Chapter Eleven: Two Plus Two Equals a Mess

    “Why am I the one doing this?” Ran-kun hypothetically asked himself for the nth time in the past hour or so. “This suit thing doesn’t fit me… ouch! That’s too tight… It wasn’t made for me, it was made for some girl version of me… ow! Who was apparently a great deal thinner.” He looked down, where his chest was encased in a thick layer of metal and various mysterious mechanical parts. “Could you at least do something about the… erm… aesthetic features?” Kasumi, knowing better than to answer, made one final – and mercifully painless – adjustment and left Ran-kun to fetch the next piece, the left shoulder.

    Nabiki, however, was annoyed. She shot him a glare from halfway across the room, where she was putting together something that looked like it may have had the intention of becoming a leg. “Look, if you don’t wear this you’ll die almost instantly out there if anyone notices you. So swallow your pride and wear the frickin’ armor, even if it does have breasts, ok?”

    Ran-kun winced. “Sorry, Nabiki…” he murmured, and wriggled a little in the partially completed suit. It was useless, though – he was firmly bolted upright. “But this itches…”

    “You’re tellin’ me. We all had to go through this, honey, and it wasn’t so easy when we were building them, too.” Kasumi rolled her eyes at her sister’s complaints, but didn’t say anything.

    Ryo-kun, a short distance away, opened and closed his hands, flexing each finger and watching with amazement as the metal ‘gloves’ he wore mimicked his movements precisely without requiring more than a slight extra effort on his part. They were a pale shade of metallic yellow – not gold, but real yellow - with deep red highlights so dark that they seemed brown except when they glinted in the light. Each covered an entire forearm, the broken joint ending in a blunted red metal diamond that protruded off the back of his elbow and hovered half an inch off his arm when he held it straight. He looked up, though, at Ran-kun’s complaints, and tried not to laugh at the way his boyfriend was attached by the cuff of his metal collar to an uncompromisingly vertical frame. Only Ran-kun’s chest, half his waist, and a single shoulder were encased in the bright red and gray armor – the rest of his body was nude other than a spidery spandex outfit that afforded little in the way of modesty. Sparkling contacts at every joint provided the interface between body and suit; Ryo-kun wondered if there would even be anything at all underneath if those critical connections weren’t required. “Are you okay?” he called once he got over the urge to laugh.

    Ran-kun looked more annoyed than comforted, though. “You were lucky. /Yours/ was built for a male, at least…”

    “Actually,” Kasumi remarked thoughtfully as she approached Ran-kun with the second shoulder, “The adjustments for you will be similar for him. After Ranma acquired her curse, we modified her suit so that it could wear it in either form. She naturally did not care about the chest region, and since it was not critical, we left it. Your body, however, differs from her cursed form enough for further modifications to be necessary. Ryo-kun has the same problem.” She finished the adjustments as she finished the explanation.

    “Wonderful.” Ryo-kun groaned, looking at his ‘gloves’. “To think I was happy about this…”

    Ran-kun gave him a consoling smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll hold your hand when it’s your turn, koibito.”

    “I know there’s something sarcastic in that, but I’ll take it at face value anyway.”

***

    “Why’d you call us in there?” Ranma asked, annoyed, as they left their counterparts to get fitted with their armor.

    “There was the option that those two stay behind,” Akane explained. “In which case you two would be wearing the old suits. I think we all thought that was what you were going to chose.”

    Ranma shrugged. “They’re here for a reason, though, and it’s not to stay behind. Besides, I don’t need it.”
 
    “Don’t underestimate your opponent.”

    “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve been told that?”

    They walked in silence for a little while.

    Finally, Ryouga spoke. “So, where are we going?”

    “I’m going to go over reports, since Nabiki’s busy,” Akane answered. “I don’t know what you had planned.”

    Ranma and Ryouga glanced at each other. “Well, what can we do?”

    Akane shrugged. “Whatever you want, as long as you don’t try to get into the restricted areas. I could use some help, if you wouldn’t be too bored reading a computer screen.”

    “Sure. Why not?”

***

    “Okay, so what’s this?” Ranma asked when Akane opened a file that filled the screen with dark text.

    “It’s a reconnaissance report,” Akane explained. “About magical activity in a certain area that has been marked as a danger zone.” She read a string of code at the top of the page and groaned. “Oh great. China really needs to get back on their own feet… and since when was this part of our area?”

    “This report’s from China? Don’t they have their own group?”

    “They do. But a while ago they had a major accident and lost all of their team members. Three have been recovered now, I think, even though we have one they’ve recruited others… but they like to give this region to us. I think you’re familiar with it; it includes the place called ‘Jusenkyo’.”

