Multiplicity

A Ranma fanfic by Mike Breslau

Disclaimer: You know the drill: better folks than I own the characters that appear in this scribbling.


"Can't we go back to our village?" asked Shampoo with a sigh. "I miss the simple life. I miss my friends..."

Cologne gave her a piercing stare. "I miss them too, but our village is primitive and backwards. We have to learn the ways of the modern world, or we will not survive. Here we can study the culture of your airen, and perhaps learn how to snare him more easily."

"I miss Ranma, Great Grandmother. These outsider ways make me uncomfortable, but they make airen feel at home."

"Yes, and our ways make him uncomfortable. We have to make some accommodations if we hope to snare your Ranma. His other fiancees are already used to Japanese culture; we are not."

Mousse could contain himself no longer. "Are you going to abandon 3,000years of Amazon culture just to snare one 'mere male?'"

Cologne replied, "If it were any other male, we would not - and that would be a grave mistake. The PRC has tanks, planes, missiles, spy satellites,and a huge army. They could obliterate us whenever they get annoyed at cannot hide from them forever, nor could our martial arts defeat a modern army. Besides, Ranma is not a 'mere male.' He is the most remarkable fighter I have encountered in more than 300 years."

Shampoo's eyes sparkled. "Airen is too, too good martial artist. Shampoo's heart and mind desire him."

Mousse seethed silently with jealousy. He thought, "There is no way I can win Shampoo's heart while Ranma lives. I must strike him down at any cost!"


Two weeks later Ranma had mastered every martial arts technique he had ever seen, or even heard of, except one: the Amazon's "Splitting Cat Hairs". Perhaps it was the word "cat" in the name that caused him to keep postponing it. As usual, he tried first to duplicate the technique as he had seen it, and then to improve upon it in some way.

By noon he had managed to create up to four illusory images of himself,provided they weren't too far away. It was similar to the "demon head" technique, except it required more attention to detail to be , Ranma thought it was a piece of cake. He had made solid objects starting with ki-based illusions before; perhaps he could do it again.

Disappointment. His ki-into-matter duplicates were solid, and they moved as he directed, but slowly. They weren't alive, they had no volition of their own; they were puppets or zombies. Ranma had to direct the motions of these copies in detail, and he couldn't see what they were seeing. It was most unsatisfactory. He had to do better than that.

Ranma paused. He had to be careful here. If he were to create living people (for that's what they would be) from his own ki then that would be procreation! Worse still, it would be unethical to undo them - that would be murder. Or they might undo him! How many Ranmas was he willing to have running around? He could just imagine the objections religious zealots would throw at him. Shudder!

He went to work, proceeding cautiously and thoughtfully. Several approaches were considered and discarded. As the sun was sinking towards the horizon, he finally succeeded. Ranma looked around, pride and astonishment clearly evident on both of his faces. He had finally improved upon the "Splitting Cat Hairs" technique, and now he had two real and solid bodies. His one mind was shared equally among both of his bodies -he was seeing through two pairs of eyes, with two points of view, and similarly all the sensory input of both clones was experienced by just one martial artist with one mind, two bodies, and two brains.


Imagine a wavy "end of extended flashback" sequence here...


Two weeks later Nabiki Tendo found a note on her desk. "Nabiki: Will be returning to Nerima tomorrow. You may prepare, but don't tell anyone outside your immediate family. Ranma."

Ku Lon and Ukyo Kuonji found similar notes. The Kunos did not get evening there was considerable excitement, speculation, and anticipation in three Neriman households.

As Tofu Ono was finishing up his day's paperwork there was a knock on his door. "It's me, Ranma. May I come in?"

Dr. Tofu blinked in surprise and hurried to open the door. "Ranma - how nice to..." His voice trailed off in confusion. Ranma bowed and entered, and entered, and entered, and entered. Tofu chuckled, and then burst out laughing. "You just don't seem to be able to do things the way that normal people do, Ranma."

One of Ranma's four bodies answered, "Sensei, I just cannot do 'normal.'It's one of the few things I can't do." Another body added, "And I haven't managed to do 'boring' yet either."

