Well, here it is.  The final part of my Kodachi story.  Been a struggle
in the making, this last part especially.  I'd be very interested in
hearing what you have to say.

If you need previous parts to this story, let me know and I'll mail them
to you.

Again, if you have *any* comments, good or bad, I'd *love* to hear
them.  I want to know how well this works.

I will eventually be going back and reworking the entire series, to
reflect the excellent C&C I've received so far.  Then I'll send it to
raac.

Gawds, I love the FFML.  ^_^

The end follows the sig.  Anxiously awaiting your reaction.

-Richard
sterman@sprynet.com

|-------------------------------------------------------|
| All of my fanfics can be found on my fanfic web page: |
| http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/sterman/fanfic.htm    |
|-------------------------------------------------------|


---------------------------------------------------------


Flap.  Flap.  Flap.

The sound echoed loudly off the bare floors and walls.  Ranma would
never have thought that soft shoes could make so much noise.  He began
walking heel-to-toe to stop the pounding.  For some reason, the silence
only emphasized the emptiness.

He stopped in front of a window overlooking an alley.  The building
opposite was as old and worn as the one that housed the apartment. 
After the simple beauty of the Tendo home and the stated elegance of the
Kuno mansion, places like this seemed so... lifeless.

Ranma raised his hand and made a fist.  He tapped it lightly on the
windowsill, controlling his breathing with difficulty.

The woman standing in the doorway cleared her throat.  "You indicated
that a private bath was necessary?"  She pointed at another door.

Ranma relaxed his hand, then went over to the door and opened it.  The
fixtures looked to be several decades old, but it was a complete bath. 
Most importantly, no one would peek in on him during some potentially
embarrassing moments.

He nodded and turned towards the woman.  "I'll take it."

She smiled and named an amount, including first and last month's rent
and a deposit.  It was expensive, but Ranma knew it was as cheap as he
could get in Tokyo.  He reached into his backpack and pulled out some
money.  He counted off the amount, paused a moment, then handed it to
the woman.  She nodded and had him sign some documents.  She gave him a
key, then closed the door on her way out.

Ranma put his backpack on the floor.  He separated the sleeping mat and
unrolled it.  He sat cross-legged on it, looking around at the studio
apartment.  *His* apartment.

His because, for the first time in his life, he was alone.  Completely.

He swallowed heavily, wondering at the burning in his eyes.  He lay on
the mat and stared at the ceiling and thought about nothing at all until
it hurt.


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 Ten: His Rose is True


Ranma entered his room.  After all this time, he was still uncomfortable
with how sumptuous it was.  Still, he had come to appreciate the desk,
the closet, the private bathroom - unheard-of luxuries only a few weeks
ago.

He sat at the desk and took out his homework.  It was fairly light
today; he figured he could polish it off quickly before dinner.  After
that, he was due at the Tendo's.

The time flew by rather quickly.  Sooner than he thought, the bell was
ringing indicating that dinner was ready to be served.  He quickly
finished the essay he was working on, pronounced his homework done, and
rushed to the dining room.

Kodachi and Tatewaki were already there.  Ranma could feel the
uncomfortable tension between them.  Kodachi was still pushing her
brother to get treatment, and Tatewaki was still resisting.  Ranma was
on Kodachi's side, of course, but his involvement was minimal for now.

The food was served, and was excellent as usual.  Ranma shook his head,
wondering what would happen if he ever had to do without someone else's
cooking.  He and Genma had been able to take food and make it mostly
edible, but they'd never pass as cooks.

"Ranma-sama."  Kodachi's voice was bright.  "Would you like to accompany
me to the hospital tonight?"

Ranma just barely managed to keep his eyes from popping out of his
head.  "What?"

"I'm going to go visit Kimiko.  She's wanted to meet you for the longest
time."

Ranma's mind raced.  Kimiko.  The older woman who had taken a liking to
Kodachi during her stay in the psychiatric ward.  "Uh, sorry, I, uh, got
homework to do tonight."

Kodachi's face grew cold.  "Oh."  She looked down at her food.

Damn.  Something was wrong.  He needed her to feel good, to be
distracted by something.  "Say, Kodachi, is that Tohru guy going to be
there?"

