Sudden Death - Prologue

[shivalries]

CW: Family death

Season: Summer (Past)

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Location: Suou mansion garden



(Ten years ago, at the mansion of the Suou family)

Tsukasa: (Grandfather... has died.)

(He was a wonderful family head, adored and respected by all.)

(He shone above our heads like the sun itself.)

(...I did not know him well, as I did not see him very often. But I have heard many things.)

("Grandfather is a man among men." "Grandfather is an outstanding individual." "Grandfather is strong and wise, the last true warrior of our time.")

("So we must not go against Grandfather's wishes.")

("Grandfather's orders are absolute." "Why? Because Grandfather is always correct.")

("It is foolish to oppose or even doubt Grandfather's words.")



(......)

(...But is that really true?)

(A being that is always correct? Would that not be a god, instead of a human?)

(If Grandfather were a god, why could he not predict his own passing?)

(Why did he pass so suddenly, without leaving a final will?)

(No—perhaps it was deemed unnecessary to share anything of the will with someone like me, who has yet to become an adult.)

(Even if I knew, there would be nothing I could do.)

(But... I wish I could have gotten at least a word from him.)

(If he was always correct, then I wish he could have given us a guidepost, a direction on where to go.)

(But because we received only silence...)

(...we are now in disarray.)

(Father, my uncle, my cousins, the women as well... Everyone is running about in a mad rush. But what exactly are they doing?)

(With Grandfather, our sun, now gone... are they all in a panic, just like me?)

(Grandfather's orders are absolute. Grandfather is always correct.)

(So now that the one who had been giving us orders has died, we no longer know what is correct...)

(......)

(Why did you die, Grandfather?)

(What is death? Can it not be repelled, or even delayed? Even for our mighty Grandfather?)

(If so, then... I fear it.)

(The living will always die. I knew that already, but...)

(Discovering that even Grandfather is no exception... is frightening.)

(No matter how outstanding a person you become, one day it'll all be taken away.)

(Then why put in the effort? What meaning is there in growing strong? In earning respect?)

(......)



Kohaku: —Whatcha up to over here?

Tsukasa: Ah— Eyaaaaah?!

Kohaku: Whoa there, keep it down with the weird noises. Thought my heart was gonna jump right out my chest.

Tsukasa: ...? ...?

Kohaku: Didn't mean t'give you a fright. It's not so often I talk to people outside the family, see. Can't tell what normal conversation is s'posed to look like.



Tsukasa: ......

Kohaku: Oh? What's wrong, huh? Cat got your tongue?

Aren't ya s'posed to be older than me? You're lookin' pretty dumb right now...

Tsukasa: That accent... A-Are you perhaps... an "Oukawa"?

Kohaku: Mm? Well sure, I certainly am.

Tsukasa: I see! I only had the chance to exchange greetings with the Oukawas today, but that strange manner of speaking left quite an impression on me.

Hm? But wait, I don't recall you being there.

Kohaku: I had my reasons. ...A-ha, so if you met my people, you must be the young master of the Suous.

You sure do have a fancy getup, now that I look at ya.

Tsukasa: Indeed! This outfit was specially tailored for a boy of my standing. Isn't it splendid?

Kohaku: Sure is. Well, guess it ain't a sin to be "splendid"... [1]

Tsukasa: Uhm, what is your name— Oh! No, it would be more proper to introduce myself first. I am the eldest son of the Suou family—my name is Tsukasa. ♪

Kohaku: Hm... Tsukasa-kun, huh?

Tsukasa: Using "-kun" is an offense! Aren't you younger than me? And besides, if you are indeed an Oukawa, aren't you below me in station?

Kohaku: Yeah, you're right. We ain't equal. Pardon me for my rudeness, young master Suou.

Tsukasa: Yes, that's more like it! Hehe ♪ I see you know your manners as well...

Er...?

Kohaku: The name's Kohaku Oukawa.

An' today, I came here t'laugh in the stupid face of the guy who croaked while in tears over a bite from his own dog—old Grandpa Suou.

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T/N: Though they are children here, both Tsukasa and Kohaku speak in basically the same manner that they do in the current timeline; Tsukasa speaks with very polite/formal Japanese, while Kohaku's Kansai accent is very heavy. A notable difference, however, is that child Tsukasa's first-person pronoun (the word he uses for "I/me") in Japanese is 僕 (boku)—more boyish and younger-sounding than his current first-person pronoun 私 (watashi), which is formal and gender-neutral.
So yeah, even in the Japanese, these kids have an enormous vocabulary T__T

[1] In the original, this is likely wordplay with the word 綺麗, which can mean both "pretty" and "clean" in Japanese. Kohaku often uses "clean" to refer to others, while he refers to himself and the Oukawas as "dirty". This wordplay doesn't work so well in English, so I went for a more general suggestion that splendidness/fanciness isn't a sin in and of itself.↑

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