5 of a kind: The Reunion Chapter 1: Travel 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! .... Chapter 1: Travel --- "Uh... it looks really.. uh... interesting, Akane!" Ranma, forcing a smile as he faced down Akane's latest concoction. It *was* true that she'd improved... her food now was only "edible" versus the "toxic" it had been. Still, she'd been under a lot of stress preparing for this five year reunion thing lately... Akane beamed back at him. "I worked extra hard on this recipe, I want to make sure I've got it right before our guests arrive." Ranma gulped, an intense feeling of dread closing around him. Whenever Akane tried "extra hard" at cooking, the result was always disaster... it was only when she didn't really try that it became decent. Searching for an escape, Ranma looked pleadingly at the other occupant of the table, Tendo Soun, but his father-in-law was busy hiding behind the morning paper. "Oh come on Ranma... It *can't* be that bad. I've been cooking for you for the last 3 years, the least you can do is have a little faith in my abilities!" A million comebacks suddenly sprang to Ranma's mind... "sure, I've got faith in your abilities, faith in your abilities to turn the simplest recipes into toxic waste!" or "yeah, but I've only been able to stomach your cooking because I've slowly become immune to all poisons!" but as tempting as it was to lash out at her, he could see the dangerous gleam in her eye, and knew that now was just not the time. Resigned to his fate, Ranma tentatively picked up his chopsticks and tried to find the most edible- looking portion of the brownish-greenish mixture Akane placed in front of him. It was suppose to be some kind of chicken soup, but if there was any chicken in there, it had long ago succumbed to some hideous disease. Ranma sighed... he really had been looking forward to seeing his old friends too... *** It was a beautiful spring day on the Chinese countryside as two female figures made their way through the tall grasses. Joketsuku was still, even in this day and age, a *long* way from the nearest town of any size. It was mainly its remoteness that allowed it to continue to thrive with its own unique customs and laws, practically unchanged for thousands of years.. it was also that remoteness that one purple-tressed Joketsuku denizen cursed roundly. "" Shan pu's only response was a glare in the direction of her bubbly red-headed companion... How Ranma managed to keep such a brisk pace while carrying nearly all their stuff *and* still keeping a cheery disposition was beyond Shan pu. Already the "beautiful spring day" was beginning to wear on Shampoo's nerves as the sun beat down... she just wasn't in as good shape anymore. "" Ranma herself certainly hadn't gone soft.. far from it. Ranma was still picking up new skills faster than anyone could believe, and even Cologne was starting to run out of things to teach the young amazon. She'd taken on the role of "village protector" and was constantly roaming the surrounding amazon lands, looking for any signs of trouble. " Ranma grinned at Shampoo's grumbles. " Shampoo was forced to smile back. They'd had this argument so many times, it really had pretty much ceased to become an argument. She could tell when she was being teased... "" Silence fell once more as they as they walked, each step bringing them one step closer to where all this had begun. Shampoo heaved a great sigh. It seemed like *ages* ago, not half a decade.... Things had just been so *completely* different back in those days... so much simpler. Gaining Ranma's love had been the be-all and end-all of her existence, and then she had finally got him.... Shampoo briefly eyed Ranma's shapely prostiere... at 21, she was the absolute model of Amazonian femininity... fierce and beautiful all at the same time, yet only a scant five years ago she'd have fought tooth and nail to keep from *ever* being called feminine. Ah, how time could change a person. And now they were all going back... and it was filling her with a sense of foreboding. It wasn't just that she'd have to be civil to Akane again, although she was certainly not looking forward to that, but it just felt like there was some larger force at work here.. pulling them all together again, and it didn't take an aura reading to tell that Ranma's joyful bouncing around were really just covering her own nervous energy about the whole trip. But what were they to do? If there was one thing Ranma could never resist, it was her own curiosity, and even if Shampoo explained her feelings of foreboding to her, it would only spur her on more. Still, Shampoo had to admit she was more than a bit intrigued as well.. when last all five Ranma were together in one place, Shampoo had still been little more than a warrior who dabbled in the occasional love potion, not the studying mystic she was today... Although over the years she'd done a pretty darn through study of the Ranma