"Jeremy Mullin" 


Quick note from the author: this is a rewritten, revised, and retitled
version of a fanfic I released quite some time ago entitled "Twin Fists
of Fury".  Further details as to why I gave it a make-over at the end of
the story.  In the meantime, read on...

        Stoner 3:17 Presents

        Double or Nothing

        A "Ranma 1/2" Fanfiction Series

        Written by Jeremy Mullin (stoner317@hotmail.com)

        "Ranma 1/2" characters and situations created by Rumiko
Takahashi, all rights reserved, used without permission.  Please don't
sue, I have no money.

        PART 1: Jusenkyo Water and Electricity... Don't Mix

     Several months after the attempted wedding of Ranma Saotome and
Akane Tendo...
     "I still can't believe that idiot!!" Akane cried out again for the
umpteenth time that evening.  She sat fuming at the low table in the
living room, listening to the rain as it beat down almost mercilessly,
the storm almost seeming to reflect her mood.
     "Still mad at Ranma, Akane?" Nabiki asked with her usual
disinterest, not even bothering to look up from the magazine she was
reading.
     Akane did her best to keep her cool as she replied, "Of course I'm
still mad at him!  I mean, what is he thinking?!  Bad enough the jerk
goes out with Shampoo the second the little bimbo comes back from
China, but on a night like this?!  And because of that stupid powder!
How can *anyone* be so stupid?!"
     Nabiki shrugged.  "Well, you know Ranma.  Why do you have to
ask?"
     Akane didn't bother to reply, but instead just angrily sipped some
of her tea that Kasumi offered her.  She hated it when Nabiki was right.
She hated it more that it happened more often than she preferred.
     Nodoka looked up from where she was mending one of her son's
shirts and sighed.  "Akane, I wish that you wouldn't think so harshly of
Ranma about this," she scolded as much as she could with her usual
calm demeanor.  "I don't like what he did, either, but getting mad at him
isn't going to solve anything or make things better."
     Akane sighed as she began to calm down a little.  Ever since Nodoka
had begun living with them, Akane had begun to lose her temper less
and less.  Even around Ranma.  The older woman just seemed to have
that effect on her.
     "I know, Auntie," she replied sheepishly.  "It's just that... he gets me
so mad sometimes at how stupid and gullible he can be.  Shampoo
comes back from China after we finally had her and her grandmother
deported, and she suckers him into another date that Instant
Nanniichuan junk, saying it was a 'longer lasting' kind.  I mean,
honestly, don't you think that makes him just a little bit stupid?"
     "More like desperate, if you ask me, Akane," Nabiki replied, turning
her head to throw Akane a grin, "what with the Jusenkyo springs all
gone and everything."
     Akane tensed and grit her teeth trying to keep her cool, clutching
her tea cup almost to the point of cracking it.  She could hear Nodoka
chastely say to Nabiki, "Nabiki, dear, you're not helping."
     "Akane, please try to calm down a little," Soun said from where he
was playing yet another game of shogi with Genma, who was in human
form at his wife's... insistence.  The Tendo patriarch looked up to give
his youngest a lopsided attempt at a reassuring grin.  "After all, it's
only one date, and besides, it's for a good cause."
     Akane didn't even bother to turn around as she bitterly replied,
"And what 'good cause', may I ask, is that?  I doubt that it's any cure.
We all know that that junk only works once until the next time you get
wet."
     "Of course, we know, Akane," Genma replied in his usual boastful
manner.  "But once that ingrate son of mine realizes that Shampoo is
stringing him along, again, he'll dump her like a sack of old potatoes
and then you two can marry without any--"
     *SPLASH!*  A confused, wet panda now took the place of the
gluttonous old man.  "Growf?!"
     "Get it into your thick head!" Akane yelled, slamming the water
glass down on the table.  "I am *not* marrying that perverted, two-
timing, self-centered jerk!!!  Especially not after he chickened out at our
so-called 'wedding'!!!  He can run off to China with Shampoo for all I
care!  Which I don't!"
     "Uh, you sure about that, sis?" Nabiki asked hesitantly, pointing
behind Akane towards the door.  Nodoka and Kasumi stared in that
direction with worried expressions on their faces, while her father and
the panda appeared to be shocked.  Curiously, Akane turned around to
see what the commotion was about, and gasped with shock.
     A soaking wet Ranma-chan stood in the doorway, looking like
something the cat dragged in.  She was leaning against the doorframe
for support, barely managing to keep herself upright, her breathing
coming out short and ragged.  Her red hair hung loose about her
shoulders, as her pigtail had somehow come undone.  The only thing
she appeared to have on was her red Chinese shirt, which was held
closed only by her hand and a couple of its ties, leaving much of it
opened and giving her little modesty.  Akane felt a tightening in her
throat as Ranma's gaze met her's, a weak, sarcastic smile creeping
across her face.
     "N-nice t-to... kn-know... you... ugh... c-c-ca-care..." she weakly
muttered, trailing off as she finally lost her support and collapsed to
the floor.  Before she lost consciousness, she added in a whisper, "U-
Unc-c-cute... t-to-tom... boy..."
     Akane just stared for a long while at the prone form of her fiance,
unable to move no matter how much she tried to bring herself to do so.
She could feel tears streaming down her face, guilt and regret filling
her like it never had before.
     "Oh, no... Ranma!"  With that cry, she was able to finally move to
the boy/girl's side, the rest of her family and Ranma's parents close
behind her.

