I don't own Weiß, nor do I own the series Highlander. Those two are owned by their respective owners.

Note: Italics within this story are used for thoughts. Also anything in between ~~~~ and ~~~~ are flash backs ^__^

Chapter 3: Rules to Live By

The morning sunlight streamed through the windows of the just recently opened Koneko. Business was still slow in there, since the many schoolgirls weren't there yet to pester the two poor men who were scheduled to work in there, that morning.

The silence suited Ran just fine, because the squealing and giggling of the many adolescent girls grated on his nerves. They would never buy anything, just stand there talking and flirting with the men. This almost caused the boys, whenever they worked, to loose business with most of the older potential customers that would stop by to buy arrangements. He was also still partially exhausted from the battle he had fought that night. The quickening always did that to him even after all the years he had on him since becoming an immortal.

Ran sat on a stool next to the cash register, it was his job that day to operate it instead arranging the flowers as he normally did. He was going to do that instead of collecting the cash, but Ken had finally got on Ran's nerves. He had been complaining about how boring it was to manage the register during that time of day. No customers were usually around and Ken was the type that always wanted to remain active. The boy couldn't sit down for one minute before standing up to go try to do something, so Ran finally gave into the boy's complaining.

Ran glanced over to Ken. The boy was busy working on a flower arrangement that had been placed the day before. There were still a few hours before the woman was to come to collect it, but since Ken was so bored, Ran told him to go ahead and work on that.

