6/19/01
Disclaimer: the characters such as Mitsuko, Uriko, etc. belong to Hudson Soft
Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-IV, and my readers, especially PokeDigi, Xion, LazzyQ, Alica, Deoku, VGuyver, Flyby, StarryPeach, and Niteflite.
Bloody Roar I: A Childhood Regained
By Tiger5913
"Mom… they hurt me."
The words of a young forlorn kid, the first sentence that she had uttered in weeks made the tall maternal figure's face fall and her heart wrench in pain. Her daughter's expression was blank, emotionless, as if she didn't think anymore, her mind too full to function normally. She gazed into the eyes of her child, saddened by the hurt in her small light brown irises, and a fear suddenly occurred to her: what if she never recovered from the traumatizing event?
"They hurt me…"
Abducted at the age of eight to be put into usage for a greedy cause, used by a merciless company with a black-hearted boss. The child remembered the long cold nights confined in a miniscule cell room, although thankfully she wasn't alone at those times. In the midst of all the horrors she had gone through, there was one shred of light that was peeping out of the darkness. Just a single part of the experience was pleasurable, amongst all the other things she had endured.
She was presently nine, but only two weeks had passed since her birth date, and a mere couple of days since her escape. The concern her mother had never ceased, worrying for her mental state of mind, wondering if she could ever retain a normal childhood. Nine-year-olds fretted over friends, toys, and whether or not the opposite sex had cooties. But instead, this young girl's mind had been filled with thoughts of combating techniques and how to attain victory from a battle.
The mother hoped for a sign that her beloved offspring would be normal someday. Before the encounter, the child was cheerful, a bright smile plastered over her face as she pranced around joyously. She had no acknowledgement or contact with the evil parts of the world, of their society, until the company changed everything. Since the night that the nine-year-old had returned home, she had been murmuring one word over and over: "Kenji". This baffled her mother, for she remembered that her daughter's preschool friend Kenji had moved away.
"Mom… we have to go back."
That sentence was spoken by the youth the very next day after her heart breaking words the sundown before.
Her immediate response was to wonder why, why her daughter would ever want to set her eyes on that dreaded place, where she had lost so much. The chance of growing up as an average girl, not knowing anything about her special blood, her hidden ability. The loss of her innocence so early suddenly opened up numerous new paths to the girl, exposing her to situations that she couldn't possibly be ready to face yet.
"Mom… I left Kenji behind."
What is she talking about? The woman pondered silently. Kenji had been out of her child's life for years; why she would all of a sudden remember now made no sense.
Day after day she watched as her offspring slowly submitted into a normal routine, going back to school, playing at friends' houses, and the like. She waited patiently for a sign assuring her that the girl would be all right again, that the brink of childhood would return to her grasp. After all, her daughter truly was too mature mentally for her age, thinking about things that she shouldn't for years to come.
"Mom… I wish my best friend was my boyfriend."
A love interest? She was so young… yet then again, so mature in another sense, forced to leave the secluded world of being naïve. But… where did this sudden best friend figure come from? She had many male friends, but never spoke of one in particular. Still… could this be the sign…?
"Mom…" her daughter continued to speak.
Glancing at the doe-like face, wishing that it was still aligned with innocence, she quirked an eyebrow when she noticed something. This time, the kid's bright brown eyes sparkled with something different… the sprite of life, its form small but flaring up so that I caught the attention of others. Had joy returned to inhibit the child's body? Was it time for her to start recovering?
Mitsuko Nonomura gazed at her intently. "Yes, daughter? What is it?"
A smile formed over her soft pink lips, then she spoke with a premature tone tinting her voice, "My best friend is a nice boy."
"Oh?"
Nodding enthusiastically, Uriko Nonomura piped, "Not all boys have cooties."
*****
I miss Kenji.
I'll never forget what happened at that creepy place Tylon. Those meanies hurting me and stuff. I don't really remember all the things that they made me do, but I think I fought against lots of people, and hurt them. Hurting people is bad, my Mom told me before, so I try not to do it because I don't want to hurt people and be bad. I wanna be a good girl.
Mom won't let me go back. I told her that I left Kenji behind and that I needed to go back and get him, but she just gives me a funny look. I really wanna see him again; it feels like one million billion years since I saw him last, and I think that I was still eight years old too. I think I like him the way that makes girls and guys at school yell "Cooties!" at each other, but oh well, I don't care. Kenji doesn't have cooties 'cause he doesn't act like a stupid dumb-dumb and make fun of girls and throw rocks at us.
I wonder how he's doing? Is he still okay? Will he get out too? I feel bad for forgetting about him, but I can't go back alone without Mom… I gotta convince her to take me back.
I miss talking to Kenji. Mom says I can't tell anyone about stinky smelly Tylon because no one would understand, but I bet I could talk to Kenji about it like we used to when I was still there. I miss giving him hugs too, and if I could right now I'd kiss him too! Kissing isn't yucky like the way the girls at school say it, but I think they say that because they don't know how it feels.
I think if I told them that I'd be okay with Kenji being my boyfriend, they'll probably scream or laugh at me. Girls and boys are supposed to think that they have cooties and germs and stuff. That's so stupid… They all act like little kids. Why can't they be more like adults, the way Kenji and me used to act sometimes? I wonder how it feels to act like a kid again. I forgot, because I haven't acted like a kid in a long time.
My Mom says I lost something called "innocence". Whatever that is, she was crying about it when she told me that. I guess it's something important if Mom cried about it. What is it though? Can I get it back? If it'll make Mom happy then I want it back… I don't like seeing her sad because then it makes me sad…
Right now though, I just wanna see Kenji again…
The End
Author's Note: Fluffy fic! And this time, only hints of Keniko, hehehe. I'm so pissed off at Tylon for screwing Uriko and Kenji over, so I decided to write a fic about how Uriko slowly worked her way into recovery after her escape from Tylon. Because really, nine-year-olds are really supposed to be worrying about more little things, like cooties, best friends, how boring school is, and etc. Hang onto your innocence, because once you lose it, there's no going back.
With love for my fans,
Tiger5913