     Some time later found everyone still in the family room.  Ranma
now lay on a futon provided by Kasumi, who tended to the boy/girl and
had dressed her in a dry tank top and boxers.  Presently, the injured
party was covered up to her chin with a comforter, her head in Akane's
lap with a wet cloth on her brow.  For the moment, it was all they could
do until the arrival of Dr. Tofu, who had been called, just to be safe.
     "Oh, this is terrible!" Soun cried from where he sat with the panda
and Nodoka.  "Poor Ranma!  Cut down in the prime of his youth!  Now
he'll never marry my daughter!"  He continued to sob as the panda
reassuringly patted on the back with a paw.
     "Oh, good grief, Daddy.  It's not that bad.  Ranma's going to be
fine," Nabiki said with disgust.  Her father could make such a big deal
out of everything.  Secretly, though, she was wondering whether or not
she ought to call Kuno and inform him as to the current state of his
"pigtailed goddess".
     Sitting next to her husband-now-panda, Nodoka fidgeted nervously.
"Um, shouldn't we at least change Ranma back?" she asked.  Her
discomfort in seeing her son in his cursed form, no matter how much
she had accepted him, was quite known.
     Kasumi turned to the older woman and shook her head.  "I don't
think that would be a good idea, Auntie," she replied.  "We still don't
really know what's wrong with Ranma, and we shouldn't take any
chances until Dr. Tofu arrives.  Okay?"  She smiled gently as Nodoka
sighed and reluctantly nodded, though it was clear that she didn't like
the idea.
     "K-Kasumi..." Akane asked, still holding Ranma's head in her lap.
"Will... will Ranma be okay?"  The poor girl's face was wrought with
worry.
     Kasumi smiled tenderly at her younger sister, then moved over to
Akane and hugged her.  "It's all right, Akane," she whispered.  "Ranma
is going to be okay.  I'm sure that it's nothing too serious, and I've
made him as comfortable as I can until Dr. Tofu can arrive to look him
over."  Kasumi smiled as Akane began to calm down a little and nod
into her shoulder.
     "Besides," Nabiki added somewhat cheerfully, "we all know that
Ranma's too tough to let a little something like this finish him off."
She suddenly turned thoughtful for a minute.  "Hey, that reminds me.
What did happen to him, anyway?  He doesn't even look like he's been
hurt."
     "Hmmm, good question, Nabiki," Kasumi replied thoughtfully.  "I
guess we won't really know for sure until Dr. Tofu arrives."
     "Just where *is* that doctor, anyway?" Nodoka frowned, crossing
her arms.  "My poor son is on his back hurt, and he's taking forever
to get here!"  She ignored the sign the panda held up that had
something about her "coddling the boy" written on it.
     "It's only been about twenty minutes, Auntie.  I don't think that
that counts as 'forever,'" Nabiki said dryly.
     "You do have a point, though," Kasumi added with a frown.  "It
isn't like Dr. Tofu to be this late in an emergency, and his clinic's
not that far from here.  Usually when we call, he's here faster than
you can say--"
     She was interrupted as the front door was suddenly slammed open
and a gasping voice called out, "Could someone give me a hand here,
please?!"
     Soun began to cry with relieving happiness, and he began to dance
about the room with a Rising Sun fan in each hand.  "Oh, thank my
ancestors!  Dr. Tofu is here!  Ranma will be alright!  He will live to
marry Akane!"  Everyone else just shook their heads and sighed.
     Kasumi finally stood up and said, "I'll go help the doctor."  Worried
looks passed on the faces of the others out of habit, but they held back
their protests.  When Dr. Tofu had returned from his trip to study new
medicinal techniques, he had demonstrated that he had also learned
some control of himself while in Kasumi's presence.  As it was, he now
just acted somewhat like a nervous schoolboy around her, all jittery and
such, but his glasses no longer fogged up and he stopped dancing
around town with his skeleton, Betty, on his back.  He could really hold
himself in an emergency situation, or if he wasn't looking directly at
Kasumi.  He still hadn't worked up the courage to ask her out, but such
things took time.
     A few moments later, Kasumi returned with a soaking wet Dr. Tofu
behind her, and to everyone's surprise, he hadn't come alone.  He was
carrying someone in his arms, wrapped up in the doctor's coat for
protection from the rain.  Because of that, no one could see as to who it
was.  All they could see of this other person was the top of a black-
haired head and the feet, which wore slipper-like shoes.  It was pretty
obvious that, whoever it was, he or she was unconscious.
     "Sorry I took so long," Tofu said apologetically as Kasumi went to
get another futon and some dry clothes.  "But while I was on my way
over, I passed by the old lot and this fellow and I literally ran into each
other.  He was pretty banged up, and I had to--  Oh, my..."  He trailed
off as he saw Ranma-chan lying on the futon with her head in Akane's
lap.
     "It's all right, Doctor," Nodoka said as she stood and gave him a bow
in greeting that he didn't return.  Understandable, considering his arms
were full.  "Though things were getting a little tense around here as we
wondered where you were.  But I am a bit curious as to why you
brought your patient with you.  Couldn't you have just left him at your
clinic?"  She frowned with concern as he wasn't paying attention to her.
"Um, Doctor?"
     Dr. Tofu didn't reply, as his attention seemed to be focus on the
unconscious Ranma-chan.  "Well I'll be..." he whispered, mainly to
himself.  "If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it..."  He then
finally noticed that everyone was looking at him strangely, but he was
saved from embarrassment as Kasumi returned.
     "Oh, t-thank you, K-Kasumi," he said as she began laying out a new
futon next to Ranma's.  Turning his attention to the panda, he asked,
"Mr. Saotome, could you come give me a hand with your son?  He's...
well... rather heavy..."  He grinned sheepishly.
     The panda blinked in confusion along with everyone else.  Soun had
even stopped his little celebration at the doctor's request.  Finally, after
his wife poured some hot water on him to return him to his normal
form, he stood up and walked over to Dr. Tofu.
     "Um, Dr. Tofu, what're you talking about?" he asked as he took the
person from the doctor.  As he laid the bundled up individual down on
the futon and began to remove the coat, he added, "My son is lying
down right th--  What the--?!"
     The rest of the room went over to see what had Genma so shocked,
then all gasped themselves as they saw who was lying there in Dr.
Tofu's coat.  Soaking wet and covered with numerous slight burns,
Ranma laid unconscious next to Ranma-chan.