As Ran watched the young brunette, he couldn't help but wonder why the boy was the way he was. They were both killers after all, yet Ken still maintained a certain air innocence about him. He never really let anything get him down or to bother him too much. No matter how many times the group would go out to do their job with Kritiker, the next day Ken would always be seen with a huge smile on his face. Ran on the other hand had found that he always had to keep himself hidden from anyone. If they found out all the things about him, they would use it against him and he needed to stay alive.

~~~~

Ran walked along a well-ridden pathway leading from his village. Bruises lined his face and most likely his body. The villagers didn't treat him very well as he ran out of what was once his hometown.

He wearily continued to walk on, his head bowed almost in defeat. If anyone were to see him, they would have taken pity on the poor boy. He had the look of someone who had just walked through the very pits of hell and made it back, but just barely. His mind reeled at what had happened to him. His father disowned him, the villagers nearly killed him yet again, and he was reviled and almost completely broken in spirit. If it wasn't for the fact that he still felt like he had to run, he would have just lain down and let his life waste away to nothing. That was how close he was to giving up on everything.

After he had been walking for a few more hours, he came to a stop when a strange feeling passed over him. It was as if someone was coming towards him or was very near him in the least. He looked up to try to find out why he was feeling that and saw someone standing a few feet in front of him. It was a man. He was slightly taller than he was and stood there blocking the path that he was walking on. The man looked a little bit older than Ran and had black hair. His eyes were a dark brown almost black and a look of ageless wisdom lingered in them. He was dressed in the robes of a samurai and the way he carried himself along with the swords at his side would make a person thing twice about crossing his path.

Ran came to that conclusion as he watched the man who just stood there looking at him. Ran started to walk slightly off the path he was taking. He wasn't in any mood to get into any more fights that day. One was enough for him to handle so he tried to skirt around the man that was blocking his path.

The man halted Ran though, as he tried to walk around him. He had drawn his sword and was now holding it out in front of the young red haired man. Ran looked down at the sword in surprise then glanced over to the man standing somewhat next to him. The man had a look of slight confusion over his face as he studied him. His eyes passed briefly over Ran's entire body causing the boy to flinch slightly at the intensity in which he was looking at him.

Finally the man spoke, "So, you're the one I felt earlier." Though it was said in soft undertones, Ran still caught it and was puzzled by what the man meant.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ran asked the man standing beside him. He then turned to face him.

The man looked at Ran, "That young one is what you will learn in time."

"Learn? Who are you?"

"My name is Shion, and I will be teaching you everything about being an immortal."

"Immortal? What are you talking about?"

"You, boy, you are an immortal."

Ran was growing slightly impatient with the man standing before, "I do have a name you know."

Shion ignored Ran, "Tell me did anything strange just happen to you recently?"

"Well.."

"Let me guess you somehow died, yet instead of being in the Kami-planes right now you're standing here breathing and living."

"How did you know..."

"I am an immortal also. I felt your death and now I'm going to teach you what it means to be one and the rules."

"I don't believe this."

Shion didn't say anything, with his sword still in hand, he jumped back a bit and came running towards Ran.

Ran didn't have time to defend himself against the sudden attack. He had nothing to use to protect himself against any type of attack. The villagers had run him out of the town before he pick up any type of food, clothing, or a katana to arm himself with. Without any of that, he knew that he would probably die soon of starvation. It wouldn't matter now though since he was being attacked again.

Shion struck the poor boy in his chest. This caused Ran to fall to his knees in pain. The boy was somewhat shocked over what was happening. This Shion said he was going to teach the boy about being an immortal but here he was a few inches away from the young man with his sword stuck inside of him. Was this some kind of cruel trick that fate was playing on him?

Slowly Shion pulled the blade out of the boy's chest and stood there. "You should be healing yourself in a few moments."

Ran glanced down at the wound in his chest and watched in amazement as what Shion said was true. The hole did start to heal itself. It was doing it slowly but it was going away. Soon only a little sliver of the sword thrust was left, then that disappeared as well. Ran looked up at Shion.

The man was still standing there. His face held a passive look about it and he was watching the boy again in front of him.

"How did this..." Ran tried to ask.

"Come with me and I will explain everything." Shion said before the boy could even finish the question. It was as if he was expecting it to be asked.

Ran nodded and stood up. He didn't know why he was doing this, but he decided that it would be best to follow him. He had many questions that he wanted answered and from the looks of it this Shion person was the only one he could turn to for answers that he now sought.

They walked off the path were everything had happened and went through the woods that surrounded it. Their journey was a silent one. Ran had tried to start up a conversation between he and the man he was currently following but every time he did Shion would throw a peculiar look his way. This caused the red head to close his mouth and stifle any questions or comments that might be running through his head at the time. To Ran it seemed like this samurai with ageless eyes would explain things to him in time. He just had to wait to receive them.

After they had walked through the woods for what seemed like ages, they finally came to a stop.

Ran looked around where they had came to a halt. They had stopped at what looked like an almost ancient temple that was surrounded by sakura trees. They held the same look of agelessness that the temple held. It was an awe-inspiring place just by the look of it. Instead of being made out of wood as the temples were created during this age, it was made out of gray stone. Huge stone statues of the gods were almost scattered around the place. Some were broken while others were intact. The place also held a peaceful feeling about it, which caused Ran to relax a bit at the sight of it.

Shion walked over to the temple then looked at the young man. "Come, we are here." He and Ran both walked into the huge temple. "Welcome to my home, there's a hot springs in the back." Shion went over to a chest that stood in the corner. He opened it up and started to rummage around it.

Ran watched the man. "I thought you were going to explain things to me first."

Shion continued searching until he finally found what he was looking for. He stood up. "I will but first clean yourself off, you're a mess." He threw a pair of clean clothes to Ran who deftly caught it.

Ran walked out in the direction Shion had pointed out and came across the springs. Trees surrounded the area where the hot springs was located in. Steam rose from it and it called out to an invitation to the young man who just realized how dirty he was. He took his clothes off and stepped into it. Immediately he relaxed as the water engulfed him and for once, he felt completely at ease.

He stayed in the water for a little while longer, just letting the warmth of it all erase the tension that had built quickly within him. Finally, he got out of it completely clean and put the clothes on that Shion had given him and went back inside.

Shion was leaning over a huge fire. A huge pot was over it and from the looks of it, the man was cooking dinner for the both of them. The smells coming from it made Ran realize how hungry he was when his stomach started to rumble.

Shion looked up, "Ah good you're finished, this just got done so help yourself and we'll talk while we eat."

Both men helped themselves to the food that was in the big cauldron looking thing and ate in silence for a while. Finally, Ran spoke up.

"You said I'm an immortal..." He started hesitantly. "What did you mean by that?"

Shion looked over at the young boy, "Exactly what it means, you cannot die. Although, there are some exceptions to the immortality rule."
" Like what?"

"Well, the only way you can die, is if someone takes your head and let me tell you there will be plenty of men and women who will try to do it without hesitating."

"Why?"

Shion took another bite to eat before talking. "Because of the quickening."

"What's the quickening."

"It's kind of like a game we play, for each immortal head that is taken off, we get their powers, sometimes their memories. In the end, there will be only one of us left and we receive the ultimate prize. We become almost human again and can if we wish rule the world. We'll have the power to do anything we want. That's why other immortals will be after you."

Ran stopped eating for a second. Most of what he was hearing he couldn't believe. "When did this all happen."

"I don't know. None of the other immortals knows either. Even the oldest ones of us do not have a clue as to when it started or where we came from. Some people have their theories and others just don't care. They just want to attain that power." Shion looked outside. "Come, I said I was going to train you. There's still more light left today so lets begin. I'll explain more while we train."

Ran nodded and stood up. Just as he was about to walk outside, Shion stopped him.

Shion held out a katana for the young boy. "You'll need this."
"Don't you need it?"

He pulled out another one. "I have more than enough swords. You can keep that one." The two men walked out and soon Ran's training began in earnest.

"First thing you need to learn is the rules. First rule: You cannot fight another immortal for the prize on Holy Ground. The second rule is: You cannot interrupt a fight when two immortals are already going through a battle and the third rule is: you can never attack another immortal once they've experienced the quickening. Doing so would be considered un-honorable and bad form. Although there are many evil immortals who would do that on a moments notice." They began to fight.

There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't spend his time training with Shion. He stayed with him training for years. Until one day after a fitful sleep, Ran woke up and found Shion gone. There was a small note telling him that Shion had gone. He had been challenged and he couldn't refuse it.

Ran waited a full week for his teacher to return, but the man never came back. This caused the red head to worry and so he left in search of him. He never found any trace of him though, and finally came to realize that his teacher didn't survive the fight. He decided then that he would leave and learn more on his own.

