~By Stormytitan

Uno (Ormi) again! Yeah! :D (And if you're thinkin' this story is downright depressin'. I'm asking you...please stay with it...)

He slowly dared to open his incredibly sore eyes, only for them to be met with a sad, dark stone roof high above him. It was curved, as if it was only a small section of a dome, and unfamilar. He blinked his large eyes, typical on a child his small single-digit age, and coughed harshly, the sound broken and dry as his throat was.

Above all other discomforts (the itchiness of what he laid on, the chill surrounding him, the wetness sticking to him) there was an immense pain in his back and in his head that instantly made tears form in his bleak eyes, and his chest start to repeatedly heave with hiccupping cries.

It was just...confusion

It filled his tiny uncomprehending mind to the brim. Never had he woke to a morning with such pain, no recollection of any sort, with no bright cheery lights to greet him, and naturally, he felt a rising panic as a result.

"W-Where's am I?" Uno's tear-etched voice echoed in the pitiless silence that enveloped him. Through the pain, he caught a slight dripping sound, and he turned his head to look at where he thought he heard it, only to hear it directly below him. He clutched the pain in his head and turned achingly to his side, only to discover that the dripping was blood seeping through the straw cot he laid on.

The sight of the red liquid, whether it was his or not, made him jerk with a hoarse cry straight up into a sitting position. Hot pain shot through his entire middle and he doubled over his thick scraped-up knees, quickly wrapping chunky arms around himself to desperately try and literally 'hold' himself together.

He took a few hyperventilating breaths before screwing his eyes tightly, and roughly screamed into the space between his knees, "Where's am I!?"

The darkness of the room answered with a low and heartless, "Shut up."

Uno lifted his head and his dense, black eyes searched everywhere, past the dark stones and dim wall hangings, and into the shadows to find what had spoke to him so viciously. His watery eyes and shaking shoulders begged for comfort, but none could be found in the unforgiving room.

At some length, an old hunched over woman spat, "Sit still," and limped out of the curtain of shadows from the far side of the room.

The boy obediently complied and forced himself to stop moving as much as possible. But, between pain and his hard swallowed cries, his body still winced with every breath he took. His eyes found and met the crone's unpleasant face and focused on the harsh near whitish blue eyes hovering above the woman's hooked nose.

"What happened?" Uno's voice croaked, and he couldn't stop himself from scooting away from the glaring woman after sensing the sudden animosity that rose from her like a slithering snake, "Who are youse?"

"Don't ask questions," She gripped his soft arm with bony, hard, and cold fingers, which made Uno flinch greatly, and pulled his entire weight up with a surprising strength. He yelped, feeling like he was being kidnapped by a witch in that moment, and received a sound slap across his bubbly cheek and a long nail jabbed into the end of his round nose with enough force to push it in a little.

Fearfully focused on the ghoul-like hand, then slowly, to the accompany haggard face, Uno's eyes widened as the woman nastily grated, "Shut up and do as I tell you."

"Yes Ma'am!" Uno bit his plump lips, the faint taste of blood on his tongue. Salty tears streamed down his face as he watched the woman's every move with terror-filled carefulness. He held as still as possible again, considering he hurt already and didn't want to call on the old hag's wrath, and bit down on the inside of his lower lip to stop the words in his mouth.

The old woman first patted him down, causing Uno only a bit of nervousness, before she forcefully seized up the end of his hand-me-down and blood-stained shirt and yanked it to his head, exposing his belly.

"What are youse doing?" Uno pushed at the skeletal hands that pulled his shirt away from him and started to jerk at his pants. He twisted, terribly confused and thoroughly frightened, when a stinging pain, and a sharp smack, split through the still air.

"Don't move either!" The old prune commanded and added a second slap to his flabby back to seal in her point, and as a warning for him to obey. Pain radiated all over his heated body and it felt like it was sent down his spine, to spread outwards all along his back. He bawled out in agony and attempted to yank his fat wrist free from the wrinkled hag's grasp, screaming desperately, "AH! It hurts!"

"Helen, what are you doing?" A bright light overcame the shadows, from the far end of the room where the darkness seemed strongest, and Uno's tear streaked face looked to it and the soft voice like one would look to the kindness of an angel or a saint. The white-clad woman came in, walking with cautious, near dainty, steps, and furrowed her brows that showed true concern and how startled she was to find him this way.

