been living there for almost a year, perhaps 
you can tell me about them."
 Ranma Red decided to start filling his mother in on the members of 
the Tendo clan. "Well, Soun Tendo is the head of the household. He and 
Pop trained together and are really good friends. He's not a bad martial 
artist, but we never saw him practice that much."
 "Oh?"
 "Yeah." Ranma Blue agreed. "He's very emotional about a lot of 
things. I mean, he's really excited about uniting the Schools of the 
Anything-Goes, despite our protests about being railroaded into a 
marriage that we didn't consent to. Whenever something upsets him, 
makes him happy, sad or gets him angry, he tends to let loose his 
feelings at full bast. He's not very subtle." 
 "Does he have a job or teach any classes? How does he support his 
family?" Nodoka inquired.
 "I don't think he could teach a class, considering how emotional he 
gets. He's also a little too high-strung." Ranma Red admitted. "As for 
regular income, all the time we've been there, we've hardly ever seen 
any students. So far, all we've seen him do is read the paper, and play 
shogi with Pop all day. He doesn't look like he has a job."
 "How does he pay for food and bills then?"
 "The way we figured it out, it may be because of Nabiki." Ranma 
Blue stated.
 "Nabiki, his second daughter?"
 "Yeah." Both brothers nodded as Ranma Blue continued. "Not that 
I'm insulting her, but she's a bit of a mercenary."
 "Mercenary?" Nodoka became very surprised at this statement.
 "Well, that's what we call her." Ranma Red admitted. "You see, 
Nabiki is the one to see when a person wants to obtain information or 
'favors' for a price."
 Nodoka became horrified. "You mean…"
 Both Ranmas began waving their hands as Ranma Red added, "No! 
No! No! It's nothing like that! She doesn't do anything that might 
compromise her honor or her family's. What she does is ferret out 
secrets about people in school, set up betting pools on fights and 
events, sell pictures of Akane or us in our girl form to a certain pervert 
named Tatewaki Kuno or anyone else who is interested and sometimes 
involves herself in some… blackmail."
 "That still does not make her a saint." Nodoka declared.
 "Well, yes." Ranma Blue agreed. "However, the money she makes 
from these endeavors does help keep the household afloat." He then 
bowed his head. "Also, we kind of added to the problem."
 Nodoka looked over to her other son, who also bowed his head 
shamefully and said, "Yeah. We were freeloading on them for a long 
time. Pop and us ate a lot and well, that made it even harder for Nabiki 
to support us all. In addition, the dojo became even more prone to 
damage after we arrived. Constant fights between Akane, Pop, 
numerous enemies and fiancées did more than their share of wear and 
tear on the place. The repair bill was unbelievable!"
 "In the end, we think that Nabiki was the only person that kept that 
place from going into bankruptcy."
 "Yeah. Even though we didn't like her sneaking around and taking 
pictures of us as a girl and selling them to jerks like Kuno. I guess it 
was for a good cause."
 "I see." Nodoka became deep in thought. "What about that other girl, 
Kasumi? She seemed nice enough."
 Both of the Saotome brothers nodded. "Now that we'll admit to." 
Ranma Blue said. "She is as nice as she appears. After her mother had 
died, Kasumi took over all the duties of running the household. She's a 
great cook. She does the laundry, the cleaning and she always seems to 
be smiling."
 "For a while," Ranma Red added sheepishly, "she was the closest 
thing to a mother that we had at the time."
 "So you cared about her?" Nodoka smiled as she asked.
 Both twins nodded as Ranma Red added, "She was like the older 
sister that we never had. However, we only saw her as just that." 
 "You two already have my blessings for your engagements to Ukyo 
and Shampoo. However, I am curious as to your feelings toward Akane 
Tendo. Last night, you had specifically told me that you did not want to 
marry her. Are there some difficulties between you?"
 "Difficulties would be an understatement Mom." Ranma Blue.
 "I'll say!" The other Saotome twin agreed.
 "What happened?" Nodoka asked.
 The two brothers looked at each other, shrugged and began their 
story.
 "It all started back when we were still in one body and cursed." 
Ranma Red began. "It was a couple months after we fell into the pools 
at Jusenkyo."