     "There.  That ought to do it," Dr. Tofu declared as he began to wash
up, now dressed in a dry yakuta while his usual black gi dried out.  Near
by, Kasumi covered up Ranma, who now sported various bandages
about his body where his burns were the most severe.  The Tendos and
the Saotomes all sat about the low table, as to stay out of the way but
watching with silence.
     "They should be okay after a bit of rest," the doctor concluded.
     "And... what about...?" Nodoka began to ask, nervously glancing
towards the female version of her son, lying next to him on the other
futon, still unconscious herself.
     Taking the hint, Dr. Tofu replied, "Well... she seems to be in good
health, other than suffering from severe exhaustion and possible
exposure.  Then, of course, there's..."  He shrugged, not having to state
the obvious.
     Soun, no longer crying and sitting at his place at the head of the
table, nodded in a serious manner.  "Indeed.  It would seem we have
something of a dilemma on our hands, eh?"
     Akane gave her father a look out of the corner of her eye.  "A
'dilemma?'" she echoed dryly.  "We have two Ranmas, a boy and a girl,
laying right next to each other, and you call it a 'dilemma'?!  I'd say it's
more of a full-blown catastrophe!"
     "Definitely interesting, though," Nabiki mused, already trying to
think of some way she could make a profit out this.  "Hmmm, I wonder
if I should give Kuno-baby a call..."
     "Nabiki, please..." Nodoka sighed while Akane glared at her older
sister.
     "*Ahem!*"  Dr. Tofu cleared his throat to calm people down and get
their attention at the same time.  "If you don't mind, I have two patients
who are trying to rest," he added in a scolding manner.
     Nodoka and Akane said nothing in reply, but just lowered their
heads sheepishly.
     "Um, Doctor, how is my son?" Genma asked from where he was
sitting next to Soun.
     "Which one?  The male, or the female?" Tofu replied with a grin.
Seeing the humorless looks everyone was giving him, he let out a weak
chuckle.  "Relax, folks, I'm kidding.  Seriously though, like I said, they'll
be fine with a little rest.  I'm most surprised by the male Ranma.  He's
seems to be in pretty good shape for someone who was struck by
lightning."
     Everyone, except for Kasumi, cried out at once, "WHAT?!"  Kasumi
herself just let out a traditional "Oh, my!"
     Dr. Tofu nodded as calmly as possible.  "That's right.  I'm not a full-
fledged doctor, but I can tell electrical burns when I see them, especially
those caused by-- OOOF!"
     "My baby!" Nodoka cried as she rushed to Ranma's side, knocking
Dr. Tofu over in the process.  She picked his head up to cradle it in her
lap, ignoring her husband's usual grumbling.
     "Oh, Dr. Tofu, are you okay?" Kasumi asked with evident worry in
her voice.  She helped him sit back up, brushing off his clothes.
     "N-No problem, K-K-Kasumi," Tofu stuttered.  "L-Living in this n-
neighborhood, I'm k-kind of u-used to it."
     "Okay, so now we know what happened to Ranma," Soun said.
"But how does that explain why there's suddenly two of him?"
     "Hey, wait a minute," Akane said before Tofu could answer.  "How
do we know that either of these two is really Ranma?  For all we know,
they could be those two copies of Ranma's two forms that were created
by that magic mirror.  They could've come back and beaten Ranma up,
then stashed him somewhere while they go and try to take his place and
cause trouble again."
     "We never did manage to get them back into the mirror..." Soun
added thoughtfully, recalling how the pair had run off sometime in the
night and hadn't been seen since.
     "Good theory, Akane, except for one thing," Dr. Tofu replied.  He
gestured to the unconscious pair on the floor.  "If these two were
magical copies of Ranma, then their ki levels and shiatsu structures
would be totally different from those of the real Ranma, male or female,
that would identify them as such.  I never got to examine either one of
those two, but from what you told me about them when I came back,
that would be the case.  However, there are no abnormalities of any
kind that would mark them as copies.  They're the same as those of
Ranma, both male and female."
     "But... But then," Akane gasped in shock as she realized what the
doctor was saying, "that would mean..."
     Dr. Tofu nodded.  "That these two are really the male and female
Ranma, only somehow, they've somehow been separated into two
individual beings."
     "Oh my..." Kasumi gasped.
     "My son... cured?" Nodoka whispered, looking down at the young
man in her lap before sparing a glance to the girl next to him.
     "Whoa..." Nabiki whispered, her eyes widening as she pondered the
possibilities in her head.
     "Hooray!  The boy's found a cure at last!" Genma cried with joy.
"He actually did something useful for a change!"  His joy was quickly
short-lived, though, as a glare from his wife caused him to sheepishly
look away.
     "Doctor, how could this have happened?" Akane asked Tofu as
things quieted down.  "How could a bolt of lightning do something like
this?"
     "Good question, Akane," the doctor replied, rubbing his chin as a
thoughtful expression began to form on his face.  "It *does* seem like
too much of a coincidence, doesn't it?  But we'll only know for sure
whenever either Ranma wakes up."
     As if on cue, a soft groan came from Nodoka's lap as Ranma began
to stir.
     "Wow, speak of the devil," Nabiki muttered dryly.  "Hey Doc, how'd
you do that, anyway?"
     "Do what?" a confused Dr. Tofu replied.
     "Aw, man," Ranma groaned as his hand went to his head.  "I ache all
over.  Anybody get the number of that panda who hit me?"
     Everybody began to chuckle or giggle, save for Genma, who
scowled at his son.  Dr. Tofu didn't share the humor, either, as he stared
thoughtfully at Ranma.
     Becoming serious again, Nodoka returned her attention back to her
son, who was trying to sit up.  "Ranma, lie still, now," she said gently,
trying to keep him down.  "Don't try to move, son.  You need to rest."
She again ignored her husband's grumbling.
     Ranma turned his head a little to face Nodoka, slowly opening his
eyes.  "Huh...?  Wha--?"
     Nodoka smiled tenderly.  "It's okay, Ranma.  Mother's here, now.
You just lie down and rest while--"
     She never got to finish, as Ranma suddenly sat straight up from
where he'd been laying down.  He turned to stare at Nodoka in what
