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Redemption
by Soul Survivor
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First Fic Alert - Be Gentle!

Ranma 1/2 is the property and creation of Rumiko Takahashi, and whoever else 
owns it. I'm not making any money off of this so don't sue me. Besides, good 
luck if you tried. I'm broke.


"..." Denotes Speach
-...- Denotes Thoughts


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Prologe
Choices
============


The evening breeze swept over Nerima, bringing relief from the days heat, 
kicking up leaves and general debris in the streets.  It also cooled the 
brow of a certain pigtailed martial artist relaxing on top of the Furinkan 
Clock Tower avoiding the general chaos that surrounded her life.

For the first time in days, Ranma-Chan felt at peace, no fiancee's chasing 
him, no rivals attacking him, no parents pressuring him to marry anybody.  
Not even being in her cursed form disturbed her serenity at this point, and 
all was well with the world... Or so she thought.

"Hello Mother..."  the unexpected voice broke her from her reverie, as she 
crept around the side of the tower to see who was there.

-Aw nuts, Kodachi!-  Indeed it was, the deranged gymnast was standing on the 
ledge that surrounded the upper portion of the tower, rocking back and forth 
  on her heels, and conversing with the night sky.

"I know it has been a long time since I last spoke with you mother.  There 
are many things I want to tell you...  I know mother, I should speak to you 
more often, Gomen..."  As she listened to the one sided conversation 
Ranma-Chan notice that Kodachi seemed strangely subdued, almost deflated in 
he posture, as if carrying the weight of the world.

"Yes mother, 'tatchi is well, and father is... father, you know that he will 
never change.  Brother still continues his pursuit of Akane Tendo, and she 
still refuses him, as does his osage-no-onna, he will never learn.  What of 
me?  Yes mother, I am still pursuing my relationship with Ranma-sama... 
Mother... You know I love him, all he needs is time to admit his feelings... 
Yes Mother, I am willing to wait for him..."

Ranma-chan silently crept her way back around the tower, heading for the 
stairs, when a new sound stopped her in her tracks.  The sound of Kodachi 
sobbing.  Regardless of of her madness, regardless of her attacks on her 
cursed form, regardless even of her chilling maniacle laugh, the one thing 
Ranma-chan could not deal with was a womans tears, even Kodachi's.  Without 
concious thought she made her way back to where Kodachi continued her 
monolouge.

"... dont know who I think Im fooling, mother" she sobbed "he will never 
love me, no one will.  I dont know what to do anymore, no matter how I try, 
he rejects me, over and over, I.... I cant take anymore, mother.  He is the 
only bright spot in my life, he chases the monsters away.... Heh... then 
again, mother, that is the problem, you see, to him I am a monster, I can 
see it in his eyes, I can feel his fear, his revulsion when I stand before 
him, there is nothing I can do to change that.  He will always chase me 
away, like the monster that I am," quiet revulsion fills her words "but then 
again, I gave hime every reason to feel that way, did I not?  I've hounded 
him, drugged him, threatened those close to him.... Ive made myself into the 
moster that he fights, mother, the foul creature that he defends his friends 
and family from mother, and there is nothing I can do to change that 
impression he has of me, its to late, and I cant take it anymore!"

As she spoke, her rocking motion on the ledge became more and more 
pronounced.  Ranma-chan knew she had to do something before Kodachi allowed 
herself to fall.  Attempting to restrain her physically would be far to 
dangerous, there was less than a foot of space on the ledge, and no real 
hand holds at all.  If she were away from the ledge, the chances of stopping 
her would go up exponentially, if ranma where in male form, that would be 
easy, simply stand at the center of the tower and call out to Kodachi, hell, 
doing that he would need a crowbar to remove her.  For the first time that 
night, Ranma-chan silently cursed the old washer woman that had soaked her 
on her way here -Talking to her as I am now would simply provoke an 
attac....  Of course!!  I'ts just as ood, stand in the center, piss her off, 
then get her off the tower when she attacks me..-  Plan in mind, she took up 
her position and then spoke.

"What Kodachi?  Are you really gonna make it that easy for me to get Ranma?"

Perfect, the perfect position to stop her, the perfect phrase to get her to 
fly off the handle, everything was perfect... except that Kodachi was not 
cooperating.

"You...  somehow it is fitting that you should be here." her voice was 
devoid of any emotion, her eyes had no spark at all "Tell Ranma-sama that I 
love him... and that I apologize for my behavior"  with that, she simply let 
herself fall forward, off the roof.

"NO!!"  With one last desperate lunge, Ranma-chan threw herself at the 
falling gymnast, thanking the Kami for the extra speed that her cursed form 
provided.  Catching Kodachi by an ankle, she frantaclly grabbed for the 
ledge itself to keep from falling, latching on to it, she felt her shoulders 
scream in protest as Kodachi's body impacted the side of the clock tower.  
Slowly and laboriosly she pulled herself back onto the roof, dragging 
Kodachi behind her.  Once they were safe, she examined the unconsious 
gymnast, finding only minor bruising -Why Kodachi, why this?- The answer 
came to her almost immediately, every thing she hade ever said to her, every 
blow struck, every insult hurled, all whirling around in her head as she 
gazed at Kodachi's tear streaked face.

"Im sorry, Kodachi" she whispered, "I'm so sorry...."  Gathering the 
unconcious girl in her arms, she made a silent vow to never let things get 
this far out of hand again, even if it meant watching over Kodachi like a 
hawk for as long as necessary.  That decided, she made her way down the 
stairs and out into the night, towards the Kuno Mansion.


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