5 of a kind: The Reunion
Prologue
by Ryan Anderson
based on the story "5 of a kind" by James Allen

The premise: What would happen if Ranma were cloned 5 
times? Say each girl (including Nabiki, for funding the 
venture) got a Ranma? How would the different Ranma's (and 
the different girls) be after 5 years? Would each Ranma 
have found happiness? Would each female? What would it be 
like to bring them all back together after living such 
wildly different lives for so long?

Author's note:
Ok, if any of you would like a copy of the original draft 
of 5 of a kind, please let me or James 
Allen(jallen9@idt.net) know and I'm sure you can get a 
copy. Now, even though this is based on his fic, this is 
*totally* different from the sequels to it that he is 
writing. My humble story is just leaching off his idea... 
please let me know what you think! All c&c, even flames, 
appreciated! 
....
Prologue
---

Ranma's hands shook as he beheld the neat, clean Japanese 
kanji on the paper before her. After all this time... 
After all this time, she hadn't forgotten about her!

"Shampoo! You're never going to believe this!" she called 
in perfect Chinese as she ran for the house. 

Shampoo looked up just in time to be swept into a 
passionate embrace by the bouncing red-head. Surprised, 
but smiling, Shampoo disengaged herself deftly from her 
friend's tight glomp. "What is it? You haven't greeted me 
like that since..." She trailed off as she gave Ranma-chan 
a sultry grin.

Ranma just giggled, taking a step back. "heh, not this 
time... check this out!" she cried, shoving the letter 
into Shampoo's face.

With a bemused look the purple-haired Amazon deftly 
snatched the letter from the out stretched hand and began 
reading through it, but her smile quickly faded.

"Ranma..." she started, sounding subdued.

"Ah... come on Shampoo, aren't you the least bit curious 
about how the others have been over the last five years?" 

Shampoo reluctantly nodded, but she didn't seem all that 
keen on going back to Nerima. "But what about our duties 
here? We can hardly go gallivanting off when great-
grandmother is sick..."

Ranma just rolled her eyes. "Che... Great-grandmother will 
live another century if I live a day. She's not going 
anywhere anytime soon and we both know it. So why the 
reluctance? You certainly weren't reluctant to go running 
off with me before..."

Shampoo actually blushed a little at that one. "Ah er... 
that was different..." 

"Come on Shampoo.. what's the matter? Afraid of seeing 
Akane again?" Ranma chided her. 

The fire was back in Shampoo's eyes in an instant. "No! 
I'm not afraid of that violent tomboy..." suddenly she 
seemed to deflate, though. "I just..."

Ranma just shook her head. "Shampoo! Come on! What's there 
to lose?"

Shampoo sighed, looking down at her friend. She could see 
this was really important to Ranma, and looking into her 
clear, blue eyes, she knew she had no hope of resisting. 
"All right! We'll go, we'll go..."

Ranma leapt up and raced out of the room, giving her a 
quick peck on the cheek. "Oh thank you! I knew I could 
count on you! Yatta! Yatta!"

Shampoo just sighed as she watched Ranma race out of their 
small cottage toward the village square. She was probably 
off to tell great-grandmother, Shampoo thought with a 
smile. It never ceased to amaze her how much energy Ranma 
still had... just like when they had been teenagers. 
Perhaps this was just what she needed, a trip to clear her 
mind. And heck, maybe she could even pick up a spell or 
two while she was in Japan...

***

Ranma slowly stepped out of the Mercedes, taking off his 
dark sunglasses with a flourish so he could properly take 
in his surroundings. The beautiful palatial estate 
stretched almost as far as the eye could see up and down 
the strip of beach, perfectly situated for a breath-taking 
view of the sunset out over the water. Ranma couldn't help 
but grin, not caring what it did for his tough-guy image, 
it was good to be home.

With a nod to his driver, he quickly walked up the steps, 
throwing open the huge oak doors as he entered the 
luxurious house. The house was extremely open, built to 
take full advantage of the amazing view with windows and 
glass seemingly everywhere, but Ranma smiled at the 
thought of what few things were hidden from view... and 
what people.

Creeping silently up the stairs, he slowly opened the 
bedroom door... only to be bowled over by a fast-moving 
body.

"Welcome home..." The husky voice said as its owner pinned 
him to the floor, and proceeded to show him, just *how* 
much she had missed him....

Hours later, they both sat exhausted in the Jacuzzi 
watching the sunset. 

"It's so beautiful here..." Ranma sighed. "I can't believe 
they actually convinced me to stay that extra two weeks 
for that worthless scene..."

Nabiki hugged him closer, smiling up at him. "True, but 
the studio certainly thought it was important... and you 
need to keep in their good graces."

Ranma sighed again. Acting in movies *was* fun... he'd 
even gotten to play opposite of Jackie Chan once, but it 
kept him away from his wife so much...

