Ukyo watched as the rain fell from a blood red sky, and wondered if it was reasonable to blame someone for the weather. The weather started acting up halfway to the Tendo's, the sky turning a deep crimson hue and then boiling over with ominous clouds flickering with barely contained lightning. She had Ranma's battered form slung over her shoulder, sprinting the way to the dojo, thinking the entire way that the redhead was going to die if she couldn't go any faster. The dojo wasn't the first place she would have taken him. After Mousse left she immediately scattered the gawkers standing over Ranma with a swing of her giant spatula. Her first instinct was to take him to the nearest hospital, but surprisingly enough Nabiki stepped in. "No, take him to my house," she had said, calm as ever. Before Ukyo could object, Nabiki said, "The nearest hospital is at least fifteen miles away. You don't know if he'll still be alive when you get there. Besides, I'm not sure if they'll keep him when he wakes up." Ukyo had no choice but to agree; if Ranma did wake up, he would still be a cat in a human's body. So it was a few minutes later that she found herself vaulting over the gate to the Tendo compound and kicking in the front door to collapse in a wet, exhausted heap in front of the Tendo and Saotome families. Once over the initial shock, their reaction was predictable. Even now, sitting on the patio and shivering in her wet clothes, she could hear the sobs of Nodoka and Soun, with Genma and Kasumi respectively trying to console them.
Ukyo drew her knees up against her body and wrapped her arms around them. She didn't know how long she sat there, brooding over the bloody rain when something warm and soft was draped across her shoulders. She looked up to see Nodoka, her eyes still red and puffy from crying, holding out a steaming cup to her. Ukyo took it gratefully and drank. It was honey sweet, with an underlying sharpness that surprised her. Ginger root, she thought. When Nodoka knelt beside her, silently staring at the rain, she didn't know what to say. What can I say? That I let your son get mauled by some freak of nature and that when I tried to stop him he just yelled at me for using a spatula? Tears stung her eyes and her own sobs threatened to come out, so she couldn't answer Nodoka's question.
"Ucchan, what happened?" she asked gently.
She tried to answer, but nothing would come out except a choking sound. Then she started weeping in earnest. "I couldn't stop him," she cried. "He was too strong and when he hurt Ranma I couldn't do anything and when I tried he…" She trailed off in sobs. She won't want me for a daughter, she won't, I couldn't protect her son and now he's going to die. She felt Nodoka's hands touch her shoulders and gently wrap around to hold her in an embrace. Nodoka rocked back and forth, murmuring soothing sounds, while Ukyo cried the day's fears and frustrations away.
When Ukyo finished, Nodoka pulled away and smiled softly at her. "Do you feel better now, dear?"
Ukyo sniffed and rubbed a sleeve across her eyes. "Yeah," she said. She looked sheepish. "Thanks."
"It's all right Ucchan. Sometimes you need to cry," she replied, dabbing at her own eyes with a sleeve of her kimono. Her face took on a more serious look. "Now, what happened? Who hurt Ranma?"
Ukyo clenched the hand not holding the cup. An image of boy with long black hair and jade eyes grinning mockingly at her flashed through her mind. "Mousse," she hissed. "His name was Mousse." A gasp from Nodoka made her look up. "What's wrong?"
"Mousse..." There was a look on Nodoka's face that Ukyo didn't like, something between horror and disbelief. "Are you certain?" she asked in a way that Ukyo knew she wasn't going to like the answer.
"That's what he called himself," she said. "You know him don't you?"
Nodoka sighed at her question that wasn't a question and looked resigned. "He seemed like such a nice boy when he helped me out of the rain. So courteous. I thought it would be nice for Ranma to have a friend like that so I invited him to the house."
A chill went up Ukyo's spine at that. He was here? She looked around as though searching for hidden assailants. She wasn't normally a superstitious person, but after seeing all she had today, she wouldn't be surprised if Mousse's very presence had somehow tainted the house. She focused her attention on Nodoka again as she continued.
"…and he left." She looked up at Ukyo. "Why would he do such a thing? Why would he want to hurt my son?"
Why? Ukyo thought bitterly. Why does anyone want to hurt Ranma? There are so many people with so many reasons that there's no point in asking why. "I don't know," she replied. A knock at the front door made her look over her shoulder through the den, and she saw Kasumi going to answer it. Even Kasumi looked troubled over what happened. Ukyo turned back around. It was probably Nabiki coming back. Nabiki may possibly be the most coldly intelligent person she knew (she always had the suspicion that maybe it was her who took care of the family finances), but she was still only human in regards to physical performance. It would take her at least fifteen minutes to get back here. A darker thought forced its way into Ukyo's mind. Or maybe it's Mousse coming back. Coming back to pay a visit. It sent a thrill of fear through her and she shivered.
