Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Trial By Fire ❯ Chapter 8 - Thoughtless ( Chapter 8 )

Trial By Fire

Section I: Melodies of Life

Chapter 8: Thoughtless

Author: Jial Silverthorn (jial_silverthorn@hotmail.com)

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<....> denotes a thought, not verbally spoken. When it involves Ranma/Ranko/Akane, the other(s) can possibly ‘hear’ it.

[....] denotes a feeling or a short action, usually before speech takes place.

*....* denotes a sound effect

(....) denotes writing

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Letting his eyes open slowly, Shinai sits up and smiles. Standing up gently, his face shifts to a grim mask as he flexes his sore arm, wincing slightly.

Shinai:          <Now, let’s see if her kick rattled me harder that I originally thought.>

Bending over, Shinai begins doing push-ups, his silver hair cloaking his face.

Shinai:          <Not bad, but that was the easy part, time to take it up a notch.>

Shifting his hands slightly, Shinai begins balancing himself on his fingers as the barrage of push-ups continues. Carefully, he begins folding the right fingers of his right hand into his palm until his left hand is all that remains to support him during the exercise. Balling up his right hand into a fist, he snaps it behind his back and smirks.

Shinai:          <Two down, only one test remains. Shoulder is a little tender, but nothing that I am worried about…Time to end this.>

Hearing the floor creak above her, Cologne looks up at the ceiling and chuckles. Heading upstairs, she sits down on Shinai’s futon and watches the tired youth in front of her.

Cologne:        You know, when you said a few days, I just wrote it off as talk. However, I am seeing the truth in front of me, and I must admit that I am impressed.

Lifting his head up, Shinai looks at Cologne and smiles weakly, his left arm wobbling slightly.

Shinai:          <I just have to think of her as nothing more than ‘Zaku on one of HIS better days. I have to see how much damage that girl did to me, and it wouldn’t hurt to show the Elder how well I AM feeling today.>

Taking a deep breath, Shinai tenses up his legs and sets his right hand on the ground, just under his stomach. Letting the breath out, he pushes up sharply and places his right arm behind his back again as his body settles into a vertical position. Waiting for his left arm to cease shaking, he sighs inwardly.

Shinai:          <That was close. For a moment there, I thought that the arm was going to buckle under me. Although, I must give Ranko credit, I did have to rest for that fourth day. Any other time, and I would be back to this on the third day.>

Lowering his body a little, Shinai feels the tension in his arm and relaxes a little. Flexing his arm to raise his body again, he feels a sharp jolt of pain course through his arm, causing him to lose his balance and slam into the floor.

Cologne:        That looked like it hurt, child. I have to say, until you tried to become one with the floor, you were doing excellent, considering how recently that arm was injured.

Shinai sits up and sighs weakly. His face is a mix of anger and defeat as he rotates his left arm again, letting the pain energize him further, bringing each of his senses to their limit.

Shinai:          <It matters not how close I came, it only matters that I failed. Judging by what I know of her from what the Elder has told me and my own judgment, I have to take care of Ranko. If I am to remain neutral towards her, I have little choice in my actions.>

Reaching over to a nearby table, Shinai grabs his writing tablet and a pen. Sitting on the futon gingerly, he waves the Elder over to him.

Cologne:        What is on your mind child? You look…lost.

Shinai:           (I am not lost; I am just...out of options regarding something. For one thing, I realize that I have to re-evaluate Ranko’s abilities.)

Cologne:        *chuckling* Does it have anything to do with your little warm-up from a few moments ago? You truly did seem to be making progress…

Shinai:         (Part of it does, yes. You will find this hard to believe, but I was using a mid-level training exercise there, and I failed miserably. It has been far too long since I have been too wounded to fail an exercise from that far back in my training. Given the amount of time I took to recover versus how I am faring, I am very grateful that the person who trained me is not here to see the mess that I am at this moment.)

Cologne:        Surely it would not be that bad.

Shinai:          (Bad, no, but I would never hear the end of it. Now, I would like to resume our talk from a few days ago.)

Cologne:        I was wondering when you would press this issue again. You have been restless ever since that day.

Shinai:          (Well, that is only what you saw; I assure that there is more than you are aware of. First, I reviewed the encounter with Ranko mentally, and every time I am amazed at how effortlessly I was beaten.)

Cologne:        Truthfully, that was more of a draw, but I am not going to debate the finer points with you. Just remember that Ranma has the same uncanny ability to adapt and overcome obstacles.