that came with her, there were still many questions she had about little quirks in her personality that differed slightly from the original... Shampoo frowned... Yes, she had done a pretty _through_ study of the red head, in both her forms... and while she loved her Amazonian sister dearly, they had grown apart fairly quickly once Shampoo turned to studying magick. Although officially they were still "husband" and wife, Ranma hadn't been in male form for several years now, and while her sex didn't really matter to Shampoo, as Shampoo grew and changed, Ranma had seemed to stay eternally the same.. never growing up and never really taking any responsibility on herself. Even her job as "village protector" was really more of an excuse for her to get out and about and never really be pinned down. Still, by the time she started spending long periods of time away from her and Shampoo's home, Shampoo wasn't entirely displeased to be spending time away from her. The Amazonian Ranma was even more cock-sure and arrogant than the original, and had the skills to back it up, so while they had remained friends, and even occasionally lovers, They never really even tried to pretend they were husband and wife anymore. Ranma had even been dating a little bit, a sweet girl from the next village over named "Per Fum" or something like that.. Of course, the fact that this trip coincided rather nicely with the ending of that relationship left Shampoo to believe that one of the reasons Ranma was so happy about it was that she would be going back to a place where people accept her curse a little better... and give Per Fum a chance to adjust to the idea that Ranma had originally been a guy... Shampoo smiled at that thought.... it had come as quite a shock to the girl... Shampoo herself had been pretty much alone with her studies for the last couple of years, with Ranma out and about... She still saw her great-grandmother all the time, but lately the physical world had just become some much less appealing to her, as her magickal skills improved to the level where she was able leave her body and travel the outer planes of consciousness. The inhabitants of the inner worlds held such power... "Hey Shampoo, What do you suppose has happened to the others, over the years?" Shampoo glanced up from her musings, finding for once that Ranma seemed fairly calm, almost.. pensive... "I'm not sure... It will be interesting to find out though, I'm sure of that." "Well, yeah, I mean, that's why we're going and all but... do you think that they've... you know... *changed* as much as I have?" Shampoo could just make out a little bit of a flush on her cheeks. "hmmm... Some of them probably have.. I mean, five years is a long time, right? Heck, I even learned to speak Japanese in that time!" They both shared a grin at that. "What do you think 'you'll' be like?" Ranma was silent for a bit while she gave it some thought, then, "Well... I don't suppose any of 'me' will have given up martial arts, I mean, no matter *what* happened, _nothing_ could change me that much..." Shampoo gave a short snort, but Ranma continued anyway... "I bet Akane and me have kids...." Shampoo looked up sharply at that, detecting the note of sadness in Ranma's voice. Ranma might be all female these days, but she was still infertile, not that she'd ever let any mere *man* touch her anyway... and Shampoo's own curse had rendered it next to impossible for them to have kids. Oh, they'd tried a few times, especially right after they got back to Joketsuku... Ranma had been pretty messed up emotionally after what had gone down in Nerima, and they'd both thought that having a child would have been a good way for them both to start again fresh... it was only that much sadder when it was discovered that it could never be. They'd come very close once... Shampoo had managed to remain in her girl-form for 5 and a half months, when a summon spell she'd been learning went arry, and the only way to prevent a demon running loose in the village was to banish the demon... which consequently canceled her protection from cold water spell. It only took a matter of minutes afterwards, before she could recover enough to cast it again, that the roof broke open and a puddle of rain water landed on her, cursing her in the truest sense of the word. The theory that part of the curse made the cursee a water magnet wasn't really much of a theory anymore, and the longer they held it off the more intense the backlash was when water finally was able to catch the victim again. Oh, they'd tried a few more times after that, but they were both so devastated by their loss that nothing really came of it after that, and Ranma was starting to spend all her time in girl-form anyway. "Ranma..." Ranma just held up her hand, quieting Shampoo, and flashed her a brave smile. "Its ok Shampoo, I know, and I'm not sad about it, not really. After all, I'm sure one of me does have kids out there