Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Kaioshin Saga: Story 1: Silver Wishes ❯ Chapter 1: A Family Destroyed ( Chapter 1 )

Silver Wishes

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or any of the Dragon Ball Z characters. They are owned by those who own them. I do, however, own the original characters (if any), and the fics all of this is in. That is all.

Chapter 1: A Family Destroyed

There were screams of terror that reigned through his mind as the small child stood in the middle of the road, people running around him with stopping to see who this small one was. This child held a tattered teddy bear in his right hand as his free arm was over his eyes, hiding the tears from the people that were racing to get away from some unknown force. Shouts tainted with swears were among the screams, flashes of light and smoke raising above the crowd of people. Loud popping sounds reached his eardrums, making them hurt with every passing second that went by. Women's shrill screams pierced his mind, causing a painful sensation go through his small thoughts.

The child continued to sob in his arm, hoping that someone would pick him up, and take him back to his home. Take him back to his family. Take him away from the noise that was hurting him. Just someone out of the crowd to make all the flashes and sounds and screams go away. Anyone at all. Anyone that would care. And that someone came as the child felt his body being lifted off the ground, teddy bear and all.

"Come on, child. We have to get out of here," A gruff voice mumbled as the child wrapped his arms around the person's neck.

"Where is everyone, brother?" He asked the older one, his eyes puffy from crying.

"They are safe from this. Safe from all that is happening."

"What's going on? Where's Papa?"

"Papa is trying to....." The words caught in the other's throat as he tired to speak the words. ".....trying to make sure that we get safe."

"He's dead, isn't he?" The young one asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"No, he is not dead. He is fighting to make sure that you are alright."

"You're lying. I can feel it. I can't sense his life anymore."

"Little one, he is alive. I assure you so."

"Then take me to him," The child demanded, hitting the older one with his teddy bear. "I want to know what he is trying to save us from!"

The answer he was waiting for was drowned in the sound of something that slammed into the ground several feet behind them, throwing all that surrounded it out. The child felt his body being slammed into the ground, his small hand letting go of the teddy bear that he had held. Things went black for a moment before the sights and smells of what happened came rushing back full force. The child blinked his eyes, his small body pinned down by the other's, trapping him between flesh and dirt.

"Brother? Brother!?!?!" The small one screamed out, blood running down from his nose as he tried desperately to shake the one that was on top of him to the best of his ability. "Are you alright? Brother?"

There was no answer to the inquires of a single child as others that survived began to shake the impact of what had just happened, standing up to see what had really happen. The child cried out loud to anyone that could see what was wrong with his brother. Like before, no one paid heed to him until a single soul could not stand the screaming of a small, helpless soul. It took several moments for that person to roll the lifeless body of the older one off, grabbing the little one by the throat as he raised him up off the ground.

"Stop that useless crying right now, you little worthless being. There is no use showing any emotions to anyone because those emotions will only hinder your life," The man growled as the child clawed at his hands to free himself from his death grasp, tears still going down his cheeks. "Life is short, so don't bother giving the universe anything if it doesn't give you anything."

With those words, he threw down the child onto the ground which only made him cry even more. The man glared down at him, giving the boy's body a soft kick before walking a few feet away, arms crossed and a pissed off look on his face. A woman rushed to the child's side, kneeling down beside him as he sat up, sniffing.

"Don't listen to him, sugar. He doesn't know what he is talking about," She said gently, noticing the teddy bear that was several feet away, more tattered then what it had been before. She picked it up, handing it to the child who took it with a small smile.

"What happened to my brother?" He asked in a small voice as he nodded over to the body that had once been carrying him, but now was laying, face up towards the heavens. The woman put her arms over the boy's chest as the man spoke before she could say anything.

"He's dead, kid. Deader then you can ever imagine," He spat out, barely even holding back the scorn that flowed through his voice. "That is the way we all are going to end up so there is really no use in morning his death. We're all going to end up like that because of the damned wars. Don't expect the life that you lead before to be any more kinder then it is right now."

"He's just a kid. Don't say something like that," The woman scolded, moving a hand along one of the boy's cheeks. The man snorted, and shook his head, his body turning towards the two.