Kodachi didn't look up at him.  "I do not know.  Perhaps.  I am not
going there to see him, but if he is there, I would enjoy talking with
him."

Ranma beamed.  "Yeah, that'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

Kodachi didn't answer.  She ate her rice without looking at him.

Something cold was settling into Ranma's stomach.  This was not good. 
"I mean, he sounds like a great guy.  Smart, knows all that drug stuff
you like so much."

Kodachi continued to ignore him.  Ranma bit his lip, wondering what he
needed to do.  Something, *anything*, and quick.  "Um, maybe later
tonight, when you get back from the hospital, we can, uh, talk or
something.  If you feel like it."

At this, Kodachi looked at him.  Her expression was still cold as she
chewed on something.  Finally she swallowed, placed her chopsticks
firmly on the table, took a sip of tea, and rose.  "Ranma-sama, we must
talk."

"Uh, but I've got homework to do right now.  I mean-"

Kodachi's tone of voice brooked no argument.  "Now, Ranma-sama."

Ranma sighed, put down his own chopsticks, and followed Kodachi.

She led him to her parent's bedroom.  Ranma felt more than a little
alarmed, wondering what she intended to do to him.  Kodachi walked over
to a painting and pulled on the frame.  It swung open, revealing a safe
behind it.  Kodachi turned the dial several times, then opened it.  She
reached inside and pulled out a large bundle of yen.

She turned to face Ranma and rifled quickly through the yen.  She
counted under her breath, then held out most of the yen towards Ranma. 
"Here."

Ranma furrowed his brow.  "Huh?  What's that for?"

With a tsk of annoyance, Kodachi turned back to the safe.  She put the
smaller pile of yen back into the safe and closed it.  She walked over
to Ranma, grabbed his hand, and put the yen into it.  "Take it,
Ranma-sama.  It's for services rendered."

Ranma looked at it, utterly confused.  "For what?"

"For getting me into psychotherapy, and for helping me recover
afterwards.  I have acclimated sufficiently, and your services are no
longer required.  I believe a million yen should suffice."

Nothing was making sense.  "Kodachi, I wasn't-"

"Get out!"  Kodachi pushed past him towards the door.  "When I get back
from the hospital, I expect you to be gone."

Ranma gaped after her.  He ran and grabbed her arm at the door. 
"Kodachi, you don't-"

"Do you think me stupid, Ranma-sama?"  Kodachi looked into his eyes.  To
his shock, he saw tears there.  "There was a time when I could ignore
the obvious, create my own reality.  I was not as good as my brother, of
course, but I was able to deal with things that didn't go as I wanted
them to.  Now, thanks to your help, I can see things with perfect
clarity."

Ranma shook his head, still confused.  "What things?"

"Please, Ranma-sama, do not play the innocent with me."  She put her
hand on his chest and shoved him against the door frame.  "Who is it
that you are going to meet tonight?"

The blood drained from Ranma's face.

Kodachi continued before he could answer.  "Who is it that you saw
yesterday morning?  Who is it you were thinking of all during our picnic
together?  Who is it that you went to go see that one day in the ice
cream parlor, 'disguising' yourself as a woman so that I wouldn't know
it was you?"  She brought her head closer to his.  "Who is it,
Ranma-sama?  And don't lie to me.  You've been so truthful with me in
other areas.  Try to live up to that standard now.  Who is it?"

Ranma somehow brought moisture to his mouth.  "A-Akane."

"Akane," Kodachi said in confirmation.  "All along, it's been Akane,
hasn't it?  You fought me on her behalf.  When I forced you to move in
with me, you kept a link with her.  Kept her appraised of my mental
health, told her how our relationship was going.  Conspired with her to
get me sane, in the hopes that once cured I would see how impossible our
engagement was, and release you.  Release you so you could fall back
into her arms."

Ranma tried to protest, to try and tell her she was reading it wrong,
but couldn't find the words. 

"Well, it worked."  Kodachi removed her hand and stepped back.  Tears
were flowing freely down her face.  "I am sane.  Or as sane as I can be,
anyway.  Sane enough to know that you could never find me desirable. 
Sane enough to know that you don't love me, will never love me.  That
forcing you into marriage would make both of us miserable."