"Stupid boy won't hold still," The prune hissed and slapped at his face again. Uno put a rusty red stained hand to his cheek and bit back his cry, staring, frozen in his place, at the old green and yellow robed woman again.

"He already is in a condition. Don't make it worse by beating him!" The nice lady drew closer, soft blue eyes shaking with emotion. Her eyes met Uno's, and all at once his knees weakly buckled underneath him, and he ended up on his rump on the cold floor.

The old woman, who still tightly clenched his hand, began to yank mercilessly on his arm, jolting his shoulder with more pain, when the soft angelic voice cut in once more-

"You can go now, Helen," The voice, though soft-spoken, was firm and demanded that the other woman listen, "I decided I won't need help. I shall take care of this boy."

The witch of a woman looked up and locked eyes with the kind lady, who unwavering, met the challenging glare. The kind woman nodded once, and flicked her wrist in a dismissive manner to the glowering woman with silvery eyes. The hag grunted, the sound very close to a snarl, and turned on a flaccid leg that didn't seem to obey her wishes. She quickly limped, jerking one side of her body with angry yanks as if she couldn't even be understanding to her own body, and headed straight for the doors that the nicer lady had stepped through. She looked over her bony hunched shoulder once to sneer back at Uno, before gripping the door with her knobby hand and slamming it behind her rear.

The room was engulfed in darkness once more as the doors resonated deafeningly in the witch's wake. Uno blinked the tears from his eyes, adjusting to the dimness again, and listened to the patient sigh that was hidden in the shadows.

"Are you alright now?" The lady in white came closer, unveiling herself from darkness and still seeming bright, glowing almost, even as there was barely any light in the room. With a gentle and warm hand she reached out to touch him, which he didn't shrink from, but she still approached just as delicately as if he had, whispering reassuringly, "I won't hurt you."

Her hand tenderly touched his head and patted his thick, matted hair. And as kind as the touch was, he still wanted to cry again.

"Whut happened to me? Why's do I hurt?" He whimpered and held onto his skin. He was only still covered by his underwear and the dampness of the building clung to him in a way that made him feel alone and uncared for. Confusion still swarmed his mind and he racked his thick skull for an explanation, only to be met with more pain.

And it just wasn't in his head. His chest cried and continued to do so, even as he couldn't remember why he had to feel so horrible. He looked around, hands rubbing up and down his arms to provide what little comfort he could for himself, and gulped down his fear, reminding himself to be brave. Still-

It was as if he had fallen into a cruel and awful world, his world being swallowed up in this obscure gloom, and nothing made sense anymore.

"You don't remember what happened to you?" The woman looked honestly surprised that he nodded dully, "You were shot, child! You tried to run from the soldiers and they shot you in the back. And when you kept running, you tumbled into a gully and split open your poor head. Why do you think you're bleeding as you are?"

Soldiers. To the word, a flood of memories overcame him all at once and the smell of his own blood made him nauseated. A wall within him all but crumbled, and tears flowed without any hesitation or restraint.

"Why?" Uno muttered and sniffed in heavily, his eyes questioning not only the woman in front of him but a greater power, "We's didn't do anything wrong! Why did this happen to us?"

"Shh," The woman swept his hair off his forehead, taking care for the line of shiny red on the left side. She angled her gently rounded chin and whispered, "You're okay now, dear, don't cry. I saw them and I stopped them. Know that I won't allow anyone to hurt you. You are safe." She finished softly.

Uno, tears still running down his cheeks, looked back at the milky-white and kind face, "Who's are youse? Where's am I?"

"You're in Bevelle, the Temple to be exact," She smiled and moved her hand from his head to his shoulder, her other hand lifting to her chest, "And, my name is Pino. You don't have to cry..."

Uno wiped at the tears roughly, distorting his features as he nearly scrubbed the salty water from his face. He took a few huge gulps of air before looking around at the dingy room, hardly believing it as beautiful, colorful Bevelle. Though he knew the Temple to be dark, when he visited it on Holy days, this place he was in was horrid, and unpleasant, evil, as he was trapped inside the damp four walls.

