I've done some thinking. I've decided to take a few liberties with Taijou Roukun since I believe that 5,000+ years can do a lot to a person, and being that Roushi is the only one of the 3 great sennin in the current timeframe, I'd say he has a slightly different take on responsibility. Normally I wouldn't do this sort of thing, but it seemed logical, so...

Warning: This story (will eventually, I promise!) contain shounen-ai, Tsuuten/Genshi. Read with caution!

What the Eyes Cannot See
Chapter 2 : The Seeds of War

Roushi stared after the vanishing boy as he fled before turning his attention to the silent lake. The water sprites that had been disturbed earlier still hovered quietly above their home, watching the sage with interest. The murmur from before had quieted down, and the eerie silence of the place had returned to its former state, daring anyone to disturb it. It was only suiting that the wise sage would be the one to do so.

"What began as a game has turned into something much more real than he could have imagined. The project started with him before he even realized it. Such is the order of things."

"Has he seen, has he seen?"

"Our voices speak, they speak, they speak."

"The beast comes naught. Is it time, the time?"

Roushi regarded the small spirits before him.

"We play our part, the part, the part."

"Roushi knows all, all wise, so wise."

"Has his vision been seen, been seen?"

He closed his eyes against the vexatious water beings. "I see... the roots of a war in a future's past. It is a root so strong, even I cannot break it. The heart of this planet beats deaf to its two siblings at odds. We are but captive puppets who must play our role for the hope this project brings. War is inevitable."

"The wise sage speaks, he speaks, he speaks."

"The war comes hither, come hither!"

"And thus is why we trill, we trill."

"Our voices speak, they speak, they speak."

"It's the beast he seeks. It's the beast he'll find, he'll find."

It was those piercing yellow eyes that haunted him all the way home. He didn't really care if he woke his mother up, he just had to get away from the vastness of the outdoors - the same outdoors he usually cherished. He carelessly slid the door open, before slamming it shut behind him. A grand shiver crept up his spine as the words returned to him.

/"You are the one."/

Slumping to the ground, he ignored the mud smears his shoes made on his clothes. He wasn't quite sure how long he had been sitting there, hugging himself, before he noticed his mother hadn't come out to investigate the noise. Blinking against the blackness, he crawled up the threshold.

He nearly called out for her, before thinking better of it. There was a faint possibility that she had slept through the entire event, but it didn't stop his worry - he had made an awful lot of noise. He would've been stupid to not at least check up on her, even if it earned him a lengthy lecture.

Light on his toes, Sonshou creeped through the house, feeling akin to a burgular in his own home. Nearing his mother's room, he titled his head at a soft noise eminating through the paper thin door. He frowned. His mother didn't snore, nor were they noises of her usual wakingness. Getting closer, he pressed his ear against the wall. Widening his eyes, he drew away as if it had burned him.

His mother's soft voice seeped through the cracks to his far too sensitive ears. "Ah... A-aah...!"

/No way. ... EWWWWW! Gross, that's my MOM!/ His lips curled in distaste, slinking to his own room. /Well, that certainly explains how she missed all the noise I made./ Reaching his room, he shed his muddied clothes, and shivered onto his bed. /Gods, can't I get enough trauma for one night?/

Sonshou turned to his side, and stared out to the night sky. Normally the sight of the calm blackness soothed his soul, but tonight it held a disturbing silence, hoarding the owner of those yellow eyes. Shifting to his other side, he glared tiredly at the wall. Not that his own home was any more comforting. Right this second, his mother was doing something... unspeakable with some strange man. Not just any strange man, either. A strange man he had never heard about or seen in any fashion. The thought drew another grimace to his face. /That's so gross! Parents don't do that!/

Was there really no safe haven for him to run to? Sitting up, he turned his attention once more to the night sky. Silent for a moment, his fingers curled tightly into his disheveled clothes. /Heh, no better place to snooze than the closet. Right?/

"You're running. You keep running and running, 'til you can run no more. What will you do then?"

"W-who are you?"

"Do you want to know what will happen when you can't run anymore?"

"I don't want to know. I'm sure I can run forever."

"When you can run no longer..."

"I can't hear you! I won't hear you! I won't listen! I refuse!"

"... your legs will give out..."

"Stop it! Shut up!"

"... your breathing becomes laboured..."

"Please... Stop it...!"

"... your defenses run out, and the energy you burned running makes you feel like a million stones in weight..."

"Please..."

"... without that energy, your very essence become weak..."