"K-Kodachi, I'd like us to-"

"Oh *please*, Ranma-sama."  Her voice was close to a sob.  "Spare me the
'friends' speech.  I don't want your pity or sympathy.  You performed
remarkably well in getting me into therapy, but now that's done and you
can drop the pretenses.  G-go to the one you r-really love."

Kodachi fled down the hall.  Ranma paused a second, then ran after her.

Halfway down the hall, she whirled on him.  Ranma nearly crashed into
her.  She screeched at him.  "Stop, Ranma-sama, just stop.  I'll be
fine, I've got my psychologist that I hate and a brother who's crazy and
with their help and support I'll get by.  You didn't want to be my
caretaker forever, anyway."  She grabbed his shirt and shook him.  "I -
WILL - SURVIVE!  The Kunos have always had a knack for survival, and I
don't need the largess of Saotome Ranma any more."

She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder for a
moment.  "You don't want me, no one's ever wanted me, not my mother not
my father no one.  I am unlovable, and the one man who has ever shown me
the smallest amount of kindness did it only so he could be rid of me.  I
wanted you to like me, I did everything I could to get you to like me,
poisoned myself tortured myself, tried to be friendly and nice and I
actually was almost able to fool myself into thinking that you *did*
like me.  But I can't, I can't anymore.  It takes too much effort to
maintain the facade, makes it harder for me to deal with reality."

Kodachi pushed herself away and looked into his eyes.  "It has to be
over, Ranma-sama.  I've reached the point where you're doing me more
harm than good.  So p-please, for both our sakes, just leave.  You can
have Akane and I can have my sanity and we can each take comfort in
those things and remember the one or two moments of illusion w-we two
sh-shared."

She began to sob in earnest.  She turned and fled down the hall once
again.

Ranma stood as still as a statue.  He didn't want to breathe, didn't
want to move or hear or see, for any of those things would cause him to
shatter on the spot.

Slowly, he lifted his hand to stare at the money he held in his hand. 
One million yen.  The same amount of money Kodachi had paid Genma.

At long last, he thought to himself, I have become my father's son.

He ran to his bedroom, determined to be packed and gone before he threw
up.

---

Ranma walked down the road in a daze.  Kodachi's words were
reverberating around in his brain, and they wouldn't go away.  With each
repetition, his despair and self-loathing grew.  What was truly
terrifying was the thought that perhaps it would have been better to go
to San Francisco after all.

He was a block past the Tendo home before he realized it.  Smiling
grimly, he turned around, wondering if this was how Ryogas were created. 

Ranma walked up the path and knocked on the front door.  He stood,
wondering if he truly cared if it was answered.

It was answered, and by the one person he most wanted to see.  Akane was
frowning as she opened the door.  "You're la-"  She broke off as she saw
him.  Ranma could only imagine what his face must look like.

She looked down behind him at the backpack he was wearing, then back
into his face.  "You... moved out?"

Ranma blew out a breath.  "Was thrown out, more like it."

"Ah so."  She examined him a moment longer.  She smiled, then sobered. 
"I suppose we should talk."

"Yeah."  He shrugged out of his backpack.  Akane stepped back, and Ranma
entered the house.  He put the pack on the floor, and followed Akane as
she went upstairs.

They entered her room.  She shut the door, then turned towards him.

Silence as they stared at each other.  Then Akane took a quick step
forward and hugged him fiercely.  Ranma sighed and hugged her back.

She spoke into his shoulder.  "How are you feeling, Ranma?"

"Oh, I don't know."  Ranma shifted his head slightly on her shoulder. 
"Horrible."

Akane separated slightly, grasping his elbows and looking up at him. 
"Why?  Isn't this what you wanted?"

Ranma grimaced.  "Well... yeah.  But... Kodachi... she didn't take it
well."

Akane cocked her head.  "Did you expect her to be happy about it?"

Ranma hung his head.  "I didn't expect her to... to be... to act so..."

"You didn't expect her feelings for you to be genuine."