 "Pop had sent a postcard to Mr. Tendo to expect us. Of course he 
never told us anything about the engagement! In fact, Mr. Tendo hadn't 
informed his daughters about it either. It was a big shock to all of us!" 
Ranma Blue added.
 "Yeah, but when we got to the dojo, our appearances were even more 
shocking to them! It was raining that day and Pop had dragged us 
kicking and screaming into the dojo. You can imagine what it would be 
like if a giant panda was hauling a small red-haired girl into the place!"
 Nodoka nodded as she waited for her sons to continue.
 "When we introduced ourselves as Ranma Saotome, Mr. Tendo was 
glad to see us. He didn't notice that we were a girl, but it wasn't long 
before his daughter Nabiki pointed it out. That's when he fainted dead 
away!" Ranma Blue said with emphasis.
 "Oh dear!" Nodoka remarked.
 "Things went downhill from there! Everyone thought that we were a 
girl!" 
 "Well, didn't you try to explain your situation?" Nodoka asked.
 "By that time it was too late." Ranma Blue supplied. "It was 
embarrassing to watch a grown man cry. Nabiki was really ticked off 
that we weren't what she expected. Kasumi was too busy trying to 
console her father and Mr. Tendo was drowning his pillow with tears."
 "The only person who wasn't upset that we were a girl was Akane. Of 
course, she wasn't very happy about being roped into an engagement 
either."
 "What happened?" Ranma's mother queried.
 "She started acting nice toward us at first." Ranma Red started. "She 
asked us if we wanted to be friends. After ten years on the road, we 
were glad to have anyone who we could talk to."
 "We ended up sparring with her. She wasn't as good as we were and 
she kept telegraphing her moves. After we beat her, she told us that she 
was glad that we were a girl. Apparently, she seemed to have a big 
hatred of boys."
 "Why? When I met her, she seemed like a sweet little girl."
 "Appearances can be deceiving mom." Ranma Red said. "You see, 
before we arrived in Nerima, Akane had all these boys chasing after her. 
Some guy named Kuno had his eye on her and declared that the only 
way a guy could date her, is to defeat her in combat. Until we arrived, 
she had to fight them off every day. And when I say fight them off, I 
MEAN FIGHT THEM OFF! Those guys just couldn't take no for an 
answer, especially Kuno. Akane had to literally pound them into the 
pavement."
 "Oh… I see." Nodoka nodded.
 "Anyway, after the match between Akane and us, Kasumi invited us 
to take a bath. We were very sweaty from the match, so we accepted. 
Akane later walked in on us, assuming that we were still a girl."
 "And I take it you weren't?" Nodoka said knowingly.
 "That's right." Ranma Blue sighed. "We had just gotten out of the hot 
water when Akane came in without her clothes."
 "And…?"
 "She freaked." Ranma Blue continued. "She ran out of the room 
screaming and threatened to bash us over the head with a table."
 "Even after Pop had explained everything, Akane was still angry at 
the fact that we were really a guy." Ranma Red shrugged. "She started 
accusing us of being a pervert, even though she walked in on US!"
 "She called you a pervert?" Nodoka asked bewildered.
 "She also used other such descriptions such as dummy, pig, lecher 
and so on." Ranma Blue sighed. "In the end, Kasumi and Nabiki 
volunteered her as the fiancée, which made her madder than ever. We 
ended up getting bashed over the head with the table. Ever since then, it 
became a long series of fights. It was very rare that we'd ever get any 
measure of peace."
 "Of course, we shouldn't have insulted her about her figure." Ranma 
Red admitted.
 "Yeah." His brother admitted. "Although, we never went any further 
than name calling."
 "True, and when all those other girls came along, she really went 
ballistic!"
 "Oh?" Nodoka said.
 "Kodachi Kuno, Shampoo, Kaori Daikoku and Ukyo Kuonji. They 
could all cook, sew and fight a lot better than Akane could. That was 
something that Akane could never take too well. Every time one or 
more would show her up or display affection toward us, she'd go into a 
rage and we'd end up being accused as a pervert and get smashed into 
orbit." Ranma Red shook his head.
 "But I thought she was against the marriage." 
 "Oh she'd say it all the time. Of course, whenever there was a 
misunderstanding, she'd never give us a chance to explain. We had never 
done anything to those girls, but Akane would assume the worst and…" 
Ranma Blue sighed again.