"Don't try to hide it from him. It's no use. One day, he won't be a kid anymore, and he'll realize all the lies that people have told him because he was a kid. He'll believe what you tell him until he is old enough to see that people have shielded him for too long. Kid, don't listen to what anyone says about what is going on around here unless you know they are speaking the truth."

"How will I know?" The boy sniffed, holding the teddy bear close to his chest.

"When they tell you there is nothing left to fight for. When there's nothing left of this world to really know what a planet looks like. When..."

"Wake up....." A soft voice flowed through the man's lips instead of his harsh, raspy tone. "Wake up little one......."

"Huh?" I asked, fluttering my eyes for a moment before I opened them fully. I found myself lying in my mothers arms as she sat, crossed legged, in the dark bathroom. My sleepy eyes looked around blindly to barely make out two forms that were my brother and sister. "Are we still in the bathroom? Is everything okay outside?"

"Yes, we are still in the bathroom. Despite little rattling outside the house, I think we are safe to venture out into the open. But, we'd need to be careful, though. Things are still shaking a little," My mother's warm voice said in my ear as she stroked my shoulder length hair. "I don't want to wake your brother and sister up just yet. Let's wait a little while longer before we head out, okay?"

"I guess," I mumbled, yawning. "Is dad gonna be alright?"

"Yea, sure, Kibito. He'll be fine."

"He's dead, isn't he?"

"Kibito, don't say such a thing. Of course he's alive. He's fighting in the wars, like he always has been," My mother's voice held a certain tint of pain in them, but it didn't hinder my thoughts. Everything about the dream that I just had swirled in my mind until I couldn't think about anything else. It was so hard to tell what the peaceful dreams were, what the nightmares were, and what had happened in the past kind of dreams were. It all seemed real to me now, and I wanted nothing to do with dreams. They were of no use to me anymore. "Why do you ask?"

"I haven't seen him in a while, and I am just wondering where he is," I said plainly, yawning again. "It's really no matter to me anyways. I don't care what happens to everyone now. It's no use caring when you have no one to care for anymore."

"Kibito! How dare you say something like that?" The older woman pushed me onto the hard bathroom floor with no sound coming from me. I shrugged as I stood up slowly, brushing what dirt had come onto my tattered paints, a slight throbbing feeling in my side. It didn't hurt at all, but I didn't show it in my voice when I spoke

"It's the truth, mother, as harsh as it might sound. There will be no end to these wars so there is no point in hoping for something better," I replied, looking towards her in the darkness. "I think it would be better for us all if they just blew up the house so we could be out of our misery. That way, we wouldn't have to worry about surviving in this universe."

"I've never taught you to be so cruel. Where did all of this come from?" She demanded, coming onto her knees. As I opened my mouth to speak, a weak knock stopped the words from forming on my tongue, and made me move my head over my shoulder.

"Wha.....?" My sister said tiredly as she stirred from her sleep with me turning around the best way I could. I reached out to the doorknob, my eyes full of fear as I didn't know who to expect on the other side.

"Kibito, don't. You don't know who is there," My mother said in a low voice.

"I guess we will never know if we let fear live our lives for us," I said harshly, my hand grasping the brass knob firmly. I slowly turned it, my arms trembling as I bit my lower lip, the door opening slowly outwards so that the light trickled in from outside. Letting go of the door and pushing it open with my foot, my eyes fell upon a tattered figure that had stepped out of the way to let the door open. My eyes went wide as I saw who it was. "Brother! You're alive!"

"Yea, I guess I am, kid," He replied, wiping a small river of blood from the side of his mouth. From what I could make out, my brother's body looked like it had been to hell and back at least a dozen times. His once perfect clothing was all tattered now, at least what was left of it, with cuts and bruises all over his body. His bare feet were blistered from some kind of heat, his hair looking it had been pulled out with a few strands left. His once pointed ears were now almost stubs of skin that were barely holding together, his face looking twisted in pain.

"What happened to you?" My mother gasped out, standing up quickly. This action woke up my sister more, and my other brother had the curtsey to raise his head up from his bed in the bathtub.