    “Ah…” Understanding came to both pairs of previously confused eyes. “Is that how they managed to lose all their old team?”

    “Yeah,” Akane answered, still scrolling through the report. Ranma tried to follow but got caught on unfamiliar phrases and fell behind. Ryouga didn’t understand any more than he did.
   
    Akane finished before they caught up and typed in a quick response that essentially brushed off the sender of the message. Apparently nothing important had been said.

    “That was a boring one,” she commented. “Anyway…” she began scrolling through a list and clicked on one. “This is one you guys might like to know. It’s about where we’re attacking tomorrow.” A screen full of text opened up. “Here. This one’s in English since it’s official, so I’ll read it to you guys if you need me to.”

    “We’re attacking tomorrow?” Ranma asked to verify.

    “Unless they launch something at us in the meantime, yeah. We need to get this over with.”

    “Okay, okay…”

    Akane started.

    “We’ve tracked down one of the possible origins of the disruptions to a small area outside of Edo, Japan. Other possible areas have been discovered around the globe, so you’ll be on your own for this one. Except for some unusual help, see the end of this message.

    “Our satellite views and ground investigation show that the area is nothing but wilderness and farmland, but certain persons have been sighted leaving there, in particular near a mountain in the center of the region. This may be a decoy location, but we’re suggesting that you start there.

    “Even if the headquarters of the Pack is not in this area, it is certain that it is of some importance to them, possibly the home or origin of one of its more powerful mages. Also, this location is rumored to have a historical magical presence. Although we have yet to detect anything out of the ordinary, rumor and myth have proved true often enough that we suggest you do not discount this information.

    “Finally, I must notify you that you will be receiving help soon for this mission. We can only say that this assistance will be something familiar yet not familiar. You must not allow any personal feelings to obstruct the mission.”

    Akane finally stopped. “Later it said there’d be four of you, and gave Kasumi her little speech. There’s maps, too, if you want to look.” She thought for a moment. “Who did send you here, anyway? I completely forgot to ask.”

    “We’re not actually sure. She never gave us a name, did she?”

    Ryouga snorted. “No, you never asked for one.”

    “Neither did you, pig-boy,” Ranma shot back.

    Akane smiled. “You two act so differently than-”

    “Don’t say it!” they shouted in unison.

    “I don’t *want* to know about the other universes anymore…” Ranma continued. “I just wanna go home… as screwed up as home is, at least I don’t have to worry about versions of myself who were gay or girls…”

    “Just go back to the way things were…” Ryouga echoed, nodding. Then he glanced strangely at Ranma.

    Akane shrugged. “Personally, I’d like to know what else I could’ve become, had my situation been different.”

    “Well - I don’t!”

    Akane just raised an eyebrow. “Don’t forget I’m dealing with the same thing here,” she reminded them. “Besides, I think it’s funny. “A Ranma who defends his ‘manliness’ to the death, as opposed to the one I knew who was subconsciously the epitome of ‘girl power’…”

    Ryouga snickered.

    But Akane wasn’t finished. “And you. Of the three you’re the odd one out, the only one who didn’t crush on whatever version of Ranma it was they happened to know. That, and you talk a *lot* more than the one I knew. And you’re so easily provoked… it’s cute.”

    Ryouga had had no idea that it was possible to be angry and blushing simultaneously. But he did now, and was.

    It was Ranma turn to snicker. “Hey Ryouga! Hear that? Cute…”

    Ryouga casually decked him.

    Akane stared in shock. “What was that for?”

    Ryouga just waved to dismiss it. “He deserved it. Besides, he’s fine.”

    “Hey!” Ranma protested from the floor. “Deserved *what*? I just repeated what she said…” He jumped to his feet and punched Ryouga in retaliation, which promptly started a full-out but small-scale brawl consisting mostly of pulled punches and yanked ears.

    Akane watched for a moment as they fought, a small trickle of sweat working it’s way down the side of her face. “Umm…” Then she collected herself. “Not in here! No flirting in the computer room!”

    That got them to stop and jump to their feet, protesting angrily.

    “What are you talking about, flirting?!”

    “We’re not-”

    Akane smiled coolly, doing her best Nabiki impression. “Whatever, boys…”

    She strode calmly out of the room, followed by an angrily arguing Ranma and Ryouga. The argument switched from with Akane to amongst themselves and back several times before they realized that she had left them behind. Then they started fighting again.

    Akane watched from around a corner for a while before shaking her head at them, not understanding the pair’s constant need to bicker. She walked away, bemused.

