Author's Notes: I just want to say thank you all again for your reviews, they're really appreciated. Like the last chapter, I'm only about halfway through with this one, but I thought you all would like to read it anyway. I would also like to say thank you to the reviewer who criticized my work. Although it wasn't exactly constructive criticism, I still respect your opinion. And you're right, about some things at least. The idea that Mousse would somehow be taken away at a young age from the Amazons and then trained by someone from the west and after that come back to wipe out the village, which he hadn't yet by the way, is preposterous. Just like the idea of a certain area in China having cursed springs that turn people into whatever drowned in them last when hit with cold water is preposterous, or the idea of being hit with enough force to be sent flying two hundred feet into the sky and then landing on the ground with relatively minor wounds is preposterous. As for the notion of Amazons being able to deal with bullets, well, I find the idea of anyone, even in the Ranmaverse, somehow dodging bullets fired pointblank at them is dumb as hell.
Ranma was only too happy to be ushered out by Cologne when he finished his bowl of ramen. Cologne suspected that the idea of being around the adoring Shampoo any longer had made him lose much of his appetite. That boy was going to be trouble the entire time he was married to her great-granddaughter, she knew, but there were more immediate problems to worry about. Like a certain other boy she should have killed long ago when she had the chance.
"Close the shop, Granddaughter," Cologne ordered. "We must talk." She sighed when she saw the dreamy expression on Shampoo's face. The girl was absolutely smitten with Ranma. It was unseemly for any Amazon female to act like that, although she could remember long ago when she herself had been at that age. So instead of chastising her, she just raised her voice slightly.
"Shampoo."
Shampoo jumped slightly in surprise, and then turned to her great-grandmother with a sheepish look. "Yes, Grandmother?"
"I need you to close the shop," she repeated. "We must…"
She was interrupted by the sound of the door chime.
"We're sorry, but we are closed now…" she began. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was.
"Lin-Lin, Lan-Lan!" she exclaimed.
In the doorway stood the young warrior twins of the Amazon tribe, looking much worse than the last they had been at the Cat Café. Their normally brightly colored silk clothing was filthy and in some spots torn. The girls themselves were a mess, gaunt from lack of food and exhausted from their journey. In spite of that, they were amazingly alert, polearms held at ready and eyes darting from side to side as if expecting an assailant to appear out of nowhere. Even when they saw the Elder Cologne and their Big Sister Shampoo they didn't quite let down their guard.
"Elder Cologne, Big Sister?" Lin-Lin asked, with a strange sort of hope in her voice.
"Yes it me, what you think you doing?" demanded Shampoo.
Suddenly the twins dropped their weapons and ran at Shampoo, arms outstretched.
"Big Sister Shampoo!" they wailed into her apron. "We thought you dead!"
Shampoo looked at Cologne with a questioningly as she held the sobbing twins. Cologne could only shake her head in answer.
After some crying and a bowl of hot ramen each, the twins were ready to talk.
"Elder Ku Lon, your sisters…," began Lan-Lan in her native language. She sniffed sharply as though keeping back a sob.
"I know, child. They're dead," said Cologne tiredly.
Shampoo jerked her head around to stare in bewilderment at her great-grandmother. The twins were no less surprised.
"How did you know, Elder?" asked Lan-Lan. "No other messengers were sent besides us."
Cologne sighed. "The killer told me himself."
The breath caught in young girls' throats. Cologne continued. "Tell me, how did they die?"
There was a sudden haunted look in the twins' eyes. Cologne knew this couldn't be good.
"We didn't see how he killed them, but we saw the results," Lin-Lin said, and proceeded to tell in painful detail how the other Elders had died.
Cologne shuddered as she listened. Lo-Hsin, the healer, pinned to the ceiling of her own home with knives through her limbs and then gutted like a fish. Po-Hsin, the young one, or at least what was left of her, lying in bed as she was ripped apart by the explosion of some weapon. Jagged pieces of metal were found embedded in the walls, floor, and ceiling. They suspected she was drugged or knocked out. At least she wasn't conscious when she died helpless in bed. So-Pu, the lorekeeper, killed while studying ancient martial arts techniques in a monastery with Buddhist monks. The fight between her and the killer had led them to the very slopes of what westerners called K-2, the most dangerous mountain in the world and only a stone's throw height of being as tall as Everest. The monks who witnessed the battle say he got partway down the treacherous mountain by using her corpse as a snowboard. When the twins' saw the body, they didn't doubt their word. And finally the last victim, Ai-Vi, the most idealistic of them all, always seeking new and modern ideas or fighting techniques among those from the outside civilizations. He found her in South Korea, where she was later found one morning as a bloody stain on the sidewalk. The news reported there were huge amounts of hallucinogenic drugs in her body and someone had left her on top of Seoul's tallest skyscraper. The case was still under investigation.