Nabiki slowly stood up in the shallow water, her 
glistening nude body perfectly outlined in the sunset. 
Giving him her best smile, she leaned down and kissed him 
passionately. "I'm sorry you had to stay away too, but we 
made enough money off this one that you don't need to work 
again for a little while... which reminds me! Now that 
you've got a little time off from your busy schedule, a 
letter arrived yesterday from Akane..."

"Akane? What does your sister want this time? More money? 
Or did she have another fight with her 'boyfriend'?" he 
smirked.

Nabiki glowered at him. "Oh come on Ranma, I know the two 
of you don't get along, but she *is* my sister!" Nabiki 
shook her head, not wanting to get into this argument, 
especially when everything had been going so well too... 
"Besides, that's not what she wrote about... She's trying 
to organize a reunion!"

"A reunion? What, of the Tendo clan?"

"Naw... A reunion of the whole Nerima group! She wants to 
get all of the old crew to come back! I heard she even 
contacted Shampoo and your Amazon-half!"

"No way... Akane? Akane couldn't even organize her 
thoughts, much less a get together of this many people..." 
Nabiki just scowled at him again. "But... you know, it 
*would* be interesting to see everyone again. I wonder 
what Ryouga is up to these days..."

Nabiki finally pulled herself out of the tub, leaving her 
husband to reminiss about their youth. She had been pretty 
sure that he would agree to go eventually, but she had 
expected to have to fight him a lot harder. She smiled 
back over her shoulder at his hard, chiseled form as she 
wrapped a towel around herself. She'd have to take the 
week off, but then there'd been no challenges at work 
lately anyway. After that hostile takeover of Nekitomi 
last quarter, nothing seemed to excite her anymore... This 
"vacation" back to the zaniness that still surrounded the 
Tendo home was just the thing she needed.

***

Ukyo stood at the backdoor of their small home and smiled 
as she watched her husband and daughter playing. It just 
made her feel warm and fuzzy all over as she watched Ranma 
scoop up the two-year-old, tossing her around while he did 
his kata beneath her, while their child laughed and 
giggled and begged for her daddy to "do it again!"

Their little game had scared the daylights out of Ukyo the 
first time she'd seen it, but she knew that her husband 
would *never* let any harm come to their daughter.

As the last rays of sunlight faded, Ukyo finally gave a 
long sigh. "Ranchan! Kikochan! Dinner!"

Something's never change... she thought, smiling as Ranma 
came sprinting over. Deftly snatching kikochan out of his 
hands, she followed her husband in at a more sedate pace. 
Ranma had already dug in to dinner with gusto as she and 
her daughter sat down, but instead of joining him, Ukyo 
simply sat by, quietly counting out the seconds till he 
noticed to herself.

With a resounding clang as he slammed down his chopsticks, 
Ranma was back on his feet. "That was great Ucchan, 
thanks! Hey, listen... I promised the guys I'd meet them 
at 7:30, so I gotta bolt! I'll be home before ten, 'kay?" 
Without so much as waiting for her to nod her 
acquiescence, he was gone.

He hadn't even noticed that she had never even started 
eating.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Kiko asked. 

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Ukyo looked back at her 
daughter. "N-no reason, Kikochan... Grown-ups just do 
sometimes... you'll understand when your older."

"Is it because you're hungry mommy?" She asked, looking 
innocently at her mother's untouched plate. Ukyo grabbed 
her daughter into a tight hug and just held her clutched 
to her chest.

"No dear... its not because I'm hungry. I love you though, 
Kikochan... Don't worry about me." 

Gently she set Kiko down, and started picking at her food 
barely tasting it. She would have to tell him about the 
letter later....

***

Onna-Ranma sat alone in the dark, letting her conscious 
mind slowly fall away as she entered a deep, meditative 
trance. In her minds eye she could see the entire world 
spread out beneath her, stretching on forever in seemingly 
every direction... but slowly, she banished even this 
beautiful picture, letting go of conscious thought forms, 
and opening herself to the knowledge of the universe...

She had no idea how much time had passed before she slowly 
became aware of another presence invading her meditation. 
He existed on the edge of her thoughts, a tangible 
presence in an intangible world...

"My love, excuse me for interrupting your meditations..."

Ranma sighed. This had better be important... Slowly she 
opened her eyes. The single candle lit in the room was 
nearly gutted now, burning low, but its light seemed so 
bright it drove into her eyes, forcing her to become even 
more aware of the physical plane around her. Slowly, as 
her eyes adjusted to being used again, they focused on the 
one who had disturbed her. Delicately, she smiled. "What 
is it, Tachi?"

Tatewaki was much changed after five years... gone were 
the old samurai clothing, he now wore a sharp business 
suit in which he cut a most handsome figure. His eyes, 
too, seemed more focused on the here and now, but that 
wasn't all that had changed... "Ranma, I am sorry to have 
disturbed you, but I waited two days for you to emerge 
from this chamber... a matter of some importance has 
arisen."