appeared to be total shock.  "Who... who are you?" he asked hesitantly.
     Now it was Nodoka's turn to be shocked, along with the rest of the
occupants of the room.  "Ranma, it's me.  Your mother."
     Ranma's eyes widened with surprise as he looked at the woman
before him.  "M-my... mother...?" he gasped.  "Y-you're my... m-
mother...?"
     Nodoka's only reply was a confused, slow nod at her son's odd
behavior.  But as she saw the look on his face, it seemed as though he
didn't even recognize her.
     Ranma's eyes widened in surprise, and he began to stammer again.
"B-but how... wha--"  He was stopped short as he got a look at his
surroundings.
     "Hey!  Where am I?!  This don't look like China!  And where's that
damn guide?!"
     Several large sweat beads appeared on the backs of heads at the
proclamation.  Genma, however, had another way of dealing with the
situation.
     "Quit playing games, boy!" he shouted as he whapped his son on the
head.  "We're in the dojo, in Japan!  We haven't been back to China
since--"
     *POW!*  *CRASH!*  Genma became one with the wall where his
son punched him, positioned face-first upside-down.  After a moment
or two, he slid down to the floor in a heap.
     "Lay off, old man!" Ranma shouted back at Genma's prone form.  "I
don't need any of your crap at the--"  He was cut off again as he stared
at his father's prone form.
     And so focused was everyone on the situation, that no one had
noticed the movement on the other futon.
     Ranma, meanwhile, continued to stare at his father in shock.  "Pop?!
You're you again?!  But how did--"  He stopped suddenly to look
himself over.
     "*Whew!*" he breathed after finishing his inspection.  "I'm still me.
But, ah, where are my clothes?" he added as he noticed his current
attire, a tank top and shorts provided by Kasumi.
     "Are you *sure* you're feeling all right, Ranma?" Nabiki asked,
looking at Akane out of the corner of her eye and twirling her finger
around her ear while pointing at Ranma.
     Ranma turned his head to the middle Tendo girl at the sound of her
voice, and then just stared at her like he would a stranger.  He then
looked about the room at the rest of the occupants with the same look
on his face.
     "Hey... who are you people?" he asked hesitantly as he began to
back away.  "And where am I?"
     No one had a chance to give any answers or confused questions
about Ranma's behavior, because Ranma-chan sat up, groaning as she
rubbed her forehead.  Several surprised heads turned to her direction.
     "Uh-oh," Nabiki winced.  "I knew we forgot about something."
     Akane nodded in agreement.  She had a bad feeling about as to what
was going to happen.
     "Ugh, what the hell hit me?" Ranma-chan moaned.  "Feels like I had
some of Akane's cooking again..."  There were some nods of sympathy
while Akane just fumed at the comment.
     Ranma-chan then noticed herself.  "Hey, couldn't you guys at least
have given me some hot water to change me back?" she asked in
annoyance.  She began to get up.  "Never mind.  I'll go do it myse--
Wha--?"
     She was cut off as she finally noticed Ranma sitting down on the
other futon next to her.  The two just stared at each other, he with
confusion and she with confusion as well but also with growing shock.
Several long moments passed before Ranma-chan had a pretty natural
reaction.
     "*YAAAAAHHHHHH!*" she screamed and fell backwards onto
her futon, her body shaking tremendously as she pointed at Ranma.
Surprisingly, he hadn't reacted in the same manner, but instead just
stared at her with wide eyes in a sort of calm surprise.
     "W-w-what the h-hell's going, here?" Ranma-chan stammered.  "W-
who or w-what the hell is that?!  And why does it look like *me*?!"
     Now Ranma just frowned at the girl before him.  "Whaddya mean,
'who am I?'  I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything-
Goes Martial Arts."  He then looked Ranma-chan over with an apparent
leer.  "And I don't *exactly* look like you."
     Now Ranma-chan was angry, not just at his response but at the way
he had looked at her.  "Why you...  Hey, pal, there's only one Ranma
Saotome around here, and that's me!  So enough with the disguise!
And quit starin' at me, you pervert!"
     "Um, Ranma?" Akane said sheepishly.  "There's something that you
ought to know..."
     "Hey, I ain't no impostor!" Ranma shot back to Ranma-chan, both of
them ignoring Akane.  "*I'm* Ranma Saotome, so don't go around
sayin' that's who you are!  Especially since you ain't even a guy!"
     "Oh, really?" Ranma-chan sneered.  "We'll just have to see about
that, won't we?"  She got up and bolted into the kitchen.  She returned a
few minutes later with a steaming kettle in her hand.
     "Now we'll see who's the real Ranma Saotome!" she declared, then
dumped the contents of the kettle onto her head.
     "Ha!  Now whaddya gotta say?!" she boasted proudly.
     "Um, just what was that supposed to do?" Ranma confusingly
asked.  "Aside from get you wet, I mean?"
     Ranma-chan looked at him like he was stupid.  "Just what're you--"
She was stopped short when she finally heard her own voice.  She then
looked down at herself and saw her still-female body.
     "AAAAHHHH!" she screamed again as she grabbed herself and felt
her breasts, discovering that she wasn't hallucinating.  "What the hell--?!
Why didn't it work?!  Why didn't I change back?!"
     "That's just it, Ranma," Dr. Tofu sighed.  "It seems that you won't be
changing forms anymore, as the two of you have somehow been
separated."
     "Huh?" Ranma asked in confusion.
     "*WHAT?!?!?!?!?!* Ranma-chan screamed.  Her body started to
shake with anger, her breath going in and out in short, ragged gasps.
With a growl, she turned and glared at Ranma.
     "You!" she cried.  "You got something to do with this!  Tell me what
you've done to me and why you took my body!  Right now!!"
     "Hey, I ain't done nothing to you!" Ranma shouted back.  He rose to
his feet to glare at Ranma-chan in a face-off.  "I ain't never even met
you until today!  And this is *my* body!"
     Ranma-chan, however, didn't seem to be buying that.  "Oh, so that's
how you wanna play, huh?" she said seething.  She poised herself into
an attack position.  A rather sloppy-looking one, too, at careful notice.
     "Hey!  No fighting in the house!" Soun shouted.
     "Sorry, Mr. Tendo, but this can't wait!" Ranma-chan replied, then
turned to her male counterpart.  "As for you... TAKE THIS!!!"  She