"The wars happened, that's what," He said in a deadpan tone as he leaned up against the doorframe, his chest going up and down like it was hard for him to breathe. "I barely even left the house when the fighting roared up like a flame in a fire. Bombs were going off everywhere, bullets flying by me every second. Anything that could be used as a weapon was used; you can use your imagination if you'd like. It doesn't matter. All that does matter is that it was one hell of a scene to watch people you had grown up with be slaughtered right in your sight. I thought I lost more friends a couple of weeks ago when the first wave hit, but this was worse then before.

"By the time the fighting ceased to a crawl, like it is now, I barely made it out alive. I had to crawl on my stomach to get here so I wouldn't have to use my legs. Hell, I didn't even know I could walk much less pull myself back here. But, I managed to get back to warn you guys."

"Warn us? About what?" My other brother mumbled, not yet awake enough to understand what had just been said.

"That there is going to be more fighting ahead at any moment. If you want to hide in here, that's fine with me, but I really suggest all of you move out as quickly as possible. The less time you spend in the house, the more chances you have to survive. Most of the village is already gone now, and it looks like their be hitting this section soon. Very soon."

"But your father said...." My mother started before my brother cut her off.

"Father isn't alive anymore, mom. He hasn't been alive for a while now," My older brother dismissed any more words from my mother as she opened her mouth to speak. "Whatever he said before about hiding in here, forget it. It is useless. I suggest you leave now while you still have a chance. It isn't worth staying here if you want to live."

"Where will we go? There is nothing around here for miles," I said out loud. "How will we be safe?"

"That's the point in leaving. So you won't be here when something big hits, if something like ever does. I've already scouted the area surrounding the village, and found something far enough away so that, if something bigger comes, you'd be safe."

"I can't leave this house. The children grew up here," My mother protested, walking the few steps to stand behind, and draped a arm over my chest. By this time, both my sister and second-to-oldest brother were awake, and standing up where they had once slept. "I can't just let them leave their birth house. They spent many years here, growing up."

"Then you'll be damning them to hell, then, if you want to keep them here."

"I guess I will."

"Then I suggest you leave them behind and come with me if you are willing to be that inhumane," My brother said, pushing himself from the doorframe with what strength he had left. "Father knew the wars were going to get worse, but he didn't expect it to be at our doorstep. He was wrong. Dead wrong."

"Excuse me?!" My mother cried out, giving my brother a look as she stepped around me, and getting into my brother's face. "I'd like to hear the first part again."

"You heard me the first time around, mother. If you don't want them to leave the house that they grew up in, then come with me. At least then you wouldn't have to watch them suffer any more."

"What makes you think that I am going to leave my own children behind? You are crazy if you do think that. I'm not that cruel."

"Then why are you allowing them to live like this?" My brother pointed directly to me. "Kibito has less compassion for life then most kids his age. He hasn't been able to live the life he should be living if only you would have given him the chance to go off world. Hell, most of the stuff that comes out of his mouth he shouldn't be saying. I know he is only eight, but he shouldn't be like this."

"That's your father talking. He wouldn't allow it. He didn't even allow us to barely leave this place since Kibito was born. It was too dangerous to do so."

"And he is not alive to tell you what to do anymore, is he?" He rolled his eyes at this. "You are becoming just like him, coldhearted and not worthy to hold this family together."

There was silence after that, the words that my brother spoke sinking into my mothers skin. She stood there, standing only an inch away from his face, and neither speaking. I kept my own tongue silent as they stood, face-to-face, my legs taking me back towards the darkness. I don't like this. Don't like this at all, I thought to myself as went to my knees. I wanted to say something to this, but nothing came out of my mouth. I didn't want any of the anger that was generating between the two to be directed towards me. I had enough hatred being spun towards me in the years that had past to last a lifetime, and I didn't want anymore. I had enough.

"Let's just go to where he wants us to go," I said in a small voice, my eyes looking up at them in a wide manner. Both mother and brother turned their attention towards me, angry looks on their faces. But, before anyone else could speak to what I had said, a blinding flash of light exploded from outside the house, the whole building shaking violently. I heard my sister scream in fear as the sounds of my brother scrambling out of the tub reached my ears. I did nothing but calmly rose to a standing position, and walked to the middle of mother and son, who were both looking confused. "Are we going to go or are we going to die? Either way, I think we should at least do it together."