"Tachi... what could it possibly be? You know how little I 
care for things of the physical world..."

"Aye, my love, but perhaps this will interest you..." he 
said, holding up a piece of paper.

Slowly Ranma got to her feet and stumbled over to Kuno. 
She needed only to glance at the parchment to know what it 
said, and suddenly she seemed to sag against Tatewaki. 
"Kuso... I knew this was coming..." She let out a great 
sigh. 

"Do you wish to go? I would... enjoy... seeing the others 
once more, if only to apologize for my behavior so many 
years ago..."

"I don't know, Tachi... I mean, so much has changed since 
then..."

Tatewaki looked down at her lovingly. "You are worried 
that perhaps they will not welcome you back, because of 
our relationship..."

Ranma sighed again and looked away. It never ceased to 
amaze her how well Tachi could read her emotions 
sometimes... "Yes, that's exactly what is bothering me! 
The last time they saw me, I was so strung out on 
Kodachi's drugs that they had to drag me away from the 
Tendos! Do you really think they'll just let me come 
back?"

Tatewaki frowned, also remembering that... regrettable 
time. "Well, they *did* send us this letter. I would 
assume that they are willing to put the past behind them."

Ranma leaned against Kuno and snuggled up against his 
chest. "And what about us? What can we tell them? *I'm* 
not even that comfortable yet with it... they'll go 
through the roof..."

"Are you ashamed of me then? Ashamed because you love a 
man? I am not, Saotome Ranma, and while I know that you 
are not yet ready to commit to our relationship, I remain 
steadfast in my love for you! Male or female, I care not 
what the others think!"

"And what of Akane? You once claimed such enduring love 
for her..."

Kuno stepped back as if stung, pain plain on his face. 
"Ranma! I was... ill... during that period, as you well 
know! It was you who helped me through that time, but if 
you do not desire my presence in your life..."

Kuno started to turn from the slight girl, but she reached 
out and grabbed him, clutching his shirt with almost 
desperate strength. As Tatewaki turned back toward her, 
Ranma slowly lifted her head to meet his gaze, her eyes 
held back a flood of tears that even now she could not 
allow herself to shed...

"Tachi... I'm sorry... I...I don't know why I said 
that..."

Kuno's expression softened as he looked into his love's 
eyes. "It is alright, Ranma..."

"No! No it's not alright! I never want to hurt you 
Tachi... but sometimes I can't help but lash out... 
because... because... I'm scared. I'm so scared of losing 
you!"

Kuno pulled Ranma into a tight hug and held her pressed 
tightly to his chest. "You never need worry about 
that...."

***

"So they're all coming then?" Ranma said, as he slowly 
slid his arm onto Akane's shoulder while they watched the 
sun sink lower and lower on the horizon. 

Akane nodded, leaning back against him. "mmhmm. I sent a 
letter to *everyone*... I even told Ryouga to be here a 
week early, just to give him plenty of time."

Ranma snorted. "Heh, yeah, haven't seen good ol' P-chan 
around for a good month or so."

"You know you don't have to be so mean to him... it *is* 
your fault he fell in that stupid spring. Baka."

Ranma took a deep breath, steadying his nerves. Now was 
*not* the time to start fighting... The couple spent 
another couple of minutes in silence watching the sunset. 

"You know, this really was a dumb idea, having them all 
come here..."

"Hey! Who are you calling dumb? You're the one who said it 
be wonderful to see how everyone was doing!"

"Now wait a minute, that's not what I said! I just mean 
that they're going to completely destroy the place... and 
it *is* going to be nice to see Ucchan again, and 
Shampoo..."

"Oh, *I* see, you just want to try and start a 
relationship with them all over again, is that it?"

"NO! They're my friends! And I haven't seen them in a long 
time!"

Akane humfed at that one, but both of them let it drop, 
turning their attention back to the fading sun. Akane 
cursed herself for getting into yet *another* fight, even 
if he had started it... They'd been growing steadily 
closer over the years, but it still seemed like there were 
times when he didn't care anything for her, and she was so 
afraid of losing him... Things had gone great when they'd 
first gotten back... they'd even kissed! Their fathers had 
been so happy they'd immediately planned a wedding date, 
but by the time it came around they were off on some other 
adventure... it had gone on and on and on, and they 
*still* fought like cats and dogs. Still, maybe one day...

***


Something moved in the darkness, it's ponderous bulk 
seemingly one with the inky blackness and rock, but 
slowly, ever so slowly, it began shifting, wriggling, 
moving toward the light...

At last... At last the one who was five had come, the one 
who was prophesied so long ago. This one was the one he 
had been waiting for, searching for... the one who could 
destroy him utterly, or give him the power of the gods...

---

;)