"Miz Pino, I can't stay here," He looked around the lonely, light-less surroundings and reconnected his eyes with her's, "I's don't think I's could live in here for too long."

She actually leaned back and laughed, her crystal clear voice echoing slightly. The sound was so nice, and terribly out of place with the slight misty floor and the low, drawn-out, droning of the choir that could be heard through the walls now. Uno slowly relaxed from where he had tensed up at the unexpected reaction, and allowed her to pat his head again, Pino still laughing, "Of course you're not staying here! You're going to come with me to the orphanage I work at."

Uno smiled back, the room seeming less dark and cold all of sudden.

He adjusted his weight, and after fidgeting against the misty floor, he sheepishly peeked up from his near nakedness and asked, "Could I's have clothes?"

"That's after our next order of business," She clapped her hands and pointed back to the cot, "Sit and I'll take care of your wound."

"Okay," He pushed himself back up onto the uncomfortable material, turning slowly and achingly to sit on the edge. After fully settling himself down, he nervously looked to her, "What's are youse goin' tah do?"

"Just wait," She straightened his shoulders with a gentle push, looking at him from all around, before leaning back and putting a hand to her heart. Uno saw the symbol on her white gloves glow brightly after she softly muttered things under her breath, words he couldn't understand even when he listened, almost sounding as if she was singing, and she reached out and touched the welts and small cut on his head.

Warmth spread nearly to his chest from his head, and he could feel the soreness vaporize into thin air.

"Cure," She finally said and the glowing stopped. Her crystal blue eyes opened again and with twinkling eyes, she gestured with her chin sideways and asked, "Could you show me your back now?"

The process repeated, only this time, the song was more complex and she touched the star shaped hole on his shoulder with slender fingertips and sighed, "Cura."

"And with that," Her smile widened and she slapped her knees, "You're are healed, child. Now, are you ready for some clothes?"

"Yea-" Uno started as he blushingly sunk his head down from the pretty lady, his dense eyes skimming over the blood on the cot, and his word caught in this throat. He suddenly remembered a little girl and her brother, on the floor, lifeless and mutilated, and his eyes widened as he hurried to swallow down the bile rising in his mouth.

Pino's eyes followed his and a soothing hand lifted his chin up for him to look away "Don't force yourself to endure by yourself." She smoothly moved her fingers and rubbed at his red cheek, again repeating her kind words, "I know it hurts, but you're fine and alive. You'll be okay. I won't let a soul hurt you now."

"I's didn't want thems to die," He swallowed, snot gathering in his nose, death, loss, sorrow, and above all else, regret and helplessness clogging chest, "I's shoulda-!"

"No," Her voice was firm and louder than it was earlier before it lowered a pitch, still commanding a stable sort of quality, "You couldn't have done anything. You have to remember that you are so small, and you don't have to carry such a heavy weight. Let it go for awhile until you are strong enough to pick it back up and carry it without hurting yourself."

"Without hurting myself?" He repeated the words back slowly, slightly confused. They sounded so nice but he didn't know what it meant.

She smiled lightly, patient and understanding, "When you can deal with it and not blame yourself. It means, when you're ready to face it."

"O-okay," He screwed his eyes shut and shook his large head, cramming all the images to the recesses of his mind, "I's w-won't think 'bout it u-until I's c-can deal with it."

"Good boy," She patted his leg, and rose to her full height, average for a petite woman. Pino turned herself a bit and announced, "It's time to get you some clothes."

She fluently strode across the room and went to a gray cabinet, lightly yanking it open to reveal the clothes of dark green and yellow color jam-packed within. She wiggled her nose at it, a hand to her chin, before she began to rustle through it, muttering, "You're so small…"

He looked from his still bare feet to her back bent into the cabinet, pulling out article after article of clothing, and awkwardly smiled, unsure if it was alright for him to do so, "I's never got called small b'fore."

"Well, you're still young. You may be 'big' but you are still small compared to adults, and these are adult clothes."

"Where's the kid clothes?" He tilted his head, "Huh?"

"At the orphanage. I will get you something nice there, but here we must make do with what we have," Pino pulled at another piece of woven green and called out triumphantly "aha!" spreading her hands out to stretch a small robe in front of her, "I think this is for a woman, and it still seems a little too big, but it'll do." She walked back to the cot to hand it off to him, saying as she did, "Better than having you going through the streets in blood-soaked clothing."

