Princess Mononoke Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Silent Prince, Perfect Collection 1 ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

All things DBZ and Princess Mononoke are © their respective creators

My characters are © me, Masquerade! So don't steal them!

Well, at long last, the sequel to my popular "Singing Mountain" story begins. If you haven't read Singing Mountain, that's alright, go ahead and keep reading. For those that have read SM, you may understand what's going on better than those who haven't read it yet. Also, I hope you've seen Princess Mononoke before reading this, because there's a lot of elements from that movie I'll be touching on in the fic. One more thing before I let you read, this story is more violent and has more angst than Singing Mountain did, so there's your fair warning. Read on and enjoy!

Communication key:

"Spoken word"

Thoughts

**Language of the Gods**

The Silent Prince

Prologue

In ancient times, the land lay covered in forest where from ages long past dwelt the spirits of the gods. Back then, man and beast lived in harmony, but as time went by most of the great forests were destroyed. Those that remained were guarded by giant beasts who owed their allegiance to the Great Forest Spirit, the Shishi Gami…

…for those were the days of gods…

…and of demons…

/|\

Far to the west of the Japanese province were ranges of mountains that housed lush forests and shrouded thousands of mysteries. Separating the flat plains of human civilization and the snowy wastelands of the Zulmyzulbri and Yunzabit were the Wolf Jaw Mountains. Almost untouched by time, the mountains were said to be home of a race of people called Mononoke, and their gods.

The better known mountain of the Jaw is Singing Mountain, the home of the Mononoke wolf gods. The pack of enormous wolves were well respected for their wisdom and parental attitudes towards their followers. Those who worshiped and protected the gods were a clan of priestesses known throughout the world as the Japanese Amazons. Not many outsiders to the mountain have seen these wolf gods or priestesses, and very few have even lived to tell the tale.

However, there was one secret that the priestesses vowed to keep from the world at all costs: the arrival of a very infamous outsider. The outsider was a very horrible and feared man who killed for pleasure. There was no one who didn't tremble in fear of his face or name. However, when he arrived on Singing Mountain, he was wounded and weakened. One brave priestess took him in and nursed him back to health. The man was the killer android named Cell. On Singing Mountain, however, he grew to love the priestess and changed his ways. He ended up changing more than his ways on the mountain, he changed the lives of those who heard the tale of his love and bravery.

He wasn't on the mountain for very long. He was forced to go back to the land of the dead, leaving his true love behind. Before he left, he gave her a gift and she promised to "protect it, and cherish it, and love it as though it was him."

"This is not goodbye, San." Cell promised her. "I will return." Then he left, to never been seen again.

The full story of Cell's arrival may have been forgotten…

…but his legacy lives on.

Chapter 1

A decade after Cell's departure…

Genji awoke with a frightened gasp, and clutched his chest where his heart would be. His heart was beating very fast, and it felt like he was in pain. He bent over, clutching his chest tighter. His breathing quickened and his heart beat faster and faster in his ears. He was going to die, and he was only ten years old!

Then, his heart slowed down to normal, the pain subsided, and he breathed in relief. He didn't know what happened. He was dreaming about the most beautiful woman he had ever seen singing to him with the voice of an angel. When Genji tried to go to her, a monster grabbed her and took her away shouting, "Stay away! She's mine!" Then the monster attacked, and Genji woke up with that pain in his heart. He wasn't sure what that dream meant, but that woman was so beautiful…

He looked out the open door to his room to his mother's bedroom just across the hall. He wanted to wake her up and tell her his heart was hurting…well, not really "tell" her, he couldn't talk… He quickly decided against going to his mother. She would most likely beat him and yell and scream at him for waking her up. It happened every time he wanted to be in her bed when he had a bad dream.

Genji quickly laid back down in bed and tried to sleep. He would be beaten sore if his mother found him awake at this time of night. He closed his eyes and put his hand to his heart. It wasn't hurting anymore…

…but he felt a small pinch of pain when he thought of that beautiful woman…

/|\

Genji, needless to say, was a very unique boy. He was mute, unable to speak or make any kind of vocal sound. He couldn't read or write (and was forbidden to do so), so to try and communicate with his mother, he was learning sign language from her. His mistreated life was leaving him in poor condition. His skin was ghostly pale from lack of sunlight, and he was skinny and scrawny from lack of nutrition and exercise. Short, scraggily blond hair grew dirty and untidy on his head. His mother would cut his hair regularly with a knife, since she didn't have scissors, and would wash it in bleach to keep it a very white looking blond. Perhaps the only thing not pale on the boy's body were his bright pink eyes. The color of his eyes seemed to pierce though the white on his body.

His mother was a priestess named San Petunia. Her full name was Petunia Birch and she hailed from the American province. Genji learned that she came to the mountain to escape the harsh life she led as an estranged homemaker to an abusive husband. She had been married to him since she was eleven and had lived with being beaten and raped daily. Singing Mountain gave her refuge, but her past experiences left her mentally disturbed. Genji always tried to remember that when he was beaten for something minor.

For Genji, beatings and punishment were everyday experiences. No day was complete unless his mother found a reason, however small, to beat him up. She had set it in her mind somewhere that he was still four years old. She punished him for doing anything that reminded him he was growing up (growing taller, for example). She also didn't have much money, so she dressed him in her old clothes which were bleached white as though he was a patient at a hospital or institution. She wouldn't just beat him, either. Sometimes she starved him. Once, he wasn't fed for a whole week and he couldn't complain that he was hungry or else he would get beaten again. Sometimes she forgot to feed him, but luckily he would only get slapped for reminding her as well as a nice helping of what food she had. Genji guessed that he was being treated this way because this was the only lifestyle his mother knew how to live. He couldn't really do anything about that, the most he could do was live with it…but he hated it!

To make his lifestyle worse, the windows had dark curtains over them, not even letting light through. Genji was forbidden to look out the windows, because if he did he would be "exposed to society" as his mother put it. She blamed society for her problems because she was exposed to society when she married her husband and lived her hellish life. She didn't want Genji to even think about society, and wanted to protect him from it. Therefore, Genji had not seen or heard of another human being other than his mother, and had no idea what life was like behind those curtains. He could sometimes hear noises from the outside, but could only guess at what they were.

He hated the way he lived. He hated his life, his house, his mother, his misfortunes…he hated everything!

But of all the things he hated and was ashamed of…

…he hated himself the most.

For those who need comfort, it will get better for poor Genji. And if you're completely confused…the next chapter will help make sense of it all, so you may want to read that once I get it written. Thanks for reading! ^^ ~Masq