Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Through the Eyes of an Immortal ❯ As Time Goes By ( Chapter 5 )

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 ^__^

The streets of Tokyo seemed to burst alive at it's seems. Hundreds of people bustled about, jostling people here and there in their frenzied activity of wishing to get where they were going as quickly as they could.

Ran looked around at the bodies swelling near him, but thankfully not close enough to touch him, as he and his friend Duncan Maccloud strolled down the streets at a leisurely pace. In all his years of living, Ran still found that as time progressed, people remained unchanged. Oh, they thought they were changing at a rapid pace, but in reality, the only thing that changed was the convenience of it all. To think, only a hundred some odd years ago, when a person was hungry, they had to go out for hours on end, hunting for what they could. Then, they had to go through even more long hours to prepare what they had caught, when now a days all one has to do when hunger strikes is walk down the street to the local McDonalds™, order a Big Mac™, fries and a shake. Viola, a meal for you that took only twenty minutes to get all together, and gave you ten years of fat to work off as well.

As Ran's mind wandered over those thoughts, Duncan kept a running monologue going. He was trying to bring Ran up to date on what had been happening to him since they had last seen each other. "So, there was Tessa, dead on the ground. Killed by a thief, along with Richie… he's one of us now, an immortal, but I don't think he really understands what it really means. Yeah, he knows about the quickening and all, from living with me for like the last couple of years, but you know how kids are, all hot headed, and think they know best. This is exactly how he is."

Ran broke his thoughts at that point and looked at the Scottish man beside him. "Through all your talking, you've never mentioned Darius. How is he?"

"Well…" Duncan's footfalls began to thud in heaviness.

Ran turned to look at the one he called friend for such a long period of time. "Well? What do you mean well, Maccloud?"

"That… is a long story my old friend."

"And we have all the time in the world, Duncan, so tell me what happened to our Old friend the priest."

Duncan sighed. "If you insist."