"Oh," He edged himself off the cot and worked to pull the heavy cumbersome material over his head, the cloth touching the floor before he even yanked his head through the collar.

When the clumsy job was finished, Pino bent down to her knees and tied off the middle, smiling lightly, "Are you ready to go?"

Uno nodded, gathering the ends in his fists to show his bare feet and pull it out of the way. Nodding still, he muttered, "Uh-huh."

He followed after Pino like a duckling to its mother. He turned when she turned and stopped when she did, his eyes never leaving her white back. He was her shadow until they finally made it to the part of the temple he remembered, where he prayed and listened to sermons, and ultimately, all the way back outside, blinking in the light, and down the street.

It was a part of Bevelle he recognized well. His grandmother and himself would sit on the spot over by the fountain, eating whatever it was she packed before heading back home. He sniffed in and ran to catch up with Pino, his eyes itching.

" 'Til I's strong 'nuff for it," He whispered and caught up finally, his fists shaking around the awkward material, "Not 'til then."

Pino heard the muttering and said nothing, only offering her hand silently behind her for him to grasp. Which he did, letting go of one side of the robe and tripping on it as he scurried to catch up. They walked for a long time, in reality only a quarter of an hour at best, before he huffed loud, wondering how long the journey would take.

Pino turned and looked at him, smiling, and with sweat dripping down her milky face. "Are you keeping up fine?"

"Yes, Pino Ma'am." He looked up, his shoulders rising and falling with each heavy breath.

"Good, it's a long walk," She turned back to the way ahead of her and picked up her pace, still clutching his soft hand in her's. Uno puffed along side her but kept up with her strides. They walked up and down the paved roads until finally thirty more minutes passed.

"Are you okay? Want to take a break?" She stopped, her cheeks flushed pink with effort of trudging the steep hill they were on. She herself took her free hand to her chest and took in gulps of air, sweat dappling her pretty features. The Bevellian streets lost some of the grandeur of the Temple district as they made their way deeper into the city, but it was still a cheery neighborhood that they stood in, that much was plain. Uno caught his breath finally and answered.

"No, I's fine," He sucked in his cheeks, the cold northern air nipping at his lungs. "I'm okay."

"Alright then," She started back up the hill, "Just at the top of this incredibly tall hill, hoo, I don't know why anyone would want to build an orphanage in such a place. It has a wonderful view granted, but the walk-!"

Uno skipped, tripping again on the robe hem, and shuffled to catch up with her when she suddenly stopped again, reaching the top of the hill. Uno looked up at the building they stood in front of, Pino catching her breath again, and slowly lowered his eyes to the wooden door with the words Future Yevonites painted on it in chipping purple.

"Future Yevonites?" Uno read the words and stopped, "Wh-"

"It's the name. The man who owns this place likes to think all the children we have here will become Yevon soldiers one day since he was a solider before this." Pino laughed again, hardly noticing the tenseness through the boy's hand, "But of course, not all of them are going to be soldiers!"

"Oh," Uno laughed nervously, his grandparents last words to him running through his head. He was simple and he hadn't quite decided where he stood on matter of religion, or his morals. But what felt safe, was safe as far as he knew. And so far, he hadn't met anyone else he could trust besides this woman. He gave the hand a squeeze, and not quite surprisingly, it squeezed reassuringly and warmly back.

"Come on, I know you're scared," Pino soothed, "But it's fine."

"Oh, uh… yeah," He stepped through the door she held open. Immediately he smelled food in the kitchen and heard children laughing dully through the warm cream walls. It looked a lot more kinder on the inside than the out, toys scattered on the wood floors and the uncontrollable giggling and running thumps of steps nearby. A door slammed somewhere, and a girl squealed, before there was more sounds of merrymaking.

But, even with the sounds of kid's playing, the smell of food wafting down the hall gripped Uno's attention.

Pino smiled as Uno rubbed his stomach, "Lunch will be ready soon. I hope you are hungry."

"Yeah," He rubbed more vigorously, knowing that the last time he ate was after the temple visit with his grandmother, perhaps even the morning yesterday.