"Damn!"  Ranma released her and turned away.  He looked out the window. 
"I thought she was just... infatuated.  That once she got stabilized,
she'd stop being so obsessed with me."

Akane's hands were still held out from where she had been holding him. 
She slowly folded them across her chest.  "A-and it hurts you to see her
in such pain."

Ranma turned back towards Akane.  "I just wanted to help her.  Why did
she have to be really in love with me?"

"You don't know, Ranma?"  Akane shook her head, looking annoyed.  "You
went out of your way to help her, got her into therapy, showed genuine
concern for her, and you can't figure out why she might be in love with
you?"

Ranma ran his hands through his hair.  "God, this was so screwed up.  It
shouldn't have been this way."

Akane spoke in a curious tone of voice.  "And what way should it have
been?"

"I don't know!  I don't know!  If... if Kodachi hadn't ever gotten ill,
if her mother hadn't left, if her father wasn't so screwed up, too..." 
Ranma shook his head, frustrated with how unfair life was.

Akane was looking at him strangely.  There was a deep pain in her eyes
that Ranma couldn't fathom.  Suddenly a huge smile covered her face. 
She sauntered up to Ranma, reached up, grabbed the back of his head, and
brought him down for a kiss.

Ranma locked up.  He'd never kissed anyone before, ever.  When he hadn't
been attending an all-boys school, he'd been on some training trip or
other with Genma.  Women had always been strange creatures;
inexplicable, unknowable.  Even becoming one himself had done little to
lift the mystery.  And now here was one in front of him, kissing him,
and he had no idea to react.

He stared cross-eyed at her nose.  She moved her lips slightly, and it
sent strange sensations through him.  He closed his eyes to better
concentrate on the feeling, and found that it was very pleasant.  He
moved his lips a little bit, and she responded, and it felt very good.

Her lips left his, and Ranma stood there, his eyes still closed,
enraptured.

A voice drifted from somewhere nearby.  "Did you enjoy that,
Ranma-sama?"

"Yeah.  Thanks, Kodachi."  He started, and his eyes flew open.  "Huh?"

"I thought so."  Akane smiled at him sadly.  "The reason you're feeling
so bad is because you have some feelings for her, too."

"Hey!"  Anger roiled from somewhere inside Ranma.  "What the hell was
that all about!"

Akane sighed and sat in the chair at her desk.  She stared down at her
desktop, her eyes wide and unfocused.  "I've been thinking about this
for a long time, ever since Kodachi came and took you away.  Ranma, you
know what your problem is?  It's that you don't know your own heart."

Ranma growled.  "What would you know about it?"

"Because I have the same problem."  Akane pushed a pencil around with
her finger.  "We both hate to be forced into things.  We hate it so much
that we let it color all of our perceptions.  We were so angry at our
fathers for forcing the engagement that we didn't stop to think that we
might not have minded so much."

That brought Ranma short.  The words sounded very familiar.  Kodachi had
said something like that.

Akane looked over and nodded at his reaction.  "It also didn't help that
our... relationship as man and woman got off to such a bad start.  We
were always snapping at each other, and otherwise not treating each
other very well."

"B-but Akane..."  Ranma was having trouble with his breathing.  "It
never meant nothing."

Akane spoke in a very serious and somewhat tremulous tone of voice.  "Do
you remember when I was training for the match with Kodachi?  How you
sat there and made fun of me?"  She drew in a breath.  "That hurt."

Ranma looked into her eyes and found that he didn't have anything to
say.

Akane's eyes were watering.  "To be honest, I... I wasn't always fair to
you.  I didn't treat you very well, either.  We weren't acting very much
like people who w-were supposed to be engaged."

A thick silence hung in the air.  Ranma desperately tried to stave off
something he didn't want to happen.  "Akane..."

"Do you know what I felt the day after Kodachi had taken you away?  Do
you know?"  She rubbed the tears out of her eyes.  "Relief."

The word was physically painful to hear.  Ranma trembled where he stood.

Akane's eyes began to wander around the room.  "That surprised me.  I
thought about it for a long time.  A very long time.  I decided that I
was relieved because the fighting was over.  I could walk to school and
have a nice talk with Nabiki.  I could come home and relax.  At no time
was I fighting.  With you."