"You'll have to tell me all about it," said the good doctor with a smile.

Ranma gave him a synopsis of all that had happened since Tofu left Nerima.

"Fascinating," muttered the doctor, unconsciously doing a Spock imitation. "Can you revert to only one body?"

"I can, but it's uncomfortable. Now I have more ki than one body can comfortably hold - when there's only one of me I feel like an overstuffed sausage, or an overinflated balloon."

Ono nodded. "I never heard of anyone having too much ki before, but then I don't think anyone has ever had as much as you do now. You said that all your bodies share one mind?"

"Yeah."

Ono chuckled. "Have you ever heard of multiple personality disorder? Some doctors believe that more than one personality can sometimes inhabit a single body. You seem to have invented multiple body disorder..."

Ranma paused briefly. "Actually, Doc, I may have a little of that multiple personality thing too. There seems to be a girl mind and a cat mind sharing space in my skulls, but my boy mind is usually in control,"Ranma admitted.

"So you're a small society all by yourself?"

Ranma nodded in unison. "Sensei, I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you some questions."

"Ask away. I was planning to have dinner soon. Would you like to join me? We can talk while eating."

"I accept, if you let me furnish the meals." Ranma cleared a space and recreated some of Kasumi's cooking from memory. Tofu didn't look surprised, but he did appreciate how good the food was.

"Tell me about your life, sensei. What you do, what you like about it,what you don't like."

"You don't want much, do you? Planning to follow in my footsteps?"

"Perhaps. Fixing people up is probably better than breaking them, I suppose."

They talked late into the night.


In another universe entirely Nightmare finished consuming the ki of the last life forms on the last inhabited planet. This whole universe was now sterile and barren, just like all the other universes Nightmare had visited before. In a billion years life would evolve again wherever it could, but Nightmare couldn't wait. It was hungry now! It was time to move on. Fortunately, there were a large number of universes awaiting his visit...

Like a beehive or an ant colony, Nightmare had a 'group mind'. Each of his particles had only primitive instincts and behaviors, yet collectively they seemed to act in a more intelligent fashion. It had no sense-of-self,because it had no self per se, and thus no sense of self-preservation, but it had still managed to survive and grow for many thousands of years. Nightmare also had no memory, so it might as well be a newborn...


Early the next morning, but not too early, one of Ranma's bodies knocked on the Neko Han Ten door. Shampoo eagerly opened the door, but something about Ranma's posture warned her not to glomp him. She silently led him into the restaurant.

Mousse, seeing an opportunity to strike, attacked Ranma from behind with a broadsword. There was a sound like a sword striking a slippery fire hydrant. Ranma was unaffected and pointedly ignored Mousse.

Cologne appeared. She had a sudden impulse to perform the "crouch of the wild tiger," but suppressed it. A matriarch did not bow to any male. Ranma, still ignoring Mousse's noisy but futile attacks, greeted her."Good morning, Elder Ku Lon. I trust I am not interrupting anything important."

The matriarch stared at him. She had never felt anyone with so much power, and this person displayed more maturity and confidence than Ranma had ever shown before. This man had slain Saffron when he had only a fraction of the power he now possessed. Ranma was obviously tolerating Mousse's misbehavior as a demonstration of the futility of attacking him. Cologne's internal warning flags went up. She would have to be very cautious until she had evaluated Ranma's new relationship to the Amazons."You are always welcome here, Ranma," she said politely.

Shampoo blinked. Great grandmother called her airen "Ranma" and not "son-in-law." Something was up.

"Excuse me a minute, Elder," said Ranma. Moving faster than the eye could follow he whirled around and grabbed Mousse's sword blade between the thumb and index finger of his hand, halting the sword in mid-swing. He snapped off the last eight inches of the blade, making it look easy, then brought the fragment of the sword to his mouth and bit some off. Ranma chewed and swallowed while Mousse looked on in open-mouthed disbelief.

