Cologne was pondering what Shampoo had told of her first night out. It seemed that chaos this area of Tokyo was known for was taking a darker turn, indeed. It might prove wise to forge an alliance with the Kuno girl. Hmmm... Ranma as well, one that doesn't involve the romantic tangles the boy is involved in.
Well, that was for later. When she had a better idea of what the opposition was going to be like. If it was just some organized crime thugs with power, then an alliance might be more trouble than it was worth.
Then her thoughts were interrupted by a screech. A hawk flew into the Nekohanten, causing Cologne to raise an eyebrow in surprise. It was one of Lofah's messenger birds... which meant that something had happened in the village that couldn't wait for the usual communications.
The hawk landed before Cologne, and she took off the message clipped to its leg. She was very surprised to see that it was not for her or Shampoo, but for Mousse. Now what could have happened that the other elders felt the need to contact Mousse as soon as possible?
"Mousse! You have a message!"
The nearly blind boy walked out of the kitchen. "Yeah, what is it old ghoul..."
Cologne bopped him on the head with her cane, and then stuffed the message into his hands. Grumbling, the Hidden Weapons master returned to the kitchen as he opened his letter. Meanwhile, Cologne scoffed at him. Really, the gall of that boy sometimes...
"NOOOO!!"
Cologne nearly tripped over herself getting to the kitchen. To her shock, Mousse was in tears as he held the letter. "What's wrong, boy?"
"Sh...she's dead. Someone killed her..." Suddenly rage replaced grief as he threw the letter to the ground, and raced out of the kitchen.
Cologne scooped up the letter, and felt a chill from its message. A strange woman had appeared in the village, and before anyone knew they were under attack, had killed all the women in the village possessing red or reddish hair. She had not even spared children. Then the woman had vanished, using magic. True magic.
Cologne bowed her head in remorse. Mousse's mother and only living relative, Xie-li, had been one of those killed. Not exactly part of the village, Xie-li had been an outcast from another village, for the crime of being an unwed mother. The amazons had taken her in, but she hadn't been part of the village proper. Nonetheless, she had been killed while under Amazon protection. Which meant that Mousse had the right to participate in the hunt for the culprit.
Cologne had a sudden bad feeling. Somehow, she knew... that woman would be heading to Nerima...
***
In his small attic apartment, Mousse was furiously packing his things. His mother... his only true family... killed out of hand for having red hair?! No, he wasn't going to let whoever did it get away with it...
And deep within him, the legacy of his unknown father was waking up in the face of Mousse's honest righteous anger. Soon, he would have power he had only dreamed about before... and it was calling to him. Calling...
For Vengeance.
(Posted Fri, 06 Dec 2002 00:53)
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