With each passing sentence describing the incredibly depraved murders, Cologne grew more and more enraged and disgusted. But even more so she was frightened; not for herself, but for her great-granddaughter.
If he did all those horrible things to them, what would he do to my Shampoo? She thought. She suppressed a shudder.
The table was silent. Cologne looked up. The twins were staring at the table's surface, their eyes glazed over as they saw the things they had just described again in their minds. Cologne felt sorry for them. Eventually everyone gets exposed to death, it was inevitable, but for ones so young to see death in such an unbelievably brutal form was almost as great a tragedy as the deaths themselves. It was a death of innocence more than anything.
Shampoo was taking it slightly better, but only because she still couldn't quite understand what was going on. Her face had turned a sickly shade of white as she heard the twins recount their tale, but since no one had told her exactly what was going on, she couldn't be sure.
Cologne decided there would be enough time to tell her later. "How did all this happen?" she asked quietly.
Lin-Lin and Lan-Lan looked up at the same time and glanced at each other once before continuing. Lan-Lan nodded to Lin-Lin.
"It was about four months ago, Elder," she started. "An outsider came to the village. Everyone thought it would be fun playing with him, and Mei-Yin stepped in first to challenge him." She licked her lips. "She was just talking to him, when he said something and Mei-Yin finally recognized him." She leaned forward. "It was Mu Tzu."
Shampoo gasped. "What? How…?"
Cologne cut her off with a raised hand and motioned for the younger girl to continue. "He moved real close to her and whispered something in her ear. Then a bunch of smoke came out of nowhere and he was gone," she finished, throwing her arms wide to better convey the amount of smoke that was produced.
Lan-Lan took over. "He came back around sunset. He was in his house, I think, to collect some things. We were waiting for him."
Lan-Lan took a drink of water from a nearby cup. "We had many of our warriors surrounding his house, but he didn't seem worried. When we attacked him…" she shuddered. Cologne waited patiently to go on. "When we attacked him, he used these… things… to fight us. I think they were called guns. Each time he would use one, another of our sisters fell." She shook her head. "We've never seen anything like it before. We were frightened, and he fell upon us in our confusion. Many of our warriors fell before we could pull together again, but by that time, he knew he was outmatched and fled for the forest." She bit her bottom lip. "He killed the Elders at night. We couldn't protect them."
She looked ready to start crying again when Cologne laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Do not worry about it, child. There is no shame in being defeated by one such as he. Now go on upstairs the both of you. There is a bath and you can sleep in one of the rooms."
The twins bowed in grateful relief to her and trudged wearily upstairs. Cologne had never seen those two so fatigued, in body or soul.
"Grandmother?" Cologne closed her eyes. Now came the hard part.
"Yes, child?"
"Is it true? Did Mu Tzu really do those things?"
Cologne sighed. "Yes. It was Mu Tzu."
Silence. "When did you talk to him?"
"Just now. The boy in the strange clothes. That was him."
Cologne heard a gasp and the sound of a bowl shattering on the floor.
"But grandmother, you said Mu Tzu was dead…?"
Cologne sighed again. She could either tell her the truth or she could continue giving her the half-truths she had fed her all those years ago. Elders couldn't outright lie, but sometimes the rules could be bent. She made her choice.
"You're right, I said Mu Tzu was dead. But he's not, as you have already seen."
"But why, Grandmother?" Shampoo pleaded.
Cologne took in a deep breath. Here goes. "After you left on your training trip, Mu Tzu changed. He became very violent and was a danger to us all. And when he lost his parents, he finally came undone. We banished him from the village forever. It was a death sentence, I know, but he had already hurt so many. He even killed two in a 'hunting accident.' We never thought he would return alive. I'm sorry, Granddaughter. I know he was your friend."
"But that doesn't make sense!" Shampoo said, that same pleading note in her voice. "He didn't recognize me at all!"
"Time passes and people change, Shampoo," Cologne said patiently. "He may not recognize you because you've grown up so much. You two hadn't seen each other since you were five, and you didn't recognize him."
"But, still…" Shampoo started. Her face took a determined look. "I'm going to find him. I'm going to make him remember who he is and who…"
"No, you must not!" Cologne almost shouted, whirling around on her staff. Shampoo took an involuntary step back. "You must not go anywhere near him. He is very dangerous, he has already killed all of my sisters, and they were far more powerful than you, not to mention many of our warriors. If he thinks you're trying to trick him, he won't hesitate to kill you."
