Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Never Die ❯ Never Die ( Chapter 1 )

A Trial By Fire Side Story

Never Die

Author: Jial Silverthorn (jial_silverthorn@hotmail.com)

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<....> denotes a thought, not verbally spoken.

“....” denotes verbal speech

(....) denotes writing

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This is a side story to my main fanfic `Trial by Fire' which can also be found on this site. Feel free to read it if you feel a little lost, or if you like this.

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Looking at the proud woman standing in front of him, Suzaku begins to frown slightly. Walking behind her, his hand rests gently on her shoulder. “Come, Ren'ai, we must talk once again.” <Only this time, you will not like the news you will hear.>

 

Turning around to face one of the ageless masters of the Shin'yuu, she reaches up to wipe away some tears from her eyes. She begins walking over to where a young infant is asleep in his crib, the thin, wispy, silver hair glinting in the sunlight. “You have my attention Suzaku. You said that you had mixed news regarding my son.”

 

Ren'ai's soft voice strikes a sensitive nerve within Suzaku, almost silencing the words he came to speak. Drawing in a deep breath, his soft baritone voice has a hollow sound to it, as though his words are automatic. “Will you still allow your son to train with the Shin'yuu?”

 

Ren'ai turns around, staring at the human visage of the timeless man. Her reply is slow, and slightly strained. “On the one hand, I would like to see him lead a normal life, just staying with his family, never taking part in any of the risks or hazards that the Shin'yuu face from time to time...”

 

Noting the hesitation in her voice, Suzaku bites back his reply, recalling that patience is the key to anything. <I only hope that she does not reconsider. She does not deserve to suffer.> Taking a moment to look down at her sleeping son, Ren'ai's eyes mist over, the pain reflecting in her voice. “But...somehow I knew that I would lose him to you. The moment that the pendant glowed, I realized that my time with my son was limited, and while I am sad about it, I know that you and your compatriots are very careful in what you do...correct?”

 

Suzaku nods, as some of the weight on his shoulders is lifted. Steeling himself for the backlash, he sighs. <That was the easy part...now for the part that will hurt.> “That is correct. I can say that he will be as safe as can be...for now. However, there is something that will defy that.”

 

Ren'ai closes her eyes, attempting to remain calm. “What do you mean by `for now' You act as though there is some sort of time constraint regarding my son?”

 

“You said the pendant first glowed white then black when you first touched it to your son's forehead, correct?” Suzaku's tone begins to shift, becoming a little more somber.

 

Thinking back to that day, Ren'ai recalls seeing the phoenix emblem shift from a soft rosy color to pitch black. “That is true; how does that affect my son at all?”

 

Suzaku's words are laced with sadness as he turns away from the young mother. “Regardless of what your decision was about training your son, he will not live long. ”

 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!” The piercing tone of Ren'ai's voice causes Suzaku to wince slightly. Shaking his head to refocus his attention, he closes his eyes.

 

“I mean what I said. He has the will and potential to live a good life, but somewhere along the line, he will have it cut short. I do not know when, or how. When my emblem flashed black, it was noting that the boy is the end of my line...and subsequently, the end of the Shin'yuu. The clock will soon be broken, once the eighth warrior falls. This has been a long time coming; I was surprised that it took this long.”

Suzaku closes his eyes, mentally running through the history of the Shin'yuu, and how things have fallen apart. <First the Strategist fell, his line quickly diminished, both his disciple and student undone by greed. Time took its toll, but even the mighty Warlord lost his student to the fury of revenge. Then I lost my student to his own ignorance. Another lapse in the loss of our pupils, but eventually the Defender could only watch as his disciple gave his life to save another, with his student breaking away from the path soon after. When the Warlord lost his disciple to illness, I began watching every new Disciple of mine, silently praying that my signet would never glow black. It appears that even my luck would run out, but the only question is; how will he go?>

 

Ren'ai strides forward quickly, grabbing Suzaku's shoulder, spinning him around, locking gazes with his steel grey eyes, snapping him out of his reverie. “Tell me that to my face. I refuse to believe that my son is going to have no chance at a real life because some artifact glowed black!”

 

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Suzaku looks into Ren'ai's eyes, now ablaze with a mixture of anger and sorrow. “I do not like speaking of it myself. When I first saw your son, I knew that he was gifted. His potential to learn is immense, and his spirit seems as solid as a rock. And knowing how you and your husband are, his honor, loyalty, and kindness will be very strong within him.”

 

Ren'ai drops her hands, hanging her head. Her voice is a soft whisper, filled with pain. “I only thought that dream was just that. And now today, I find out that I am the fool.”

 

“You never mentioned this before. Maybe if you describe to me what you saw, I can help.” <A foolish person can hope, can he not...maybe, maybe this boy has a chance...>

 

Ren'ai sits down, her face a mask of confusion and pain. “There's not much to talk about. I'm walking back into my room, when I notice that the entire room is dark. I reach over for the light switch, only to have my bedside lamp flicker to life.”