"Shoddy workmanship," announced Ranma, "May I have some mustard, please?"

Cologne boggled at this display, but she gave Ranma a mustard dispenser."How?" she asked.

"Oh, I survived Akane's cooking," explained Ranma flippantly. He spread mustard on the rest of the blade fragment and finished eating it, then smacked his lips. "Much better."

Mousse was incredulously feeling the broken end of his sword with a finger when Ranma pointed a finger at the remainder of the sword. The broken weapon burst into flame and was soon consumed, leaving not even an ash. Mousse staggered back.

Ranma leaned closer to Mousse's face solemnly warned, "If you ever attack me again, duck boy, you'll have to pee sitting down for the rest of your life. Get it?" Only Mousse could see that Ranma's eyes were ablaze with bright blue flames. Mousse fainted. Ranma gestured and Mousse's body slid across the floor coming to rest where it would be out of the way.

Cologne and Shampoo were drawing lessons from this little display. Clearly, he was warning them that you mess with Ranma at your own peril. It was prudent to be very polite and see what developed.

Ranma addressed Cologne. "Elder, I have come to discuss paying court to Shampoo."

Shampoo squealed, "I'm so happy." She prepared to glomp her airen, but Cologne stopped her.

Ranma continued, "Notice what I said. I'm not accepting her Amazon marriage, I'm not accepting an engagement. I merely want us to get to know each other better, to see how we get along, and to see if getting closer is in our best interests."

"I see," said Cologne. It sounded like the best deal she could get under the circumstances. Nobody could make this Ranma do anything he didn't want to do. "What about your other fiancees?" she asked.

Ranma gave an enigmatic smile. "At this very moment I'm at the Tendo's making the same offer to Akane, and at Ucchan's making the same offer to Ukyo."

Shampoo was bewildered. Cologne hoped that Rod Serling would pop in and explain everything. "What?" they chorused.

Ranma extended his hand. A piece of paper with two phone numbers on it appeared. "Give them a call and confirm it. The Tendos are about to call you, but you still have time to call them first."

Cologne dialed the first number. "Moshi, moshi...Ah Nabiki, this is Cologne...Yes, Ranma told me you were about to call. Is he there? May I speak with him, please?" She looked back to confirm that Ranma was still in the Neko Hand Ten. "Yes, I see. Thank you. Goodbye."

Cologne dialed the second number. "Ranma, is that you? Ah, you were expecting my call. Is Ukyo there? May I speak with her, please? Yes, it's very confusing. He's at the Tendo's too...Very well. Goodbye."

"Would somebody please tell me what's going on?" pleaded the matriarch.

"Perhaps I should explain," said another of Ranma's bodies, entering through the front door.

Mousse had revived but was playing possum. Upon seeing two Ranmas he fainted again. Shampoo was considering joining him in dreamland. Even Cologne was looking shaken.

The new arrival explained, "You see, I currently have four bodies; two are here, one is at the Tendo's, and the last is at Ucchan's place. There is really only one of me - I have one mind, one soul. I also happen to have four brains, eight eyes, and forty fingers. Each of my bodies knows and feels everything that any of my other bodies knows and feels. Yes, it took me a while to learn how to handle this multiplicity, but I think I'm getting good at it now."

"Four Ranmas?" exclaimed Shampoo, "Surely I can have one!" She silently thought, "or more!

" "That's what I came here to discuss," reminded the Ranma nearest to her."The question is how comfortable are you going to be with a person like me? How comfortable can I be with a person like you?"

"You is mighty, mighty warrior," declared Shampoo. "Amazon womens do anything to get a husband like you!"

"Even give up the idea that men are weaker than women?" asked Ranma.

Cologne said, "You've single-handedly disproven that notion, , it will be hard to change the ingrained habits and customs of our entire tribe."

Ranma examined four of his hands. "Single-handedly, Elder?" has asked,sounding amused.

Cologne could contain herself no longer. "How do you do that?"

"It's an improvement to your 'splitting cat hairs' technique, of my new techniques are improvements to existing techniques; some of them are my own invention."