Shinai:          (It is a good thing that he IS an adaptive learner, as that will make things go a little smoother. Things will already be difficult enough with my inability to speak, anything that can lessen the difficulty presented by that is welcome.)

Cologne:        That is an understatement, Shinai. Ranma and Ranko absorb knowledge fast, even when you do not believe you are teaching them anything. You share something with them, the three of you live your Art, and it shows.

Shinai:          (Will there be any issues with their attitudes? I recall you mentioning that Ranko was not herself on the day that I met her. In short, does Ranma have that same temper?)

Cologne:        There are some things that you must find out yourself. I will not tell you what will or will not anger them, or anything relating to that. I can only advise you to stay on their good side.

Shinai:          (One thing I have noticed…I ask you about Ranma or Ranko, and your responses reference the both of them as opposed to the individual in question. Is there any particular reason why?)

Cologne:        They ARE twins after all, what else would you ask of me? They do many things together, and are alike in many of their mannerisms. Beware, as anything you do to one will have an impact on the other.

Shinai:          (How can you be so sure about that last bit?)

Cologne:        I…I am unable to say.

Shinai:          (Well then, despite my earlier failure regarding my exercise, we will be paying them a visit...now.)

Cologne:        Are you sure that you should dealing with them so soon? Your arm is not fully recovered, and to confront either of them while you are injured…

Shinai:         (I appreciate the concern Elder, but this is not open to debate. You will take to see Ranma today, at the very least. I can resolve my issues with Ranko another time.)

Cologne:        Watch your tongue there child. Just because I am helping you does not mean you can start dictating terms and demands.

Shinai:          (Then I will trouble you no longer. I was unaware that my request was that much of an inconvenience.)

Cologne:        I did not say that…Give me your word that you will cause no trouble and I will take you to see them.

Shinai:          (I am reckless, but not stupid. If I can avoid a fight today, I will. I apologize for being so demanding, but the sooner I can smooth out this arrangement with them, the sooner things can settle down.)

Cologne:        You should be aware of something. Those two will not tolerate or appreciate you making demands of them. Do not expect them to immediately trust you or fully respect you. Those are two things that you must earn, and I do not expect that they will make it an easy task.

Shinai:          (One final thing Elder. I want your word that you will not interfere with anything that occurs today. As I mentioned, I am not looking for a fight today, but I am ready and willing to deal with either of them in whatever manner is needed. If that means another fight, than so be it, I want you to stand down. If you really need to interject, you will know when, and if you should.)

Cologne:        This is a rather unusual request, is there any particular reason why you are asking this of me?

Shinai:          (This will be just another phase in my testing of Ranma. I am very hard to break; I want to see if he has the ability or the willpower to break me.)

Cologne:        You want to see if he can do more damage to you than his sister did, or if he has an equal sense of morality. It is a rather pointless endeavor, but I will allow it. Just remember, you may have an unbreakable will, but I know that your body does not share that quality.

Shinai:          (Do not worry; I have not been planning this for nothing. If I find out the answers I seek, I am not worried about the route I may travel or the price I may pay. I came to terms with that when I started this…)

Setting down his writing tablet, Shinai opens the window and jumps down to the ground, his silver hair trailing glinting in the afternoon sun.

Cologne:        <Somehow, I still believe that he is in over his head, but I did give my word, now to see if holds to his.>

Cologne jumps down to where Shinai is waiting and smacks him on the head with her walking stick.

Cologne:        That is for not waiting for me…I think you had better follow me child, as I know the way…maybe next time you will not have me tagging along.

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Sitting on top of the Tendo Dojo, Shinai looks down at the redhead relaxing by the koi pond. Sighing, he recalls a very unique…and disturbing lesson.

Seiryu:          Above all else, listen carefully Shinai. I am only going to speak this lesson once, no more. An enemy is something you should seek to avoid in your travels. If you can sway them away from being hostile, then you should do so. This next technique is actually a ‘gift’ in nature. I know how you have been trained in regards to dealing with female fighters. This will add on to that. Should you run into a person that you wish to instill no further harm upon, use this technique. Now…watch, learn, and never forget.

Seiryu creates a globe of water, roughly the size of a basketball, setting it at eye level in front of the shocked youth. Looking into it, Shinai is surprised to see himself walking towards an unfamiliar redhead. Looking up at Seiryu, his face is filled with confusion.

Shinai:          (Who is that?)

Seiryu:          Someone that you may or may not meet in your future. Now pay attention and ask no further questions until I say so.