    After a fairly uneventful walk, she turned a corner and bumped – literally - into Ran-kun and Ryo-kun, who had finally managed to escape Kasumi and Nabiki’s clutches. Not that they had anything else to do but cuddle (which they were attempting to do as they walked down the hallway, much to Akane’s amusement), but the two sisters had hit a point in the fitting process where having the pair of them around did nothing but amuse Nabiki, so Kasumi had graciously given them permission to leave.

    Ran-kun was knocked unto the ground from his collision with Akane. She hadn’t realized how little she’d been paying attention to where she’d been going and began to offer a hand up to Ran-kun.

    Ryo-kun beat her to it. “You okay?”

    “Yeah, I’m fine,” Ran-kun answered, pulling himself to his feet and smiling a little to confirm the statement.

    “Sorry!” Akane offered, reddening a bit from the sight of such an open display of affection. They’re so different… it’s kinda hard to switch mindsets when you switch Ranmas and Ryougas! “I guess I should look where I’m going, huh?”   

    “What happened?” Ran-kun asked abruptly.

    “Huh?”

    “You looked a little distracted,” he clarified.

    “Oh… I don’t know… guess I was just thinking about the fight.”

    “Fight?”

    “Oh, you know,” she pointed back the direction she had come. “Those two again. They bicker a lot.”

    “Who… oh… them?”

    “Who?” Ryo-kun glanced confusedly between the two, who had apparently hit some sort of chord that he had missed entirely.

    “Ranma and Ryouga,” Akane clarified. “I made some sort of joke about them flirting and they got *really* mad. It was just too easy though, you know?”

    To Ryo-kun’s credit he didn’t falter in remembering about the doppelgangers. “Ah.”

    Ran-kun snickered. “That wasn’t very nice. Ranma takes this a little too personally…”

    “And you don’t?”

    Ran-kun shrugged. “I don’t really have a reason to. Oh no, he looks like me!” he made an exaggerated shocked/appalled expression, complete with hands against the sides of his face. “And he’s straight! Whatever shall I do?!” He gasped dramatically again, held the pose for a moment, and then dropped it, laughing. “Not that anyone’s too sure about that. Besides, his loss.”

    Ryo-kun smiled. “Their loss.”

    “Not funny.” They turned to see a very much *not* amused Ranma standing in the hallway behind Akane.

    “Er…”

    “Look,” he continued seriously, “I get enough at home for turnin’ into a girl, ok? So just quit it…” He continued past them and soon disappeared around a corner.

    Ran-kun winced a little. “But I can’t really relate, I suppose…”

    Akane shrugged. “Who can? It seems that he’s the only one who’s really changed much between universes… our three at least. I’m probably not much different from other Akanes…”

    “Not really,”

    “No, you’re not,” Ryo-kun agreed in chorus with Ran-kun. For some reason he sounded a little embarrassed.

    “And you’re not all that much different from the Ranma that I knew… at least compared to *him*.” She gestured in the direction Ranma had vanished. “I wish I knew what happened…”

    “I think I do…” Ran-kun mused to himself.

    “What?”

    “His father raised him with some very strange values,” was all that Ran-kun would offer on the subject. At the silent requests for more, he just said, “I don’t think that he’d want me to tell more… besides,” he said with a small laugh, “It’s a long tale to tell.”

    “I suppose it won’t matter much after tomorrow,” Akane commented. “But it’s a little strange…”

    “He’s just really defensive,” Ryo-kun commented. “You get that way yourself, a little, when you’re around people who question you, koi. And you’re just as defensive. Remember that math competition?” 

    “Ah…” Ran-kun stuttered a bit. “That’s different.”

    “Not really. It’s just that your strength is school. You’re the best, but no one challenges you often, not formally. If I know you at all, and I know I do, I think that he’s also the best at what he chose, martial arts. And probably gets challenged at that a lot. Not to mention with four fiancées and a curse that turns him into a girl he’s probably become pretty defensive – to himself even if no one else has mentioned it – about being hetero.”

    Ran-kun blinked. Akane blinked. Ryo-kun looked a bit embarrassed. “Uh…”

    “Ryo-chan, that was the best analysis I’ve heard yet. And you don’t even know him all that well.” Ran-kun hugged him.

    “Well, I’m a martial artist myself… not the best I’ve ever met, even before him… but I do know that people who think themselves to be the best hate to admit any sort of weakness. And let’s just say it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to admit to myself that I was bi. Why do you think I walked to Hokkaido and back? And I never even had anyone pressuring me to marry a girl… or had guys crushing on me ‘cause they thought I was a girl.” He shrugged. “So I can sorta relate, I guess.”

    Ran-kun just hugged him again.

    Akane snuck off, letting them be. She considered Ryo-kun’s analysis. That’s something to consider… I should tell Nabiki.

***

~Mordain

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