"But…"
"No buts. Now promise me you won't go near him."
"I…"
"Promise!"
"Okay… I promise."
Cologne visibly relaxed on her staff, relief washing over her. At least she could count on her granddaughter not to get herself killed. However, even that was small comfort knowing that he could seek her out at anytime. Not that Cologne would allow that. He had already taken too much from her. It ends here.
He knew what they would say if they ever found out. That was stupid. That was really stupid. No, it was more than stupid. It was stupid. And Mousse couldn't figure out why he did that himself. Advertising his presence to an enemy was the biggest mistake anyone in his situation could make. The Elders were far too powerful to fight head on, so he always used the advantages of surprise and superior weaponry to the fullest. Even so, the last two times he barely survived the confrontations, even when the fights were on his terms. But he did survive, and he did win, thanks especially to his trump card…
As if on cue, he stumbled forward as pain ripped through his body. He propped himself up against a nearby wall and brought his hand to his mouth as the taste of blood flooded it. Every muscle in his body was contracting painfully, causing him to hunch over, and his insides felt like they were on fire. The pain raged for a moment and then vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Mousse stood up shakily. He looked at his gloved hand and found blood. He wiped it on his pants and used the back of his hand to wipe the blood from his mouth. The drug was beginning to catch up to him. There wasn't even a warning to the attack this time.
Mousse spit as he walked, trying to get the taste out of his mouth. The drug's side effects were finally taking their toll on him, leaving him considerably weaker than before he first started. The attacks were coming more and more frequently, and now there wasn't even a warning before they struck. It wouldn't be long before he was in no shape to even think about fighting Cologne, if he hadn't already reached that point.
Sudden weariness drowned out the frustration he was feeling at the possibility of not being able to complete his task. He knew hunger would soon follow, so he searched for the nearest restaurant. It didn't take long before he found one.
Mousse looked up at the large sign hanging over a small building that simply read Ucchan's. If it weren't for the delicious smell of frying okonomiyaki wafting out from inside he wouldn't have known it was a restaurant.
He breathed in the scent deeply. It had been a long time since he last had okonomiyaki. His smile twisted into a grimace as faint, but sharp, hunger pangs cut through his stomach. He knew they were only a promise of what was to come if he didn't eat something quick.
It was a slow day at Ucchan's. Ukyo sighed in boredom as she flipped her spatula over and over in her hand. All the customers had already been served and no new ones were coming in. She glanced over at her waiter/waitress Konatsu. Even the abnormally perky male kunoichi looked bored. She considered telling him to do something, anything, so he could earn his keep, but she remembered how little she actually paid him. Maybe she should start a delivery service.
She mulled the thought over in her mind when someone walked in. She stood up immediately and was about to greet her new customer, but paused when she got a good look at him. He was intimidating, wearing all that black, and he moved with the fluid grace of a fighter. But when Konatsu, eager to wait on him, greeted him at the door, the stranger started and took a step back. He almost looked like he was about to leave, but then seemed to sigh in resignation and allowed the kunoichi to seat him in front of Ukyo. She could see his eyes widen behind his tinted spectacles when he saw the huge combat spatula strapped to her back.
"What'll you have, sugar?" she asked.
He didn't answer immediately, but kept his eyes on the monster of a spatula she always kept on her.
"You do know there's a giant spatula on your back, don't you?" he asked.
Ukyo clenched her teeth. We got a live one here. "Yes, I do know there's a giant spatula on my back. Would you like to order now?"
He nodded. "Then you also know that your waitress is actually a guy, right?"
Ukyo almost dropped her spatula in surprise. That anyone could tell the transvestite ninja was actually male by just looking was incredible.
"Shh, quiet!" she hissed. She looked at the other customers to see if anyone overheard. It wouldn't be good for business if everyone thought she hired perverts. "Yes, I know that too. Now could you order something please?"
The stranger bowed his head. "Of course, I'm sorry for being so rude. Could I have a pepper beef okonomiyaki with a kimchi side?"
Ukyo blinked. At least he's polite. "Sorry, but we don't have any kimchi. Is there anything else you would like instead?"
"You have wasabi sauce?"
"Yeah we have that. Will that be all?"
The stranger's face twisted into an expression of pain. "Yeah, that's all," he said hoarsely.
Ukyo watched in concern as he leaned forward on his seat, clutching his stomach. "Are you alright, sugar?"
"Yeah, I'm alright," he gasped. He lifted his head and smiled weakly. "I guess I'm just really hungry."