"Can you teach us any new techniques?" asked Cologne, her Amazon instincts kicking in.

"I could teach those that do not require large amounts of ki. I'm not going to tell you how I generate so much ki for my own use."

Cologne nodded. It sounded like a good deal. Ranma was being prudent.

The recently arrived Ranma interrupted. "Excuse me, but I'm needed somewhere else now." He phazed through the wall like a ghost, then flew away at high speed. The Amazons blinked in unison.

"Is there anything that he can't do?" Shampoo wondered aloud.

Ranma asked Shampoo, "How would you feel if I were your husband knowing that every time one of my bodies made love to another woman your Ranma would know and feel everything? How would you feel about my other bodies knowing and feeling it when we made love?"

Shampoo laughed, a delightful sound. "Silly Ranma. In Amazon village it is expected that powerful males like yourself take many wives. Usually all share one big bed. Sometimes other wives assist in the love-making. Is fun, it not a problem."

"Ack!" That was more than Ranma wanted to know. "How would you feel about not returning to China except for brief visits, and living here in Japan?"

"For anyone else it would be problem. If you make me your wife, I would give up China in a heartbeat. Ranma, I do not love you only because you are too, too good fighter. I love you because you are strong and kind and honorable and cute and have great butt. No one else can measure up to that."

Ranma felt humbled by this declaration of unconditional love.

Cologne spoke up. "Surely, if three of your bodies remained here and one went to the village with us, then the Ranma in China would not feel that he had left Japan, because he would see and feel what all his Japan-based bodies feel."

"I hadn't thought of that," admitted Ranma.

Cologne continued, "Besides, we need you there. The other Amazons won't change their ways or modernize their customs on my say-so alone. We need your example and your guidance."

"You make a good case, Elder. I shall have to think about it."

They spoke for many hours. After Ranma left Cologne observed that his mood was much better than when he had gone on his training trip almost a year ago. The training trip had been good for him. Now Ranma was much more powerful, more mature, more self-confident, and potentially even more dangerous if angered. It was good news and bad news. She was glad that she had not told him that his purified ki was similar, but not identical,to the mana that powered the magic of the gods; there's no telling what he would have done with that knowledge.


Earlier that same morning Ukyo was oiling her griddle in preparation for the new day. She was excited because her Ranma would be here soon. Konatsu was sweeping the floor again - everything had to be perfect today - when he saw a pair of black slippers that had Ranma's feet in them. He looked up; the rest of Ranma was here too.

"Good morning, Ranma," said the kunoichi politely, "I hadn't heard you come in."

"Sneaking up on a kunoichi, now that's pretty good," said Ranma good-naturedly.

Naturally, at this point he was glomped by and enthusiastic Ukyo."Ranchan!"

Ranma tolerated the glomp from Ukyo that he would have rebuffed from Shampoo. Konatsu was staring at the entry door in confusion - it was still locked. More Nerima weirdness.

"We weren't expecting you so soon; your year isn't up for several weeks,"Ukyo said. "Was your trip successful?"

Ranma nodded. "I wanted time to train and to think so that I could take control of my own life. I've made quite a bit of progress - now nobody can tell me what to do!"

That brought Ukyo up short. Was he telling her that he was breaking their engagement? "Ranchan...what about us?"

"That's what I came here to discuss. I'd like to have something like a normal boy-and-girl relationship, free from prearranged marriages and honor agreements, so that I can court you like any other man would. If we like each other and are compatible, then we can progress to engagements and marriage. Is that okay with you?"

Ukyo looked sad, then tried to hide it. "It's not really okay, Ranma. I've dreamed of spending the rest of my life with you. I thought our engagement was a done deal. Now you want to back off and go more slowly. Do I mean so little to you?"

Ranma looked her in the eyes. "You've been a close friend for over a decade, and I don't want to lose that ever. But you're not the person I met when I was six, and I'm not even the same person I was last year. I've changed. Do either of us want to be married for life to someone we don't even know well today? Is that what you want?"

