Princess Mononoke Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Silent Prince, Perfect Collection 1 ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

That morning, Genji's mother left the house to go shopping and say her daily prayers. She had forgotten to feed Genji breakfast again. He just sat in his bed, listening to his stomach growl and beg for food. Well, since his mother was gone, he was free to roam about the house and do what he wished until she came home.

He got out of bed, got dressed, and walked into the kitchen. He could smell warm coffee in the coffeepot and he ran to it. He loved coffee, mostly because it was one of the few foods he could get his hands on. He was too short to get a glass from the cubbard, so he drank the coffee straight from the pot. He also noticed a long, pink box of donuts that were fresh from the town bakery sitting on the table. There were six of a baker's dozen left. Without hesitation, he stuffed all six soft, delicious donuts in his mouth.

He went back to his bed and scratched his itchy hair. He was still hungry, bored, and lonely. He had almost no toys to play with, and what he did have been broken. His mother would sometimes have an unexplained fit and demolish his possessions. Even the satin teddy bear she had given him for his birthday was ripped to shreds for no apparent reason. He cried for weeks after that, having only the head of the bear left. He didn't have it anymore, he threw it away to help him stop crying.

He thought about drawing away his boredom. He could draw really well, and he loved to do so. It was also the alternative way to communicating with his mother, since he couldn't read or write. He would always draw a picture of what he wanted, which was usually food. Genji was always very proud of his artwork, no matter what he drew for, but his mother would usually throw the drawings away. She muttered every time "what a waste of paper." And when he tried to save some of his prized drawings from the trash basket, his mother would refuse to feed him for the next three days.

He lay on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He hated his life. Mostly, he hated himself for living like a dog. He never had thoughts of killing himself, but he had dreams and wishes to be in a better place. He wanted to be with that beautiful woman he saw in his dream. He wanted a home where he could be warm and eat plenty of food…where he could play and draw in freedom…

…Where he wouldn't be alone…

"Hello?"

He jumped in surprise at the unfamiliar voice. He turned to his bedroom window, which was always blocked off by the heavy curtains. There was a stranger at his window…and he couldn't open the window to shoo him or her away. He was confused as of what to do. He had never seen another human being before…let alone talked to one. He decided to stay still and stay quiet. Maybe the stranger would go away.

"Hello? Is anyone in here? I don't wanna break in, but you never come out and I want to meet you."

Suddenly, the windowpane rose up and a head poked from the curtains. It looked like a girl about Genji's age. She looked at him and he panicked, falling off his bed. He quickly scrambled under his bed to hide, curling up into a ball and covering his face with his hands. He peeked once through his fingers, and found the head looking under his bed and smiling at him.

"Hi."

Genji froze in fear, not knowing what to do. He just stared at her, unable to move. She giggled happily.

"Well, you're strange." She said innocently. "My names Aoi. What's yours?"

He had no idea what to do. Even if he could talk, he wouldn't have said anything. Suddenly, the girl crawled under the bed and lay next to him.

"Well?" Aoi wondered, staring at him with her blue eyes. "Say something."

He fiercely shook his head. His mother would kill him…

"What's wrong? Can't you talk?"

He shook his head again. She gasped in surprise.

"Not a word?"

He shook his head yet again.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She moaned. "That must be so hard to live with."

His cheeks began to turn red suddenly. He didn't know why, they just were. She smiled at him.

"So, you can't tell me your name, right?"

He thought for a minute, then he tried signing out his name with one hand.

G-E-N-J-I.

She wore a puzzled face.

"Huh?"

Genji wore a disappointed face. She didn't know sign language. Just his luck… She quickly smiled.

"Oh, that's okay. You can write it out for me, okay?"

Genji shook his head sadly. It was hard to try and tell her that he couldn't read or write. Suddenly, she raised herself to her elbows and drew an I in the faint carpeting.

"Okay, I'll write it for you." She offered. "I think it ended in an 'I', right?"

Seeing what she was doing, he nodded his head and signed out his name letter by letter until she got it down.

"Oh! Your names Genji!" she said triumphantly.

He applauded with a happy smile.