"Stop..."

"... And we all know the weak die."

"I won't die! I can't die! My mother needs me!"

"The weak die. That is the order of things."

"I'm not weak!"

"Stop running. Running will only weaken your soul."

"But if I don't run, then I'll disappear. I'll sink into the blackness."

"... You have great weakness. You will surely fade from existence."

"NO! I don't want that! I refuse!"

"Then listen to me and listen well."

"... Who are you?"

"Your true Father."

"Father...?"

"One day, you shall understand. On that day, I will name you."

"Name me?"

"Get stronger. Ask me then."

"Father... Aren't you dead?"

"Death is transcient and beyond your scope of true understanding. Please, call me Ou Eki."

"Ou Eki... But my father's name wasn't-"

"I am timeless and beyond death. Reach for me, and the strength shall be yours."

"Sonshou? ... Sonshou?" The voice was so faint, he almost hadn't heard it through the haze of his dreams. Sitting up earned him a quiet groan, and a nasty crimp in his neck. Maybe the closet wasn't the best place for him to sleep after all.

"Mama?" His voice was a croak, barely audibly. His mother's footsteps grew louder as she made her way to the closet door. Her son blinked blindly at the stream of light as she slid the door open.

"Sonshou? What're you doing in the closet? Don't tell me you're afraid of monsters."

He ducked his head sheepishly, unwilling to tell her either truth of the previous night. "I uh... Uhm..."

His mother smiled, lifting her son from the dark cubby hole. "Come, I'll make you a good breakfast. Be sure to get dressed first. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Some... one?" Sonshou stood warily, stepping into his room. /Banish the memory, banish the memory, I so did NOT hear my mother last night./

"It's your duty and obligation as the man of the house to meet him. While you aren't quite old enough yet... I think it would be a good experience for you. Now shoo! I've got to cook breakfast."

"Mama?"

His mother turned in the doorway, regarding her son. "Yes?"

"Dad didn't... go by any other names did he?" He stared at the ground, long and hard, before peering up. He hating bringing the subject of his father up for fear of disturbing his mother, but his dream haunted him.

Her head tilted, eyes fading a bit at the mention. "You and I both know he only went by his real name. Your father was proud to be a part of his family. He wouldn't pretend to be anyone else, not even as a joke."

"Oh... Okay." Turning, he regarded the minute pile of clothes in the corner. Some his father's, they were all the clothes he ever owned. "Just curious..."

"... Remember to dress nicely, Sonshou." On that note, his mother left him.

His mother and their guest were in the midst of frivolous conversation when he finally made his way into the kitchen. He had tried stalling a little earlier, truth be told. This sort of thing wasn't exactly something he thought he'd relish. It was a little too soon, in his opinion, to meet the man who was shagging his mother. He bet the man didn't even know how to farm correctly, much less the lunar cycle and best times for planting.

"Ah, Sonshou! I was wondering when you'd finally find your way out here. I'd like you to meet our guest."

Blue eyes stared at yellow eyes in stark disbelief. "Hello, Sonshou. My name is Taijou Roukun. Your mother's told me much of you." His eyes were the same as before. Calm, unflinching, penetrating, hiding a reservoir of knowledge he was certain couldn't be humanly possible. What was he? A demon?

"Y-y-y-y-you!" Sonshou raised a shaky finger, almost accusingly at the piercing eyes.

"Sonshou! That's no way to treat our guest!" His mother rose from her knees, Roushi's gaze unwavering.

"No! Nonono!" He stuck his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "NO! Stop looking at me!" The implacable fear from the night before thrilled through him full force, bringing him to hysterics. The yellow eyes continued their piercing gaze, flickering with something undefinable.

"Sonshou!"

"I haven't done anything! I haven't, I swear! Blame the sprites! My mother has no part in it, leave her alone! Leave ME alone! Stop chasing me!" Turning around, he fled the kitchen in a dead run. "I can run away from you, damnit!"

"Sonshou!"

"Let him go."

"But..."

"It's okay. He'll tire himself out, and he'll have no choice but to return. He'll always come back home. He wouldn't leave you alone."

"Sonshou..."

Afterword:

Oh my god, I SO want to kill those stupid sprites! Why did I have to go and choose some distinct speech pattern for them that was so annoying? It was really hard trying to come up with certain phrases that matched their speech pattern well and still conveyed the meaning I wanted. Death to water sprites! x_x

Fic is on indefinite hiatus. Personal reasons.