  "She would never give us the benefit of the doubt." Ranma Red added.
 Looking at her sons' long faces, Nodoka felt their sorrow. "It sounds 
like you two cared a great deal for her."
 Both boys looked at each other and then gave their mother a wan smile
 "I guess we did." Ranma Blue admitted. Ranma Red nodded also. "It 
never would've worked though. On rare occasions, she could be very 
caring and understanding, but…"
 "In the end, Ukyo and Shampoo were the only ones who believed in 
us. Akane never gave us a chance. She tended to be abusive, short-
tempered, violent and she hardly ever admitted to her mistakes."
 "She tends to jump to conclusions and she does not take any 
criticism about her personality or skills."
 "She is very impatient, headstrong and doesn't want to face reality."
 "What do you mean she doesn't want to face reality?" Nodoka asked.
 Ranma Red replied, "Well, she doesn't want to admit that her martial 
arts and cooking skills need a lot of work. It was made even worse 
whenever Shampoo or Ukyo showed her up. I guess we didn't help 
matters either when we refused to hit her during our sparring sessions 
or not eat her cooking."
 "As time went on," Ranma Blue continued, "Akane's skill in cooking 
didn't improve that much. She always tried to make the food without 
consulting the recipe, use too much or too little ingredients, or try to 
add her own improvements to the recipe. Sometimes she would just 
grab anything without even checking to see if it's the right thing. She 
doesn't realize that she needs to take the time to read over the recipe. 
Patience was never her strong point. The end result was usually inedible 
and we'd end up flat on our backs in pain, either from the food or from 
the injuries that she'd inflict on us when we refused to eat her cooking."
 "Her impatience also reflected in her martial arts. Over the last few 
months, all we've seen her do is exercise to keep fit. We know that 
she's got some potential, but she isn't very interested in developing it. 
However, whenever she loses a fight to someone else, she gets mad at 
her opponent because he or she was better. That was one of the main 
reasons why she never got along very well with Shampoo and Ukyo. 
They could fight a lot better than Akane could and she would always 
complain about it."
 "There was one time when Shampoo beat her at arm-wrestling. She 
got so mad that she was willing to do anything to beat her!"
 "What happened?" Nodoka asked.
 "She accidentally ate some soba noodles that gave her super-
strength." Ranma Red answered. "I guess we were jealous that she was 
stronger than we were, but Akane got carried away. She wanted to beat 
Shampoo so badly that she wouldn't even listen to us when we tried to 
give her the antidote! That Super Soba had some bad side-effects."
 "Taking something like that just to beat someone is really no better 
than taking steroids." Ranma Blue agreed.
 "Afterwards, every time she suffered a loss, she would try to train to 
improve. But, her impatience and anger always got the better of her and 
she improved very slowly. She would never go through the correct 
motions and usually would wear herself out without any significant 
improvement. She keeps telling people that she's a trained martial 
artist, but she doesn't seem to have much patience or discipline. Come 
to think of it, we were a lot like that too before we got split."
 "Well," Ranma Blue said tentatively, "I guess we were. But not as bad 
as Akane!"
 "Yeah, we do learn from our mistakes. Akane doesn't really take the 
time to think about her actions, whenever she acted out of anger or 
frustration. Worse yet, she usually took it out on someone else. Mostly 
us." 
 "I see. She seemed such a sweet little girl when I met her." Nodoka 
remarked.
 "Akane always such a violent girl."
 The two brothers turned and saw their fiancées walking up to them.
 Nodoka looked at her future daughter-in-law with a disparaging eye. 
"Shampoo-chan, I would prefer that you keep such opinions to yourself." 
 Shampoo bowed her head and said, "Sorry, Mother-in-law. Shampoo 
just agrees with future husband and brother-in-law. Akane always no 
trust Ranma. Thinks Ranma is always chasing after girls. Ranma no do 
that! Not his fault that he is too, too good catch!"
 "That's right sugar." Ukyo added. "Ranma honey is the best thing to 
happen to any girl. He's not perfect, but who is? Akane treated Ran-
chan like she owned him, but she always gave him a bad pounding every 
time one of us acted nice to him."
 "Shampoo happy that she get Ranma as loving fiancée!"
 "Same with me! Akane doesn't know what she's losing!"