leapt up into the air to do a flying kick that she figured would take her
opponent out rather quickly.  Ranma got ready to dodge or defend...
     But found he didn't need to as Ranma-chan crashed to the floor right
in front of him, missing by just a little bit.  Everybody blinked in
surprise at this.
     "Well," Nabiki finally said after a moment.  "That was pointless."
     "You *sure* you're me?" Ranma asked with a smirk as he looked
down at the fallen girl.  "I coulda done better than that, even when I first
started out."
     Ranma-chan didn't reply immediately, as she was trying to figure out
what went wrong.  A simple, basic flying kick, and she couldn't even do
it.  Why?  She decided to figure it out later and first tend to the task at
hand.
     "You wanna be impressed, pal?" she growled, getting back up on her
feet.  "Then try *this!*  *Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!!!*"  Though the
technique was originally developed by the Amazons as a training
method to increase one's speed, Ranma had long since made an attack
out of it.  Which had really come in handy against a super-dense Ryoga
and had become one of his trademark techniques.
     Unfortunately, it wasn't living up to itself as all Ranma-chan could
do was a bunch of super-fast sloppy punches that had little effect on
Ranma.  It wasn't even as fast as it usually was, especially considering
that Ranma's female form was much faster than his male one.
     Again, Ranma was not impressed, but was quite confused.  "Um,
just what was that supposed to do?"
     Ranma-chan just stared at her male self for several moments, then at
her hands, apparently in deep thought.  She then suddenly took in a
sudden gasp of air after a bit.
     "Ranma?" Akane asked as she got up and approached the other girl.
"Ranma, what is it?"
     "Can't... remember..." Ranma-chan replied slowly.
     "What?  What can't you remember?" Nabiki replied with much
interest.
     "Training...  Can't... remember... my training..." Ranma-chan
responded back, almost as if in a trance.  Her eyes then widened with
shock.  "I can't... remember... anything... before..."
     "What?  Before what?" Akane asked as Ranma-chan trailed off.
     "Ju-jusenkyo..." Ranma-chan said finally.  "I can't remember
anything before Jusenkyo.  My training, my *life*...  Nothing!  It's like
my whole life started when I came out of that damn spring!"
     Her cry seemed to shake the entire room.  Everyone backed away
from her, afraid of what she might do in her distress.  She just stood
where she was, breathing deeply in and out as tears began to streak
down her face.  Only Nodoka dared to approach her, guided by her
maternal instincts as she took the girl into her arms.  Ranma-chan made
no response, only allowed herself to be taken into the embrace.
     "Two Ranmas, both with apparent memory problems," Nabiki
mused.  "This is getting more interesting by the minute."
     "Doctor, what's wrong with them?" Nodoka asked Dr. Tofu as she
continued to hug Ranma-chan.
     "I'm not sure, but I think I have an idea," the doctor replied,
continuing to watch the scene before him with fascination.  "Just a
second.  Ranma?"  He reached over and tapped the boy's shoulder.
     Ranma flinched at the doctor's touch.  "What?" he said defensively,
his body language showing he was preparing for a fight.
     Dr. Tofu smiled and gave a slight chuckle.  "Relax, Ranma.  I'm a
doctor, and your friend.  I just want to ask you a couple of questions so
we can figure out what's wrong with you."
     Ranma relaxed a little, feeling that he could trust the doctor, but
remained a bit on the defensive.  "O... kay...  Whaddya wanna know?"
     Dr. Tofu smiled, glad to see the younger man relax.  "Can you tell
me what it is that's the last thing you remember doing?"
     Ranma frowned for a moment before replying.  "Well... we were in
China, me and the old man.  Pop wanted to find this trainin' ground,
some place called... Jusenkyo, I think it was.  When we get there, we go
right into trainin' despite warnings from the guide, and I kicked the old
guy into one of the springs there, but instead of him comin' out--"
     "A panda wearing your father's clothes jumped out at you, threw
you into another spring, where you came out as a girl.  You found out
that you could turn back to your natural forms with hot water, but that
cold water would change into your curse forms again.  Right?"  Nabiki
interrupted knowingly.
     Ranma blinked in surprise at her.  "Hey, yeah, that's right.  Well,
except the part about me turnin' into a girl.  After I landed in that spring,
I blacked out.  I guess I musta lost consciousness or something.  And
then I woke up... here."  He gave Nabiki a suspicious look.  "Just how
the heck did you know about all that, anyway?"
     "Because that's what you told us when you arrived here," Soun
replied.  "About one year ago."
     Ranma's lower jaw seemed to drop down to about a foot shy of the
floor as his eyes bugged out of his head.  "WHAT?!  Y-You mean I've
been out of it for a whole *year*?!"
     "Not exactly," Dr. Tofu replied as he tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"So... you can't remember a thing after you fell into the spring?"
     "Ain't that what I've been saying?" Ranma replied, staring at the
doctor like he was an idiot.
     "Interesting..." Dr. Tofu murmured.  He then turned to Nodoka and
Ranma-chan.  "Um, Ranma?"
     The girl looked up at the doctor from her mother's embrace.  "Y-
yeah...?"
     "Ranma, I know you've been through a lot tonight," Dr. Tofu began
with much sympathy, "but I need to know what happened while you
were with Shampoo.  It may help us figure out what happened to you."
     "Shampoo?  What's this got to do with washing hair?" Ranma asked
in confusion.  He blinked in surprise at the giggles that came in
response.  "What?  Did I say something funny?"
     "We'll... tell you later..." Akane said between giggles.
     Ranma-chan let out a deep sigh, then nodded despondently.  "Okay,
I guess it can't hurt."  She paused to clear her throat.  "Well, you know
how Shampoo offered some more Instant Nanniichuan in exchange for
a date, right?"
     Everyone save for Ranma nodded in response.  Akane's nod was
accompanied by a fuming growl and a slight glow of angry ki.  Ranma
was *very* surprised by the sight of that.
     Ranma-chan continued, "Anyway, we go on the date, going to
dinner and a movie.  You know, the usual?  So later, we're out walking
in the Ginza..."

