As always, let me know what you think. Some of the points brought up in
C&C are addressed in this part (which was written before I released part
one).
I'm especially interested in your views on Kasumi's dissertation on
near-c travel. :)
----------------------------------------------
Why should poor beauty indirectly seek
Roses of shadow, since his rose is true?
Why should he live, now Nature bankrupt is,
Beggar'd of blood to blush through lively veins?
O, him she stores, to show what wealth she had
In days long since, before these last so bad.
excerpt from Sonnet LXVII
by William Shakespeare
ROSES OF SHADOW
By Richard Lawson
Part Two: Now Nature Bankrupt Is
Ranma watched the birds across the street. They seemed to be playing a
lively game of tag. One would take off, and another would immediately
follow. They'd flit across and around the street before coming to rest
on a wire or tree branch, chittering loudly. Ranma enjoyed their lively
play.
Nabiki walked by, smiling and winking her eye. Ranma nodded absently to
her. Soon thereafter, Akane came by. Ranma straightened from where he
crouched atop the fence and walked along it next to Akane.
They walked for a while in silence before Ranma asked the same question
he'd been asking for a week. "How's your father?"
"Angry. So angry still." Akane's voice was mixture of frustration and
sadness. "He keeps talking about how betrayed he feels. His life-long
friend has sold his son, choosing money over honor."
Ranma shook his head. "I kinda always thought our fathers were just the
same. But there's one big difference. Your father has honor."
"Yeah. Maybe too damned much. I don't know why he's taking it out on
you."
"Sins of the father and all that." Ranma shook his head. "How long do
you think it'll be."
It was another question Ranma asked almost daily. This time, however,
Akane's answer was a lot more pessimistic. "A long time, I think. He's
not furious any more, but his anger is constant, simmering. I haven't
seen him this way since... in a long time."
"Damn." Ranma was a little surprised at the vehemence in his voice.
Akane tried to mollify him. "Don't worry, we'll get through to him.
Nabiki works him over all the time. Even Kasumi helps, in her own way.
He'll break down, he always does."
Ranma allowed himself to take a little comfort in her words. He knew he
needed all the hope he could get.
Akane looked over at him. "Still bad?"
My, she was being solicitous today. Ranma shook his head. "Nothing I
can't handle."
Akane said nothing in a very irritated way. Ranma let out a sigh of the
unjustly persecuted.
They went on to school in this manner. Ranma had to fight hard not to
smile.
---
Ranma ducked under the hoop and crouched, waiting for Kodachi's next
attack. She had another hoop in her hand and was whirling it above her
head, watching him closely.
Ranma took in the tactical situation. He had to stay away from the
pond, for more than the obvious reasons - that alligator behaved nicely
around Kodachi, but he'd seen it devour a side of beef with unbridled
enthusiasm.
Ranma also had to avoid Kuno. Kuno always stayed in one area of the
backyard, but defended that area with vigor. While Ranma could handle
Kuno easily, he'd leave an opening while doing so, and Kodachi was
uncanny at exploiting such openings.
Another hoop came flying at him. He rolled to the side as the hoop
buried itself deeply into a tree. Kodachi was not holding back at all.
Ranma kinda liked that about her.
Still, he was beginning to figure her out. As versatile as her attacks
were, they were still limited in number. He had the hoops, balls, and
clubs worked out; she'd never be able to hit him with any of those.
The only thing he hadn't yet got a handle on was her ribbon. As he
watched, she pulled the damn thing out and began twirling it ominously.
She could do a heck of a lot of things with it, as if it were a part of
her body she could control with just a thought.
Ranma slowly straightened, keeping his hands ready. He wanted to try
something different today. The ribbon came flying at him. Instead of
trying to avoid it, he grabbed it with his hands. Kodachi tried to rip
it out of his hands, but he was ready for it and instead gave the ribbon
a strong tug himself. Kodachi, refusing to let go, was lifted off her
feet. She flew through the air a few feet before landing,
somersaulting, and jumping to her feet. By that time Ranma had gained
enough slack on the ribbon to throw a couple of loops around her,
pinning her arms to her side.