"First, we have to check you in with Vimo. Then, I think Captain Nanbu is here. He'll absolutely love a boy like you," She encouraged him through another door, away from the food smell, "It'll be quick and then you can eat."

He was 'encouraged' further and further away from the food he hopefully could engulf later. Uno looked over his shoulder, hearing the sounds of children fade, before he swiveled his head to peer down the hallway ahead of him. It stretched to another door at the far end, this one of shady glass, and Pino gripped

the door handle with a soft pat to Uno for further reassurance.

She pushed it open and coaxed Uno in front of her, softly calling, "Sirs?"

"What?" An older man's voice croaked while a slightly younger one laughed.

"Pino, I know that voice you're using. What skinny ragged thing did you drag in this time?"

"Very funny, Captain," She gently pushed Uno more in front of her, and toward the Captain whom she locked eyes with, "But I think you'll be quite impressed with this one."

Uno stood straighter at the sight of the Yevon solider, his fingers twitching. His eyes narrowed and he waited, judging the brown haired man in front of him to see if he was friend or foe.

For a moment, the man's eyes widened at the sight of him and his unfriendly stare, before peeking up at Pino who hadn't lowered her gaze. There seemed to be few unspoken words between them before the Captain smiled and rubbed his head, his voice loud and booming.

"Well, Pino, I am surprised." The man whistled and leaned down, his hands landing on his muscled knees, "And, I'm impressed. You haven't been an orphan long have you? Got a lot a fight underneath the surface, I can tell. So what's your name?"

"Mydo," Uno spat, testing the man's eyes, "Uno Mydo."

"Mydo." Nanbu repeated slowly, and with the hostile delivery, his white large smile faded into a straight line. He stood straight again, his thick neck back to lift his head higher, and he peered down at the boy with a fierce gaze, "Is that right?"

"Nanbu?" Pino sounded nervous and the air grew thick with tension.

"T-that's right." Uno puffed out his cheeks and stood straighter, his fingers still twitching, " I'm his grandson and his adopted son. I's lived with him all's my life 'til a while ago."

"No need to explain all that," Nanbu's face softened and Pino slowly lowered her shoulders, though she still held in some breath as Nanbu still didn't smile, "I've heard all about that. News travels fast, see?"

His honey colored eyes blinked, and he raised a light brown brow, "So are you proud of your grandfather?"

"For being there for me," Uno nodded, "An' not being a coward."

"Good, Good, that's what I wanted to hear," Nanbu smiled again, and Pino sighed out all the pent-up air in her gut. Nanbu closed his eyes and shook his head lightly, a hand rubbing the back of his neck, "That man was responsible for a lot of my friends…well…ends. He was very skilled in my eyes and I would be disappointed if he went out with anything less than bravery. Well, not that it has much to do with you..."

"He was brave, always was." Uno relaxed his hands, not entirely sure he liked this man yet, but aware that he might have been more mean than the man probably deserved.

Pino looked at the old man behind the desk, "Vimo, Sir?"

"The boy," The man's voice cracked, and a shaking hand beckoned, "Bring him closer."

Uno walked up to the desk, the smell of age drifting into his nostrils.

"Hmm? Uno…"The man coughed than smiled in a toothless grin, "I'm Vimo, if you have any questions ask me, eh?"

"Right sir," Uno bobbed his head before shifting on his wide bare feet, "Uhm, I have a question now sir."

"Well shoot."

"When's lunch?"

He adjusted well by all means. Pino and Vimo, apparently Pino's grandfather, were kind and helped him in anything that he needed. Many of the kids circulated through the 'system' as they said, so Uno choose not to grow attach to any of them after his first two companions left him. Instead, he practically glued himself to Pino's side and helped 'take care' of the children with her. It was like he worked there instead of lived in the orphanage like the rest of the kids. He ran errands, picked up groceries, and did chores, only occasionally playing with the others. Despite that, it was a comfortable and very peaceful life. One that he learned to love quickly.

