Crew of the Axe: Origins of the Kitsune
My name is Dustine Wenata, but I prefer to be called Dusty. I am seventeen years old and I am currently a member of the Axe-Head Pirates. I could not have asked for better nakama to than them. They are not only my crew mates, or my friends. To me, they are my family. They have accepted me for who I am and they have done so much for me. Even when I hid my past from them, they were behind me one hundred percent of the time. They are my second family.
Family... It's a hard topic for me to discuss. I guess if you want to know about my family, we should start at the earliest memory that I have...
Flashback to age Five
It was a warm spring day at the village that I was born and raised in. My Mother, Miki Wenata, was the only family I had ever known. Whenever I asked her where my Father, Gonen Wenata, was, she'd tell me with pride in her voice and sparkles in her eyes that he was the first mate of a powerful pirate crew. She'd often show me his Bounty poster. The Marines had called him "Death's Messenger" Gonen Wenata because his choice of weapons were two scythes, like the Grim Reaper. He was worth a grand total of One Hundred Million Beli! I would brag this to all the other kids who's parents had boring jobs compared to my Dad's.
Anyway, the day was new and I had heard the day before that there was a performer in the town square who was making quite a lot of money with her singing and dancing. I nearly dragged Mom to the town square so I could see her.
Third Person's POV
A little girl no more then five was running down a dirt path with a woman who looked like her mother. The little girl had one of her mother's hands in her grasp as she tried to make her mother hurry. The girl had orange hair that was in two small pigtails. Her red shirt with gold trim went down past her torso. Her blue skirt had a few small holes in it and it went to her knees. Her sandals were brown and well worn-in and in her free hand was a small kiddie purse that held all sorts of small toys to occupy herself with incase she ever got bored.
Her mother was a beautiful woman with light brown hair up in a spiky ponytail and green eyes that were a shade darker than her daughters. She was wearing a white shirt whose puffy sleeves slipped past her shoulders and rested on the upper part of her arm. Her skirt was sky blue with frayed edges that went a bit higher than her shins and wore old brown sandals. Around her neck was a gold necklace that had half of a heart on it.
The little girl was speaking to her mother, Miki, rapidly,
"Hurry up Mommy! I wanna see the singer! Do you think she sing's real pretty? I wonder what she looks like! I hopes she's pretty, but not as pretty as you Mommy, 'cause you're the prettiest Mommy in the whole wide world! Kito said that she was prettier than you, so I kicked him in his wee-wee. I wonder what she's gonna sing. Do you think that we could ask her to sing some songs? OH! What if she does magic!! I love magic! Maybe she'll make Robey disappear! I don't like him, 'cause he's a big poopy-head. Guess what that mean Robey did to Sugarplum Mommy!" The girl gave her mother no time to reply, "He covered her in honey an' sugar and threw her on an ant hill! But I- " Miki stopped the girl from saying another word by putting her free hand over the girl's mouth.
"Dusty," She started, referring to the little girl, "have you had any sugar today? You know what sugar does to you." Dusty got a bit of a shifty look in her eyes before smiling widely and saying,
"No, I didn't have no sugar Mommy. I'm excited about the singer! Now hurry up you silly slowpoke!" She grabbed Miki's free hand and started to drag the poor woman again, "I don't wanna miss the singer!"
Town Square: Minutes Later
"There she is Mommy! See, I told you that you were prettier than her! I knew Kito was wrong! Oh, she's gonna sing, everyone quiet, I wanna hear her sing!" Dusty said as she stared in awe at the girl. The performer looked like something out of a picture book her mother once read to her. The story was about a beautiful female genie and the singer reminded Dusty of that genie. Her hair went down to her waist even though it was up in a ponytail and was a dark shade of pink. Her golden eyes had a gaze in them that seemed to be flirty and mysterious at the same time. Her clothes were what reminded Dusty of the genie the most. Her top was just a solid white tube top with a see-through gold fabric over it that made the girl's tan skin seem even darker than it already was. Her pants fit her rater well at the hips and ankles, but they sort of puffed out like the genie's. Around her wrists were many gold colored bangles that made noise every time she moved her hands. Around her ankles were bells that rang with every step she took. And every step was as graceful as a cat. Each step she took in her dance was pre-planned and executed perfectly.
To Dusty's surprise, the dance finished as soon as it started. Everyone in the crowd began to cheer, but no one cheered as loud as Dusty. The girl smiled and waited until it had quieted down before she spoke.
"Thank you all very much! My name is Lani and I will be your source of entertainment today. Please remember, if you wish to tip me, the wooden box to my left is where you may do so," She added in a bored voice, "That's the last time I'm explaining that..." before switching back to a cheerful voice, "Now, is there a song that anyone wishes for me to sing? I'll sing it if I know it." Dusty was the first one to raise her hand and she didn't even wait for Lani to answer.