"Okay, we can go. I may not like it, but I don't want the younger ones to die in such a place," My mother said horridly, waving to my two siblings to hurry up, and follow them. I didn't complain to that as I walked out, not bothering to see if anyone else was coming with me.

****

The fighting had become worse since before, but I really wouldn't know since I hadn't seen any kind of fighting that day. Not to say that I had never seen the kind of fighting that went on outside the house or haven't heard what was being said. Things like what was going on could really change a person in such a position with little hope of that person ever going back to the way he or she was before. I didn't remember what I was like before I was exposed to this kind of life as myself, my two brothers, my sister, and my mother peered out of the front doorway, making sure that there was nothing there to hurt any of us. All I could make out was the smoke that was lifting ever so slightly from the ground. It wasn't thick smoke, but it was enough to cloud our vision for the most part.

"Mom, you and Kibito go first then the rest of us will follow shortly behind you. Go directly to the place that I told you to go. Understand?" My brother said in a dead pan voice. I gazed up at him, worry in my eyes. "Try not to look back as you leave."

"Are you sure you'll be there?" My mother wondered, trying her best to keep her voice from quivering with fear.

"They'll be okay," I mumbled, taking her hand to lead her out of the house, and into the world that surrounded it. She didn't say a word as she allowed me to lead her for a couple of steps before she scooped me up into her arms, pulling me close to her body as she started to run from the house that we once lived in. I placed my arms around her neck, my chin upon her shoulder as I looked back at the house, the figures of my siblings becoming faint in the smoke that was around us. I could barely make out the forms of my older brother as he too scooped the younger two into his arms, ready to follow my mother and I. "We'll see them when we get there."

"I know we will." Mother said, biting her lower lip as she continued to run, flashes of light from the fighting going on around us. "I just have a bad feeling about something. I can't put my finger on it, but I sense that something is going to happen to them. I just know it."

"Nothing will happen. You will see it. Everything will be fine."

Just as I spoke those words, I heard the worst sound I could possibly hear. The sound of something moving up over us, then a crashing sound of dirt, rumble, and metal clashing together with two screams of pain emitting from the silence that was after it. I saw what happened first before my mother did since I was peering over her shoulder as she stopped running long enough to turn around to see what happened, my head going around as well. Our eyes went wide as we stared at was once our house, no figures of my siblings standing there any longer. They were going up with the flames that engulfed the house, their hearts no longer beating with life.

I sucked in the smoky air that was around us, trying desperately to stop myself from crying. Shock had settled into my body, my lower lip quivering just a bit. I could almost see the burning bodies of my siblings at the door, their ashes going up into the heavens with the smoke. At that moment, I wanted to scream, cry, and throw a tantrum, but I suppressed those hurting emotions for the time being. I knew I would have time after we got to our safe place to mourn my lost family.

"No," She whispered, shaking her head to try to get the image out of her mind. "I...."

"Mom, let's go," I said, tugging on a piece of her hair with my fingers. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "We can't do anything for them now. We have to leave, like brother wanted us to. We have to go to the place where he wanted us to be. There, we can cry."

"I should've taken them as well," She said in a low voice as she stroked my long hair. "Kibito, I...."

"Mom, let's go," I whined, biting my own lip to keep myself from crying as well, "or we will end up just like them. We can mourn for them later. Right now, we have to go on."

"Alright, darling. We'll go," My mother whispered, taking one last look at the burning house before turning around, and running to the safe place where my brother had told us to be.

****

I didn't know where we were going, but I knew that it was farther then I had ever been from my own house. The trees were a lot thicker as we ran through a unknown forest, our hearts beating faster then ever before. I could hear angry shouts echoing off the trunks of the trees from somewhere close, but those words were not important. What was important that we got to where we had to be even if it took the rest of the day to get to it. I wanted to stop and rest, the morning's hunger still in my stomach, yet my legs wouldn't stop moving. They managed to keep up with my mother who, after only a short while, decided to let me move by myself, and placed me onto the ground. I managed to keep up with her for the most part, and that was enough for her.