He smiled at the thought that maybe he could stay here forever, doing all the menial things he did day after day for the rest of his life. Of course, had he the same idea later in his life, as an adult, he'd probably laugh at it. But, at the time, it was his every wish. Vimo and Pino liked him enough to probably allow it. And he didn't really care if he ever got adopted, considering that it wasn't likely anyways. He was too fat to seem appealing to wondering parents, and there were too few of them interested in kids at all. Sin was killing people faster than people were willing to take more into their nests, so that further made his adoption unlikely.

And Uno was perfectly content with that.

"Hey, Pino?" He stopped peeling at the potatoes as he ventured to finally ask the question that had been nagging at him. He already assumed the answers, but his heart wanted that secured confirmation. The two years he had stayed there passed him blissfully by and just like on the first night he was there, he was peeling to make dinner with Pino.

"Yes, Uno?" She had her white sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and, like many people already knew from her outfit, she was trained as a White Mage in the Temples. She, however, disliked how her skills were only put to use for Yevon purposes when children in orphanages sometimes needed her just as badly, mostly the one's who had the unfortunate chance of meeting with Sin. Just one of the many things Uno had learned since first coming to live there.

"I's was wonderin'," He rubbed at the handle of the peeler, it was wet from the water the potatoes were being cooked in and the potatoes own slight juices, maybe even Uno's sweat. Uno's cheeks painted with color and he forced his eyes back to the woman.

Pino placed another peeled one in the pot, laughing lightly, "What?"

"Could I's uh…" He flicked at a fly buzzing around the food, before forcing a large and hopeful smile on his face, "Stay here forever?"

"Forever?" Her face sunk, and Uno's quickly matched it with the unexpected reaction, "I sure hope you don't."

"Why?" He leaned slightly forward over the counter and placed his hands on the edge for leverage, "I can help's youse with the kiddos and everything!"

"No, I'm not saying you're not helpful," She shook her head and looked up eyes sparkling, "But this world is so big, you should go do what you want and see it before you settle down."

"The world?" Uno scratched at a fly bite without thinking and then leaned back on his heels, "Why?"

"Spira is vast. You want to see some of it, don't you?" Pino took up another spud in her soft hand, "Both Vimo and I have seen a more than a good amount. It wasn't pleasant, to be honest, but I'm sure when you go out there it will be a much nicer place. The Calm might be here by then."

"Oh, heh," His mouth twitched up into a smile, somewhat involuntarily, "That would be nice."

"It is," She smiled and moved the pot to the stove, "And you can see it Uno, if you want to. There's lots of adventures, and people to meet, and things to learn. Spira is full of breathtaking sights and experiences. It is definitely worth it."

"I's will do it." He nodded, "Someday."

He watched as she blew at a short platinum blonde hair out of her face before placing her blue eyes on the water, waiting for it to come to a boil. In many ways, the woman looked like Tillie, only Pino had blue eyes like the sky instead of green like the grass.

He smiled with a blush again and looked back down at the wet counter. It could be easily said that he had a crush on the older woman. She was only twenty but to the ten year old that seemed a lot older, a decade of course being quite a bit of time.

She had white skin and a crystal clear voice. Her bangs fluffily framed her face perfectly, softly. She was kind, nice, and never grew bored of his company, or scolded him for his speech patterns. She never hit him or raised her voice. They were friends. His smile grew wider when she looked back and gave him a white grin.

"Are you going to help or not, you goof?"

Until he could carry it. It had been an awful long time, but it seemed like all that time was necessary. And though nothing pointed out directly, now's the time, he just suddenly felt like he could as he laid down to sleep like any other normal night.

He truly felt like he could now. He chewed on his lip and closed his eyes, the sleeping children around him making their unique and individual sounds, and silently wondered what he should exactly do to proceed. His dense eyes opened again, staring at the shadowed ceiling, tremendously more familiar and nice than the temple he woke up to two years ago, and he focused on a lonely crack.

He thought he knew what to do, and knowing he really could do no wrong when it came to it, he let out a slow breath and tried to remember. Everything.

He could see the blood and the shadows, even without closing his eyes, and he shivered. Since then, he's had nightmares of the night, and he never truly forgotten. But, eventually through time and warmth, the cold feelings faded and the nightmares ebbed. Maybe that was the reason he knew he could try to carry it.

Uno remembered his grandfather's body with his grandmother, lying side by side in the shadows of the living room. He could see their arms around each other, his grandfather's broad sword on its side beside his hip, even as it was only a glimpse before he dragged Tillie behind him to the cupboards.