"Do you know the song BON VOYAGE by the band Essence (1)? My Mommy and I love that band!" Lani thought for a moment before replying to Dusty,
"Yes, I know that song. You want me to sing that little girl?" If Dusty's jaws could smile any wider, there would be no room for the rest of her face.
"YES! Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes! Please sing it Pretty-Singing-Lady-San!" Dusty begged. Lani smiled and said, "Ok then, here we go!" before staking a deep breath and belting out the lyrics to the song.
"BON VOYAGE! mabushii hikari o mezashite
bokura no KIRAMEKI wa shizumanai taiyou
yukou hito kakera no yuuki hirogete
mirai e no SHIPPO chotto mieta yo
saisho wa minna BARABARA ni egaite ita chiheisen
ima nara hitotsu no bouenkyou de nozokeru
kimi no KOKORO madowasu unmei no shoppai KONPASU
saka te ni kajitoru yo
BON VOYAGE! SHIGARAMI mo kako mo sutete
bokura nara sore demo waraeteru hazu
yume o kanaeru tame no namida naraba
oshikukenai Precious in my life Oh...
yuganda MIRAA ja ashita wa utsusenai to omotteru ne?
demo Sunshine yureru namima ni datte hansha suru
kimi ga tobikonda natsu no ookina mizu shibuki
sora ni niji o kaketa
aoi konna nazo darake no uchuu
toki ni wa kanashimi ni mo butsu karu darou
HINYARI deguchi no mienai PINCHI
...tte yuuka CHANSU
kotae wa itsumo Shining in your heart Oh...
BON VOYAGE! hageshii nami o nori koete
bokura no yakusoku wa nijimanai tegami
yukou hito kakera no yuuki de iin janai?
ima kono shunkan Precious in my life
mirai e no SHIPPO chotto mieta yo!"
When the song was over, Lani took a bow before announcing that she would be taking an hour break. While the crowd departed, Dusty ran up to Lani and said,
"Excuse me Pretty-Singing-Lady-San, I just wanna say you're the bestest singer I've ever heard!" Lani smiled at Dusty and rubbed her hand through the child's hair.
"Why thank you. But please, my name is Lani. What's your name?" Putting her hands behind her back, Dusty started rocking back and forth on her feet while telling Lani her name.
"Lani-san, Do you think I could be a good singer like you?" Dusty asked while Lani started putting her supplies away.
"Of course Dusty!" Lani said with a small smile on her face, "You can be anything if you put your mind to it! All you have to do is practice everyday." Dusty's smile became a frown.
"Everyday. That sounds really, really hard..." Lani crouched down so she was eye-to-eye with the little girl before saying,
"A wise person once said, 'Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life'(2)." But the confused look on Dusty's face made it clear she had no clue what Lani was talking about. The singer sighed and tried to put it in words that the five year-old could understand, "It means if you have a job that you love doing what you love to do, then it's not really work at all!" Dusty's eyes went wide with understanding.
"So... if I like doing it, then it's not really work at all!" she said with a smile. Lani nodded, relieved that the girl had understood her. Dusty's smiling face was replaced by a serious one before she asked Lani, "Does this mean I have to like doing my chores?"
Present Day
From that day on, I wanted to be just like Lani. I was going to make my way to the top of the entertainment business and be famous. No one was going to stop me. But that didn't stop people from trying. People would laugh at my dream and say there was no way in hell it would happen. Others would say that dreams are just fantasies of a world that we wish was real. I would just cover my ears and pretend not to hear them, but their cold words still stung. I asked Mom why people would say those things and she would tell me as long as there are dreamers in the world, there will always be people trying to bring them down. All I had to do was follow my heart and do what I thought was right. And when I do achieve my dream, she told me, I had to come home and rub it in all their faces saying,
"HA! I told you so!"
Author's Notes:
(1) I know that BON VOYAGE is by Bon-Bon Blanco, but I have a reason for saying it was sung by Essence. You see, Essence is a parody of the real-life band, Evanescence. I plan on having many parodies of bands in here. Since Dusty wants to be a famous performer, I thought I should give her some bands to like. So no one is confused, here are the future band parodies:
Essence: Evanescence
The Marines: The Police
Keli Larkson: Kelly Clarkson
R-long Park: Linkin Park
Red Day: Green Day
Lima Beans: Black-Eyed Peas
The Smash: The Clash
Steven Dream: Stevie Wonder
Papa Spider: Papa Roach
Simple Idea: Simple Plan
(2) "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." This quote was said by good ol' Confucius. I think it's true. Which is why I'm either gonna be a forensic scientist (CSI agent), a writer, or a manga-ka (a person who creates manga). I enjoy science and solving puzzles/mysteries, writing, and drawing!