Ranma grinned. "Gotcha."
"That you did, Ranma-sama." Her voice was a little off. Ranma studied
her, and noticed that her cheeks and eyes were shining. Ranma winced
internally; for the past couple of weeks she had been bright and
cheerful. She still poisoned his food - Kuno had been a big help in
identifying what was safe to eat - and she fed her dangerous pets with
relish. But overall she'd been friendly and solicitous.
Yet there was always an edge to her voice, a hint of something only
barely controlled. It surfaced sometimes when she laughed. Now it
seemed to be coming out again. Ranma quickly went over and unwrapped
her ribbons. "You okay?"
She laughed, which caused the hair to rise on Ranma's neck. "I'm fine,
Ranma-sama!" Still laughing, she bounced into the house, leaving black
rose petals in her wake.
Ranma frowned. The rose petals were new. That is, this was the first
time he'd seem them since moving into the mansion. He wondered what
they meant. He wondered if it was safe to wonder.
Kuno finished his practice and walked by Ranma into the house. They
ignored each other. Ranma had never cared much for the pompous jerk,
and the extra time with him hadn't improved Ranma's opinion. Kuno, for
his part, seemed to ignore just about everything. He lived in some
private world that only allowed for occasional intrusions by reality.
Ranma waited a moment for Kuno to find his way, then went in after him.
He walked down the hallway, and stopped at the sight of Kodachi. She
was still wearing her leotard, but had thrown an apron over it. She was
on her hands and knees polishing the woodwork.
He never could understand it. Kodachi would spend hours each day
maintaining the large Kuno mansion. There were, indeed, no servants
employed by the Kunos. Kodachi did all of the domestic work herself.
She threw herself into the menial tasks with zeal, cleaning, dusting,
vacuuming, and washing for hours on end. She was Kasumi on
amphetamines.
Ranma stepped down the hallway so he could see her face clearly. Her
eyes were mostly focused, which was good. She was concentrating every
bit of her attention on the grains of wood in front of her. Ranma knew
she would be doing this late into the evening, possibly even after
midnight.
He decided to leave her alone. He went up to the room he slept in. He
didn't want to call it "his" room; he didn't feel comfortable in it. He
hadn't slept in a bed in years, and found the things too soft and
luxurious for his tastes.
Also, he hadn't slept alone in his entire life. Much to his disgust,
there was a large part of him that missed the company of the old man.
Ranma shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. He washed up in the
private bathroom off of the bedroom. And then, because he had
absolutely nothing else to do - heck, even a fight with Ryoga wouldn't
have been so bad - he began his homework.
---
Ranma dropped into place beside Akane. They began their journey to
school together.
Ranma spoke quietly. "How's-"
"Nothing's changed." Her voice was irritated and angry. "If something
changes, I'll tell you. There's no reason to pester me every day."
"I ain't pestering you!" Ranma whipped his head away. "No reason to
take it out on me."
"Take *what* out on you?"
"The fact that you- we're not engaged anymore. It ain't my fault."
"Who says I wanted to be engaged to you, idiot! Go ahead and sleep with
that deranged floozy, see if I care!"
"I am *not* sleeping with her!"
"You have merely to ask, Ranma-sama."
Ranma nearly jumped out of his skin. Kodachi dropped from a tree and
landed in front of them. She was dressed in the school uniform of St.
Hebereke's, which was nowhere near Furinkan. Her eyes were slightly
wild and drifted in and out of focus.
She looked angrily at Akane. "Is this how you keep your promises?"
Akane's temper was more than equal to the task. "I never made any
promise. You just assumed I had. Nobody asked what I wanted. Nobody
*ever* asks what I want!"
"Poor dear." The words were said with a ghost of mockery, as if Kodachi
was trying to taunt Akane but couldn't quite remember how. "Everyone
picks on you, how sad." Her voice hardened. "Still, you would do best
to remember that your engagement was nullified. Ranma belongs to me."