Ukyo was taken aback. "Well, if you put it that way, I guess it makes sense. You want us to get to know each other before tying the knot..."

"I know I don't often use the word 'normal,' but that's what I want. I want a normal friendship, and a normal courtship, free from pressure and prior commitments. I want to get to know you, and for you to really get to know me. Is that too much to ask?"

Ukyo managed a brave smile. "The thought of Ranma doing anything normal would shock anyone who thinks they know you. I am disappointed, of course, but what you suggest makes a lot of sense. I guess I really don't want to be 'married for life' to someone I really don't know."

Ranma and Ukyo searched each other's faces. Each found acceptance mixed with longing in the other's expression. Konatsu sighed.

Ukyo broke the silence. "I can see that you've changed. You're more self-confident, more mature than I remember. And it's obvious that you're a lot more powerful too..." She trailed off, unable to frame the question that was on her mind.

Ranma decided that a little demonstration was in order. "Would you like me to make an okonomiyaki for you?" he asked mischievously.

Ukyo was surprised. "Hey! That's my job!" Then she heard a familiar sizzling sound and smelled a delicious aroma. She looked, and found three hot 'Ranma Specials" cooking on her cold griddle. A quick check showed that the okonomiyaki was indeed hot while the griddle was still cold. When she had partially recovered from her shock, she managed to ask, "How?"

Ranma placed the okonomiyaki onto three plates that hadn't existed a moment before. He offered one to Konatsu and one to Ukyo before he began to eat the third one himself.

"This is quite good," admitted the chef. "Was that magic, or something else?"

"I think it's a martial arts ki-based technique. Maybe it is magic. In either case, I've been eating quite well recently."

"What else can you do?" asked Konatsu enviously.

Ranma floated upwards and sat cross-legged in midair. "Well, let me think.I can resist being harmed by melee weapons. I can walk through walls..."

"Is that why the door's still locked?" Konatsu interrupted.

Ranma answered, "Yes. Oh, and one more thing - I can be in four places at once."

"Really?" exclaimed Ukyo. It was becoming clear that she didn't really know her childhood friend after all. Perhaps he was right about getting to know each other again.

"More accurately, I have a variable number of bodies. Currently, I'm most comfortable with four bodies. It's hard to explain, but there is only one Ranma - one mind, one soul, four bodies, eight hands. Each body feels and knows everything that the other bodies do, because there's only one me."

Ukyo stepped back in surprise. "So when I hugged you..."

"My other selves felt it just like this one did," finished Ranma. "It took me a while to learn to coordinate and handle all this multiplicity."

"Oh my goodness. So if another girl hugged one of your other bodies..."

"It would feel the same as if she were hugging this body."

Ukyo felt dizzy and sat down. "Can I marry all four of his bodies? Can I share my husband? What are the legal implications? And what about Akane? Or Shampoo?"

The phone rang. Ranma answered because Ukyo was in no condition to do so."Hello, Cologne." A moment later he turned toward Ukyo. "It's for you."

Ukyo accepted the handset. "Yes, Ranma's here too. I find this very confusing. Oh, he's at the Tendos too? Thank you for calling. Goodbye."

"You may want to call the Tendos too," suggested Ranma. "I'm there also."

Ukyo had the number memorized. "Moshi, moshi. Ah, Nabiki - is Ranma there?Yes, he's here too and I'm very confused. Thank you. Bye." She turned to the nearest Ranma. "Are you making them the same offer that you gave me?"

Ranma nodded, looking sober. "Nabiki is looking into a legal way for me to marry several people. I wish her luck. I just hope that at least one of my fiancees is a good choice. I don't want to wind up alone, especially after the chaos that has marked by life so far."

"You didn't say anything about Kodachi, or any of the others," observed Konatsu.

"I may lead an unusual life, Konatsu, but I'm not crazy. I don't want anything to do with any of the Kunos."

Konatsu and Ukyo chorused, "Amen!"

Their conversation lasted for a few more hours.


Author's Notes

There are other multiple-Ranma fanfics out there. This is not one of them.