                *               *               *

     "Aiyah... Shampoo so happy to be on date with Airen," Shampoo
sighed dreamily, hanging onto Ranma's arm as they walked through the
Nerima Ginza.  "Is great way to celebrate return to Japan, yes?"
     "Yeah, whatever..." Ranma replied with disinterest.  He could care
less that Shampoo and the Old Ghoul had come back from China.  He
just wanted the longer-lasting Instant Nanniichuan he was promised.
Sure, it would still be temporary, but at least it wouldn't be a one-shot
deal.  At least that's what Shampoo told him, anyway.
     So, all he had to do was get through this one little date.  Too bad
Shampoo had to drag all him all over Nerima with her hanging all over
him so everyone could see that they were together.  He could already
feel the rumors starting to spread...
     "Ranma," Shampoo said simply in an unhappy tone.  Ranma turned
his head to see she had stopped and let go of him, and had an upset
look on her face.  "You no sound happy to be with Shampoo.  Maybe
you really no want Instant Nanniichuan as much as Shampoo think?"
     Now Ranma was worried.  "N-No!  It ain't that!" he replied with mild
panic, his typical reaction in dealing with upset females.  He began to
wrack his brain for a good excuse.  "I-It just... uh... I'm a little worried
about the time!  Yeah!  That's it!  I promised my mom I wouldn't stay
out too late, so I was trying to think of what time it was!"  He hoped
that Shampoo would buy that, lame as it was.
     "Hmmm...  Okay.  Shampoo understand," she replied after a bit of
thought.  He let out a sigh of relief.  "Ranma no see mother for long
time, so it make sense she worry."  She then glanced towards the
darkening sky.  "Beside, it look like it rain soon.  It no fun if Shampoo
turn to cat and Ranma run away."
     Ranma nodded vigorously, trying not to add that his mother did not
like the Amazon one bit.  "Yeah, so how about I go and take you home,
you give me the powder, and everyone's happy.  Okay?"  He gave her
his best positive grin.
     Shampoo, however, seemed to have other ideas.  "But Airen, we no
do everything Shampoo plan for date.  Is still one more thing to do
before Shampoo give Airen Instant Nanniichuan."
     Ranma ground his teeth a little bit, trying to keep from exploding
outright.  It probably wouldn't be much.  Most likely a good-bye kiss,
like the last time.  Putting on his best false-happy face, he asked, "Okay,
what do you wanna do?"
     Rather than answer him with words, Shampoo simply smiled that
smile that said she was up to something that he wouldn't like.  Ranma
tensed as she reached into her purse, and with a little dramatic flare,
pulled out...  A key, a plain, simple, ordinary key, dangling from the
heart-shaped key-chain that Shampoo was holding it from.  This had
Ranma more that a little worried.
     "Uh, Shampoo...?  That's... not what I think it is?  Is it?"
     Shampoo's grin widened to the point of 'evil'.  "That right, Ranma.  Is
key to hotel room Shampoo reserve for tonight, for big finish of date."
She stepped up close to Ranma, who was too shocked to back away,
and trailed a finger seductively down his chest.  "Then... then Shampoo
give you Instant Nanniichuan."
     Ranma mentally kicked himself for being so stupid.  He should've
known that Shampoo would've planned something like this.  After all,
she'd tried to seduce him so many other times before, and now she had
a real leverage that Ranma couldn't get out of.  He needed that powder,
and he *was* willing to go to any lengths to get it.  But this?  Sure, he'd
be "cured", but he'd also be a dead man after a few certain individuals
finished beating the tar out of him.  Not to mention there was how
disappointed his mother would be at his actions.  Ranma needed to get
out of this situation, and fast.  But he also needed that powder.  This
was definitely a problem.