"Ucchan, are you cold?" Nodoka asked. "You should go inside."
She shook her head, both as a negative response and to clear it. "I'm all right. We probably should go inside." She stood, clutching the blanket around her shoulders in one hand and the now cold tea in the other. Mousse wouldn't come back here. There's no way, the shape he was in. He looked almost as bad as Ranma. A shriek from the furo made her jump. She saw Kasumi backing away from the door, hands to her mouth and eyes wide with fear. The fear came back tenfold. He's here. He's come back for Ranma. She dropped the blanket and the cup, scattering shards of porcelain and cold tea everywhere. She gripped the handle of the giant battle spatula strapped across her back in a white-knuckle grip and ran to the door, ignoring Nodoka's cries.
She saw him stepping out of the furo, dressed all in black, like when he first came to eat at her restaurant. He wore a poncho with the hood up to keep out the rain so she couldn't see his face, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was him. She eased the spatula out of its sheathe and brought it over her head, reaching up with her right hand to join the left in its grip. Then she was flying through the air, leaping up with her weapon raised, edge down. In spite of what he said about her spatula, it could split his head open just as easily as any battleaxe if it hit with the edge instead of the flat. And she was going to give him a first hand account of its effectiveness. She let out a battle cry as she brought it down. Time seemed to stretch out as she hung in the air for an eternity as he turned his head around and up to stare at his impending doom in surprise. She grinned fiercely as the spatula came down…
…and was stopped as he clapped his hands around the blade a bare centimeter from his face. She hung for another eternity, staring open-mouthed in disbelief. He twisted his wrists so that the spatula was turned sideways and stepped out of the way as she came crashing down. She scrambled to her feet only to find her own spatula held up under chin. She glared at him defiantly. She was not going to give him the pleasure of seeing her cower before him. She waited for the jab at her throat that would end her life. So she was surprised when he lowered the spatula and pulled back the hood of his poncho to reveal his face. And it wasn't his face. This one was older, maybe in his twenties, though the hard, weary look in his eyes made him well beyond that. A pair of spectacles sat on the bridge of his nose and his shoulder length brown hair was pulled back into a loose tail. She barely had time to wonder who the hell he was before she heard someone gasp behind her.
"Doctor Tofu?"
***
So this is the infamous Dr. Tofu Ono, Ukyo thought. From what she had heard, he was something of a legend around the Nerima area before his mysterious disappearance. A master chiropractor, he first appeared five years ago to open a small clinic just a few blocks from the house she was in now. It was said he could cure for what was ailing you, a broken bone, a common cold, and everything in between, by a simple touch. He was also said to be a highly skilled martial artist, able to paralyze opponents with that same touch. However, the stories she heard also mentioned his inability to act like a normal human being when around Kasumi. Whenever she was around he would do anything from eat furniture to dancing around with a skeleton he kept at his clinic named 'Betty.' If so, then he was showing some incredibly remarkable restraint; he only looked a little tense kneeling beside Kasumi at the table. In fact, he barely looked at her at all. Ukyo wondered if maybe he was Kasumi's ex-boyfriend, or even lover. She discounted the thought quickly. Kasumi looked happy to see him, and stories were just stories after all.
Introductions were made around the table for those who did not know the doctor and an uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Ukyo was sure he was confused, not arriving to what he probably assumed was going to be a warm welcome. Instead, he clasped his hands together on the table and said, "Tell me about him."
Ukyo shared a confused glance with Nodoka across the table. "About who?"
"The one who fought with Ranma," he replied.
Silence fell across the room again, this time stunned. He looked up. "He did fight with Ranma, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did," Soun replied. He cleared his throat nervously. "But tell me, how did you know?"
Tofu just nodded, staring at his hands. "Just a hunch." He looked up. "Is Ranma all right?"
"Ranchan's upstairs. Sleeping." Ukyo replied tersely before anyone else could answer. She stared at the doctor with open suspicion. He knew far too much for someone who had just arrived. "You didn't answer the question. How did you know?"
He looked calmly at her. There was something about him she didn't like. Something that reminded her of Mousse. He shrugged, and said, "Like I said, a hunch. I assumed my quarry would have some sort of contact with Ranma as soon as he got here."
"Your quarry?" asked Nodoka. Something about the word seemed to worry her. "What do you mean by that?"
Tofu sighed, looking weary and impatient of all the questions. "I have been hunting him for most of the past year. He is my quarry."
Ukyo frowned. Something didn't smell right. Why does he want to stop Mousse? What reason could he have to leave his home for almost a year to hunt someone whose name he didn't even know? A sudden earsplitting yowl cut through the air, popping any other bubbles of suspicion that rose in her mind.
