TwinTrouble Chapter 6

[Lioconvoy]

Here is the rivised version of Twin Trouble chapter six. For the original version go here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3340583/6/Twin-Trouble

Disclaimer: The characters of Ranma ½ belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Other characters and items belong to their respective creators. The story is mine though, so I don't think it's too much to request that you ask permission before posting this elsewhere.

Twin Trouble by Lioconvoy

Pre-chapter note: This chapter has had significant changes from its original version.

Chapter Six: After School

Nabiki sat in the stands next to Mai watching Karumi and Usagi run the fifty laps Karumi was punished with. After an hour of running they were over half way done. Even with all the running she had done in the halls, her blonde friend was doing eight minute miles with Usagi. "Karumi has to be a martial artist."

"I'd say so, we know she isn't in any clubs, but she's always busy after school." Mia examined Usagi's form as she ran; she was just as graceful running as she was doing just about anything else. While after lunch the redhead stopped acting overly feminine, her movements now, as then, were filled with grace. Usagi was either really a girl or a very skilled martial artist. There were enough hints to point to the latter. "Do you really expect me to believe Usagi Narita is Ranma Saotome?"

"What?" The older twin stopped looking at her friends on the track and turned to Mai. She knew Mai could keep a secret but…, it was Ranma‘s to share. "I don‘t expect you to believe any such thing. My father has made it known to myself and my sisters that his old friend Genma Saotome would be coming to visit soon and he‘d be bringing his son Ranma. It has nothing to do with Usagi and that‘s the reason for my curiosity earlier."

"If that’s the story you’re going with, it should work. Karumi wasn’t there for the conversation and Ranmaru will believe what you just said in favor of Usagi being Ranma. Still you might as well tell him I know.” Shiranui sighed. While the blonde joined their group when the school year began, she had been friends with Nabiki since elementary school, the older Tendo twin couldn’t lie to her. Equally she couldn’t lie to the short haired twin, so she wondered when Nabiki would ask about her past suggestion.

“Right, my turn to ask the obvious. You’ve read Ranma ½; please tell me you didn’t suggest the whole blackmail thing so I was more like the fictional Nabiki.” True, she was in charge, but when she was looking for a way to earn some spending money without trying and failing to do chores around the house, it was her oldest friend who suggested their operation in the first place. It wasn’t that big, they only targeted delinquents who could pay and the rich snobs who threw their money away on a regular basis. Still, it was big enough that they could all easily be expelled under the new rules.

“Heh heh heh, er, guilty as charged. Although you really excelled at it.” Mai sighed. Their mess was all her fault. Still, the fact that Domon only got a month suspension was a sign that the principal didn’t have enough evidence on their ring. “Let’s just hope if the Principal does get enough evidence, that we get a light sentence. I mean blackmail actually was encouraged under the old rules. It’s how your sister and Usagi’s ruled the school.”

“That’s my hope too, but all that’s over now. I’ll call Domon after school and make sure he knows to stop collecting. We can’t compound our crimes any further.” The middle Tendo child doubted Ranma and Natsume really were brother and sister. Other than that, her thoughts and those of her best friend matched. They had to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Nabiki hoped with all her might she wouldn’t have to explain to her dad why she was expelled.

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Kasumi frowned. They weren't able to have their 'Great Ranma Debate" because Natsume stormed out a lot sooner than she said she would. After that Kou had left too, and it wouldn't be a great debate if everyone wasn't there. They ended up talking about Guyver and Flame of Recca.

"You know, Natsume seemed pretty mad when she took off." As they walked home, Tofu wondered what would happen next. Normally Kasumi and Natsume were united on whatever stunts they were pulling, but this time they didn't agree. Kasumi was a master of physiological warfare, and Natsume physical warfare. What would happen when the two stood against each other?

"She did, didn't she? I really don't think what I did was wrong. I think it's for the best people not know about Ranma's curse." If the cursed boy was forced to think about acting like a girl, his guard might be down leading to all sorts of excitement.

"Kasumi, Ranma could have just been himself and no one would be the wiser, especially if you're passing him off as Natsume's sister." Ono adjusted his square framed glasses. He knew his words were brave, even he wasn't safe from Kasumi's wrath, but he felt… he had to say them.

"Ranma's not posing as Natsume's sister though. He's just Usagi Narita. Nowhere in his file is it mentioned he's related to Natsume, but you're probably right, people are likely to assume that given the looks of his cursed form." As the eldest Tendo daughter thought about it, Kuno probably already had plans to kill 'Usagi'. When would he come to the dojo to challenge the redhead? Excitement was just around the corner… oh wait, that was her home. Time to be daddy's little angel.