That was enough for Ranma. "Shut up, Kodachi. Damn it! I belong to no
one!"
Her eyes swiveled to meet his. "Is this how you operate, Ranma-sama?
Do you have so little honor that you cannot see any commitment through
to completion?"
The words cut him to the quick. "I have honor, Kodachi."
"Oh?!" Akane now turned on him. "What does that mean? Do you *want*
to marry that... that... Kuno?" She said the family name as if it was
an insult.
"I didn't say that!" Ranma was angry beyond reason. "You're always
jumping to conclusions, always assuming the worst about me, always
calling me a pervert and stuff. You can't think of why I might be glad
we're not engaged any more?"
Akane exploded. "I only said those things because you *are* a pervert.
You probably peek in on Kodachi and pose for Kuno, right? I don't know
why we keep trying to get you out of that hellhole. You and Kodachi
deserve each other."
She stepped around Kodachi, heading towards Furinkan. "Keep him, see if
I care."
Kodachi called after her in a reasonable simulation of anger. "Stay
away from my fiancee!"
Akane yelled over her shoulder. "Tell your fiancee to stop pestering
me!" She began running quickly away.
Kodachi turned back to Ranma, a small smile on her face. "Good. That
problem is solved."
Ranma had never wanted to hit a woman so much in his life. Had never
wanted to hit *anyone* so much. "You enjoyed that, didn't you?" He was
surprised by how soft and deadly his voice was.
She laughed insanely, as always. "Merely protecting my investment,
Ranma-sama. Can't let some harridan take you away from me."
Ranma made a fist with one of his hands, then unclenched it after a
second. "Get out of my sight," he said through clenched teeth. He
stepped around her, taking the same route Akane had taken.
"Ranma-sama..." Her voice sounded almost pleading. Ranma couldn't care
less. He needed very much for her to disappear forever.
---
Ranma lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling. Life was hell.
School had been decidedly unpleasant. He and Akane had ignored each
other with a ferocity that sent whispers throughout the halls of
Furinkan. Ranma had snapped at everyone around him and had spent a good
deal of time out in the hallway holding a bucket of water.
Returning to the Kuno mansion had found Kodachi folding clothes at a
frenetic pace. All of Ranma's dinner had been poisoned, leaving him
with what he could scrounge from the kitchen. Kodachi had not
participated in a workout after dinner, instead concentrating on
polishing the silverware. Ranma had examined her eyes; she was mostly
present, but flickering wildly in and out of reality. He had judged her
to be several days away from re-entering the cell, if his limited
experience was any guide. But she had been extremely worked up, and
dealing with it in her own peculiar way.
Ranma sighed and wondered at what his life had come to. Everything had
been relatively okay until China. When the old man had taken him to the
springs with no idea of the dangers that lurked there. When the old man
had forced him into an engagement with someone he'd known nothing
about. When the old man had reneged on that engagement and sold Ranma
to an unbalanced woman.
Damn the old man anyhow.
"Psst."
Ranma frowned and sat up. "Kodachi, go to bed."
"Shut up, boy." The stage whisper was coming from the window. "Pack
your things and let's get out of here."
"Pop!" Ranma sprang up and ran over to the window. Genma has crouched
on the windowsill, looking furtively around.
"Hurry," Genma whispered urgently, "before the Kuno family ninjas come
after us."
"They don't got no ninjas, Pop." Still, hurrying before Kodachi found
out was good. "Wait."
Ranma ran over, opened the closet, and grabbed his backpack. He spent
two frantic minutes shoving his things inside. He was missing some of
his clothes, including one of his favorite shirts. Kodachi had them
with the laundry. The hell with them, he decided. He had other
priorities now. He shouldered his backpack and ran to the window.
"Ready."
Genma was looking around the well-appointed room. "Did she give you any
money? Jewels? Surely she gave you something nice and valuable that
isn't too heavy?"