Nodding, Shinai watches as his double approaches the redhead. Stopping in front of her, the view shifts to that of his ‘twin’. Looking into the soft blue eyes, he wonders what is about to happen. Leaning in, he kisses her left cheek, followed quickly by her right. Visibly shaking, he kisses her forehead and then finishes by lightly kissing her on the lips. Seeing her eyes widen in shock, he mouths the words; you have been chosen, I can do you no harm…ever. Seeing his vision return to normal as the bubble is popped, Shinai looks at his current mentor with surprise.

Seiryu:          Now, for the rest of what you need to know about the Mark of Life. One, you will have to explain this fast, as any reasonable girl or woman WILL take high offense to these actions. Second, you MUST speak the words. I know about the choice you made, and making the motion is sufficient, even if there is no sound. Next, this is not to be given out lightly, as you can only give this blessing once. As such, reserve it for a person with strong moral qualities, martial arts prowess, and strength of character. Last of all are the limitations that WILL be placed upon you. You will not be able to take any malicious action towards the individual. Sparring and practice are permitted, as are formal challenges and the like. Believe me; you will know if you try anything that you should not. Any attempt to ignore this key tenet will have stiff repercussions.  

Shinai:          (What I saw in the globe, will it come to pass?)

Seiryu:          [pausing]…Perhaps. And you may or may not give her the Mark of Life. People and actions change over time, especially since the future is ever changing. I can not stress how important it is to remember this, as it will be a choice you have to live with forever.

Snapping his focus back to the present, he smiles and chuckles.

Shinai:          <I don’t know how, nor do I want to know how ‘Ryu knew I would run into Ranko, or how he knew that I was most likely going to need to patch up relations with her. If I ever get my hands on him again, he is going to suffer for not telling me the whole truth.>

Cologne:        Are you okay, child? You seemed to drift off for a few minutes. It is understandable if you want to…

Shinai nods and bows before Cologne, jumping down towards the oblivious girl below. Cologne watches him float down, and smiles. Focusing her vision, she spies a peculiar container on the ground, and her smile vanishes. Checking the ki patterns of the person below, a slightly crooked smile crosses her face now, filled with amusement and worry.

Cologne:        <Too bad he made me agree to stand aside for this...the fool has just walked into the tiger’s den and is unaware of it. Ranma, I hope you do not hurt him...too much. It is time to see how much of the lore regarding the Shin’yuu is ancient legend, and how much of it is true today.>

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Looking up from the scene unfolding in front of them, Genbu glares at Seiryu.

Genbu:          How did you know the boy would run into…her? At the time, she was not even in existence, yet you saw her in Shinai’s future?!

Seiryu:          I knew nothing about…this. All I asked was to know the single most important thing to teach Shinai. I will admit, I did not know who that girl was, but now…it is beginning to make sense.

Byakko:         Tell me this, why did you even use your last favor on that child? The gift of foresight is one that was VERY limited to each of us, and unless I have lost track, you used...no wasted your last chance on him.

Seiryu:          I am not as stupid as you would make me out to be. That boy is the final Shin’yuu warrior, and knowing that, any other applications of my foresight would be wasted. When he was born, we knew that one way or another, our time was nearing an end, so any selfish use I had to know the future are pointless. And how was I to know that one way or another, he would meet someone who was not even in existence at that time?

Suzaku:         I hate agreeing with him…but the big oaf has a good point.

Byakko:         Bah, he wasted it on a doomed future, or have you forgotten THAT already?

Suzaku:         I highly doubt he forgot, but regardless, that was the best choice he COULD have made. Somehow, I won’t count Shinai’s future a waste until we see it firsthand.

Byakko:         And I remember that which I was told; the end of the Shin’yuu will be brought around by a child who has no future. They walk hand in hand with Death, and welcome its embrace. That which had a noble beginning will have an unremarkable end.

Seiryu:          Answer me this, you pessimist. If the boy has no future, why did you train him?

Byakko:         [growling] A doomed man has a right to fight, even when there is no hope of victory. Besides, it had been far too long since I took part in the training of a student. That still will not change HIS future, but it may make it bearable.

Looking down at the clear globe, Suzaku sits down and watches his pupil drop into the tiger’s den.

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Author’s Note:

1) Above all, I am sorry about the delay. I’ve been fighting a combination of me in the hospital and the computer being fried.

2) As to what the four teachers speak of…you’ll see. And as to the poor sap...I mean Shinai, he’s in for a RUDE shock.

Next Chapter: Chapter 9 – Bodies (Artist: Drowning Pool, Album: Sinner)