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Akane sat down, while her fellow female drama club members were changing back into their uniforms. Was this truly where she wanted to be after school? If the Otaku club got going again… then Nabiki would be spending much more time with Ranma than she would be. Yes, Nabiki said she didn't have that kind of feeling for Ranma, but the more they got to know him, the more they both liked him. Granted right now she was a little jealous of Usagi's growing popularity.

As she started changing out of her practice clothes, she thought about how little she knew about Ranma. There had to be more to him than what he already told them, which wasn't all that much. As bad as Kasumi was, he picked up feminine habits pretty quickly, how?

Maybe it wasn't that he fell into the spring of the drowned girl, but a spring of a drowned boy? Who knew if the cursed spring Mr Saotome fell into and the one Ranma did worked the same. Maybe it was just a deception that the hot water was changing the pigtailed girl back to her true self. Sure she was a little rough around the edges, but she was almost pure. Was there really such a guy?

After she finished putting her uniform back on, she thought about this afternoon in gym class. Ranma wasn't just not looking at the other girls, but she seemed embarrassed about her own body being exposed to everyone else. Why would that be the case if she was really a boy? Wouldn't a boy care less if girls saw him naked?

Standing up, she closed her locker. Even with her punishment Usagi was probably home by now, so that's where she was heading.

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Coming down from the stands, Nabiki joined Usagi and Karumi at the finish line. Usagi seemed fine, but the blonde finally seemed exhausted. "Good run you two. It only took two hours."

"I think we could have done that faster. How come you slowed down towards the end Karumi?" Ranma smiled brightly at her new friend. Even with a different center of balance as a female, she knew she could have ran faster, but it was fun pushing Karumi to keep up. It was always more enjoyable training with someone else than alone.

"Karumi is so tired."

Mai put away homework she had started and joined the others on the track. Usagi really pushed Karumi; this was the first time she had ever seen the blonde exhausted; normally Karumi always had energy to spare. "Actually Usagi, I don't think Karumi could have done any better, her normal mile is twelve minutes, and you knocked off four of them for most of your run."

"Really? Did I push you too hard Karumi?" She hadn't meant to do that. The blonde just kept up with her. It wasn't till the end that she noticed Karumi was straining.

"Karumi's sorry. Karumi tried…her…hardest to…finish…as fast as she…could so…you wouldn't…have to…run that long." Karumi could hardly breathe…running fast had never been her strong point, endurance was. She could run for as long as she wanted, but never that quick. Her brothers always said don't run faster than your opponent, just run longer.

"Hey, you helped me finish the translations, the least I could do was help you run. You could have taken as long as you needed."

Mai looked at Usagi and pictured her as a boy. It wasn't like her to have the thoughts she was thinking, but…Akane was lucky to have a boy like Usagi.

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The principal turned from the window. Usagi reminded Hinako of her mother, so cheerful and supportive; Nodoka was always willing to help her friends carry whatever burdens they possessed. How Nodoka ended up with someone as selfish as Genma was beyond her.

She sighed and then sat in her desk chair. It would be a few days until she could talk with Usagi; there were still a lot more delinquents she needed to punish first. It was amazing this school continued to exist with all the trouble it had, no wonder the board sought her out to replace their previous Principal.

It would be very lonely for a bit, her husband and children wouldn't move here from Hokkaido for another semester. Until then…Nodoka's child was the closest thing she had to family.

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"I'm home!" Akane entered the Tendo home not too surprised to see her father and Ranma's playing Go in the living room, it was starting to get dark outside which was probably why they weren't in the yard. Where were Ranma and Nabiki, upstairs maybe?

"Ah, Akane, where is your sister?" Soun looked up from his game, surely Genma would try to move the stones while he wasn't looking, but playing against such a cheater helped his game anyway, it kept him on his toes.

"Don't tell me the boy got detention already." Genma growled. He and Soun used to be equals in this game, but in the last twelve years Soun had greatly improved. Of course why wouldn't he, he was a professional now, the lazy fool. "Tell me Tendo, what Dan are you now."

"Just third, I'm not that good. Chisato always encouraged me to go professional, but I barely made it at 29, and even after all this time I've barely progressed." It wasn't for lack of trying on his part, it just that the younger players were so much better than he was.

It looked like the adults were ignoring her now. Akane went up to her room. Where were Ranma and Nabiki, were they spending time alone? For some reason two thoughts kept in popping up in her mind. Did Nabiki like Ranma, and was Ranma really a girl? Either way did she belong with him?

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After separating from Mai and Karumi, Nabiki walked home alone with Usagi. The events of the day still fresh on her mind; she wondered what the future would hold. "Akane is going to be jealous we're coming home so late together."

