Chapter 19 The return of Kodachi
Ranma was sitting by the koi pond, watching his girls sleeping in their stroller. His wife was talking with her sisters in the dining room, so they had banished him from the house. He could hear the occasional giggle through the door, so he figured they were still talking about things he really didn't want to know about. Life was pretty good right now, the dojo was making money, he was with the woman he loved, his family life was mostly settled, though he was missing his Pop occasionally.
He sighed to himself. 'Ok, when are things going to fall apart? I'm starting to get nervous,' he thought.
"Hello, Ranma," a voice said behind him quietly. He turned, there standing behind him was Kodachi, but this didn't seem to be the same girl. She was dressed plainly, standing there with a meek, downcast expression on her face.
"Kodachi," Ranma said finally in a neutral tone.
"I need to talk to you," she said, "Tachi said you were back, that you were married to Akane, with two children. I guess I had to see it that was true."
"My daughters, Nodoka and Kimiko," he said pointing, "Akane is in the house."
She grew still for a minute, and then looked at the girls sleeping peacefully. "The look gorgeous," she said, then "I never had a chance with you at all, did I?"
"No, Kodachi, you didn't, no one did. I've always loved Akane since the day I met her. It just took me a long time to admit to myself, much less to her. It took me almost losing her to realize what I had found. All of the other women chasing me were just a nuisance, sorry," he replied.
"I want you to know that I'm not the same person who was chasing you; sometimes I can barely remember who that person was. I don't much like that person. I need to thank you for that," Kodachi said softly.
"Huh?" Ranma asked.
She sighed, and then knelt on the ground in front of him, her long black hair touching the ground around her. "Gomen nasai," she said, "I had been, well, crazy, before I met you. I know that now. I took my mother's death pretty hard, and I changed. I couldn't handle the pain of losing her and I started dabbling in all those drugs and potions and what I took changed me into who I was then, the Black Rose. Then you came along, and I saw a beacon in the darkness of my life. A part of me was using you to escape the person I had become."
"But you became obsessed with me, I didn't much like that you know, you were pretty scary," he said. Ranma was watching Kodachi. Even though she was saying all of the right things, something didn't feel right. He checked to make sure he was between Kodachi and his daughters. He watched her eyes carefully. Almost as if a switch had been thrown, the light of sanity faded from her eyes and they began to blaze. She stood up, spun around, and was suddenly dressed only in her gymnastics uniform. She began laughing her manic laugh, and lashed out with her ribbons, saying, "You betrayed me with that bitch." As the ribbons neared him, he grabbed them, ignoring the cuts they were making in his palms. He tensed and then leaped past her, spinning the ribbons around and entangling her in them. She began to struggle, but he ran up behind her hit the pressure point at the back of her neck. She froze.
The door to the dining area flew open. Akane and Nabiki ran out. Nabiki stopped taking in the scene, and then quickly made two phone calls on her cell phone. Akane ran over to check on the girls. They were still sleeping peacefully. Akane grabbed the stroller, and took the girls back inside the house. Nabiki walked over after completing her calls and put a pair of handcuffs on Kodachi.
"I've called Kuno, and her doctor. They are getting the commitment papers ready today. Some orderlies should be here soon to take her away," Nabiki said.
"Uh, thanks, sis. She almost had me fooled there for a minute, but something felt off-key," said Ranma, "Uh, do I really want to know why you have handcuffs, and fur-lined ones at that?"
"No, it's none of your business," she said, blushing. Ranma's eyes went wide as a vision popped into his head. His face went beet red. Nabiki just laughed and said, "Pervert."
Kuno came rushing in through the gate and ran over to where they were. "Ranma, gomen nasai, we thought she was really cured. I wouldn't have told her you were here otherwise," he apologized.
"Don't worry, bro; no one got hurt. See that she gets the care she needs, though," Ranma said, "I also think you need to have Tofu look at her. While I was watching her, it looked like she changed into a different person. I thought I sensed something odd about her aura when it happened."
When the orderlies arrived, they put Kodachi in a straightjacket and put her in the ambulance and drove off. Kuno and Nabiki left in Kuno's car, following behind.
Ranma just shook his head in sorrow. He entered the house, and closed the door behind him. Akane found him cleaning his wounds. They weren't damaged too badly, but she put some bandages on them anyway, and then hugged her husband. "They committed her, Akane, hopefully she'll get the help she needs," Ranma said.
After Kodachi was placed in her room at the hospital, Kuno went to find her doctor. He told her about all that Ranma had said, and ended up suggesting that she bring Tofu in to consult on his sister. The doctor agreed, and called Tofu. Ranma had already called him, so he was aware of what had happened and readily agreed to come right over.
Tofu walked into the room where Kodachi lay staring up at the ceiling. He asked, "Kodachi, what happened today?" He watched intently at her aura.
"I don't know doctor. I was at the Tendo home apologizing to Ranma. The next thing I remember is waking up here. Did something happen," Kodachi asked softly.
"You went berserk, and attempted to attack Ranma and his girls. He stopped you, and your family brought you here," Tofu replied, "You haven't had any of these episodes in a long time, so we are worried about you."
In a much harder voice, Kodachi said, "You don't need to worry about me, you need to worry about the man who betrayed my love." She pulled against the restraints, attempting to get free. Tofu's eyes narrowed. Ranma was right, there had been a major change in her aura, almost as if there were two people inside Kodachi.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Kodachi. I don't like seeing my sister-in-law in so much pain. But Ranma was never yours to begin with. He was always Akane's," Tofu said, watching carefully. He felt a surge of anger, a sense of darkness, coming out of Kodachi. "I'll be back later to talk to you, for now, why don't you get some rest?" he said as he left. He walked into the observation room to find Kuno and the doctor waiting. "Ranma was right. There almost seems to be two people inside of Kodachi. One the girl who honestly felt sorry for what she had done, the other felt like, for lack of a better word, a demon. It didn't feel like a split personality, though. There was something else involved. I need to bring in my sensei. He is much more knowledgeable about this than I am. With your permission, I would like to call him in on this case. If it's what I think it is, we will need his help."
Kuno nodded his head, saying, "Bring in whomever it takes, my brother. We need to take care of our sister. If your sensei can help cure her, I will owe him a debt of gratitude."
"I will call him immediately," Tofu replied, "The sooner he is here, the sooner he can confirm my fears."
Author's note: Corrected a typo