"Pop!" Ranma pushed him off the windowsill. Genma fell to the ground
and stared up in surprise. Ranma jumped and landed lightly on the
ground beside him. "Enough, Pop. I don't want to take nothing from
this place. Let's go."
Genma grunted in disappointment. Nevertheless, he ran off into the
night. Ranma followed.
They ran through the streets, backtracking and changing direction
several times. It was a routine Ranma was familiar with; his father was
trying to avoid any would-be pursuers. Ranma wondered when they would
begin to make their way back to the Tendo Dojo.
After a while, it became clear they were leaving the city. Ranma looked
back towards Nerima and grabbed Genma's arm. "Pop, where are we going?"
"We can't stay here, boy. It's too hot. Kodachi will be looking for
us, and Tendo has... well, we won't be welcome there for a long time."
Ranma growled, but had to accept the logic. Maybe in a few months they
could return, and Kodachi would have forgotten all about Ranma and
fixated on something else. And Soun wouldn't be mad anymore and would
let them say in the Tendo house again. And Akane... and Akane would be
there.
Ranma resigned himself to patience, something he wasn't used to.
"Okay. Where are we going?"
Genma turned and began walking off. "San Francisco."
Ranma stood frozen. Genma walked quite a distance before reluctantly
turning back to stand in front of Ranma again. "C'mon, boy, who knows
what forces she can bring to bear?"
"San Francisco? San Francisco?" Ranma literally could not believe his
ears.
Genma sighed. "We need to get far away. Besides, I have a friend we
can stay with. Owns a jewelry store there. His wife's younger sister
is unmarried, too. I was thinking -"
"San FranCISCO!" Ranma grabbed his father's gi. "Are you outta your
mind, Pop? I am *not* going to America."
"Boy," Genma said in a pleading voice, "we can't stay here. Kodachi's
got thugs that can track us all over Japan. Besides, America will be
good for you. Maybe we could get you into the movies or something."
"That is IT!" Ranma shoved Genma away. "I am damn tired of you
screwing around with my life, Pop. First China, then the engagement,
then Kodachi, and now this! Not to mention all the trouble we got into
before. I've had enough!"
Ranma spun on his heel and stormed away. "You've screwed up my life
enough. You sold me, Pop. Sold me and deserted me. I'd say that means
you've given up the right to tell me what to do."
Ranma stopped when he felt Genma's grip on his shoulder. "Boy." Genma
sounded defensive, almost petulant. "I was always coming after you.
This was an easy way for us to make a million yen. Now we've got it and
we can move on, go to the next town like we always have."
Ranma turned his head and looked at his father. "Does honor mean so
little to you? Just a way to fool people long enough so you can steal
from them? I thought you were better than that. You taught me better
than that. Why can't you live up to your own words? Why can't you
uphold the honor of the Saotome clan?"
The old man didn't answer. He stared at Ranma, something like shame
covering his face.
Ranma shrugged his shoulder out of his father's grasp. "Don't even try
to talk to me until you've grown up, Genma."
He stalked off, leaving his father behind.
---
The streets of Nerima were mostly deserted. Ranma walked around them
with no clear idea of what he was going to do now.
In the back of his mind, he'd always known that the old man would be
coming for him. He'd been biding his time, waiting for Genma to rescue
him. Little had he realized that he was only going to be taken from one
bad situation and put into another. He couldn't rely on Genma anymore.
For anything.
So what was left to rely on?
Honor. The word came back to him. So long he had berated his father
for having no honor, yet he had been willing to run away from his
obligations at the drop of a hat. He'd been having a bad time - a
*horrible* time - and had jumped at the chance to escape.
"Do you have so little honor that you cannot see any commitment through
to completion?" Kodachi's words buzzed through his head. As horrifying
as it was, his father had the right to arrange whatever engagement he
saw fit. He had arranged something with Kodachi that, despite the
motivations behind it, Ranma was honor-bound to accept as valid. The
prior engagement to Akane was not binding at this time, since both Genma
and Soun had repudiated it.