~~~~

Ken stared at Ran. The man had just been standing there at the counter. A dazed look was in his eyes. Seeing this on the usually cold man, caused the brunette to worry about him. It wasn't everyday that Ran looked like he was lost in outer space. Besides, there was a customer standing right in front of the red head and she was on the verge of getting angry with him.

Ken decided at that point that it didn't matter to him if the fiery haired assassin was going to kill him, but he had to break him out of what ever he was doing and get his mind back on the work they had to do. In addition, it was almost time for Yohji and Omi to come down and take over for them.

Ken walked over to the red head. Casting a quick apologetic smile to the woman in front of him, he placed his hand on the red head's shoulder and gave him a slight shake.

Ran shook his head and glared at his coworker. He didn't like being touched or, for that matter, being shaken so out of his memories. Growling deep in his throat, he was about ready to hit the younger man in front of him when he looked past his shoulder and saw the woman standing there.

"Ah, Aya," Ken said. "I hate to do that to you, but this lady here would like to pay for her flowers." He shot Ran a concerned look. "Are you alright though, Aya?" He asked.

"I'm fine. Now let me get back to work." He brushed Ken's hand off his shoulder and soon was ringing up the woman.

Before he could take the money from the woman, a strange sensation passed over him. He knew though, that it could mean only one thing. Another Immortal had just walked into the building he was at.

As he took the money from her, his eyes scanned around the place, hoping that even with the huge crowd of customers and schoolgirls, he would be able to spot who ever it was that was after him. Finally, his eyes landed on the only person he could tell it could be.

The man glanced at him and walked towards him. He kept his eyes on Ran as he gave the woman her change and in a monotone voice told her a thank you and to come back again. He then spoke up, "It's been a long time since we talked to each other last."

Authors notes: BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is probably the longest chapter I wrote for any story.

Brad: I doubt that. If it's past three thousand words, then yes, it will be but I really doubt that it is.

*pouts* Ah well, but it is long! Then again, I did have to explain what an immortal was and the rules. ^___^

Brad: That is true. There are some people who might be reading this and not know what Highlander was about.

*nods* Hai! Like Kami-chan! *glomps Kami-chan* I would have explained it to her over aim, but I forgot to. *sweat drops* Anyway, guys, still don't worry about my Green Eyes fic, or the Wishes Granted one either. I'm kinda working on Wishes Granted, while I work on this one and Green Eyes I've set aside a bit to give my mind a rest from it. Remember also if ya like this story go ahead and review it. Don't be shy! I hope you liked this one and I thank everyone who's reading and reviewing it so far. I hope you all still enjoy this. I'm going to head out now! *waves* Ja ne!