Possibilities A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Brian Chapter 2 *-*-*-* "Ranma?" Tofu's voice startled the pig-tailed boy from his dumbstruck state, still staring in disbelief at the empty space Senchi had occupied until a few minutes ago. "Ranma, Kodachi would like to speak with you." Nodding mutely, he rose and walked over to sit beside the gymnast on her bed, examining her quiet form as he did so. The Black Rose's eyes were red and irritated from the waterfall of tears that she had shed, and she would randomly sob and hiccup when her emotions overcame her. Respectfully, Tofu and Cologne exited the room, leaving the two young people alone. "Senchi is gone, is she not?" Ranma nodded, still unable to speak, still unsure what exactly was going on. The Black Rose smiled for a moment then. "You remember her, at least, Ranma-sama, I suppose that is something to be cherished, given what I have learned from the aged crone." The look she recieved then was so confused that Kodachi nearly felt herself begin to laugh, but winced at the pain in her diaphragm instead. "The Old Amazon does not remember her, Ranma-sama, and the doctor has heard nothing of your future children so I can only assume that no one else recalls her presence either. It is as though our daughter never existed, Ranma, save to myself and you, her parents." She wiped at her eyes, knocking away tears as quickly as they formed within the shining orbs. "I do not know what I should express at this moment, but I find that the only thing I must ask is this." Kodachi took a deep breath. "Ranma-sama, do you even care?" The pig-tailed boy's eyes widened in suprise. "Of course I care!" A sob escaped from the raven-haired girl then, and she drew the blanket around herself, turning away from the man she loved. "Senchi was more than my daughter, Ranma-sama, and more than your daughter. She was our child, our family, proof that somehow, in some life, you could love me, love poor, crazy Kotchi. Now our child is gone, as though she had never been, and with her my hope has disappeared for I know that you will choose another. You would not be with a woman that could not carry on your clan." The tears were flowing freely now, squeezing out from under her tightly shut eyelids and drenching the pillow with saltwater. "Kodachi..." Ranma reached out to her, but the small girl flinched away, curling into a tiny ball on the clinic's bed. "Please, Ranma-sama, leave this place. I do not wish you to see me this way, and I do not wish to see you at this moment." He reached out to her again, one final time, only to have her evade his grasp and huddle smaller within the blanket. "Please, Ranma, just go." Ranma stood and walked away from the small bed and the form hiding upon it, turning back as he grasped the curtain which would seal her off from the rest of the clinic. The pig-tailed boy bowed deeply to the young gymnast, who remained in a fetal position under the blanket. "I'm sorry, Kodachi." The curtain sliced shut, creating a barrier between the bed and the rest of the world. Inside, alone, the Black Rose cried. *-*-*-*