somewhere... But what about me and Ucc--I mean Ukyo." Shampoo shot her a funny look, then smiled. "I bet you two are running a huge chain of Okinamiyaki restaurants and are filthy rich by now..." "heh, yeah, you're probably right." "What do you think ever became of 'Ranma-sama' and the 'Pig-tailed girl'?" Ranma shuddered at that one. "Gah, I don't think I *want* to know... Last I saw him, he was looking more like goskugni than me, and he was going on and on about the magical blueberries Kodachi was growing in her garden... It was *really* weird." Ranma paused for a moment. "I really hope he's ok... Of us all, I feel the most sorry for that me." Shampoo nodded, sparing a moment of sympathy for what it must be like under that roof. "Yeah... and speaking of feeling sorry for them... I wonder whatever became of Mr. Nabiki Tendo?" "Heh, knowing her, I'm probably working 6 jobs and haven't gotten laid *ever*." Ranma shook her head. "I don't know how it would have changed me to have never had someone to love me and whom I could love.. " She drifted over and gave Shampoo a light hug as the walked. "... maybe that is the worse fate of the two." Ranma shrugged. "I guess we'll find out." *** "Come on, Come on!! You're gonna make us miss the train!" "Oh hold your horses! I'm coming!" Ukyo sighed once more as she locked the door behind her and began scooping up baggage left and right. As she reached the car Ranma began grabbing it from her and tossing it in the back as fast as he could. "Geez, we're only going for a week! Is all this really necessary?" "Yes, it is. This isn't one of you and your fathers training trips where all you take are the clothes on your back and a pot for cooking. We've got a child to look out for, you know." Ukyo leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before going to plop down in the passengers seat. Ranma finally finished the packing and hoped into the drivers seat, grumbling all the while about how "his father used to take *him* when *he* was a baby, and he never needed any of this crap..." "What did you say, Anata?" Ukyo asked with sugar-coated ice. "Uh... heheh... nothing." Ukyo smiled back at him for that. At least had learned *something* over the years about not sticking his foot in his mouth.. still, she was a bit concerned about what bad habits he might pick up again, hanging around all the time with his Tendo-counter part. And while she and Akane weren't the best of friends, it would be pretty nice to see her again, along with Kasumi and Shampoo. Nabiki she could do without. At least among the three Ranma-holders who stayed in touch, that being herself, Akane, and Nabiki, she was the first and only one to have a child... Smiling back at that self-same bundle-of-joy, she cooed. "All buckled up Kiko-chan? Ready to go see Auntie Akane?" "Hai 'kaasan!" Beside her, Ranma chuckled. "Ok, then! we're off!" Ahh, it all seemed so normal. Perhaps things would be alright after all. *** "Anata! Hurry up! we're going to be late!" "Geez Nabiki, we are not! look, the flight doesn't leave for another 45 minutes..." "Yeah, and it takes us half an hour to get to the airport when there *isn't* any traffic, which there's bound to be this time of day!" "Oh, would you just relax? that still gives us fifteen minutes to spare... come here..." Ranma gently grabbed a hold of her arm, dragging her into an embrace and kissing her neck gently. " Now, what do you think... " he whispered gently into her ear, "... I should wear? My old Chinese getup? or should I go for the full "star power" effect and wear the slacks?" Nabiki pulled out of his embrace, giving him a mock stern look. "Mouuu, " She broke into a smile. " You're going as the husband of the youngest associate Vice President of the Primbrose Japanese branch, so wear the suit. Now would you hurry up? You *know* I like to be early for plane flights!" "Yes dear..." He called back teasingly. Nabiki just rolled her eyes as she turned and headed to make sure everything was packed for the eighteenth time... She had presents for just about everyone, a rare beanie baby for little kiko-chan, a can of daddy's favorite mixed nuts, a martial arts movie for Akane's Ranma, a can of mace in case Ukyo got a little pissy.... Nabiki frowned as she looked at the mace. Ok, so it probably wasn't the nicest thing to bring to a reunion, but she and Ukyo hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms... what with the chef yelling out something about "choking the last bits of life from her cold black heart" and all as the police dragged her away... still, Nabiki did feel kinda bad for having used their friendship to rip control of Ukyo's restaurant chain away from her. But business was business, and that deal had landed her in the executives chair faster than anyone had ever seen, almost launching her career by itself. It wasn't that she was proud of back stabbing someone whom she had considered a friend... it was just... business. It