Chapter 34

It was about time he explained everything. Perhaps this maybe the only person Suiryu could trust with such information.

It's been a while since he returned to the studio. Not since the last photo session he did with Yuuji for Beefcake industry, Suiryu has tried to keep out of the spotlight, after all, the jujutsu council is still looking for them, and will take any chance they can to strike back.

He wondered into one of the photo studios. Looking about, he found a few people lingering around. Rufus being one of them. "Hey, Rufus" he called.

Instantly he turned and was rather surprised to see him. "Hey Suiryu, what brings you here?"

"Uh… is D'angelo about? I got something I need to ask him," he said in a meek tone.

"Actually he's out for the day… something we could help you with?"

He never thought about asking them, but then again. Everyone who works for D'angelo happens to be a divine creature themselves. He merely nodded his head to them and looked about. "Can we secure the room?" he asked.

Rufus nodded as Suiryu sensed energy surge through the walls. A divine barrier was put up. "No one can hear or come into this room until the barrier is lowered. So… what's up?" Rufus asked.

Along with himself, there was a new guy Suiryu hasn't really seen before, but was paying close attention. The make up artist, Becky, who happens to be a Gorgon herself and the fashion tailor… whose a human spider type of creature named Archie. With that, Suiryu took a deep breath. "Uh… is there anything you can share with me about dragons?" he asked. "Not just for my brother's sake… but mine,"

"Your sake? Did you piss off a dragon?" asked the newcomer. "Then again, the only one you could piss off would be…" but froze. "You didn't…"

"What? No!" Suiryu protested. "I am arrogant, not stupid!" he snapped back. "It's something else… and I don't know if anyone here can help me…"

They looked at him with great curiosity now. "Oh? Try us!" the new guy said in a challenging tone.

"I don't even know who the hell you are!"

"Don't mind him, he just a little uncertain since he hasn't made a contract before, it's a little different for him since most of the time… he was forced to fight battles he never wanted to be part of." Rufus explained.

Suiryu took a deep breath. "What do you know about dragon souls?" he asked. "I heard when a dragon dies, their soul is unleashed into the world or something like that… so, can anyone explain it to me?"

No one moved. Rufus himself was rendered rather still and silent. "Is this Ryujin? Is something wrong?!" he asked with great worry.

"Uh…" Suiryu said as he went rather silent for a moment. "The thing is… Ryujin is no longer part of Yuuji, my brother… but… he's trying to fuse with me."

Once more silence.

"Oh my God…" whispered Becky.

Rufus shook his head in disbelief. "A dragon soul… trying to fuse into yours? I've never heard of such a thing, then again most divine sorcerers, this would be a dream for them…"

"I'm not doing this on purpose!" Suiryu insisted. "It just… happened, I… I don't know what to do. I'm not worthy of it, but I am trying to make sense of it."

Suddenly, the new guy approached him. He stared Suiryu dead in the face before looking him over. "Huh, I thought there was something odd about you. Even though you came from Sukuna… you have created your own soul separate from his haven't you?"

He shook his head. "I didn't create anything," Suiryu protested. "Look, this all happened by accident. I never knew Yuuji was going to become a dragon, I didn't know two dragons cannot exist in the same place at once… I…" he suddenly stopped himself.

Rufus however was stunned. "Ryujin was dying… Why else would his soul try to fuse into yours…"

"That's the thing I want to know." He sighed aloud once more. "Why me of all people. You all know where I came from. How the fuck did I get to the front of the line to take in a dragon's soul!?" he demanded.

"You never were in line," The new guy said. "Look, Suiryu. Despite the situation and you origins. You are the worth vessel for this."

"Seriously, who the hell are you?"

The guy smirked. "You don't remember huh? Well, let's say I owe your summoner friend a favor. He freed me before attacking the divine users…"

He paused. "The wyvern…" he whispered.

"The name is Wayne, Wayne Wyvern," he explained. "I just made a contract with D'angelo just a short while ago. I'm not use to it, but I rather have this be my choice than to be chained like an animal. I do admit, I didn't know what to expect but everyone is oddly comfortable with this."

"You'll understand soon enough." Becky explained and snickered. "Besides, it's how I met my mate, right Rufus?"

He smirked and stole a kiss from Becky. "The wedding was amazing…"

"Yeesh, save it for the bedroom…" Suiryu muttered. "Back to the point at hand, I wanted to ask… is there a way to let Ryujin take over me?" he asked.

They froze once more. Rufus was flat out confused. "Wait, you don't want to live? Suiryu, when a dragon dies, they die. Their soul is either disburse throughout the world or the heavenly realm, depends on where they are located. However, if it occurs on earth… it can lead to disasters. Wars will break out among the divine and divine jujutsu sorcerers. They will eventually pull the curse users into the war if they figure out how to use dragon energy… when it's released, it can be repurposed and used by any with jujutsu. Do you know the chaos it will cause?"

"Has it happened before?" Suiryu asked, rather stunned to the explanation given. Then again Yua had warned him about this before, but didn't quite believe her. After all, she may have just spouted nonsense to make him feel better.

Rufus smirked. "What humans have called the bubonic plague… wasn't a plague…" he said. "That was a dragon's soul unleashed upon the world after centuries of dormancy and being sealed away. It strengthened the divine jujutsu sorcerers, at the same time. Nature also absorbed the energy. It was too much for people to bare, many died from it. This happened to coincide with a disease that happened to be moving about, but they chalked up all the deaths to the plague…" He paused for a moment. "Are you considering not accepting the dragon soul? If you do, Suiryu, please consider this notion. The lives lost to Sukuna in both the golden age when he lived and his reincarnation… will be nothing compared to this."