 The mother of the Ranma twins smiled as she heard her future 
daughter-in-laws list all the good points about her offspring.
 "Ranma is strong!"
 "He's nice!"
 "He gentle!"
 "He's no coward!"
 "He brave!"
 "He thinks I'm cute!"
 "He stood up to great-grandmother!"
 "He's the best fiancée that any girl could ask for!" 
 "Best of all…"
 "HE LOVES ME!!!" Both girls said simultaneously.
 <My sons are so manly if they have two such devoted girls at their 
sides! Now all I have to do is deal with Genma!> Nodoka's expression 
darkened at that last thought as they approached the Tendo dojo. She 
began fingering the cloth-wrapped bundle that she had been carrying in 
her arms.
 
 Inside the Tendo home, Soun, Genma, Akane and her sisters were all 
sitting at the breakfast table. Ranma had been gone for five days and 
they were all wondering where he was. It was soon discovered that his 
backpack and all of his belongings were gone as well. Akane had spent 
half the time worrying about him and the other half fuming at him. She 
was still upset over the condition Ryoga had been in two days ago. 
<How dare that jerk cause us this much trouble! When I see him, I'm 
going to make him wish he stayed missing!>
 
 Outside the Tendo compound, the Ranma twins and their group stopped 
as they prepared to face the impending chaos that was sure to erupt.
 "Well brother." Ranma Blue said as he turned to Ranma Red. "You 
want to go in first?"
 "Why not?" Ranma Red shrugged. He then turned to the others. "You 
all better wait outside. We'll call each of you when we need you." The 
red-shirted martial artist then calmly walked up the pathway and entered 
the house.
 As soon as Ranma Red entered the house, the Tendos and his father 
immediately spotted him. Before he could get a word in, Genma was 
already in front of him and shouting.
 "Ranma! Where the HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!"
 Soun was also very upset at his sudden appearance, but he was secretly 
relieved that the future of the Anything-Goes Schools was safe and sound. 
He also noted that he seemed healthier than before. He had more muscle 
mass and moved with more grace. He did not have the cocky attitude that 
he usually had. He was serene and controlled as he faced his father's 
anger. In fact, he didn't seem the least bit concerned at Genma's tirade or 
the glares that he was getting from Akane. Something was up.
 "…furthermore, you have jeopardized the future of the schools with 
your disappearing like that! Have you no honor?!" Genma finished.
 Ranma Red was still as calm as ever as he waited for his father to 
stop. He then took a deep breath and said, "Pop, you are the last person 
to be lecturing to me about honor! In any case, I couldn't care LESS 
ABOUT MERGING THE SCHOOLS! I've learned that this whole thing 
just isn't worth it! In fact, I've learned a great deal about you POP! And 
I've learned even more about myself!"
 "What are you talking about?!" Genma asked.
 Ranma Red gave a telepathic signal and a moment later, Ranma Blue 
entered the house. The Tendo family and Genma did a collective facefault.
 Ranma Red smiled triumphantly as he gestured to his sibling. "Allow 
me to introduce my twin brother, Ranma Saotome."
 
Twenty minutes later…
 Both Ranmas were sitting beside each other at the table as they 
finished their story on how they became separated. Soun and Genma 
were flabbergasted. Akane was between amazement and disgust as she 
realized that there were two Ranmas now. Nabiki was already 
formulating on how much income this development would make, and 
Kasumi was…Kasumi. She said her trademarked, "Oh my!"
 Soun became very excited afterwards, "So you are saying that there 
are now two of you?"
 "Well, yeah…" Ranma Red started.
 Soun began jumping for joy as he pounded Genma on the back. 
"Saotome! Do you realize what this means? We can now have TWO of 
my daughters married and doubly ensure that the future of the 
Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts!"
 "Your right Tendo!" Genma joined in on his friend's revelry. They 
began shouting and laughing with glee. Genma took out a bottle of sake 
and both started to take long pulls of the stuff. Nabiki and Kasumi 
became understandably shocked as they realized that one of them was 
about to be engaged to Ranma's twin.
 It was at this time that both Saotome brothers decided to end this 
display. Sitting straight up, the twins emitted a loud 'ahem' which caught 
the attention of the two cavorting fathers.
 "We hate to burst your bubbles, but my brother and I are NOT 
marrying ANY of the Tendo girls!" Ranma Blue stated.