The doctor was on his feet instantly. "What was that?" The cat's cry came again, followed by a heavy thudding that came from the ceiling. His eyes locked on Ukyo, and for a moment she saw his hands dip down to his hips. As though he were reaching for something that should have been hanging there. "Ranma."
She nodded, up only a moment after him. She was aware of the rest of the people scrambling to their feet. "Upstairs," she said. "Second door on the right." And then he was gone, disappearing in a black blur.
***
They had tied up Ranma and wrapped her as tightly as they could in a heavy blanket, and then tied over the blanket. The binds were made of silk cords Soun used to tie together the pieces of samurai armor that was the Tendo family heirloom, and so were extremely strong. In spite of this, when Ukyo reached the entrance to the room she saw that Ranma was convulsing violently in her cocoon, flopping her body like a fish and had almost wrestled an arm out. Ranma hissed and spit the entire while in her struggles to be free while Tofu stood there, looking down impassively.
"Aren't you going to do something?" Ukyo demanded.
"Yes," he replied absently and began moving. He looked lost in thought as he stared at Ranma. Ukyo had the impression he was studying Ranma with the same concentration as a doctor would a particularly unwilling, violent patient. As he neared Ranma, she grew still, glaring at him and growling back in her throat. He squatted down next to her, arms resting on his knees. For a moment all was perfect stillness, and then suddenly he lashed out with an arm and grabbed hold of her head under the chin. Ranma tried to hiss at the doctor, but his grip was firm. He pushed back her head until her neck was exposed and jabbed a finger from his other hand into a place just under her ear. She convulsed once, back arched and eyes wide and staring at the ceiling. He released his grip on her jaw and gently pushed on her stomach until her back was on the floor.
A cry of "Ranma!" went up in unison among the household and they rushed to her side as the doctor stepped away. Ukyo was the first there. She wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't the sight of Ranma peacefully sleeping.
"He should be alright now," said Tofu, moving toward the exit. "I'll be back to check on him."
Ukyo tore herself away from Ranma long enough run after the doctor as he was walking down the hall. She still had questions. "Wait!" she cried. He stopped and turned as he was going down the stairs. He stared at her, and for a moment she lost her voice. The resemblance she thought she saw between him and Mousse was suddenly stronger. It wasn't a physical resemblance; the two didn't look like they could even be distantly related. It was more of an aura around them both, something that she couldn't put a name to. "Why are you here?" she finally got out.
"To stop him," the doctor replied.
"Why?" she pressed.
"Because he is my responsibility," he said as he went down the stairs. "Because he is family."
***
Nabiki found Cologne back at the Nekohanten, seated at one of the wide tables and brooding over her long tobacco pipe. Cologne didn't even look up when the bells chimed, announcing her arrival. She took a seat across from Cologne and they sat in silence, waiting for the other to speak. From the look outside, she knew she wasn't a moment too soon in getting to the restaurant. The sky was turning the most hideous shade of crimson, boiling over with dark clouds flickering with lightning. Under any other circumstances, she would think it was foolish to blame the weather on a person, but then again Mousse wasn't like anyone she's ever met before. Mousse. She wasn't sure how she felt about him taking off with her sister. Angry? Hardly. It seems that not a month goes by that something like this happens. Exasperated? Of course. It seems that not a month goes by that something like this happens. But most of all she felt disappointed. He seemed so different from the others in a way she couldn't figure out, and that caught her interest. But now he's just another overpowered maniac that would more than likely develop a crush on her little sister. And so it goes on and on.
"Seek your answers elsewhere, girl," said Cologne. "You'll find none here."
Nabiki snapped back to reality. There was no point in sulking over someone who wouldn't be interested in her anymore. Even if he was handsome. And charming. And rich. "Oh, I think I will," she said. "After all, you seem to know more about our mutual friend than you're letting on. It's obvious that he was after you, and you tried to use Ranma as a tool to get rid of him."
Cologne looked up. "That's not true. He wanted my great-granddaughter and he had to challenge son-in-law for her hand. What happened was unfortunate, but inevitable."
Nabiki shrugged. "That won't be the story I tell to his family. And they certainly won't be happy about Ranma being beaten half to death because of skeletons in your closet."
Cologne's teeth clenched around the teeth so hard Nabiki thought the stem might snap. "How much?" she growled.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't play coy with me, girl," she said. "I know your game. Now how much?"
Nabiki thought she was more surprised than Cologne when she slammed her open palm on the table. "You think I want money? You hag, it's because of you that this happened and it almost got Ranma killed and my sister kidnapped!" She leaned forward. "I want answers. And I want them now."