"You didn't have to wait for me and Karumi to finish our run, I know the way back." Ranma sighed. She really didn't want Akane getting jealous. She didn't have those kinds of feelings for Nabiki at all, which probably meant there was something screwed up with her. After all Nabiki was kinder, more understanding, and cuter than Akane. She was definitely the better of the twins, yet somehow she fell for Akane. Maybe it was the challenge; she knew he could get along with Nabiki but Akane she'd have to put a lot of effort into it.

"Well, the two of you are my friends, and while I might not have been willing to run with you, but both Mai and I were willing to show our support from the sidelines. Speaking of Mai…, she knows you're Ranma." The older twin might as well tell Usagi this now before they got home. Who knew how Kasumi would react?

"I kind of got the feeling, when I took my shower after the run. She was watching me the whole time; she had to have seen my silhouette change. Will she tell everyone?" Since she didn't know how much of the manga the raven haired girl had read, she figured she was probably going to figure it out sooner or later. It was still a little sooner than she expected.

"No, she won't, do you think Miura will figure it out? I mean he knows you right?" Nabiki frowned, how much trouble would they be in if another person found out? Especially the blond male who couldn’t keep a secret very well.

"Well, he knows Ranma, not Usagi. With all the worship I got from the other girls, I think I'm doing a pretty good job hiding the fact I'm really a boy. Even after I stopped acting like a princess I got the feeling no one seconded guessed me." Ranma sighed, she wasn't proud of that. Being a girl was way too easy for her.

"Well that's probably because they think you're Natsume's sister, she and Kasumi were the queens of Furinkan."

"But you and Akane don't have that sort of following?" The normally pigtailed boy thought about Natsume Narita, she had heard a lot about her today. The way the other girls described her, she never would have known she was a tomboy. It really surprised her when Akane admitted it.

"That's because without Natsume and Principal Kuno, Kasumi slowly lost her following. People sort of lost their illusions of Kasumi, without Natsume to keep her in line she started going overboard a lot." When she and Akane first started at Furinkan this year, most of the upperclassmen feared them because they were Kasumi's sisters, then for some stupid reason Kuno fell for Akane and everyone took notice she wasn't at all like Kasumi. It was then they got to live their own lives.

"I see." Now, Usagi really wanted to meet Natsume. Especially if she actually had power over Kasumi.

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Natsume sneezed and accidentally spilled hot coffee on the lap of one of the regulars. Although the pervert deserved it, she knew why he was a regular. Still, she hadn't meant to do it, someone must have been talking about her.

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Akane sat at the dinner table waiting patiently for Ranma to join them. After he and Nabiki got home his father had pulled him aside and they were still talking. She was curious what it was about, but if her twin’s attempt to spy failed, then her own probably would too. They had never had dinner this late in the evening before. Finally the pigtailed boy and his father joined them. Watching as Ranma sat down, she noted he didn't seem as graceful as he did at school. Did the grace come with the female form? Ranma was finally a guy again; apparently he had taken the time to change while he and his dad were talking.

"Saotome, next time could you wait until after dinner to ask how Ranma's day at school was." Soun frowned, he was hungry and the rice he and Genma had for lunch was not very filling at all. Unfortunately if he had gone out it was likely he'd have had to pay for Genma as well and that could get very costly.

"Tendo, you know how serious this matter is." The elder Saotome growled, apparently none of the students were aware Natsume Narita didn't have a younger sister, this itself didn't present too much of a problem, but if word somehow got back to Goro….

"Why is pop so afraid the Narita family?" Ranma looked towards Mr. Tendo, he didn't know if he'd get an answer, but with his father in fear mode he might as well try.

"Well, your father took some very precious things from Goro Narita, although Narita-san got some of his things back, what Genma still has is still very valuable to him." The Tendo patriarch smiled. Ranma looked confused, as expected; only Kasumi or Genma would know what he was talking about.

"I don't know, I mean what Saotome-san took was just as much his as Narita-sans." Kasumi entered the dining room assuming her father couldn't admit to Ranma what it is was that Genma took from Narita-san. She probably wouldn't have known herself if not for Natsume. Putting dinner down on the table she went over to her seat and sat down.

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Ranma sat on his bed writing in his journal. Today was interesting; at first it didn’t feel right, but after lunch he started to enjoy himself more. Maybe a little too much. Maybe being himself while a girl was a bad thing….

What had he learned today? Kuno was a lot more violent than his fictional counterpart. In his eye, Ranma could see an intent to kill. Still if his spirit was only equal to Akane, he wasn't a threat. Given that he also knew Kuno got beaten up by the new principal, he was positive he could take the sword boy.

