Akane had been surprised when Ranma fell in love with Kodachi Kuno, but that was mostly because she’d had trouble believing that anyone could fall in love with the Black Rose of St. Hebereke. In the past, she’d had multiple encounters with the captain of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics team, most of them unpleasant. Kodachi was a ruthless competitor whose perfect record at Rhythmic Gymnastics matches was mostly the result of her tendency to attack and incapacitate her opponents before the match began, resulting in their forfeiture. Kodachi called it “preemptive fighting.” Akane called it “cheating,” and had proclaimed that Kodachi was nothing more that a spoiled brat who couldn’t handle the idea that the universe didn’t revolve around her. The pair had come to blows on several occasions, with the fights that occurred before matches with the Furinkan Gymnastics team being the most intense.
After all, Ranma had rebuffed her on several occasions, mostly because he found the gymnast’s obsession with him “really creepy,” especially with her habit of orchestrating elaborate “surprises” apparently intended to entice Ranma to her boudoir. She sent him various “presents,” such as a pair of leather pants (which were sized perfectly for Ranma), an exhaustive shibari manual, several varieties of whips, and a ball gag. Ranma didn’t have a clue what all the stuff was supposed to be for, but he had been really “creeped out” nonetheless. She also used the wealth and influence to finance several public declarations of her love, like a skywritten message saying “Be the father of my child, Ranma Saotome,” or a sexually explicit topiary which suddenly appeared in the middle of the park where Ranma had been camping with his father.
Ranma somehow managed to tolerate these shenanigans, but when Kodachi disguised herself as Kasumi in an effort to get close to him, that was the final straw; he’d actually shouted at her, telling her in no small terms that he wanted nothing to do with her, and that the only reason he hadn’t pounded her into the ground was that his personal honor code forbade unnecessary violence against women. Akane, for her part, was convinced that violence was the only way to get Kodachi off one’s back and was therefore absolutely necessary.
Thus, when Ranma professed his love for Kodachi, Akane had, at first, believed her friend to be under the influence of one of the gases and potions that the gymnast routinely used in competition. It wasn’t until Ranma actually convinced Kodachi to formally apologize for all of her antics and abdicating her Rhythmic Gymnastics championship that Akane realized that their relationship was genuine. Subsequently, she began to warm up to the Black Rose, if only because Kodachi and Ranma spent so much time together.
Much later, when the two actually considered each other friends, Kodachi revealed to Akane that she’d been undergoing therapy for various mental health problems. Apparently, a week or so after the “Kasumi” incident, Ranma had convinced her to seek professional help in exchange for a date, and it was during the weeks immediately following, as Ranma had used further dates to get Kodachi to continue with her therapy, that the martial artist had managed to find the “real” Kodachi buried under the layers of “issues.” According to Ranma, it was this Kodachi, who was a “sweet girl who just had a lotta problems,” whom he’d fallen in love with, and not the Black Rose, whom he described as “a total wacko” (incidentally, Kodachi agreed with this assessment of the Black Rose).
Ranma hadn’t attached any strings the marriage, though he had explained that he wanted to cement their relationship before he left with his father on a three-month training trip. Their relationship had had more than its share of bumps, but Ranma eventually came to believe that Kodachi really needed him to be there for her—and he vowed that when his training was over, he would be there. The Tendos had promised to check on Kodachi frequently, to see how she was doing and to make sure that she didn’t relapse into her previous delusions.
Akane still didn’t quite get it, but Ranma was happy, and Kodachi was happy, so she was happy.
And now, Ranma was coming home.
Akane picked up the telephone and dialed Kodachi’s number at the Kuno mansion. This line had been installed when Kodachi’s older brother Tatewaki had decided that Akane was the only woman worthy of his attention, and had tried to “woo” her. Unfortunately, this had mostly involved his declaration in front of Furinkan’s student body that only those who could defeat Akane in single combat were allowed to date her. Of course, Akane had responded that this declaration was comprised of bovine fecal matter, but that hadn’t stopped a horde of perverts gathering each morning in an attempt to win a date. Thus, after her first call to the Kuno mansion had been picked up by Tatewaki, who took this as proof that Akane was madly in love with him and had immediately proposed over the phone, it became clear that any future communication would require a separate phone line.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Kodachi, it’s Akane.”
“Akane! How are you?”
“I’m fine, and you?”
“Fine, I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Well, it’s nothing much—I just miss my Ranma-sama.”
Akane had never understood why Kodachi had given her beloved an honorific like “-sama” as a pet name, but then, she’d never been in love the way Kodachi and Ranma were. “So, you’re feeling okay? Nothing to get worried about?”
“I’ve been taking all of my prescribed medication, if that’s what you mean.” Kodachi’s voice didn’t sound annoyed at all—she knew as well as anyone that she almost always slipped back into her Black Rose persona when she neglected any part of her therapy; in fact, she’d been the one to ask the Tendos to keep an eye on her while her husband was away.
“Well, that’s good—because I’ve got some great news. Ranma’s coming back.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a several seconds, and then Kodachi finally responded in a series of rapid-fire questions: “Where is he? When will he get here? What’s he doing? Does he still love me?”
“He’s on his way to our place; he’s due to arrive any minute now; I don’t know what he’s doing, but if he’s like me, he’s probably arguing with his father over something I’d rather tell you about in person, and I’m certain that he still loves you.” That last question was a rather uncomfortable one, but Kodachi had previously told her that she had a problem with abandonment, so it made sense… sort of. “Do you know where our home is?”
“Of course. The first time I tried to ambush you was in your room, remember?”
The offhand way that Kodachi could refer to violent acts she perpetrated in the past was another thing that threw Akane off. She may have become friends with the gymnast, but that didn’t stop Akane from finding Kodachi’s personality unnerving at times. “Uh, yeah, I remember. So, are you going to come over?”
“Of course… just give me a chance to get ready to greet my love.”
“Um, okay. See you later.”
“Likewise.”
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(Posted Tue, 10 Oct 2006 03:54)
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