"Wow! That's a cool name! And you're cool too, Genji. I like you. Let's be friends, okay?"

He couldn't believe what he heard. It was the first time in his life he heard the word "friend." He hardly knew what it meant. Timidly, Genji nodded his head. Aoi's face brightened up.

"Great!" she chirped, then she began crawling out from under the bed. "It'll be lots of fun, Genji! We'll play lots of games, and go all over Eboshi, and have lots of fun, and stay out all day, and…are you alright? You look pale."

Genji had crawled out after her while she was talking and was shocked by what he heard. It was too good to be true, and he was overwhelmed. He had never gone out of the house before, and he couldn't remember the last time he had fun. And he was pretty sure Eboshi was the town his house was in…

He got to his feet and took his first good look at Aoi. She was about as tall as he was with coffee brown hair, blue eyes and tanned skin. She wore the traditional white and blue Mononoke robes, which meant she was a priestess. She wore deer skin moccasins on her feet and two red triangles were painted on her cheeks like fangs.

She had a good look at him too, and she gasped. "Oh my goodness!" She began putting her hands on his hair an clothes as she examined them. "Your hair looks awful! What are you washing it with? Acid?! There's hardly any hair on your head at all! And your clothes! What happened to your clothes?! They're so big on you…" She took a whiff of the fabric. "…and they stink! And why do you have lace on your pants? No wait…that's a skirt! It's been stitched down the middle to make pants! Genji, what is wrong with you?! Why are you wearing girl's clothes?!"

Genji's whole face was red. He was so embarrassed and scared, he didn't know what to do. Only his mother was so catty about him, but even she never made a fuss about his appearance. Ashamed, he lowered his head and sniffed back welling tears. Aoi stopped her concerned ranting and looked at him.

"Didn't your mother give you boy clothes?" she asked.

Genji shook his head.

"You mean…she made you wear these?"

He nodded.

"And she did that to your hair?"

Another nod.

"That's awful! You shouldn't be treated like that! You're too cool, Genji!"

Then he started crying, and she patted his shoulder.

"Don't cry." She soothed. "I have an idea. I'll tell my mom. She's a high priestess, and she'll set your mom straight. Okay?" Genji looked at her and her smile grew bigger. "You won't be treated this way any more. I promise, Genji." He nodded, but he didn't believe it would happen. Aoi headed for the window. "I'll go tell her right now. See ya later, Genji!" She climbed out the window and ran down the street, waving at him. "Bye bye!"

Genji waved after her, then remembered that he wasn't supposed to be looking out the window! He slammed the pane shut and drew the curtains together. A small crack of light shone through the dark curtains, bringing in sunlight. Not being able to resist, he peeked out the window.

He could see a bustling street of the capital town of Eboshi. He could see the different people walking up and down the street. He could see wolves no smaller than horses walk by soundlessly. He could see the children playing just outside their homes. He could see couples kissing and laughing happily. He loved everything he saw…but only one sight made him want to be a part of what he saw.

He saw a young girl half Genji's age run up to a woman. The girl shouted "Mommy!" The woman was a priestess with a large, brown wolf following her. The priestess picked up the little girl and held her up in the air happily. Then a boy no older than Genji also came out of the house, yelling "Hi mom! Welcome home!" The boy was paler than Genji and had a head of thin, green hair. The boy hugged the woman too. The woman walked up to the door to a man with long, green hair just like the boys. "Hi Rhapsody," the man said as the woman greeted him with a "Hello Biso" just before kissing. They all walked into the house as the giant wolf lumbered into their back yard.

After watching that, Genji would have given up anything to have a happy home. Remembering what Aoi told him, he smiled.

Yeah, a happy home.

He would like that.

/|\

He spent so much time looking out that tiny crack in the curtains that he didn't notice his mother come home. She saw him, and she screamed. She pulled him away from the window and pounded on him with her two fists.

"You saw!" she screamed. "You saw! You saw! You saw! You saw! You're not suppost to see! You can't see society! Society is evil! It'll kill you, you dumb boy!"

Afterward, she went into the kitchen for something to eat. Genji didn't move from where he was. He was bruised, his nose was bleeding, his sides were aching…he couldn't take another beating.