Another thing he learned was Miura did in fact attend Furinkan too. Just as reading the journal last night reminded him, Miura mentioned Furinkan a few time, if not by name, but by description. What he learned about Kasumi and Natsume's actions, along with the former principal, it fit perfectly with the school his friend planned on going to. This was a problem, he didn’t want to hide himself from his friend, but the blond could not keep a secret very well.

Then there were his two new friends, Mai and Karumi. Karumi was way too cutesy. Still, despite her cute exterior, maybe there was more to her. Her spirit was equal to Akane's, she was definitely a martial artist too. The Azusa look-a-like had incredible endurance and if he hadn't pushed her she probably could have gone forever.

Mai, she had no spirit at all. The pigtailed boy got the feeling she was a lot like Kasumi, a major otaku. He saw her doing a little blackmail, but he had the feeling she wasn't nearly as bad as the oldest Tendo daughter.

On the subject of blackmail. He didn’t really see the short haired twin doing any of that. Or, really, any money making schemes. Nabiki must have been good at hiding whatever it was she was up too. Why would she have spies if she wasn’t up to anything?

Putting his pen down, he flipped back to yesterday's entry and read what he wrote about Akane. Then he turned the page back and picked up in pen again. Because of the Ranma ½ manga he had made preparations for dealing with Akane. They didn’t seem to be working that well. After dinner Akane seem like something was on her mind, but she didn’t want to talk about it. Was she going to give up on him already? Did his act at the beginning of the school day make her doubt his true gender? He’d be lying if he tried to pretend he didn’t have his own doubts. His keen observational skills and his ability to learn and adapt seem to make things a little too easy for him.

Maybe, he was over complicating thing. Maybe he was a bit too much of an otaku and he expected girls to be different than guys. Something today should have taught him was ultimately girls weren’t magical being completely different than guys. All the same personalities he saw in guys he saw in girls too. True the three he hung out with were largely what he had expected, but his other classmates were all over the scale. Observing them from the outside he must have ignored this fact in the past, but being one of them he now knew the truth after only a day.

Only a day. Months of studying led him to his formal conclusion, but after only a day he had a brand new outlook. Was he jumping to conclusions? Or could it be that he wanted things to be more complicated than they were? One thing was clear, he needed to stop thinking about this and go to sleep. Putting down his journal he got up and turned off the light. Then he got back in his bed and closed his eyes.

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- Lio's Corner: -Thanks to Wray Loflin for pre-reading this chapter.

-Howard Russell, there's only one Ryoga in this fic…well that's not true if you read my LJ. Haruna's not going to blame Usagi.

As for Nabiki reading the entire Manga, probably, not online though. The Tendo's don't have a computer, and Ranma ½ only has a small following in the universe of this story. Oddly enough all those who have met Ranma or his family.

-tatewaki2000: Um, I try to update this weekly, I can't update it any faster. This time I was delayed for various reasons though, sorry.

-Kirinin: Akane wasn’t actually a part of the Drama club. She joined for the play only because she was picked to play Juliet, a role she had always wanted to play.

-Manga/Anime that does exist in this world: Ranma ½(Manga only), Detective Conan, Guyver, Flame of Recca, Hikaru No Go, Dragonball, Sailor Moon, AI Love You, Ai Yori Aoshi, and Maharomatic.

-Manga/Anime that does not exist in this world: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Dear Boys.

-WarGiver's Omakes are not a part of the actual story continuity, however if you enjoy them, check out his account too.

NGNGNG

Name Game (This is the part where I explain semi-original characters.):

-Domon Ishijima(Domon the Demon): I believe my original idea for him was that he was a guy that wasn’t a part of the morning mob and he’d end up as a rival for Ranma. However I never got far enough in the original version of the story for him to appear and I forgot most of my plans for him. So, when I started tweaking Twin Trouble I got a new idea and purpose for his character and that’s started to flesh out in this chapter. Expect to see a second Name Game entry for Domon.

WarGiver's Omake:

Mai rolled her eyes as Nabiki was caught off guard, "Please Nabiki; I'm not dumb, you asked those questions about Ranma ½ and Usagi seemed a little afraid. That tells me either you know Usagi is Ranma, or you think Usagi is Ranma."

Nabiki got her ice back and looked at Mai in the eye, "Sorry Mai, but I can't answer that question, Kasumi's orders."

Mai knew there was no way to drag any more information out with that, Kasumi was a legend, and she could do anything she wanted and get away with it. unfortunately there was one point that had to be mentioned, "I hope I am wrong, because my parents engaged me to a Ranma Saotome years ago and if I found out Usagi was Ranma I would have to press the matter."