 "What?!" Both Soun and Genma turned suddenly as they heard Ranma 
Blue's declaration.
 "That's right!" Ranma Red agreed.
 "Foolish boys!" Genma roared. "It is a matter of honor that the two of 
you wed the Tendo girls! The promise stated that any children I have 
will marry any of Soun's children!"
 "Hmpf!" Ranma Red snorted. "That promise doesn't mean squat to us! 
We've had enough of your stupid promises, which we had no say in! I'm 
not going to do it!"
 "Ditto for me!" Ranma Blue added. "Besides, we already have fiancées!"
 "WHAT?!" Both men roared.
 Ranma Red and his brother sent telepathic signals to their future 
wives, who then entered the house and took their places beside their 
respective Ranma.
 "Ukyo Kuonji had just consented to be my bride, not only because of 
that okonomiyaki cart, but because she loves me and I love her!" Ranma 
Blue said as he embraced a smiling Ukyo.
 Ranma Red followed suit by taking Shampoo into his arms. "I'm 
going to marry Shampoo. We love each other and since I beat her, by 
Amazon Law, we have to get hitched."
 Needless to say, Akane did not take this news any better than her 
father did. Her temper began a fast boil as she saw the two pigtailed 
boys hug Ukyo and Shampoo. She then exploded as each gave their 
fiancées a tender kiss.
 "RANMA, YOU JERKS!!!" Akane then whipped out her hammer and 
swung it at the heads of the twin Ranmas.
 Both Ranmas had expected this reaction. Without even breaking off 
the kiss, Ranma Red put up one finger and stopped the hammer with 
apparently no effort. Ranma Blue followed up by launching a chi blast, 
which reduced the hammer's head into atomic particles. Akane was left 
staring stupidly at the handle of her now useless weapon.
 The two Ranmas then broke off their kisses and turned to an enraged 
Akane.
  "Just what we expected from you Akane." Ranma Red started.
 "You bet! We've had to put up with your temper tantrums for almost 
a year!" Ranma Blue said.
 It was then that Akane exploded. "You're both perverts! Pigs! 
Lechers! You'll grab any bimbo that comes along!"
 "WHO ARE YOU CALLING BIMBOS?!" Shampoo and Ukyo shouted. 
 "I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!" Soun roared.
 "I AGREE!" Genma added. "You two will marry a Tendo girl and 
that's final! For the honor of our two families and the future of the 
schools, you both will follow through!"
 "I DO NOT AGREE!!!"
 As soon as Nodoka's voice was heard, Genma stiffened and turned 
white. He began to quiver and tremble uncontrollably as his knees 
began to knock together. He began to slowly turn around to the 
direction of the voice. The Tendo family also turned their heads
toward the sound of Nodoka's shout. Near the doorway which led to the 
hall, stood Ranma's mother and Cologne.
 Nodoka was standing in a classic dueling pose. In both of her hands, 
she gripped the hilt of a katana. Before entering the building, she had 
unwrapped the sword from its cloth bindings. The curved blade glinted 
with a deadly light as she leveled it toward her husband. Her face had a 
dark look and her eyes seemed to glow with a fiery light as her rage 
began to be felt in the room. Beside her, Cologne balanced on her staff 
and also looked at Genma with a disparaging eye. The appearance of the 
two women would have made Kami-sama himself think twice about 
making them any angrier.
 "N-N-No-Nodoka!" Genma stammered, his voice was barely more 
than a whisper.
 Before he could say anything else, Nodoka charged with unbelievable 
speed and delivered a downward slash at her spouse. The Tendo daughters 
screamed. Genma also screamed and shut his eyes, expecting to die at that 
moment. He then heard a splash and the sound of breaking glass that was 
hitting the floor. When he opened his eyes, he looked down and saw a 
puddle and the bottom of the sake bottle he was holding on the floor in 
front of him. He then looked at the hand that was still holding the bottle's 
neck. The katana had sliced the bottle cleanly into two pieces. It was 
apparent that Nodoka knew how to use that sword!
 Nodoka then lifted the sword and had its tip less than a millimeter 
from Genma's exposed throat. She then gritted out a greeting through 
clenched teeth. "Hello Genma. It has been a long time." Her voice was 
practically dripping with venom.