"I do."

~~~~

Heavy bells rang through out the small room causing its sole occupant to awaken out of the death like slumber he was in.

Ran Fujimiya had no idea where he was. He had been expecting to wake up in the middle of the forest path, not where he was now, a room that was almost smaller then the huts that were his fellow townsmen lived in, the poor ones for that matter. Although, this room looked much nicer on the inside than what the peasants would live in.

As he noticed before it was a cramped room with gray, unadorned, stone walls. A small fireplace lies to the far right hand side of the wall. It was about three footsteps away. The only other thing that could fit in the minute room was a bed. The bed was hard and yet slightly comfortable at the same time. In addition, the whole room was cleaner than any of the others he had slept in at taverns.

Ran had no idea where he was. He'd been expecting to wake up in the middle of the forest path that he had fallen in, not some cramped room where the sounds of ringing bells could seep through the crumbling mortar that held the stones together as the wall.

He sat up on the bed and groaned softly when his muscles protested their movement. Even though he had been passed out for only a few hours or less, his muscles still felt as if it had been forever and a day since they were used last. The pain from them was intense and caused Ran to vainly wish that he could just idly sleep his whole life out.

As he moved a flicker of cloth caught his attention. He looked down to see what it was.

It was brown and upon closer examination, he found that it was just a small piece, belonging to a huge hooded robe that covered his thin pale body.

He blinked in surprise. Someone had taken the time and energy to not only cleansed him of the dirt he had accumulated, but to also clothe him into something different. He briefly wondered what happened to the ones he was wearing before. The clothes he had on before were comfortable to him. Made of a nice cotton material, and were not stained too badly by his travels… there were patches in them… but what would you expect for a person who couldn't really afford a decent pair of new clothes for the last 10 years. He absently scratched himself where the new robe was chaffing him and sighed.

Getting up out of bed, he stifled yet another incoming sigh. In a way, he was grateful to whomever it was that had helped him out, but he knew he couldn't stay here for too long. The roads ahead were calling him and his eagerness to find out what had happened to his mentor pressed his mind.

Gracefully he slid over to the wooden door and placed his hand on the wooden knob to open it.

As he did this, the presence of an immortal washed over him, causing him to back away. He didn't know if the presence he felt was hostile or not, so he went to unsheathe his thin katana.

The groping of air caused the red head to look down.

In the place where his sword usually rested was a belt tying his robes around him. He cursed softly to himself as memories flooded through him of what happened before he passed out.

She took my sword! I can't believe her. He thought, a low growl forming in his throat. If I ever find her,… she's dead.

At that moment, though the presence was growing stronger. As it grew, Ran came to realize that it wasn't one immortal he felt but two. Great… now they're going to gang up on me. No wait, they can't. That's forbidden in the game. He gave a soft sigh and walked back over to the small bed. Sitting down on it, he quietly waited for what the fates held in store for him.

His waiting was finally rewarded, for not long after he had sat down, the tiny room's door gradually opened and two men strolled into the room.

What he saw of them made him slightly curious. One man was tall and thin with short brown hair. His eyes were hazel and held an anguished yet wise look to them, as if they could tell of horrors from ages past, but were slightly lit up by the smile that played upon his lips at that moment. His clothing was the same as Ran's, brown robed and hooded but at that time his hood was down.

The other one was a bit shorter. His hair was short but not quite as short as his taller companion's and had a slight wave in it that would probably never leave with his hair that short. Luminous brown eyes sparkled with mirth, the two were probably talking and having a good time before coming to check on the red headed wanderer. His clothes seemed to be made of the finest spun silk and contrasted against the plain garb of the older man he was with. To Ran, it seemed that the many years of eternity that man faced, or would faced, would never weigh heavily on him as it did his companion, then again, he wasn't as old as the other one.

While Ran studied the two whom had just walked in, they studied him with the same intensity. Finally, the taller of the two spoke up.

"Greetings, I'm called Darius. How may we call you?" he asked. His voice held a strangely, gentle quality to it.

Ran blinked. He still couldn't understand the language of the people here in what he called, odd land he came to. "Nani?" He asked confused.

The smile on Darius' face grew. He recognized the language the younger immortal was speaking. He had after all lived for over one thousand years and was probably one of the oldest immortals alive in the world. He thanked the living God that he had taken the time to learn it and spoke to the man in it. "I am called Darius." He bowed to the crimson haired man. "May I ask what you are called?"

Ran was shocked to say the least. In all his wandering over the past fifty years, no one he had ever come across ever knew his language and he thought that it was about time someone could finally speak a language other than the barbaric ones he had come into contact.

He gave a small nod in acknowledgement to Darius' greeting. "My name is Fujimiya, Ran," he answered.

"Welcome then, Fujimiya-san."

Ran smiled briefly then pointed over at the man who was accompanying Darius. "Who is the silent one and are you here for my head? Or are you just going to attack me like that one man and woman did on the road?"

Darius raised his eyebrow and shook his head. "No, we aren't." He placed his hand lightly on the man next to him. "This is Maccloud, Duncan, a friend of mine. He found you on the road and decided to bring you here, instead of letting the vultures pick at your "dead" carcass." He had a wiry grin on his face. "May I ask what bring you to France? You're far from home, young one."

"I came here in search of the one who taught me," Ran answered the smiling man. "He left around 50 years ago saying he would be back in a few days time. He hasn't been back since."

"What was his name? I might know him, or at least have heard of him."

"He's known as Shion."

A sad look crossed Darius' face when he heard the name. "I'm sorry Fujimiya-san, but I'm afraid he's dead."

Duncan Maccloud sat through the whole exchange between the two men. A strange look sat on his face until finally, he leaned over to the taller man and lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

Darius turned his attention back to him and the two began to rapidly exchange things in French, leaving Ran clueless of what the two were saying.

As soon as they finished speaking, Darius looked back towards the red haired swordsman. "You said earlier that you were attacked by two people. Do you know what was the cause of them waylaying you?"

Ran shook his head, "No, I don't. I do know that it was a man and a woman who did it. I believe she took my katana afterwards."

"What did she look like?"

"She was about my height, maybe taller, long brown hair braided, brown eyes. She wasn't that bad looking either."

Darius turned around to face his companion and relayed what was said to the Scottish man.

His brown eyes widened in recognition of the woman's description. "Amanda…" he said before turning to leave.

Darius watched the younger man go then turned to look at Ran. "It seems to me that my young friend there knows exactly who it was that took your sword. I can guarantee that you'll have it back in no time at all." He said wryly. "Enough talk, I have a feeling that you might be starving, after all you've just died and risen from the grave like Christ himself."

Ran nodded but kept his puzzlement, on just whom Christ was, to himself.

~~~~

Ran stopped in his tracks, "When did this happen and how?"

"Oh, the usual decapitation…" Duncan replied lightly.

Ran turned to glare at his old friend and paused. No matter how glibly he spoke on the subject. Ran could see the pain that lingered in his eyes. Almost as it pained the red head to think about … Ran shook his head. He wouldn't walk down that path of thought just yet. He couldn't. Yes, there was still pain he felt when he tried to face it, but soon, it would be over. His feelings told him that. Ran's face softened from the scowl was going to shoot his friend. "Tell me, who did this to him? Was it an immortal?"

Duncan shook his head. "No, it wasn't. You know we immortals do not attack on holy ground."

"… Then what happened?"

Duncan looked at in the face. "Have you ever heard of an organization known as the watchers?"

Lavender eyes widened at the mention of that name.

Author's Notes: Well now… I will say this isn't up to par on my usual chapters… but hey give me a break will ya? For the past few weeks or more, I've been busy at work… plus the fact that I've had some writer's block… but I do know where I'm going!

Schu: Yeah down a fast track to insanity. *smirks*

*rolls eyes* Whatever Schu, you're one to talk besides… I'm already insane! FWEEEEEEEEEEEEE! *coughs* Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter… I'll get to the plot soon enough.

Schu: Yeah and you're taking your sweet time to do it XP

Argh! Someone shoot me! Thanks guys for the reviews so far and hey keep them coming if you have anything to say about this so far. I'm always up for comments, suggestions,… but no flames… review constructively… not idiotically. *bows* Thank ya kindly.

Schu: Yeah! Flame her! Flame her!

*bops Schu*

Schu: OW!