 

Focusing on the young woman's aura, Suzaku watches as the pain and sorrow fade in and out, distorting the calm. “Please, continue.”

 

“Letting curiosity get the better of me, I walk to where the light is at, and a note catches my eye. The writing is elegant, and soft, clearly a woman's touch. And it is what the letter reads that scares me.”

 

Noticing her aura slowly settle into its familiar sky blue tint, Suzaku frown as he watches a patch of black spread along it. “And what does the note say that has you so worried, my child?”

 

Ren'ai's voice is filled with anguish as tears flow freely as though the foreboding document is in her hands. She closes her eyes, her voice reciting the words from the unseen paper.

 

(I write the letter with a heavy heart. Your son was a good friend of mine...and I realized too late that I did care for him. But I did not write this to speak of my troubles. Very recently, he went up against a formidable enemy, and at the cost of his own life...he saved mine. I know not why he did it, as I was never that kind towards him, but his sacrifice will never be forgotten. I would wish to speak with you further, in person.)

 

Suzaku leans down and gently shakes Ren'ai, jolting her out of her trance. The concern on his face is almost enough to help her calm down again. “I know that this is not what you want to hear, but that seems true. Both you and your husband are kind, noble, gentle souls. That is why your family has been one of the rare cases where the Shin'yuu line returned after it went elsewhere. Let us assume that letter has a shred of truth though. Tell me this, if that letter IS true, and your son is doomed, would it not be better if he had a direct hand in saving that person?”

 

Ren'ai's brown eyes lose a little of their hard edge as she looks at the gentle person crouched in front of her. “...No, that is not so bad I suppose. Are you so sure that this is unavoidable? I mean it is a dream...right?”

 

Suzaku shakes his head, a frown on his face again. “In all of the other seven cases where the symbol marked them for death, they could not escape it, even if they knew about it in advance. And in every case, the person was the best they could be. With your son, it is cruel, but we should never tell him about this. If he is to have any appreciable impact on life, he needs to do so with a clear mind. He can not be bothered by something that he can not control.”

 

Ren'ai stands up and nods grimly, looking at the peaceful figure sleeping in the crib. “This will stay between the Shin'yuu and I. My husband need not know, until such time occurs. Here is the deal I will make with you, Keeper. Until he is eight, I will raise him, and care for him. From the ages of eight to ten, you are to tutor him, and get him used to your presence. When he is ten, you may take him to train with the other masters, not a day sooner. Those are the terms of his training.”

 

Suzaku stiffens at having his formal title used, but nods. “Those terms are quite satisfactory. I need not say how much it will pain me to train him, knowing how this will end out, if all goes well. I will make sure that we empower him to the best of our abilities, so that if anyone can try to survive fate, it may be him. And if he does not, he will not go down without a fight, I assure you of that...we have the knowledge, we might as well use it for a greater good for the last time. The final hours of the Shin'yuu may be drawing near, but the sands of fate have yet to completely escape the hourglass. Who knows, maybe...just maybe your son can shatter the fetters of fate. I for one will be very interested in seeing how he develops.”

 

Ren'ai turns around and lightly hugs the stunned Keeper, her voice a soft whisper. “Thank you...I know you have not been proven wrong, and as long as that remains true, I will hold onto a shred of hope that my son will come back to me. If not, then I will look to the day that I meet this mystery woman that my son is willing to sacrifice himself for.”

 

Suzaku sighs and nods weakly. “This is one time, that I want to proven wrong...If he can defy fate, I will be much happier than seeing the end of our line. Regardless, the Shin'yuu has had a long time in the sun, and now it is running out. We need to work on our contingency plan for our knowledge, so that all is not lost. As it stands, you may be the recipient of it, in time, should your son fall.”

 

Lifting her head off of his shoulder, Ren'ai wipes the tears away from her eyes, the fire having died down within. “I will do as you ask. Now if you will forgive me, I want to spend some time with my son. I will see you around, as you tend to be very...intrusive.”

 

Stepping away from Ren'ai, Suzaku bows and smiles weakly, his hope slightly renewed. “You do yourself proud, young mistress. I can see why the line returned to your family...twice. You have earned that right, and should be proud. I will see you again when I feel up to it, I must discuss things with the other Masters. Now that we know what the boy's status is, it does change a few things. Either way, try to have a good day despite the news.” Suzaku turns and quickly vanishes in a flash of fire, leaving a stunned Ren'ai staring at her sleeping son.

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Author's Note: Ok, this is my first attempt in a while at writing this in prose. This story was written for MediaMiner's One Shot Fic Contest.

Quick explanation about the Shin'yuu:

Each of the Four Masters has a title. Originally, each had a disciple and a student. The only difference was that one was entrusted with more knowledge than the other.