 Cologne hopped over to her great-granddaughter's side and said, "It 
seems that your wife wishes to discuss something with you, Genma 
Saotome. I would advise you to choose your words with care."
 No one in the room could anything more than stare at the scene. All 
the matriarch of the Saotome clan had to do was push forward slightly 
and Genma would no longer be counted among the living. Seeing this, 
Genma tried to reason with his enraged wife.
 "N-Nodoka! It's good to see you again. I would have called s-sooner, 
b-but…"
 "Silence!" Nodoka commanded. "I want none of your excuses!"
 Both Ranmas came up to their mother. As they approached her, they 
tried to calm her down.
 "Mom?" Ranma Red tried to put a hand on her shoulder.
 Without taking her eyes off Genma, their mother said in a stern 
voice, "Stay out of this my sons! This is between your father and I!"
 The Saotome twins knew that this was one of those times to back off.
 Nodoka then addressed her husband. "How dare you arrange a 
marriage for Ranma without consulting me?"
 Genma swallowed hard as he responded, "It was a matter of honor 
that Ranma be married to a Tendo! The schools of the Anything-Goes 
Martial Arts were to be united!"
 "HONOR?!" Nodoka roared. "HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT 
HONOR WHEN YOU HAVE NONE OF IT TO BEGIN WITH?!"
 "W-Wh-What do you mean?"
 Nodoka calmed down a little before continuing. "My son was no 
more than a few months old when you SOLD him for a FISH!!!"
 "B-But dear, I was starving and h-he did throw in the rice and two 
pickles."
 Nodoka whirled and sent a diagonal slash at one of Genma's arms. 
Genma was too shocked to even flinch. When he looked down at his 
arm, he saw that she had cut the sleeve of his gi clean off. The material 
fluttered to the floor. His arm was untouched. The tip of her sword was 
back at his throat in an instant.
 "N-Nodoka, please listen…" Genma tried again, but he was cut off as 
her sword lightly touched his skin.
 Ranma's mother was clearly becoming angrier. "I would have thought 
that you had learned your lesson after that, Genma!"
 "I-I-I did dear! The girl that was engaged to Ranma had renounced her 
claim!"
 "YOU DID NOT!!!" Nodoka slashed off the other sleeve of her 
husband's gi, then returned the blade to its position at Genma's Adam's 
apple. "When Ranma was six, you engaged him to Ukyo Kuonji! YOU 
STOLE HER DOWRY AND ABANDONED HER!"
  Ukyo flinched at the memory.
 "But Nodoka…" Genma meekly said.
 She would have none of it. She then began slashing at Genma's gi, 
taking care not to cut her husband, at least not yet. With every stroke, 
she shouted out each of Genma's crimes.
 "PORK CUTLETS!!!" Slash! "FIVE BAGS OF RICE!!!" Slash! "AN
ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BUFFET!!!" Slash! "AND KAMI-SAMA ONLY 
KNOWS HOW MANY MORE YOU WOULD HAVE DONE!!!" Slash! 
Slash! Slash!
 By this time, Genma's gi looked like Swiss cheese. He trembled so
 hard from the near misses that he fell to his knees. Nodoka suddenly 
stopped in her attacks and held her sword high. It looked as if she was 
preparing to lop off her husband's head.
 "MOM!!!" Both Ranmas shouted.
 Nodoka began to compose herself as she replied, "Do not worry my 
sons. I am not going to kill him…today. There is still the matter of your 
engagements to settle." Leaving Genma to grovel on the floor, she 
turned to Soun, who was still in shock at her display. After a long
moment, Soun shook himself out of his stupor. His family listened 
intensely as their father tried to set their future. 
 "Madam, I-I-I was unaware that your husband had done these things. 
However, as a matter of honor…your sons must still marry my 
daughters. Akane is already engaged to one of them so now we must…"
 "No." Nodoka said in a firm, yet expressionless voice.
 "I beg your pardon?"
 "I said no."
 "Mrs. Saotome! It is a matter of honor that…" Soun did not finish as 
she half-raised her sword.
 "As of now, the promise that my idiot husband had made to you has 
been invalidated. Genma has already proven himself incapable of 
keeping his word. He broke his vow to your family when he started 
using Ranma as a means to fill his fat belly!"