Ukyo nodded slowly. "Right. I'll go get your order ready then," she said, and began mixing the batter.
Ukyo stole quick glances at her customer while the okonomiyaki was cooking. He seemed to be better now, and was staring intently at the frying food. He was handsome in a way, even if she didn't like longhaired men, and the silvery ornaments tied in a single lock was a nice touch. But of course he was nowhere near as handsome as her Ranchan.
A thought occurred to her as she placed the finished okonomiyaki on a plate for him. He could be another martial artist trying to fight Ranchan. Not that it would matter anyway, because Ranchan never lost. But if he was good…
"Mm, this is good!"
Ukyo looked up to see him grinning widely after swallowing a mouthful of pepper beef okonomiyaki.
"This is the best okonomiyaki I've ever had!" he continued, biting into another mouthful of Japanese pizza. "I mean this is really, really good!"
Ukyo blushed slightly at the compliments, and then stared in shock as he finished it with incredible speed. His hands were blurring as he ate. When he was finished he held out his plate.
"Seconds?"
Ukyo nodded and fixed another okonomiyaki, which he ate even faster than the last one. By the time he was finished, eight okonomiyaki had disappeared, eaten faster than she could cook them. She had only seen her Ranchan eat that fast.
Her customer leaned back and sighed in relief, his eyes closed. Ukyo cleared her throat. Maybe she could find out why he was here.
"I've never seen you before, sugar. You new here?"
He opened his eyes. "Yes, I just flew in recently from Korea. You must be Ucchan, right? My name is Mousse."
Ukyo couldn't help smiling at his name. "Moo-suh? Mousse? You're named after a hair care product?"
Instead of being insulted, Mousse only smiled back. "Well, actually I…" He frowned suddenly. "You hear something?"
She followed his gaze as he twisted around to look out the windows. She sighed as she saw Happosai, founder and grand master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, bouncing along as he carried a large bundle of lingerie. And following closely behind were the infuriated owners of that lingerie. The old pervert was at it pretty early today. Suddenly Ranma and Akane appeared to block the old pervert's way.
Ranchan! Ukyo was about to jump over the counter when she remembered her customer, who was looking at what was happening in shock. He was definitely new here.
"Sorry sugar, but I gotta go," she said hurriedly. "We'll have to talk later."
He nodded slowly without looking at her, mouth slightly open as he watched the carnage that was unfolding.
Ukyo looked at him for a moment more before deciding he would be okay and ran as quickly as she could toward the door. Ranchan might need her help.
Mousse watched in a sort of horror as a one foot tall, shriveled old man dressed in a ninja suit ran by carrying a cloth sack larger than he was, being chased by a horde of angry young women carrying brooms, mops, and other cleaning tools. Then, Ranma and a shorthaired girl wielding a huge mallet appeared in front of him, only to disappear in a cloud of smoke as the old man threw what looked like an old-fashioned fuse bomb at them. He was barely aware of Ucchan saying something about leaving, before she ran out the door to join the fray. That he couldn't hear anything that was happening from behind the door and windows only added to its surreal quality.
Mousse groaned. Suddenly, all those okonomiyaki he ate weren't settling too well. The transvestite waitress walked up to him, smiling amiably. Now they really weren't settling well.
"Will that be all, sir?" he asked.
Mousse nodded quickly and stood up. He pulled out a ten thousand yen note and laid it on the counter, and handed another to the waiter.
"You got a back way I could use?" he asked.
The waiter's eyes widened at the generous tip he received and bowed his thanks. "Yes we do, please follow me."
Outside, Mousse leaped to the top of the building and made his way as quickly as could out of Nerima, jumping from roof to roof. The fighting was over with, leaving the street with an eerie quiet. This was possibly the weirdest place he had ever been to. Not quite Alice in Wonderland weird, but close. He didn't think he could take another minute in that place without feeling that the weirdness had somehow rubbed off on him.
He stumbled slightly as another attack hit him, and barely stopped at the edge of the roof before falling off. He held his breath until the pain subsided. Apparently the attacks weren't giving him warnings anymore.
He knew he needed to rest. Four months of constant travel, tracking, fighting, and killing was catching up to him. And he had used full doses of the drug twice in that four month period, far more than what was considered safe by anyone. But he was so close. Cologne was there, and when she was dead, it would all be over. After that, all that's left would be to take care of the rest of the Amazons, and without the protection of their elders, they would be easy prey.
He sighed continued on his way out of Nerima toward his hotel. I guess a month or two of rest and relaxation couldn't hurt. I still have time, and I can't fight Cologne like this. Besides, it's not like she knows where to find me. I'll wait, and plan my next move later.