Unfortunately, that's just what he got. His mother ran in from the kitchen, purple with rage, and immediately began kicking Genji's aching sides.

"You ate my donuts, you little creep!" she screamed. "I never said you could have them! Thief! Jerk! Stupid, dumb kid!"

Afterward, she stormed out of his room to wash the blood off her hands and shoes. Genji quickly scurried under his bed and cried.

He hoped Aoi would tell her mother about him soon.

/|\

As his mother bleached more of her old clothes white for Genji, the boy spent his spare time under his bed drawing pictures. He drew sketches of some of the wolves he saw, still unable to believe their huge size. Then he drew a picture of his window with the dark curtains and a small light peeking from the crack between them. Then, he drew a proud picture of Aoi. He was pleased with the way it came out, she looked very pretty and happy. He hoped to show it to her the next time he saw her.

He drew one last picture, but it was a message to his mother. He drew a bathtub filled with bubbles. He kept his first three pictures under the bed, and took the last one with him out to his mother. She was inhaling some of the bleach fumes from the tub when Genji knocked on the door and showed her the picture.

"A bath?" she wondered, looking into the tub full of bleach and white clothes. "Well, you might as well get in now while I have it full of water."

Genji's face fell flat, but he couldn't argue with her. He knew better. With a sigh, he took off his clothes, got in the tub, and prayed that she wouldn't dunk his head under the water. Surprisingly, baths were the best thing about Genji's horrid life. His mother was surprisingly nice and gentle with him, and it was one of the rare times when she acknowledged Genji as her son.

"Oh, you're so handsome." She cooed as she washed him down in the foul smelling water. "You're my handsome boy. You are my handsome baby, Genji." He put up with it. If he made any attempt to shut her up, she would most likely try to drown him. Why not? She had come close to doing just that at least twice before…

After the bath, his mother toweled him off and he put his clothes back on. He sure did feel cleaner but he smelled like a toilet. Oh well, at least he didn't smell like sweat, filth and blood.

After being dry, he went back to his room, fished the picture of Aoi from under his bed, and touched up on some details on it. He just couldn't believe his luck. His first friend! He was looking very foreword to it. Although she was very strange, he liked her. Maybe he would make more friends later on.

"Genji!" his mother called, coming into his room. "Come try on your new clothes!" Then she noticed he was drawing and she walked up to him. "Oh, what do you want now?" She saw the picture of Aoi and she screamed bloody murder. Genji bolted to a stand and jumped to the wall, but he was trapped. His mother grabbed the picture and shoved it in his face like an abomination. "Who the hell is this?!"

Genji quickly thought of the best lie he could, and he pointed at his mother. She gasped in surprise and blushed.

"Me?" she asked in a hushed voice. "You…drew this pretty picture of me?" Genji nodded fiercely, then added with his hands: "This is how I see you. Pretty, young…and happy." That made his mother resume glaring at him and she crumpled the picture in her hand.

"LIAR!" she screamed, pouncing on him and beating him harshly. "I'm not pretty! I'm not happy! I'm none of that! I'm ugly, fat, stupid, old, and useless! I'm a piece of garbage! Don't you lie to me again! You hear me?!"

Genji was practically beaten to the point where he couldn't move. His lip had been busted in and his cheeks were swelling. His mother began to leave the room, and Genji found just enough strength to reach over to grab his crumpled picture of Aoi. His mother heard him, and she ran back to him to try and take the picture away.

"Give me that!" she demanded angrily. Genji kept hold of it, fighting to keep it out of the trash basket. It was the picture of his friend and he wasn't going to give it up without a fight! She tried to wrestle it out of his hand, but he kept it away from her.

Suddenly, Genji punched her in the gut hard. The wind was knocked out of her and she fell to her knees, gasping for air. Genji backed away in shock. He had lashed out at her before, but not like that. He may have seriously hurt her! She glared at him as though she wanted him dead, then she got up and headed for her bedroom.

Genji dove under his bed. She was going for the club! The club was Petunia's only weapon, and she beat Genji with it whenever she was very angry. It was the thing he was scared of most, and he dreaded even looking at it.