wasn't like she left them with nothing, Ukyo and her husband made a considerable profit off the takeover, and Nabiki had nothing to do with the failure of their later restaurant chain in Kyoto... It had been targeted by a completely different section of Primbrose.... Deciding that worrying about such things would only be counter productive, Nabiki put it out of mind. "Anata?" "Yes?" "What would you be like if you were an amazon?" Ranma laughed in reply. "Oh yeah, right, like I have any clue." Nabiki smiled as she walked back into the bedroom, took a seat on the bed and tried to pretend like she didn't care that they were going to be late for their plane. "But do you think you'll have kids? I mean, I feel bad not having gotten them anything..." "What? The Ice Queen actually feels bad about *not* spending money on someone?" Nabiki shot him a dirty look, only slightly spoiled by her smile. "Well.. I mean, it *is* kinda rude that I got Kiko- chan something but don't have anything for any other kids... What about Kuno? Do you think she has any kids?" Ranma shuddered as he buttoned up his shirt in the bathroom mirror. "I doubt it... I don't really think she'll even show up, do you? I mean, she got committed, right?" "Hmm.. I suppose.. Are you ready to go yet??" Ranma stepped out of the bathroom, looking dashing in a loose silk shirt and black slacks, and pulled her to her feet. "All set." he smiled. *** The world. The Middle Kingdom, that place where light and shadow meet, that lonely sphere that was the cradle of life, how fragile it seemed. Here, of all places, life had beaten the odds, crawling and scraping its way out of nothing, and all the while the outer darkness had watched. In the early days it had toyed with the life it found here, setup little kingdoms, wove petty plots, for its own dark amusement if for no other reason. But times had changed.. now, it was the *dark* who was watched by life, toyed with, and dragged from its sleeping abyss to do life's bidding. Or so life liked to think.... It was so odd, being on this plane... being at all, for that matter... for 3 years, she'd been traveling, searching, _watching_.... individually she had little power, it was not her lot in life, such that she had, to weave the fabric of reality, or to control those elements who did, no, to her it was enough to watch, to explore, to *know*. When had this change come about? She wasn't entirely sure... she hadn't always been who she was. A lifetime ago it seemed, though in reality as time was told, it was only a few scant years, she had been... here. Not here as in the seat she rested on, but _here_ as in focused, in touch, touchable. Now though.. now she wasn't sure where she was. She existed in a state that rather defied her description. Oh sure, she still had a body, one which had once belong to her, when she was known as Saotome Ranma, but she'd long ago (by her reckoning, at least) stopped identifying herself with that name. It was just a name... yet names held power.. and her own name held a powerful attraction. When she had become *aware*, as she liked to call it, she suddenly and with out warning had gained access to knowledge that was hers to possess, but which she had never learned, at least, not as this Saotome individual. She would drift back and forth in the sea of time, treading through a million memories that were hers, yet were not... but always, always the name would call her back, *force* her to return to the world of light and pain... She would have long ago left it, if it weren't for one thing.... Tatewaki. For a long time after she became aware, she didn't feel she needed anything, or anyone. It was enough now just to sift through her memories and ponder the universe, for all the answers were right there! right before her! all she had to do was put them together in the correct order for them to make sense.... The first time she'd tried, it had nearly killed her. When Tatewaki had brought her back to herself, she screamed at him, clawed at his face and begged him to leave her, so that she might finally *know* all the secrets that were just beyond her reach... But he hadn't, and then she'd become aware of the pain.. she hadn't moved, slept, eaten, or drank for nearly a week, and she was extremely close to death. And then she knew fear... fear more powerful than any she'd ever felt before.... for if she died, she'd lose her chance, her one, slim chance of knowing the unknowable... And so she had clung to Tatewaki, sobbing against him dry tears as he rushed her to the hospital. It wasn't the first time the two of them had been to the hospital... When Kodachi had finally been hauled away and the pains of withdrawal had become too much, they'd both landed in the hospital... Even now, when she barely slept and never remembered her dreams, she felt a chill every time a vision of a hospital was flashed before her, the cold agony of an all powerful *need* burning