Ranma finally found his voice.  "Didn't... weren't there some... good
times, too?"

Akane shrugged.  "Yes.  But not enough.  Not enough to make up for the
other times.  The times where I was shouting and angry."

She looked into his eyes again.  "You may not believe this, but I don't
like myself when I'm angry.  When you left, I stopped being angry and
started feeling better about myself.  At the same time, that made me
feel guilty.  I mean, I... should have missed you more.  But I didn't."

Ranma's legs seemed to lose their strength.  He leaned against the
wall.  "I... I never meant for you..."

"I know.  Oh God, Ranma, I never meant to make you feel bad, either. 
Maybe if we hadn't been forced into that damned engagement.  Maybe if we
hadn't had that accident in the bathroom, if we'd been able to hold on
the good feelings we felt during the workout in the dojo.  Maybe maybe
maybe."  Her voice caught on the repetition.  "Too many maybes."

Ranma struggled to gain control of the situation.  It was slipping
away.  Again.  "But, Akane, the pressure's off.  There's no one forcing
us.  Can't... can't we begin again?"

Akane looked at him for a while.  Then she smiled softly.  "Ranma,
believe it or not, I would sometimes fantasize about you saying
something like that to me.  I'd picture you acting kind and decent and
considerate.  It's nice to see.   I w-wish I'd seen it sooner."  Her
smile faded.  "I wish I'd acted that way sooner.  But right now... I
can't.  Too much went wrong, too quickly."

Ranma swallowed.  "I'm sorry.  For everything."

Akane nodded.  "Me too."

"Can't... can't you give it a chance?"

Akane looked at the floor for a long time.  Then she sighed.  "Maybe. 
Maybe someday.  When we can put this behind us."

Ranma tried to take hope from her words.  He didn't much succeed.

"Ranma..."  Akane stood up and walked over to him.  She reached up and
rapped his head a couple of times with her knuckles.  "You are so dense
sometimes.  Mostly about your own feelings.  You spend so much time
trying to get out of things you've been forced into - your curse, our
engagement, the Kuno mansion - that you don't stop to think about your
own heart.  Stop and listen to it sometime."  She gulped.  "You might be
surprised at what it tells you."

Ranma couldn't meet her eyes.  He knew she meant well, but her words
were hollow in her ears.  "Yeah, whatever."  He pushed himself off the
wall and stepped past Akane.  "I gotta go."

"Ranma."  She grabbed his arm.  Her voice had a touch of desperation in
it.  "Please don't hate me?"

He relaxed his voice marginally.  "Hate you?  Never."

"Can- can we be friends?"

Ranma fought the shudder off.  "Sure."

"Good."  But her voice sounded sad, as if she knew what his real
feelings about that were.

Ranma broke free from Akane and left the Tendo home and went nowhere at
all.

---

Ranma stared at the ceiling of his new apartment.  Hours and hours he'd
spent not thinking.  Something had to give soon.

Finally, something did break through: disgust.  Here he was, paralyzed
with fear, lying around doing nothing.  That was not the way he lived
life.

He sat up and tried to think about trivialities.  He'd skipped a day of
school to find this apartment.  He'd have homework to make up.  And
stuff to buy.  The stuff in his backpack was good enough for a
wilderness campout, but not sufficient for urban living.  He'd need a
desk or table or something.  A lamp, too, he noted as the sunlight began
to fade.  Stuff to cook with on the hotplate that came with the
apartment.

His mind began to move again.  A bit of energy to lighten up the
depression.  He began to try and organize the tasks he needed to.  He
reached into his backpack and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. 
After a moment's thought, he began to make lists.  

So many things he needed to do.  So many things he needed to get right. 
Time to stop waiting for things to happen so he could react; time to
start making his own mark in the world.  Beginning with this apartment. 
*His* apartment.  *His* life.  

A jolt ran through him, revitalizing him.  His hand began to move more
and more frenetically, scrawling entries on the pad as the things he
needed to do became clear.  Akane and Kodachi had both been right; he
had to stop feeling so damned sorry for himself.