Mistakes. He shouldn't have ran home, and he shouldn't have decided to break all those plates on the floor so the soldiers would have a clue to where they hid. And as much as he desperately wondered what he could've done differently, he knew he couldn't change it and that his younger self wouldn't have even thought of it. Regret was heavy, but he felt just a tinge, like a little flame flickering, of forgiveness for himself. He was a kid then, and didn't know what to do, and no one, not even himself, should blame himself for what happened.

There seemed to be people and things to blame in the situation, the soldiers for being ruthless and cold, the man and his gun for ending a little girl's and her brother's life, even for his grandfather for calling upon the wrath by going against Yevon. But, Uno couldn't blame anyone. They were just doing their job, the soldiers, as nasty as they were, and his grandparents already explained why they did it.

The situation was just horrible, and never should've happened, but it did.

And though he'd never say he wouldn't want it to be different, he got to meet Pino, and Vimo, and Captain Nanbu, who visited often and always with a treat of some sort for him. Perhaps it was because he was simple, but as he thought about it, he just accepted it. Lived through it, as he did two years ago.

After all, his grandparents, crimes or no crimes, were good people.

He suddenly remembered when his grandfather's broad sword was hung over the mantle, pretty much unused unless Mydo went to Bevelle on a trip, and his grandfather would follow his watching eyes to the blade and smile. Mydo would reach up and get it for him so he could see it closer, holding it across his wide hands like it was delicate, and rubbed it until it shined. Then, he would lean down and whisper in his ear, "It'll be your's one day, ya know?' and hold his thick arms out and let little Uno touch the smooth side.

He remembered the same thick arms that fished with him in the pond. The old, husky voice and the gray ponytail that hung over his meaty shoulder. He could see the light eyes that was shiny in the mid-afternoon sun when he came back from his 'job.' The man lived with joy and taught him how to laugh, loud and full, and boom his words out so everyone could hear and see your happiness.

Rolling over in the bed, Uno could feel the warm calloused hands of his grandmother lightly slapping his hand for sticking his own pudgy fingers in the baking bowl. He would lick the chocolate off his fingers, smiling guiltily and staring up at her with black eyes that begged, and his grandmother would then wink with her good eye and say get a spoon.

He remembered once, when he held the spoon in his hand and stood up on tip toes to reach the bowl, his grandmother had stamped on his bare toes accidentally and then demanded to know why he didn't wear his shoes, as she always wondered.

She'd be proud of him now. He always wore shoes, since it wasn't exactly proper to go barefoot through the city streets and not exactly comfortable either. Soft country dirt was one thing, but paved roads with bustling, and jostling people, and sometimes broken glass and little stones, were more than enough trouble to pull on shoes for.

The shoes at home, with his grandparents, were always left in the doorway every single day, only being worn when Uno and his grandmother went to the temple and his grandmother shoved him into them. The door would always run into them because he left them right in the way when he took them off. They always waited until the next following Sunday until his grandmother would shove him back into them once more.

The old clothes in the chest beside the door also waited for him. The clothes always smelt like the house…

The house always smelled like bee's wax and the cooking concoctions his grandmother made up daily. They didn't smell like old people like Vimo did. They smelt like the earth. Pleasant, warm, natural. It may have just been from where they lived, but Uno always had the idea that it was the way they were, like they were made from the earth.

Uno sighed deeply, a huge weight that he didn't even know was there lifting from his shoulders. There was nothing to be sad about anymore, though he was still a little, but he could remember and cherish. He took another breath and his eyes snapped open, his expression curious.

Sniffing, he smelt the light earth smell now, the smell that matched his grandparents. Like water and dirt, and plants. He turned his head around and back to the pillow, breathing in heavily.

It smelt like pee, and he jerked away from it with vigorous rubbing to his round nose.

He sniffed the blanket, also holding the pungent odor that probably hundreds of children dispersed onto it. Uno sniffed the mattress receiving the same result only that it was stronger.

"Uck!" He shook his face, rubbing at it with the back of his hand in disgust. He sniffed in again, his skin underneath his nose.

Smiling, he fell back again.

He smelled like the earth. Like his Grandparents.