Cologne looked startled at first, whether at Nabiki's outburst or the fact that she actually stood up to her, but she soon settled back in her seat, a slight smile on her face. "It's rare that I meet someone who would dare speak to me in such a way." She puffed on her pipe. "Now stay quiet while I tell you. In a nutshell, Mousse has always been this violent, even as a child. I believed it was a malaise of the mind, and still do. Because of this, he had few friends in the village, except for my great-granddaughter. He developed some sort of childish infatuation for her." She chuckled. "He actually thought he was in love."
Nabiki nodded when Cologne stopped, urging her to go on. Something about the story didn't feel right, but it was better to get all the information before making a judgment.
"Anyway, I was uncomfortable with the thought of my heir becoming the center of that boy's attention, so I sent her away for training. It was then that we learned what it was that we were dealing with. He became increasingly violent and withdrawn from the tribe. When he fought, he didn't care so much about winning as hurting his opponent. One day two children from the village, both boys, went missing. We found them dead in the woods, where Mousse usually went off on his own." Cologne's expression darkened. "I knew the two boys. They acted as males do, exploiting the weak to feel more secure about themselves. Mousse was often their victim. So when they were found dead in the woods, we knew he killed them."
"And what did you do?"
"We banished him from the village. He may have been a monster, but he was still a child. We don't kill children."
So you left him in the wilderness to die. "So what about him now?"
"Now? I don't know. He was a promising fighter, as long as he had the proper motivation, but I never dreamed he would be like this. I can only imagine what he went through to become this strong."
"I see," said Nabiki. She stood up. "Thank you for telling me your story. I should go home now."
"Take an umbrella from the stand when you go out. You won't be telling the others any alternate version of my story, I trust?"
"Of course not. Now that I know the truth, I can tell them to be more careful in the future when dealing with Mousse."
"I'm glad we understand each other, Miss Tendo. Good day."
***
Nabiki ran home under blood red skies, digesting the information Cologne had given her. At least, Cologne's version of it. There are always two sides to every story, and she was sure this was no exception. Cologne's story was simple and believable, but she had a gut feeling that the old woman wasn't telling the whole truth. She would have tried to dig deeper, but while she was curious, she wasn't suicidal. She didn't doubt the old woman would do something drastic if she thought she was being overly curious.
Nabiki picked up the pace. All she had to do now was worry about her sister. Hopefully Ukyo got Ranma back to the house in time. She didn't think he would be in any sort of shape to pull off a rescue, not as a cat anyway, but hopefully one of the others, his mother most likely, would be able to snap him out of it. She sighed. So many complications and she didn't know the rules of the game. For now, it looked as though the only thing she could do was wait. For now.
***
It was night when Shampoo got back to the Nekohanten. She was still a cat, but Cologne had the prudence to create an entrance to the kitchen for her. It was dark in the restaurant, but her sharp feline eyes easily found the kettle on the stove. She jumped on the counter and delicately touched the kettle with a paw. Satisfied with the temperature, she pushed it over. She jumped to the ground quickly and crouched beneath the falling water. An instant later, a naked, human Shampoo stood up. She shivered in the cool air and made her way up the stairs to her room.
"It's about time you're home, child," said Cologne just as she was at the foot of the stairs. She hopped down from the chair she was sitting in, one shadow among many. "I was almost worried about you."
Shampoo froze. "There was nothing to worry about, great-grandmother," she said, hoping her voice didn't sound too nervous. She forced out a laugh. "I just got lost chasing after the car."
Cologne looked at her great-granddaughter speculatively. "Is that so?"
Shampoo was suddenly glad it was dark and she was already wet. Otherwise, the old woman would have been able to see the sweat forming on her brow. She knows. "Yes," she said, not knowing what else to say."
Cologne gazed at her for a moment longer, before saying, "I was hoping you had managed to follow the boy back to his lair and kill him there, but no matter. Go upstairs and pack your bags, we leave in the morning."
"Why?" Shampoo asked in confusion.
"This place has become too dangerous by far. I know a friend in another ward who will shelter us until Mousse is dealt with. Besides, certain people are asking annoying questions."
Shampoo wondered how Cologne would react if she heard her questions. "I'll go now." She paused at the second step. "Great-grandmother?"
"Yes?"
"Where did you send Lin-lin and Lan-lan?
From where she was, she couldn't see Cologne's face, but she had the impression she was smiling. "To ask for assistance."
Shampoo was surprised. "You will bring the tribe's warriors here?"
Shampoo heard a snort. "Don't be foolish, child. They wouldn't stand a chance against him. And we are certainly not going to fight him, nor Ranma. No, I think someone a bit more suited to the task at hand is what's called for. Someone who can match him stroke for stroke. Someone who, I believe, would have a very personal stake in facing Mousse."
And at that moment, Shampoo knew who she was talking about.