I still couldn't believe what had happened. Seeing a lot of death in my life so far couldn't have prepared me for the death of the people that were in my life the most. I hadn't really known my father that well, with him always gone fighting in the battles that waged in or around the small village that we had lived in, so if he died I wouldn't have cared so much. The last time I remember seeing my own father was when I was about four, and he had left so suddenly. I can still remember what happened that day.....

**Flashback**

I stood in the bathroom, my head peering just barely from inside it as I watched two people stand near each other, their harsh words coming to my ears. I wanted to block them out of my mind, but my hands wouldn't allow themselves to be placed onto my pointed ears. I just stood there, hot tears going down my face. Then, he slapped the woman that was in front of him, her head moving sharply to the side.

"Listen, you hag. I will not let my family be torn apart because of the wars. It is too risky for them to go," He growled at her as he took the woman by the throat, bringing her closer to him. The woman didn't move her head back to him, instead looking the other way.

"You just want Kibito to suffer, that is all," She spat out coldly. "The others shouldn't be caught up in this."

"Yes, you are right. I do want that pathetic child to suffer only because he was an accident. He is nothing to me execpt as a worthless being that doesn't need to breathe the same air as me. He should have been killed when he was born which I should have done when I had the chance. The other's will suffer because of him."

"Yet I wouldn't allow it because it wasn't right to kill him," She replied angrily. "If the hospital wasn't so overcrowded with people from the war, I would've stopped it when I first found out I was carrying him. Then you would've been happier."

"Yes, I would've. But now I don't have to worry about him or the rest of the family. From now on, this is no longer my family, and we are no longer married," With that, he let the woman go, moving straight towards the back door. The woman turned her head towards him, a hand moving to her neck as she rubbed the soreness away with a fiery look in her eyes.

I felt the pain of the words that had been spoken go into my body, each going through my veins like poison from a spider bite. I wanted to scream out at that point, rush after him and tear every bone out of his body with my hands. Yet, I decided to stay there, hiding in the shadows as a new view on life came to be. There was no more use in having any emotions now that I knew I was something to be kicked in the dirt, and left to die without much thought.

**End Flashback**

Painful tears stung my eyes as the forest cleared in front of us, giving full light to the surrounding area ahead. Suddenly, it was like we had stepped out of a nightmare and into a peaceful dream. There was no craters from bombs, no smoke from cannons--not even the stench of decomposing bodies reached our noises. Birds were even chirping as we moved from the forest, and into the soft, green meadow. There was no time to savor the moment to the fact that there was still some places on the planet that hadn't been touches as we raced towards where we had to be.

"I think we are almost there, Kibito. I hope we went in the right direction," My mother said, not even looking over her shoulder to see if I was still there. I didn't bother answering her either as a new emotion came over me: anger. This emotion fueled my legs to go faster then before, keeping my aching muscles from tiring out. As much as I wanted to go in a different direction, I continued to follow my dear mom to wherever we had to be to be safe from the wars. Even though the place we had entered looked like no kind of fighting had touched it, looks could be deceiving. Things could change in an instant, creating a bigger problem then there already was. But that didn't matter now. As long as we were safe, there would be no lingering thought on anything else.

It took us another hour and a half of running, with a small stop to rest our legs, to come upon a ridge of rock that cut deep into the soil of the planet. There, we figured, is where my brother wanted us to be. As we slowed down, my mother waved at me to stay back so that she could check the cave-like hole that was in the middle of rock. I watched her go, with my body aching from all the movement that I done, my chest moving up and down. I wanted to go after her, but I kept my distance as she walked into the hole, disappearing into the darkness. I waited paitently outside, my legs still not giving out despite the short distance hat we had covered. My mother appeared after a few moments, a faint smile on her lips.

"This is it. I can tell it is," She told me, beckoning me to come towards her. I nodded, forcing my legs to move a little bit farther as I trudged towards her, my body tired and hungry at the same time.

"I'm still hungry," I whined as I leaned up against her, the both of us walking down the steep ramp that went into the ground. My mother placed a arm around me, her voice soothing.