Nabiki banging her forehead with her palm only seemed to confirm the suspicion.

[J. St.C. Patrick]

A good chapter.

Here are a few things I noticed:

Here is the rivised version of Twin Trouble chapter six.

revised

Even with all the running she did in the halls, her blonde friend was doing eight minute miles with Usagi.

had done

Mia examined Usagi's form as she ran, she was just as graceful running as she was doing just about anything else.

ran;

While after lunch the redhead stopped acting overly feminine, but her movements were always filled with grace.

awkward sentence construction. perhaps:

feminine, her movements now, as then, were filled with grace

There were enough hints to point to the later.

latter

"If that’s the story you’re going with it should work.

with, it

Karumi wasn’t there for the conversation and Ranmaru will believe what you just said in favor of Usagi being Ranma. Still you might as well tell him I know.” Shiranui signed.

sighed

While the blonde joined their group when the school year began she had been friends with Nabiki since elementary school, the older Tendo twin couldn’t lie to her.

began,

Equally she couldn’t lie to the short haired twin so she wonder when Nabiki would ask about her past suggestion.

twin,

wondered

“Right my turn to ask the obvious.

Right,

You’ve read Ranma ½, please tell me you didn’t suggest the whole blackmail thing so I was more like the fictional Nabiki.”

½;

True she was in charge, but when she was looking for a way to earn some spending money without trying and failing to do chores around the house, it was her oldest friend who suggested their operation in the first place.

True,

It wasn’t that big, they only targeted delinquents who could pay and the rich snobs that threw their money away on a regular basis.

who

Still[color=#BF40FF] he [/color]fact that Domon only got a month suspension was a sign that the principal didn’t have enough evidence on their ring.

Still, the

“Let just hope if the Principal does get enough evidence, that we get a light sentence.

Let’s

Other than that her thoughts and those of her best friend matched.

that,

They weren't able to have their 'Great Ranma Debate" because Natsume stormed out a lot sooner then she said she would.

than

He's just Usagi Narita, nowhere in his file is it mentioned he's related to Natsume, but you're probably right, people are likely to assume that given the looks of his cursed form."

Narita. Nowhere

Excitement was just around the corner, oh wait, that was her home.

corner. Oh
or
corner. . . oh

Mai put away homework she and started and joined the others on the track.

away the homework

had

Usagi really pushed Karumi; this was the first time she ever saw the blonde exhausted; normally Karumi always had energy to spare.

had ever seen

It would be a few days until she could talk with Usagi, there were still a lot more delinquents she needed to punish first.

Usagi;

"Ah Akane, where is your sister?"

"Ah,

It wasn't for lack of trying on his part, it just that the younger players were so much better then he was.

than

She didn't have those kind of feelings for Nabiki at all, which probably meant there was something screwed up with her.

those kinds of feelings
or
that kind of feeling

Even after I stopped acting like a princess I got the feeling no one seconded guess me."

second guessed

The normally pigtailed boy thought about Natsume Narita, she had heard a lot about her today.

Narita; she

Ranma was finally a guy again, apparently he had taken the time to change while he and her dad were talking.

again;

he and her
intentional pronoun confusion on Akane's part?

Or really any money making schemes.

Or, really,

All the same personalities he saw in guys he say in girls too.

saw

Observing them from the outside he must of ignored this fact in the past, but being one of them he now knew the truth after only a day.

have

Month of studying led him to his formal conclusion, but after only a day he had a brand new outlook.

either:
A month
or
Months

Or could it be that he wanted things to be more complicated then they were?

than

-tatewaki2000: Um, I try to update this weekly, I can't update it any faster. This time I was delayed for various reason though, sorry.

reasons

She joined only because she was picked to play Juliet a role she had always wanted to play.

Juliet,

-WarGiver's Omakes are not apart of the actual story continuity, however if you enjoy them, check out his account too.

a part



-

Domon Ishijima(Domon the Demon): I believe my original idea for him was that he was a guy that wasn’t apart of the morning mob and he’d end up as a rival for Ranma.

a part

There you go!

Looking forward to Chapter 7!

[Lioconvoy]

Here is the rivised version of Twin Trouble chapter six.

revised

That's not a part of the chapter and you didn't correct it last time. I copy and pasted the introduction from the last topic.

That aside, thanks again for all the help. It was nice to see the unchanged stuff had less faults than the new. Then again I did change a whole lot in this chapter. Expect the next chapter Monday or Tuesday. I've already revised it, I just want to wait a day or so before posting it here. Hoping maybe I can catch more of the errors myself. Especially that then/than ones.