through her being as she thrashed and thrashed, unable to find release.... And always Tatewaki was there, the strong one, ready to stay next to her through the pain, through the insults, through the beatings. She hated herself for doing what she did to him, but she needed to do it all the same. And, bit by bit, she'd gotten better... and then it had been her turn to nurse him, as he fought his inner demons, having already been purged of his drug-induced ones. Together they'd come through more heartache and pain in two short years than anyone should be asked to endure in a lifetime, but it was worth it. For a time they shared something so powerful, anything was possible... but the lure of the other world was still there, and she couldn't resist it for long. Surprisingly, Tachi understood, giving her the space she needed to explore and discover, yet never letting her go too far again. She had been grateful. Yet there were still flashes... times when she *was* Ranma, when everything was wrong, wrong, wrong... during those time she hated Tatewaki, Hated and loathed him for his love, for loving him... It made her feel weak, and sick, filled with such self-loathing that it often became hard to swallow... But these times were passing. they happened frequently that first year, but less and less as time went on.. and then an amazing thing happened: She found herself. Maybe not so surprising, surely she should have guessed, but for some reason she had always assumed that they were her other people's lives she was gazing into... she never suspected that they were all her own. Millions of iterations of her life stretched out in every direction, but her current one was special, and once she found it, a sense of *belonging* settled in her once again. She _was_ of the world and world was of her, even if she didn't particularly enjoy spending time there. She knew that she was Ranma Saotome, a man, in love with another man, even if she choose to hide her true gender in the form that she had come to think of herself as being. It was a difficult revelation... With her memories fully restored, instead of dream like in quality, the hate and prejudice of her parents came back to her fully, and she started to turn on Tatewaki again, but then she looked into his eyes, and saw... the *he* had known.. not forever, but for sometime. Always the strong one. So she faced her own weakness fought against as she and Tatewaki had fought against his inner demons, trying to come to terms with it. It was definitely an uphill battle. But she *was* Ranma Saotome, in one form or another, and the outcome was never in any doubt. The world. Feh. Why did they need it? As she sat crushed against Tachi's side she watched out the limo's window as the world scrolled by, looking very much like it always had... even though it was the first time she'd left the Kuno house in almost 2 and a half years. And if she thought she had faced herself before, the images of a disturbed mind had nothing on what she was about to face, as the limo arrived at the Tendo's dojo. "I.. remember this place." "You do not have to go on if you do not wish to.. if this is too much but say the word and..." She raised her hand cutting him off. "No, it will be alright. After all, I *am* Ranma Saotome... " *** Author's notes: Well, I'm not sure if anyone actually remembers this story or not, but for some reason the muse just hit me the other day and I felt compelled to finish it up. (why that doesn't ever seem to happen with PHD, I just don't know). anyway, while I might not get much writting done these days, my heads still bursting with story ideas, and this definately won't be the last chapter of thie series... though it maybe another year before anything more gets written. The next chapter is tenitively titled "Arrivals" and will be just that... all these diverse groups finally getting together. A word about kuno-Ranma... She's obviously the one out of all the Ranma who has changed the most in so short a time, and her character going to take alot of explaining on my part I have a feeling... between an excess of phycedilic drugs (of Kodachi's own design) and some less-than-plesant expirences at the hands of Kodachi (who will be showing up, BTW), she pretty much exists in a haze... rather disconnected from reality and has lost most of her original persona, though it does return in flashes. although her section in this chapter was told from her perspective, subsquent chapters will probably not have her rambling quite so much.. and the reconstruction of her physche is going to be a major plot point. anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading! All C&C is not only welcome, but encouraged... Flame me, Mstie me, or just plain drop me a line that says "I read it" so I know your out there! ;) Ryan Anderson andersor@cs.colorado.edu Ryan's fanfiction archive: http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~andersor/fanfic/fanfic.html