 "But…"
 "I will tolerate no objections to my decision! Furthermore, I have 
already seen how unsuitable Akane is to either of my sons! She was 
about to strike my sons, when all they did was give their fiancées a kiss! 
I had already given them my blessings for their engagements to Ukyo 
and Shampoo!"
 "Now see here…" Soun started.
 "No, you see here Mr. Tendo! My sons had already told me what had 
been going on in this house for the past several months! After seeing 
Akane's behavior today, I tend to agree with their assessment of her!"
 "But…"
 "Also, I do not like being LIED TO!"
 "What are talking about?" Soun asked nervously.
 "THIS!!!" Nodoka pointed to her husband. As if on cue, both Ranmas 
understood what their mother wanted and grabbed their father. With a 
mighty heave, they tossed the still sniveling martial artist out the door 
and into the koi pond. The Panda came up sputtering and held up a sign.
 "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO YOUR FATHER?!" signed the Panda.
 Nodoka turned her attention to Soun. "You told me that my husband 
was with my son on a training trip yesterday, when in fact he was behind 
me in his CURSED FORM!"
 "Y-You know about the curse of Jusenkyo?" Soun sputtered.
  "My sons came to me yesterday and explained everything. They also 
informed me that you were still intent of forcing Ranma to marry 
Akane, even though Kaori Daikoku and Ukyo Kuonji had arrived with 
legitimate claims on my son!"
 "But the promise made between myself and Genma was made before 
Ranma or my girls were born! It has the right of seniority!"
 "No it does not!" Nodoka affirmed. "Akane still retains her dowry! 
The Tendo dojo has neither been given nor spent! Ukyo's dowry has 
already been taken and spent! In addition, my husband had taken food 
from other families, while carelessly engaging my son to their
daughters! He has caused much dishonor to several families! It was 
then, that I had decided to disallow ALL engagements that Genma had 
made on my son's behalf!"
 "But, that would mean that Ukyo…"
 "I said ALL the ENGAGEMENTS that GENMA had made! I said 
nothing about any engagements that my SONS had made."
 "Your…SONS?" Soun sputtered.
 Nodoka nodded. "Ranma Blue had proposed to Ukyo three days ago, 
while Ranma Red has promised himself to Shampoo! Since they had 
made their decision of their own free will, I consider their 
engagements to be valid!"
 Akane became shocked as she heard these words. Although she 
would never admit it, she had become rather attached to Ranma over the 
past months. Now both Ranmas had proposed to her rivals. This revelation 
had hurt her both emotionally and physically. Now Ranma's mother had 
declared that her engagement was invalid. She could do nothing but stand 
like a zombie as the adults argued. <He…he doesn't love me! I… thought 
he cared about me! I…> Akane was just about on the verge of tears. 
 "I protest!" Soun declared. He could not believe that his lifelong 
dream was being destroyed before his eyes.
 "As their mother, I have far greater authority!" Nodoka looked at him 
dangerously. "The matter is settled!" As Ukyo and Shampoo became 
overjoyed with her announcement and began hugging their future 
husbands, she then turned to the Panda, who cowered under her intense 
gaze. "As for you Genma, count yourself lucky that I do not demand that 
you commit seppeku now! I may still demand you to commit it later!"
 The Saotome matriarch turned back to Soun, who was now bawling at 
the situation.
 "Oh do be silent Mr. Tendo! The matter is settled! Act like a man of 
your age!"
 "Waaaaaaahhhh!!! Now the schools will never be joined!" Tears came 
down in buckets as Soun paced aimlessly around the room.
 Nodoka watched the man with pity. After five minutes of his 
constant wailing, Nodoka sighed and turned to her sons, who were still 
being affectionately hugged by their fiancées.
 "Come my sons. It is time we all took our leave."
  Both boys stood up with their future wives and turned toward the 
door. As they headed out of the house, their mother and Cologne 
followed them. Before exiting, Nodoka turned back toward the Tendo 
family. She addressed Akane while Nabiki and Kasumi were busy trying 
to console their father. Genma was still in his panda form as he patted 
his weeping friend's back. Their mutual dream to unite the school had 
been torn apart.