                *               *               *

     *WHAM!*  "You pervert!  You were going to sleep with her?!"
     Ranma picked himself up from the floor, rubbing the spot on his
head where Akane had malleted him.  "Ow!  Jeez, what the hell did you
do that for?!"
     Akane glared back at him.  "You have the nerve to ask me that?
*You* were the one who was going to sleep with Shampoo so you
could get your precious powder!"
     "Raaaannnnnmmmmmaaaaa!!!  How could you?!?!" a now demon-
headed Soun screamed.
     Ranma temporarily panicked at the sight, but did his best to keep his
cool.  "Hey, I didn't do nothin'!" Ranma replied angrily.  "I don't even
know who this 'Shampoo' person is!  In case you forgot, I don't
remember nothing that happened after I fell in that damn spring!!"
     Akane was about to make an angry retort back at him, but stopped
short as his words sank in and she remembered the evening's earlier
events.  "Sorry," she said sheepishly as her face furiously flushed with
embarrassment.  Soun meekly returned to normal and said nothing.
     "Moron..." Ranma-chan muttered under her breath, shaking her
head.  More loudly, she added, "And for your information, I did not
sleep with Shampoo.  Mousse showed up and tried to attack me, but
Shampoo started to beat him up, instead.  That's when I was able to get
away with the powder.  She must've feelin' over confidant, 'cause she
only had one packet with her."
     "What?  You're surprised?" Nabiki asked in feigned shock.  "This
*is* Shampoo we're talking about."
     "So what happened then?" Dr. Tofu asked.
     "Simple.  I grabbed the powder and ran as fast as I could.
Fortunately for me, Shampoo was too busy beatin' up on Mousse to
notice.  I figured I'd better use the stuff before Pop got any ideas to steal
it for himself--"
     "Hey!  Would I do a--" Genma started to interrupt, but was silenced
by glares from all over the room.  He sheepishly decided to be quiet.
     Clearing her throat, Ranma-chan continued.  "Anyway, I stopped by
the old lot on the way home and made myself a makeshift bath in an
old steel drum I found there.  I filled it with some water from a spigot,
mixed in the powder, and just jumped in.  Naturally, I was pretty happy
to come out a guy.
     "Unfortunately, that's when the storm hit and I was struck by
lightning.  Trust me, that *hurt*."
     "Oh my," Kasumi gasped.  "Are you all right, Ranma?"
     "Hey, I'm fine.  Takes more than a bolt of lightning to keep me
down," Ranma-chan replied as she waved her hand.  "Anyway, I got
knocked out cold after that jolt hit me, and when I woke up it was
raining, and I was naked and female.  I didn't know what happened to
the rest of my clothes, but lucky for me, I took my shirt off before
dunking myself, so I put it back on and made my way back here."
     She paused for a moment to take a deep breath.  "So now," she
continued, "would somebody please tell me what's going on around
here?!  Why can't I change back, why can't I remember anything before
coming out of that spring, and why is there another me, a male me,
sitting there next to me?!"
     "That's what I wanna know!" her male counterpart replied.  He
quickly added sheepishly, "Um, except without the changing part and in
reverse."
     "What I want to know is how the heck could being struck by
lightning while using the Instant Nanniichuan split Ranma's male and
female forms apart with different memories?" Akane wondered.  Her
father and sisters nodded, along with the elder Saotomes.
     "I think I have an idea," Dr. Tofu replied thoughtfully.  "I think that
when the lightning struck Ranma, the electricity somehow must have
affected the particles of Instant Nanniichuan in the water and on him.
They literally must have acted like a magnet and somehow pulled
Ranma's curse right out of him.  And, maybe because the curse didn't
want to 'die', I guess you could say, the effect somehow gave her a form
and life of her own, separate from Ranma."
     "Wow, I guess water and electricity really don't mix, huh?" Nabiki
smirked.  She got groans in response to her pun.
     "As for their memories," Dr. Tofu continued as he ignored Nabiki,
"I'm guessing that when Ranma's curse was pulled from him, his
memories of everything that happened after he fell into the
Nyanniichuan must have been linked to the curse, and thus were...
removed from his mind, as well, and given to the female Ranma as she
was given form.  It's sort of a 'before and after' effect, I guess you could
call it.  The male Ranma only has memories of what happened before
he fell into the spring..."
     "And the female Ranma only has memories of what happened
after!" Akane finished ecstatically.
     "Ah, so that would explain why she can't do any martial arts..."
Nabiki added thoughtfully.
     Dr. Tofu nodded.  "Right.  She doesn't have any memory of the
basic training that Ranma went through growing up, only what she's
done and learned for the past year.  She can still fight, just... not very
well without what was originally learned."
     "Gee, thanks for the encouragement, Doc," Ranma-chan said
sarcastically.  "Isn't there any way you can undo this, Doc?  I don't
wanna be stuck like this!"
     "Hey, what about me?  Don't I get a say in this?" Ranma asked.  "If
what you're sayin' is true, I used to turn into a girl everytime I got
splashed with cold water.  No way!  I'm a guy and I plan to stay that
way!"
     "So do I, buddy!  And the sooner, the better!" Ranma-chan shot
back.  "C'mon, Doc, can't you do something?"
     Dr. Tofu just sighed and shrugged.  "I don't know if I can, Ranma.
I've studied everything there is to know about Jusenkyo ever since you
first told me about it, in hopes of finding a cure for you.  But I've never
read anything like this happening.  I could go look through all my texts
and notes, but I doubt I'll find anything.  This could very well be
permanent."
     "Oh, wonderful..." Ranma-chan sighed depressingly.  She barely
noticed her mother patting her on the shoulder sympathetically, a
tender smile on her face.
     "Hooray!" Genma suddenly shouted happily, dancing about the
room with Soun.  "I'm finally going to be cured!  No more panda for
me!  Haha!"
     "Yes!  And now Ranma can marry Akane with no problems at all!"
Soun added, also happy as a loon.
     "W-what?!" Ranma shouted in shock.  "M-m-married?!"
     "I am *not* marrying that pervert!" Akane declared, turning her
head with a "hmph!"
     An angry Ranma-chan shot up to her feet and gave her father a kick
that sent him flying into the pond.  She glared at the angry panda that
emerged moments later.
     "Shut up, old man!" she cried.  "Why should you be happy while I'm
miserable!?"
     "Now, now, Ranko.  That's no way to treat your father, even if he is
selfish," Nodoka said chastely.  She then turned to glare at her
husband-now-panda.  "And you...  How can you think of yourself
when our son and daughter are having a crisis?  And haven't you
forgotten something?"
     The panda lowered its head in shame.
     Ranma-chan turned to her mother and blinked several times,
surprised and a little annoyed.  "Ranko...?"
     "Son *and* daughter...?" Nabiki added curiously, her eyebrow
arched.
     Nodoka grinned somewhat sheepishly.  "Oh, sorry.  I guess it's just a
force of habit.  I still sometimes think of you as 'Ranko' whenever I saw
you in female form."
     "Well, when you think about it," Nabiki said before Ranma-chan
could be reply, "we have to call her something.  It'd be too confusing to
call them both 'Ranma'."
     "Hey!  Now wait just a damn minute--" Ranma-chan began to reply
angrily before her mother interrupted.
     "No.  They're right.  It would be confusing.  And what if someone
were to come by and see you?"  She placed a hand on the girl's
shoulder.  "Look, at least until Dr. Tofu can find any possible way to
undo this, we'll have to call you 'Ranko'.  Can you at least do that for
me?"
     Ranma-chan cursed under her breath.  She *hated* it when her
mother pulled that on her.  But, as much as she didn't want to admit it,
they had a point.
     "Alright," she sighed with reluctance.  "But only until the doc can
find a way to fix this!" she quickly added.
     Nodoka nodded with satisfaction.  "Very well, then.  Welcome to the
family, Ranko.  We'll say you're Ranma's younger twin sister, who
stayed with me while your father and brother were away training and
just recently came to live with us.  That should satisfy anyone who
asks, hmm?"
     Everyone nodded in agreement.  No need to tell the actual story
without all the facts.
     "And of course, when you think about it, that's not too far off from
the truth," Dr. Tofu said with a grin.
     "Hey, that's right!" Akane realized.  "When you think about it,
Ranm-- I mean, Ranko would be Mr. and Auntie Saotome's daughter,
and Ranma's sister!"
     "Haha!  Congratulations, Saotome!" Soun barked, patting the
surprised panda on the back.  Everyone else started to laugh and talk
with good cheer, as well.
     The festivities were quickly stopped, however, by a cough from
Ranma.  "I hate to break this up," he said, "but in case you forgot, I
don't know anybody, here.  And what's this about me gettin' married?!"
     "Oh, yes.  That's right," Nodoka replied sheepishly.  She waved a
hand over to Soun.  "Ranma, this is Soun Tendo, an old friend of your
father's.  This is his home, the Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial
Arts."
     "Your father and I grew up together and trained under the same
master at your age, Ranma," Soun added, the panda nodding in
agreement.  Akane, Ranko, and Nodoka all rolled their eyes, muttering
comments about the "master" in question.
     Continuing with the introductions, Soun went on, "These are my
daughters, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane."  He waved a hand to each girl
as he introduced them.
     "Uh... hi," Ranma said in greeting.  "Now what's this about--"
     "Ah, yes," Soun said proudly.  "Ranma, you are engaged to marry
Akane, and carry on the school so--"
     "Oh, no!" Akane interrupted rudely.  "I am still not going to marry
that perverted jerk!  He may forget the last year, but I don't!  So forget
it!"
     "Hey!  Where do you get off callin' me names?!" Ranma shouted
back with a glare.  "You don't even know me!"
     Before Akane could give him back an angry reply, Nabiki pulled her
to the side.  Ranma, meanwhile, started to argue with his parents and
Soun.
     "Hey!  What's the--" Akane began, but was interrupted.
     "Look, sis, this is some free advice I know you'll be interested in,"
Nabiki began.  Before Akane could reply, her sister continued, "Ranma
has no knowledge of the last year.  Especially the other fiancees."  She
put emphasis on the last word.  She grinned as Akane got a thoughtful
look on her face.
     "Also," she continued, "this is a different Ranma, one who was never
cursed.  Ever wonder what he was like without a constant sex change?"
     Akane had, but figured that Ranma was still pretty much the same
jerk that she knew.  Of course, Nabiki had a point.  As far as she could
tell, at the moment, Ranma didn't seem to have the super-snide attitude
that she had become familiar with.  Could have becoming cursed to
turn into a girl been the real cause of that macho-attitude, Ranma's way
of holding on to his manhood?  Maybe...
     Her thoughts were interrupted by Ranma's sudden shout.  "No way!
Where do you guys get off pickin' my fiancee for me without even
askin'?!  And what about Akane?  Don't *she* get a say in this?"
     Akane gasped with surprise.  "Ranma..." she whispered tenderly, her
eyes becoming a little misty.
     "Besides," he suddenly added, "for all I know she's some crazy
tomboy chick who's a complete clutz at everything!"
     *WHAM!!!*  Akane had slammed the table right down on Ranma's
head, knocking him out cold, then got up and stomped out of the room.
Everyone else had wisely backed away in time to avoid the onslaught.
     "Now that he had coming," Nodoka said, echoing her husband's
original words.
     The others in the room nodded solemnly in response.