She came back into his room, noticed he was hiding, and shoved the bed over onto its side. Genji was left with nowhere to run or hide. She beat him with the wooden club so hard, he could feel bones cracking inside his body. In a few moments, his mother had beaten him half to death.

And she left him there, walking out of the room to put her club away.

/|\

Genji could not move. When he tried, pain shot through his whole body. He had been laying on the ground for what must have been hours. The light from the window was fading. Night was coming. He was bored, and sore…and really tired.

"Go to bed." His mother called, walking past his door.

Go to bed? How could he do that?! He couldn't move!

But he was really tired…

He closed his eyes and relaxed his body, allowing his aching pane and the strong smell of blood to slowly dull him to sleep.

/|\

Petunia was making herself a hot pot of tea when there was a knock at her door. As she walked to the door, she noticed Genji was still lying on the floor of his room. She angrily kicked him in the side.

"I said go to bed!" she shouted at him. "You're mute, not deaf!" Then, she noticed the picture of Aoi still in his hand and she reached to grab it. Her hand was just inches from the paper when there was another knock on the door. Growling, she took her hand away and hurried to the front door.

"Now who would be calling around this time of night?!" She wondered to herself just before opening the door. The caller outside was the high priestess San Miaka. The forty-year-old woman had on a suspicious and serious look.

"Good evening, San Petunia." Miaka greeted dryly. "Sorry to be disturbing you this late at night. May I come in?"

"No." Petunia snapped. "Go away." She was about to slam the door, but Miaka held it open with one hand.

"How rude." The high priestess reprimanded.

"Indeed." Another voice agreed. Petunia opened the door wider and found a second high priestess, San Rhapsody, present. Next to her was a young girl. Petunia recognized the girl as Miaka's daughter…and the girl from Genji's picture!

"I think you should let us in." Rhapsody insisted. She looked equally suspicious of Petunia. "We would like to meet your son."

"Son?" Petunia quickly defended. "What are you talking about? I don't have children."

"Then who's the boy in your house?" Miaka asked.

"What boy in my house?"

"The one named Genji."

"There is no boy named Genji in my house!"

"Aoi?" Miaka turned to her daughter. "Go get him."

"Okay." The girl quickly ran into the house, past Petunia. "Genji!"

"No!" Petunia shouted, trying to catch the girl. When she failed, she glared at Rhapsody and Miaka. "I demand to know the meaning of this!"

"We know you don't have a son, Petunia." Rhapsody explained. "We've never seen you pregnant, and you refuse to share your life with another man. It's not possible for you to have a child unless you adopted one."

"My daughter told me about a boy in your house." Miaka continued. "She said he was mute and his name was Genji. I don't think it's a coincidence that your 'son' is the same as San Masquerade's son."

"What are you talking about?!" Petunia screamed at the top of her lungs. "I don't have a son! Now get out of here, or I'll tell Moro-sama about all of this!"

"Moro-sama gave us permission to see him." Rhapsody said, narrowing her eyes at Petunia. "And if that boy is the son of Masquerade, Genji DragonLore, then you may be in big trouble and not just for kidnapping."

Suddenly, there was a scream in the house. It was Aoi! Miaka and Rhapsody rushed past Petunia and into the house. They were taken to Genji's room. They found Aoi crying and Genji's beaten body was at her feet. Miaka quickly checked Genji for signs of life as Rhapsody pinned Petunia to a wall.

"Aoi!" Miaka called to her daughter. "Open the window! Now! Tell Moro-sama to get over here!" Aoi quickly obeyed, throwing back the curtains and pulling up the windowpane.

"In here!" Aoi called outside. "Hurry, Moro-sama! He's hurt bad!"

"He's alive." Miaka pronounced Genji. "He needs to be taken to a hospital right away."

"I have never been so disgusted." Rhapsody snarled in Petunia's face. "Moro-sama will want a word with you. This is everything the Mononoke oppose! Child abuse…unnecessary violence…and even cold blooded murder!"

"Murder?!" Petunia whimpered in fear.