"You will no longer be hungry, my son. I believe your brother had the thought to stock this place with enough food to last us for a while."

"I hope so. I really do."

****

The cave-like place was dark execpt for three torches that burned towards the back of this place. In what light there were, boxes and crates lined one side of the cave with two sets of pillows and blankets on the other side. I stood near the end of the ramp, my arms at my side, and with my shoulder slumped, my eyes getting used to a darkness once again. I was tired and hungry at the same time, my legs beginning to wobble under the weight of the rest of my body. It was like I was standing with jelly as legs instead of hard bones. I just wanted to get something to eat, and then go to sleep without any more of those nightmares following me.

"Don't stand there. Someone might peer into this place, and see you standing there then they will wander in here," Mother grumbled from the center of the cave. I shrugged, stepping in a bit more as my legs finally gave out. Falling to my knees, I placed my hands onto the cold floor, tears coming from my eyes. My body shook with sobs, the sound of my mother coming towards me whirled around me like a gust of wind. I looked up at here with tears streaming down my face as she kneeled in front of me, running a soft hand through my hair. I saw her own tears forming at the base of her eyes, her face full of pain. "I know today has been hard, but we'll get through it together. I promise."

"Everyone has made promise's to me, and they've never kept them," I said in a low tone, my voice cracking. "How do I know you won't break it by leaving me?"

"I won't leave you once while we are here. That is my promise to you."

"So many people have left while other's have died. I...I thought....we'd be together....forever...."

"I know, my little Kibito, I know," She placed both of her hands on my face, mustering enough strength to give me a light smile. I could tell she was in pain as well, but I didn't know how much or how deep it was. She could've been putting on a show for me just to keep me happy for the time being. I didn't know, and I didn't care. "I lost them too. I miss them so much."

"Where do you think they went? Their spirit's, I mean," I wondered, coming to my knees as my mother wrapped her arms around me in a loving manner. I placed my head onto her shoulder, my arms around her as much as I could.

"Probably Other World."

"What's Other World?"

"It's where all the souls of those who have died will go. Once at the gates, the Keeper will decide whether or not those souls will go to heaven or to hell. It depends on how you lived your life."

"Will they go to heaven?"

"Possibly, if they were good in their lives," She said, placing her cheek upon the top of my head.

"Will I go to Other World when I die?" I wondered, sniffling.

"Yes, and possibly even beyond that."

****

There were moments in the last few years that I just wanted to lay down and die so that I could be out of the misery that I was in. The world 'war' had been unknown to me before the age of four; the life before that word had been uttered was not as horrible as it was afterward. I hadn't known death, hadn't known hatred, hadn't even known fear. There wasn't a doubt in my babyish mind that I wanted to see what the stars held as I wanted to go from planet to planet, seeing new species and meeting new people. But, once the whispers of the wars went around, my dream faded, and reality set in.

From the moment I learned what death was, I learned what hatred and fear were as well. Even at that young age, I began to lose my grip on my emotions, letting them slide into a place where I couldn't find them again. Every so often, however, I would find these emotions, and allow myself to feel them. Then, as quickly as they had come, these emotions would disappear, awaiting me in that uncertain place until the next time I would find them. There was no happiness in the life that I have led so far. Everything that I had loved, with the exception of my mother, had just been ripped from my life, and sent into the pit of darkness, never to come back. And, here I was, shivering under a blanket of wool as I slowly ate what little food there was in the cave that my oldest brother found for our safety at the sacrifice of his own life and the lives of my other two siblings. That pain was still new to me as the shadow of the sun disappeared, leaving my mother and I with only the three torches to go by.

"I feel cold," I said, putting down the bowl that I had just been eating out of as I pulled the blanket over my small body. My mother sat a few feet away, a aggravated sigh escaping her lips.

"I know that you are cold, Kibito, but there is nothing that I can do about it. You're just going to have to figure out how to keep warm," She snapped at me, putting a spoonful of whatever she was eating into her mouth. I continued to shiver in the blanket that was around me, my eyes watching her respectfully. She noticed that my gaze was upon her, and she glared at that fact. "Stop looking at me. It's getting annoying."

"Sorry, mother," I replied, turning my head away, my eyes lowering to the ground.