 "Akane Tendo. Although this engagement did not work out, I bear no 
malice toward you or your family. I had wanted to get to know you all 
better, but I'm afraid that the only way to settle this situation was to end 
it. I apologize for any distress that I have caused you. "
 Akane did not seem to hear her. She was still standing in shock as 
her thoughts whirled in her head. <Ranma's leaving! He's not coming 
back! He…doesn't…love…me!>
 Nodoka noted the expression on the youngest Tendo and then 
sighed. This was not how she wanted things to end. However, she could 
think of no other way. She bowed silently and was gone.
 It was then that Akane sank to her knees and began sobbing. Kasumi 
and Nabiki noticed her and went over to console her. Soun, on the other 
hand turned to his friend in a rage.
 "SAOTOME! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
 The Panda backed away as Soun's Demon Head filled up the room. In 
the corner, Akane sobbed quietly with her sisters crouched down beside 
her.
 
 Shampoo and Cologne, after bidding the Saotome family goodbye, 
headed toward the Nekohanten to open for business. Ukyo had also left 
the group as she too had a business to run. The twins and their mother 
began heading back toward their home. As they walked, they began 
asking Nodoka some questions.
 "Mom, what about Pop?" Ranma Red inquired.
 Nodoka took on an intense, but thoughtful look. "Your father may 
either stay with the Tendo family, or come home to us. If he does 
return, I assure you, he will be under my strict supervision."
 "Are you going to make him commit seppeku?" Ranma Blue asked.
 Nodoka paused for a long time before answering, "No. For now, I am 
going to let him think about the crimes he has committed over the last 
ten years. I'm sure that Soun Tendo is venting his rage on him right now. 
That will give him added incentive not to do such foolish things in the 
future. However, he is still my husband and your father. Killing him so 
soon, after not seeing my family in over a decade does not set well with 
me."
 Both Ranmas nodded. They both knew that their father was a slow 
learner, but now that Nodoka was aware of his failings, they could now 
have hope that Genma would not cause any more difficulties for them. 
 {"Well guys, I'm glad to see that the matter of the engagements has 
now been settled!"} Taron said from the Realm of Infinity.
 Nodoka perked up when she heard Taron. She then relaxed as she 
remembered who it was.
 {"Hey Taron! Where's Soren?"} Ranma Blue asked.
 {"I'm right here."} Soren answered. {"Now that you've gotten 
everything cleared up, it's time for the both of you to continue with 
your training."}
 {"Right now?"} Ranma Blue asked.
 {"Yes, I'm afraid that the training must go on. We need you to meet 
us at the park."}
 {"But what about Mom?"} Ranma Red looked at his mother.
 Nodoka smiled as she said, "Go ahead you two. I'll be going home 
now."
 {"If you'll allow me Nodoka, I can get you home in an instant."} 
Soren offered.
 "Just a moment." Nodoka turned to her sons and hugged them both.
 "Take care you two. I expect you back by dinner." She then released her 
sons and said, "I'm ready now." 
 She was suddenly enveloped in a bright flash as Soren used his magic 
to teleport her to her house. As the light faded away, the Saotome twins 
began heading for the park.
 Nodoka suddenly appeared in front of her house. She was slightly 
disoriented at being instantly transported across Tokyo. However, 
remembering what her sons had told her about Soren and Taron, she 
quickly got over it. She headed into her house to make preparations for 
her sons' return.
 Although she was still amazed at what had happened to Ranma in the 
last few days, she found that she could get used to the fact that Ranma 
was now twins. She had TWO SONS! They had proven themselves as 
men among men. They had become excellent martial artists. They were 
honorable. They were engaged to girls who loved them and most of all, 
they still loved their mother dearly, despite her ten-year absence from 
their lives. She couldn't ask for anything more.
 
 At the park, Soren and Taron were waiting for their pupils to arrive. 
On the other side of the city, dark clouds began to form as the time of 
the Contract Renewal drew near.
 
To be continued…
 
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
 Phew! Chapter 9 is finally done! I've had a lot of trouble with this 
installment since the business of having two Ranma Saotomes caused 
me to have writer's block. Now that their business with the Tendo clan 
is finished, our twin heroes must now deal with coming back to school. 
I'll also add Mousse into the plot and introduce the first of the Dark 
World villains. I know I should have introduced them sooner and I may 
do some revision to the previous chapters later. Right now, I have to go 
with the flow of my creative juices as they hit me.