"Shortly after the birth of her son, San Masquerade was found dead in the woods, shot to death. She was holding the blanket she carried her baby in, and her baby was gone. All this time, we thought it was wolf poachers…but now I see you killed Masq for her son!"

"No, I didn't!" Petunia defended in horror. "I found her dead, and the baby was still alive. I took the boy, and now he's mine!" She tried to fight Rhapsody back, but the high priestess held the false mother tightly against the wall. "He's my son now! I was in love with his father, so its only fair! He's mine!"

"No." a voice from the window spoke up. "Now he's my son." A gigantic wolf head poked through the window and leaned towards Genji's body. Miaka smiled.

"Moro-sama…"

"The boy needs to go to a hospital." Rhapsody said to the wolf as she gathered the boy in her jaws. "He is seriously hurt."

"He will also need a new home." The wolf proposed. "San Miaka, San Aoi, follow me outside."

"NO!" Petunia shrieked, trying to fight her way out of Rhapsody's grasp. "My baby! Don't take away my baby!"

"Shame on you, San Petunia!" Aoi cried as she and her mother ran out of the house. Moro-sama withdrew her head from the window. Petunia was bursting into tears, trying to attack Rhapsody.

"No! He's my baby! He's mine! Don't take away my baby from me!"

"He's nothing of yours." Rhapsody snarled. Finally, she let go of Petunia, and gave her a sharp chop in the neck. The priestess was knocked out. Rhapsody caught her in her arms and carried her to Petunia's bedroom.

"So, you were in love with Genji's father?" Rhapsody wondered as she laid Petunia on the bed. "Interesting." Then, she left the house.

/|\

Genji awoke to the sound of strange beeping and many voices. He opened his eyes partly and saw a blinding white blur. He quickly closed his eyes and leaned his head to the side. He was in so much pain…

Then, he seemed to drift back to sleep…

/|\

<Genji? Can you hear me?>

Hm?

<Hi Genji. I'm glad we can finally talk.>

Who are you?

<I suppose you can call me your guardian spirit. I have been watching over you, Genji. I watched you live your life under the woman who wasn't your mother. I was enraged…mostly because I was powerless to help you.>

My mother…is not my mother?

<San Petunia is not your mother. She…uh…"adopted" you when your real mother died.>

My real mother? Who was she?

<Her name was Coral DragonLore, but on Singing Mountain she was known as San Masquerade. She became a high priestess after the Shishi Gami was resurrected. She was respected and loved as a leader of her community. Your birth delighted every priestess on the mountain. I guess you could say you're famous, Genji.>

And…my real mother is dead?

<Petunia is taking the blame, but she is innocent. Wolf poachers, people who hunt the wolf gods on this mountain, shot your real mother. Because you were born mute and did not cry, the murderers thought you were dead too. Sometime afterward, Petunia discovered you. She recognized you, and took you in as her own.>

I see.

<You may be too young to learn all this, Genji. But the truth had to come out, because I believe no one else knows the whole truth. Now you know, so always keep your past in mind.>

So, what will happen to me now?

<You will never see Petunia again. I can see why you would want to. The gods of the mountain will see that you have a good home. Where you go now is up to you.>

WHAT?! But I've never made a decision in my life!

<Sure you have. Lots of times.>

Not like this!

<Then I think it's time for you to live a life of freedom.>

…

<Don't worry, I'll protect you. I will be there for you, Genji, when you need me.>

But…who are you?

<Now, wake up…and live…>

/|\

Genji awoke in comfort of a soft, feather bed. He opened his eyes and found himself in a spacious, clean room that wasn't his. He was covered in warm, long, and clean quilt blankets that were big and colorful. He awed at the colors and patterns of the quilt. He had never seen such a thing in his life.

Then he saw someone slumped over the edge of the bed on his side, sleeping. It was Aoi. She had been watching over him as he slept. He was probably in her house. He smiled at her. She was a good friend. He reached out, and gently touched her short, silky hair with his fingertips. He was finally free of San Petunia because Aoi told her mother about him.

In a sense, she saved his life…

…And he would have been honored to live with her.