"I'm sure that you are sorry about it. You're sorry about everything I suppose. I'm beginning to wonder if that is the only word that you don't know how to use just yet."

"I..."

"Shut up, Kibito. Just shut up. No one wants to hear you complain how life is unfair. It was never fair in the first place, and it never will be. Just live with it, okay?" The older woman slammed the bowl down onto the ground, causing a crack to go down the center of it. I took in a deep breath to keep myself from crying out or saying something that would make this worse. But, there was something that I wanted to ask for the longest time, and now would possibly be the only time that I would be able to ask it.

"Did you ever want me?" I demanded, keeping my gaze away from her.

"What do you mean, did I want you?" She asked angrily.

"Meaning, was I accident that you just couldn't get rid of or did you really want me to be born?"

She sat there in silence, taken back to the question that I had just asked. I looked over at her, her face looking surprised at what I had asked, her mouth open just a bit. When she noticed that I was looking back at her, my mother set her jaw firmly.

"If you want to know, yes, you were an accident. You were something that your father and I didn't plan on like we did with your two brothers and sister. Your father wanted to kill you the moment you were born, but I wouldn't allow it."

"I know. I heard you guys fight over me several times when I was a little bit younger," I looked down at my hands, a twinge of anger going through me. "It was then that I realized that I wasn't wanted, and stopped caring about what other people thought of me cause I figured they felt the same way as father did. Who would want someone who was more different then the rest of the world? No one, that's who. So, I let go of my emotions, allowing them only to surface when I wanted them to or when I had no control over the situation." I looked back at her with an expressionless face. "You should have let father do that to me while he had the chance so that you wouldn't have to go out of your way to care for me."

"Kibito, I love you. You know that. It's just that...."

"You don't have to explain anything to me, mother. I understand already," I said, standing up with the blanket still around me. I started to walk towards the ramp, but stopped when the ground above us started to shake violently. My head snapped up as the blanket fell from around and to the rock solid ground below. I didn't move, but just stood there until everything was calm once again. Mother quickly stood up as well, her eyes wide as saucers.

"What was that?" She stammered, taking a few steps towards me. That's when we heard the voices. They were faint at first, then became older as they came closer before it seemed like they were right at the top of the ramp. We didn't move, keeping still just in case something, or someone, decided to enter the cave that we were in.

"Has anyone escaped the village?" One male voice asked from above.

"It doesn't seem that way, but we thought we saw two figures come this way earlier today," A second one replied easily. "It is a possibility that they could of escaped before the real fighting started, yet we are not sure about it yet."

"They could still be in this area since it looks like the war hasn't touched it," A third one replied. "That is, if there was a escape."

"Show what they know, if they are still here," The first one snickered. "As anyone seen them since then?"

"No, and I doubt they would be hiding in the forest or the surrounding cliffs," The third one said gravely.

"Then they could possibly be in the cave here. I suggest we take a look before we head out," The second said, all too happy to see if we were there. When he said that, I felt the blood drain from my face, and seep out of my body. I didn't move nor did I try to breathe. Time seemed to stand still at that moment, the safety of the place that we were in now lifting, and the threat of the wars came back to haunt me.

"That is a possibility, and I think it is one that we should consider. But we don't have time to go on a wild goose chase for a woman and a child. There are more important things that we have to do then do such a thing," The first one growled. At that moment, three pairs of footsteps walked away from the top of the ramp, their voices echoing down into the cave. Neither one of us moved for several moments, all too scared to even breathe for fear that we might be caught.

"You think they are gone?" I whispered, my eyes moving towards the ramp. My mother crawled onto her knees, moving slowly towards me so that she wouldn't make much sounds.

"I hope so, but I don't know how many people were up there. There could be more people waiting for us to come out so that they can do what they want," She said softly, placing her hands upon my shoulders once she had come to me. I didn't move nor did I speak. I just stood there, waiting for something to happen. Anything at all. "Let's to bed, but be quiet. I'll stay up a little longer just in case someone does decide to come down."

I didn't argue with that as I stood there for several more moments, my eyes fixed on the ramp. It was then that I knew it was going to be a long night.

To Be Continued......