Mind of a Killer

by RedMageMoogle

Kupopo...To all females who have an older brother: DON'T SCRATCH THEM, KUPO! That hurts like burning, kupo!

On with the show, kupo!

-Cyril, The Prancing Chocobo-

Marche was almost in a state of shock after hearing what Rayne had just told him. "Dear God..."

Eldena was also a bit shocked. The viera's ears perked up as she gasped, "Well now...no wonder that Armadin man was so...eager to catch you."

Marche then spat out rather randomly, "He wants you so he can somehow become the next Rukavi!"

Rayne's stomach almost did a back flip. Her long ears lowered in despair as she growled, "You know what? Never mind, just send me back to prison. There's no Rukavi then, is there?"

"No…that's not what I mean--"

Eldena spoke up. "Listen here, honey. You've got something that can put a stop to that. You just need to find out what it is. It's there, Rayne. It's there in your heart."

Turning their heads to see, Marche, Rayne and Eldena noticed Montblanc had fluttered over. "Say…I think we found something of yours, kupo…"

Marche remembered that, and called over the other three. Nat, Barley, and Cheney came over to the table, Nat hefting a large sack of items onto the table. The brown cloth sack was charred and torn in a few places, but was mostly intact.

"We found all thiss sstuff back in Jagd Helje. It was all in the ssack when we came across it," Nat said with a small phew. "Open it."

Doing so, Rayne found some old photographs of her and her parents…all kinds of arcane, protective jewelry from her beautiful mother…spellbooks from her studious father…two sets of traveling clothes made to fit her slender viera form, and one more thing…a letter with her name on it. She tore open the parchment envelope and read it.

Dearest Rayne.

By the time you read this, Helje may already have become a "jagd"…

This does not mean that you should weep for us. We have known about the darkness in Prince Ramses's heart for some time. In fact, he planned the ghost attack for some time. We learned of this early into it, and made a plan of our own: get all children out of the town A.S.A.P. We hope you all make it out safely.

Rayne almost burst into tears as she kept reading. Barley happened across a sword, a katana, to be exact, while extracting and sorting the contents of the bag, catching Rayne's eye.

We have also given you our Hakumei(!) family sword: the Angel Wing. As you know, it has been in the Hakumei family for two centuries, and you are now its rightful owner. Use it well.

The Armadins will no doubt be hunting you. You may have to face him, maybe not now, but soon. When you are the age of 20, Ramses will not rest until he has finished with you—and he does not want you for sexual reasons. If you are captured, he will become Rukavi, King of Demons.

Know that we are your parents, and we love you very much. Helje is in your hands now.

This time, Rayne did start crying...but they were tears of joy. Her parents knew. They'd given her the tools, but now she needed to show Armadin just what they were made for.

"I believe this is yours," Barley said as he, Eldena, and Marche passed the Angel Wing carefully across the table.

Rayne unsheathed, then studied the weapon. The blade was made of a strange alloy between two lesser alloys: crusite and mysidia, creating a…super-alloy called the "Atma alloy". The hilt was carefully crafted to resemble an angel's wing, which made its title befitting. So THIS was the family heirloom.

Marche, however, had read the letter himself. "When you are the age of 20…Rayne, how old are you and when's your birthday?"

Rayne looked up at him. "19 and it's the first of Sagemoon…why?"

Marche looked at a calendar hanging on the pub wall. It was the 10th of Madmoon.

"I wish I'd known all this sooner," he sighed. "That gives us only half a month to prepare."

(!) This is a Japanese word that means "twilight".

/yawn/ So bored, kupo.

Jhon 117: Seriously…don't quit your day job, whatever that may be, kupo…

hi: Thanks. I won't be out of good ideas, either, kupo.

Night joe: …Ok…is the "um" there to be left to the imagination, kupo?

1 flame was used to make Ramen, so if you're going to flame me, promptly get AIDS and die, kupo.

Review, I say! Oh, and see you next mission. Kupo!