        End of part one...

Author's Endnotes:

     Here it is, folks.  At long last, the revised and shortened version of
"Twin Fists of Fury", part 1, now known as "Double or Nothing".  I
released the original version, about with the second part, about a couple
years ago, but before anyone asks me where part 3 is, let me explain
why I revised it.
     First off, the 'fic was too long and too complicated.  I was explaining
too much with too much detail when it wasn't necessary.  Also, some of
the plans I had for the story didn't seem to fit with the premise, which is
probably why I had so much trouble trying to get part 3 done (along
with writer's block and real life toying at me).  It also didn't seem too
"Ranma-esque", which is what I wanted for the story.  So, I revised and
rewrote the story to make it shorter, changed, removed, or added some
scenes to make the story flow better or seem more "Ranma", and
improved on characterizations to make everyone more "in-character".  I
even gave it a better title that seems to fit better.  Also, I have a new 'net
moniker, and a new e-mail address (as seen at the top in the title area),
so those who read the original story don't bother to mail me at my old
address, as it no longer exists.  So I redid the story, almost practically
redoing it from scratch, and so far, the responses I've been getting from
my pre-readers has been good.
     Now, about the story itself.  I know you were probably thinking,
"Oh, not another double-Ranma story!"  I know you've probably seen
and had your fill of this type of story.  But this idea had been in my
head for awhile and wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided to go with it.
Besides, response from the original versions were very good and
encouraging to make me go on with it.  I almost decided to give up on
it, considering how much trouble it was giving me, but this was my first
fanfic I released on the net and I didn't want to abandon it.
     For those who are curious, the "magic mirror Ranmas" that Akane
mentions are from volume 35 of the manga, in which Ranma-chan
touches this magic mirror that creates a unchanging duplicate of herself
that falls for his male self.  After a few mishaps, they finally manage to
get her to go back, but something goes wrong and a male dupe is made,
and he and the female fall for each other.  The story ended with
everyone waiting for the mirror's cover to be repaired again.  Since we
don't know what really happened afterwards, I went with my idea that
Soun brought up.
     To wrap things up, I'd like to thank some people: Rumiko Takahashi,
obviously, for creating such a cool series, one of the first I got interested
in, and who I hope doesn't come after me for "borrowing" her creations;
my pal, Derrick Chen, who got me introduced to manga and anime,
particularly, of course, "Ranma 1/2", among other things; and my pre-
readers, Dave Eddy, author of "Nekophobia", Darren Demaine, author
of "Ranma .05", and Lord Archive, author of such stories as "The
Insanity Continues", "The Nekoken Is Out of the Bag", and "Rejected",
all of whom helped me make this story more in tune with the original
series.  Thanks, you guys!
     Stay tuned for the revised version of part 2, in which Ukyo appears
and "meets" Ranma and Ranko, and things only get interesting from
there.  I don't know when it'll be out, as I still have school and a new job
to deal with taking up my time. I'll try to get it out as quick as I can, so
please be patient.  Until then, see ya next time!

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/Teahouse/2236/fanfic

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