It was that serious?

He sat there and let it all sink in, but then, he turned to those in the room. "What do you think of me?" he asked.

They paused and stared at him oddly. "What?"

"What do you think of me? I know for a fact, a certain fox (Cough)Kitsune(cough) does not approve of me the least bit considering where I came from… I don't even approve of myself the least bit. I mean… this is huge. A dragon is sacred and special to the divine are they not?" he asked.

"They are" said Archie.

"Then why the hell do I have it!?"

No one could really answer him. Rufus sighed aloud and said. "Suiryu… we never saw you as that bastard to begin with…"

He paused oddly. "What?"

"D'angelo told you, we were to keep tabs on you to be certain that you weren't Sukuna. Needless to say, you haven't ravaged a city. You haven't killed innocent people, those you have killed many before you even showed up. Not to mention, the fact is this… you respect life"

"Of course I do, I never had one of my own, and I respect the hell out of it! But what makes you think that I…"

"Sukuna didn't." Archie said flat out. "To him, lives were pawns and play things, humans were mere trinkets that break easily but there were plenty of others to replace his toys when they broke… He was nothing more than a greedy bastard. For you, to know pain and suffering, to be deprived of having a life of your own, let alone having your words be spoken, it's all been a gift to you."

Suiryu froze as he nodded his head slowly. "It has…" he whispered. "As painful as it is to make connections and having them lost… it does make one stronger for it."

"Ryujin must have seen your respect and love for life. Granted, yes, you still act like Sukuna from time to time, but only when the situation calls for it. More often than not, you are helping those around you, correct?" asked Becky. "I've seen you help out around here. It's not necessary of you, no one else does. But, you like to help people… like your brother."

Perhaps that was another thing he took from Yuuji. Suiryu just shook his head to it all. "I want to know what's really mine and what… is borrowed. I said before, I don't have anything that belongs solely to me. All I have is what has been taken and given…"

Silence befell the room.

"Isn't that the case with everyone else?" Wayne asked.

Suiryu peered at him oddly. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

"Well… the way I see it. None of us have anything that is our own. Our bodies came from our parents, did they not? Two of them sharing their genetics to create us, that's not ours alone. Our parents, surroundings and those we meet give the lessons we learn to us. Knowledge is gathered, gained and shared. Even if it is a new discovery someone has made, that information is distributed. It's never exclusively ours."

"What's the damn point!" Suiryu demanded.

Wayne snickered. "The way you feel right now… it irrational. You say you have nothing that is your own, which is true, but that goes for everyone else, every living being and creature, curse or divine." He said simply.

"But I am different from that!" he protested. "I never had parents, my body was forged from curse energy and Yuuji's blood and flesh… that wasn't given, that was forced into being made."

"True, but it's the same principle." Rufus said. "He's not wrong, Suiryu. But perhaps you are being a little too hard on yourself considering that since you came from Sukuna… you don't deserve to have anything that's your own?"

He paused, yet turned away rather embarrassed. "Yes," he whispered.

"A humble man knows what he has. A greedy man will never know the value of those around him." Rufus said. "You know the value of those around you, and understand how precious they are. I am also starting to understand a little more too, you have survivor's guilt as well. For you have lost friends and felt you could have saved them, didn't you?"

He was silent.

More and more Suiryu has been reflecting upon himself. He has started to understand and see Yuuji's perspective on various things now. He understood why he didn't want to get stronger, for if he did, the target on not just his back, but those around him would grow. The elders see him as nothing more than a threat for they cannot control him. Had it been the other way around, no doubt, Yuuji would have been used to assert their power over others. It was a lose/lose situation.

"I told Satoru one time, he cannot call himself the strongest sorcerer if he can't use his power to save all those around him from harm and danger… apparently this is the same advice I must heed as well. I am strong, but… I am not the strongest."

Rufus crossed his arms. "Ryujin couldn't save everyone," he said flat out. "If he could, he would have only needed one host to survive in. But instead, he had to take host after host to maintain himself. Yet, you consider him to be far more powerful than you. Suiryu, listen well. A dragon is not a god." He said. "There are few who can make such a claim, but at the same time, despite their great power, they know not all lives can be saved. You need to understand that too."

"I would if I could…" he muttered.

"Then how will one understand death? How would they learn of life if death is absent? When there is no death, there is no point to life. As tragic as events happen, the lives lost are great. You need to understand something about that too. You cannot coddle those around you. A planet of billions and you think you can save them all?" Wayne asked. "Also, you need to take into consideration, why save only humans? Would that not be a one sided argument for every other life form that deserve to live as well? Humans have done far more damage to this world than any other, why save them at all?"

Suiryu was stunned to hear such advice come out of Wayne, as harsh as his word were, he was also right on them too. Why save just people? There are animals that die every day for being nothing more than food, or just for entertainment for human beings. "Life is cruel, life is hard, but it is also the way things are." Said Becky. "You shouldn't show favoritism for one race when all should be considered."

He nodded to her and to what was said, it's true, all of it is true.

"Thank you for your time on this… I have a lot to consider."

Rufus took down the barrier as Suiryu began to leave. "Hey, Suiryu," he called.

Pausing near the door, he turned. "Huh?"

"Just saying out loud… you do become a dragon… I would respect you." He said. "Since you earned it, it's not given"

He smirked to his comment and nodded. "Thanks," he said and strolled out.

There is a lot he has to understand, but there was nowhere he could really go to learn about it…