Chapter 1: Finding the Sun

Disclaimer: …Yeah…Nope.

Notes: Whether you've read my previous fic or are joining me for the first time on this one, thank you for joining me and I hope you enjoy!

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It was dark. 'W-where am I? How'd I get here?' he could make out the shape of bars in front of him. There was cold metal around his wrists, ankles, and neck. He tried and failed to get them off. "Is anyone there?" he called barely above a whisper. Only piercing silence answered him. Why was it so dark? It was scaring him. He tried to move or crawl to the world outside the bars.

In a short time it was light outside of the bars. Instead of feeling relief he only felt longing, sharp and piercing. He thrashed and struggled against the shackles to try and reach the sun. that's what the light was called. The sun. it was bright and warm and kept him safe. He continued to struggle until his wrists and ankles were bleeding and sore.

Days, weeks, months, years passed with nothing. Cutting loneliness, cold shackles, impenetrable silence. Day in and day out. Maybe this is just how life is. Maybe no one could ever reach the sun. 'I wish I couldn't see the light.' he vaguely thought.

It started getting cold again. Soon that pretty, horrifying, white stuff would come back again. Snow. That's what it was called. He could feel the signs that it was coming. And he was right. Soon it piled up and refused to leave.

It was so cold. He shook his head and spread his hair around himself. It didn't help much. It was far to bitingly cold. But it was just a very little bit warmer. He tried to imagine the sun. how warm it would be. He could almost feel it.

Eventually the snow left. It started to get warmer and the rain came. When the wind blew the rain it always got him wet. He didn't like it. It made him cold again. But soon it stopped too. The sun started to shine and the sounds returned. If there was at least these sounds he didn't feel as alone.

He existed like this for a very, very long time. The loneliness turned into a never ending blur of existence. Freezing, wet, warm, colder. It was all a cycle that he couldn't escape from. His only company the mocking sunlight that he longed to stand in. just once, for one second. Surely he deserved that much.

Then one day, as he woke up, he heard something. "Chirp. Chirp." it said. He sat up and looked for the source of the noise. He saw a small golden creature. The word 'bird' came to him. It was a bird. A small golden one.

It hopped closer and he reached out towards it. It hesitated but then jumped into his palm. "Chirp. Chirp." it said again.

"Hello. My name is Son Goku." he grinned.

"Chirp. Chirp. Chirp." it answered him. It reminded him of the sun. So pretty and warm.

Over the next few weeks the bird kept coming back. He would chatter and chirp to it. It would fly around and make him laugh. More than once it would bring him flowers and leaves and twigs. It would perch on his hand or head and sing him pretty songs. It was beautiful.

He wasn't lonely anymore. All because of his little bird/sun. He woke up one morning with a yawn. There had been a storm last night but it was all blue skies now. He sat up to wait for his friend when he saw it. There was the bird, lying on its side, a few feet away from the cage. He rushed over to the bars to look out. The bird lay unmoving with a single dandelion clutched in its tiny talons.

"Bird?" he called in a quiet voice. A new word popped into his mind. "Dead." That's what the bird was. It was dead, and dead was bad. Dead meant it was gone.

He desperately reached for the body of the bird but the bars and chains wouldn't let him reach it. He was so close. So very close. He just couldn't reach.

He once again fought against the chains. Against the bars. He fought even after his wrists and ankles were bleeding and throbbing in pain. Water was flowing from his eyes. Tears. That's what they were. Tears hurt. Finally he stopped when he was to exhausted to struggle anymore. He pulled himself up to clutch the bars, tears still flowing from his eyes. He took one more look at the bird and screamed out. He screamed until his throat was torn and bleeding. He renewed his struggles and finally lost consciousness.

Time continued its course. He suffered his loneliness unendingly. Why had the sun abandoned him? Why couldn't he reach it? Why was he forsaken like this? What had he done?

Eventually the birds corps turned to nothing but bones. When he noticed this he cried again. More freezing winters came. More warm summers. He lost any hope of ever reaching the sun. it was just something that wasn't meant to happen. Impossible. This was just how life was.

Then came the day he would forever cherish and remember. He had just woken up when he heard a noise. It wasn't a usual noise. The sound was heavy and rhythmic. He looked out into the sunlight and saw something, no someone, approaching him. The person was shining. They were beautiful. It was the sun. the sun had actually come for him. The sun stepped up to the bars with an annoyed look on his face.

"Hey… you the one who's been calling me?" the sun asked.

"Huh?" he asked in a dumbfounded voice. With a dumbfounded look on his face. "I haven't been calling anyone. Who are you?"

"Your lying. I've heard you all this time." the sun snipped. "Now cut the act. Its annoying. After all…your going to be staying with me for a while. Its not as if I have any choice."

Then the sun reached out his hand. He held his hand up to take it as the bars and the chains melted away. Goku stood up on shaking legs and, still holding onto the sun, walked out into the warm light.

"Lets go." the sun said letting go of his hand.

"W-wait. Please wait for a minute!" Goku grabbed the ivory sleeve of the sun's robe.

"What is it?" the sun asked impatiently. Goku ran over to where the birds remains lay. He dug a hole quickly that was around five inches deep. He gently lay the bird in the grave and buried it. He patted down the earth and reached over to pick a dandelion that was growing close by. He lay it on the grave. He sniffed as a single tear slipped down his cheek.

"You don't need to be sad. Your free now." the sun had come up behind him and spoke in a gentle voice.

Those words echoed through him. He was free now. The sun hadn't abandoned him. It had taken a long time but it had finally come for him. Tears overflowed again and poured down his cheeks. But these tears didn't hurt. Happy tears.

"What's wrong? You hurt?" the sun asked him.

"N-no. I'm happy. I'm free now. Thank you sun." he whipped his tears and beamed up to his sun.

Sanzo just looked at the boy dumbfounded. "Feh. I didn't let you out cause I wanted to. You just wouldn't shut up. That's all. And my name is not 'Sun'.

"Oh. What is it then?" Goku starred up at him expectantly.

"I'm the thirty first of China, Genjyo Sanzo." he introduced.

"S-Sanzo." Goku liked it. It even sounded a little bit like sun. it was a good name. "I'm Goku. Son Goku." he smiled at the knowledge that he could tell the sun his name.

"Well, come on saru." Sanzo turned and began to walk down the path. Goku rushed to catch up.

"Hey! I told ya, my names-"

"Ch. Whatever."

**Chapter End**