He almost smiled.  He was Saotome Ranma, which meant that nothing could
keep him down.  He'd almost forgotten that this time.  He'd been so
worried about things he'd forgotten to just relax and have fun.  He
resolved never to do that again.

The depression left him like a two-ton weight off his shoulders.   His
spirit soared as it hadn't since the gymnastics match.

He was Saotome Ranma.  He would be just fine.

~*~

AUTHOR'S NOTES

I found it interesting that people, in reading previous parts, couldn't
believe that this could possibly end in ten parts.  In my mind, I've
been building to this conclusion for quite some time.  What do you
think?  Did things seem rushed in this part?  I didn't think it was, but
I'd be *very* interested in your opinions.

About the prologue: should I do it?  Does it give too much away, spoil
the moments that follow?  I've been going back and forth on it myself. 
I thought it made a nice bookend with the scene at the end.  My
prereaders liked it.

What about the confrontations with Kodachi and Akane?  How real did they
feel?  I'm especially concerned about the Akane one.  I don't know if it
works.  My prereaders were split on this, so I'd sure like your opinion
as well.

Speaking of prereaders: thanks to Sebastian Weinberg, Zen, Nicholas
Leifker, and Sean Gaffney (aka "The Guys") for their superlative C&C. 
Also, I had a lot of good help diagnosing Kodachi's mental illness: 
thanks to David Lerman, Bob Barnes, alt.support.depression.mania, and
The Pendulum web page.  Anyone who identifies very closely with
Kodachi's problems may want to check out The Pendulum
(http://www.pendulum.org).  It is an excellent resource for information
about bipolar disorder.

Oh, and one more thing.

---

Kuno Kodachi sat on the roof of her family's mansion.  On her left was a
pile of black roses, the result of hours of painstaking effort.  She was
taking them one at a time and methodically pulling the petals off until
one remained.  She would stare at the sole petal for a moment, then
added the deflowered rose to the growing pile on her right.

Ranma watched for a while, then picked up his bookbag and walked towards
her.  He leapt in the air, twisted, and landed on his feet in front of
her.  "Hey, Kodachi."

Her eyes widened.  "Ranma-sama."  Her voice was halfway between
irritation and hope.  "I thought I told you never to return."

"Yeah."

"Yet here you are."

"Yeah."

"I should summon the police."

"Do you want me to go?"

Kodachi looked down at the rose in her hands.  "I don't know what I want
anymore."  She continued to pull petals from it.

Ranma sat cross-legged in front of her.  "Whatcha doing?"

"Playing, 'he loves me, he loves me not'.  I had difficulty accepting
the answer I had discovered for myself, so I decided to let my beloved
roses determine the answer for me."

She came to the last petal and stared at it.  "They, too, tell me an
answer I do not want to hear.  I have been trying other of my roses, but
the problem is that I created them all with the same number of petals. 
So they all give me the same answer.  Eventually, I suppose, I will
listen.  Eventually.  But I have not yet excised all of my foolish
hopes, so I keep playing this game."  She set the bare rose aside, and
pickup up another full one.

Ranma grunted.  He opened up his bookbag and reached inside.  "Maybe you
just need to use something different."  He removed a white rose and held
it out to her.

Kodachi froze in place, staring at the rose.  Ranma wasn't sure she was
breathing.

She lifted her eyes and stared at him.  He grinned back at her.

Her voice came as if from a distant place.  "You don't like me."

Ranma snorted, still smiling.  "Says who?"

"You were always going to see Akane."

"Well, I probably still will, like you go and see Kimiko.  We're just
friends."

"You wanted to get away.  Everything you did was to find a way to leave
me."

"I was an idiot."

Kodachi's expression was slowly turning incredulous.  "B-but you don't
want to take care of me forever and ever.  I don't want that, either."

Ranma laughed.  "So, okay, we take care of each other.  God knows, I
need help sometimes.  Lots of times."

She was breathing heavily.  "Ranma-sama..."

"Look, how about calling me Ranma?  I ain't your superior."

Kodachi's voice was trembling.  "Ranma.  You're not teasing me?  Not
trying to get something out of me?  I can give you more money."