Ranma idly wondered what other agreements Genma had made on his behalf,
and when those might be coming up to bite him.
Ranma grimaced. There was no helping it. He'd have to stay with
Kodachi until he could find a way to get her to annul the engagement.
Once Kodachi had released him, he could go and talk to Soun and try to
convince him that honor meant more to him than it did to his father.
He remembered Akane's angry shouts this morning and quickly revised his
plan. All he had to do right now was get out from underneath Kodachi's
thumb. He could decide what to do then.
Reluctantly, he made his way back towards the Kuno mansion.
This late at night the gate was locked, the only token effort at
security the Kunos made. Ranma had never bothered to learn the code to
activate the gate; instead, he leaped over the wall and landed inside
the grounds. He made his way to the mansion and entered the foyer.
The mansion was dark. Ranma removed his shoes and padded across the
thick carpet. He stepped on something sharp and cried out. He reached
down and picked it up, examining it as best he could in the darkness.
It was a fork. One of the pieces of silverware Kodachi had been
polishing earlier.
Something twisted Ranma's stomach. He walked into the dining room. As
his eyes adjusted he could see more silverware littering the floor. A
few of the knives were stuck in the wall.
"Damn," Ranma said softly. Using all of the courage he could muster, he
reentered the hallway and found the door that led to the basement. He
opened it and walked down.
The lights were on. He could see the door at the end of the hallway
perfectly, just as he could hear the sobs quite clearly.
Ranma moved slowly down the hallway. He paused at the door, then used
all of the willpower he had at his disposal to slide open the window.
Kodachi was inside, wearing her apron over her school uniform, just as
he'd seen her last. She was kneeling on the ground, crying and sobbing
and rocking on her heels, all just like before. This time, however,
instead of the feather duster, she was cradling one of Ranma's shirts.
Ranma closed the window with a snap. The crying inside continued
unabated; he was certain she wasn't aware of him.
He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to be here. Every fiber of
his being called on him to run down the hallway and up the stairs. He
wanted to find his father and go to San Francisco and leave this all
behind. Problems unrelated to martial arts were things to be avoided if
possible, run away from if necessary. He'd never had to deal with
anything serious, never had to help someone with a deep emotional
problem, and he preferred to keep it that way.
Run. Run now. Leave your honor behind. What the hell good has it ever
done you anyway.
Ranma reached down and grabbed the door handle. He tried to turn it.
It was locked. He began to pull his hand away, paused, then gripped it
tightly and twisted convulsively. Something snapped, and the door swung
open.
Kodachi turned at the intrusion. She looked up at him. He had to keep
from recoiling. Her eyes were red and her face was puffy. Her
eyeshadow had mixed with her tears and left black streaks running down
her face. Her lip was trembling and her eyes were distant, unfocused,
mad.
Ranma quailed and actually leaned backwards, preparatory to turning
around and running. He scrapped together every last bit of courage,
honor, and self-respect that he possessed, and held his ground.
Slowly, very slowly, her eyes began to focus. As they did, astonishment
began to fight through her sobbing, along with a kind of fearful hope.
"R-ranma-sama?"
Ranma nodded. "Yeah," he said in a subdued voice. "It's me."
"You... you came back. You didn't leave me." She said this with
amazement.
Honor compelled him to say the next words. Honor, and something else.
He knelt on the ground in front of her as he said them. "I ain't gonna
leave, Kodachi. Not without your say-so."
Her sobs, which had been ebbing, began again in full force.
"Ranma-sama!" She reached over and hugged him fiercely, sobbing into
his chest. This sobbing sounded a little different. Ranma could
hear... control. It wasn't hysterical, it wasn't unstoppable. It
sounded more like... relief.
He sighed and hugged her to him, stroking her hair and comforting her.
And as he did so, he felt something release inside him, something that
told him he had done the right thing, and had begun something that was
going to be all right.
~*~
END PART TWO (more to come)