Ranma tsked and shook his head.  "C'mon, Kodachi.  Is it so hard to
believe that someone might like you?  I ain't lying, not now, not about
this.  Never again, if I can help it."

Kodachi spoke in a small voice.  "You like me?"

Ranma nodded firmly.  "Yeah.  Yes."

A tear trickled down her cheek.  Slowly, she put the black rose she was
holding in her hand on the rooftop, then reached out and took the white
rose from Ranma.  "Sh-should I pull off the petals?"

Ranma smiled.  "How's about we just say that we both know what the
answer really is, and leave the rose alone?"

Kodachi gave him a weak smile.  She smelled the rose, then put it in her
hair, her eyes not leaving his.

Ranma felt incredibly good.  This was nice, this not denying stuff. 
He'd have to try it more often.

He turned and sat next to Kodachi.  "Now, I was talking of needing your
help.  I got a lot of stuff I need to take care of and I need your
advice."  He reached into his bookbag and pulled out his pad of paper.

Kodachi leaned into him, clutching his arm as she read the pad.  "'Pots
and pans and stuff'?  You know, Ranma-s... Ranma, you could move back in
here."

Ranma paused for a moment.  "Uh, I don't think that's such a good idea. 
I mean... well, I don't want either one of us to think that the only
reason we were going out was so I could freeload off of you.  That's
why, once I get settled, I'm gonna work out some kinda repayment plan
for the yen you gave me."

Kodachi looked up at him.  "There is no need.  You performed a service
and were compensated."

Ranma shook his head.  "Nah.  I helped you for my own reasons.  Not
exactly alteristic of me."

Kodachi lifted a corner of her mouth.  "Altruistic."

"Uh, yeah, that too."  He flipped past several pages on the notepad. 
"Anyway, it was this list I needed help with."

Kodachi frowned.  "I am not sure I can understand your handwriting."

"Well, I was a little excited when I wrote it.  First of, I gotta find
my father and set things right with him."

Kodachi stiffened.  "I- I share some responsibility in that."

Ranma nodded.  "A little, yeah.  You weren't feeling well at the time,
so I don't blame you so much.  Still, I could use your help."

Kodachi considered the pad silently for a moment.  "All right."

Ranma grinned.  "Great.  Also, one of my friends is lost.  No one's seen
him for weeks.  I should find out where he is.  I'd like to get cured,
too.  Gotta figure a way around Shampoo first, though.  Oh, and I want
to help you with your brother, if you'll let me."

Kodachi spoke softly.  "I'd like that.  Anything else?"

"Not right now.  I'm sure more stuff will come up.  It always seems to."

"Funny you should mention that."  Kodachi reached over and pulled out
something half-buried in the discarded roses.  "This was found at our
front gate this evening, evidently left there by someone who didn't know
you'd moved out."

Ranma frowned at it.  "What is that?  An okonomiyaki?"

"Yes.  A challenge is written on it."

Ranma snorted.  "Weird."  He suddenly grinned.  "This is more of what
I'm used to."

"Evidently."  She looked up at him.  "I believe, however, that there is
no problem that we two cannot overcome."

Ranma smiled back at her.  "I think so, too."

Kodachi shook her head in wonderment.  "I cannot believe my eyes and
ears.  Can this really be Ranma?  He isn't shy about expressing his
feelings, isn't afraid to ask for help, and confronts difficult
emotional issues head-on."

Ranma chuckled.  "I just decided to listen to a good friend of mine. 
She told me to listen to my heart.  I did, and I sure like what my heart
is telling me."

Kodachi reached up with one of her hands to touch his cheek.  "I love
you, Ranma."

Ranma bit his lip.  "Well, I, uh, ain't quite ready to say the same
thing back to you, yet.  Let me just say... I mean, I like you.  And the
possibility... the possibility for more is there."  He smiled gently. 
"Fair enough?"

She smiled, a tender smile he had never seen in her before.  "It is more
than I had ever thought possible."  She looked evenly at him.

He was getting better at this telepathy stuff.  Ranma bent his head down
and kissed Kodachi.  And decided that white roses were definitely more
his flavor.


ROSES OF SHADOW - THE END