Onni looked out the tent flap,
rain pouring down by the gallons, over the large camp. It was flooding the outside; puddles of mud
were soon becoming pools. Mud so high
that people who dared to venture outside sank into the ground until almost to
their knees. Onni sighed. It seemed to be raining a lot more these
days.
Returning his gaze from outside
to inside, he stared at an old and frail woman near the camp fire. She was trying to stay warm but the fire had
nearly gone to embers and was no longer giving off comforting heat. And the firewood was gone until tomorrow
when it shall be dry again.
" Mother," Onni addressed the old woman. She held up her head, black hair falling in
mangles around her old face. But Onni
knew she was young, still in her 40's.
Wrinkles formed around her bloodshot eyes, her hands so scolded from the
forced labor put on her, that they were eternally red and callused. Gray streaks ran through her black hair,
which was knotted and weary from lack of refreshment. Onni knew she was dying also from a new parasite that in which
lived within the heart for several years and started taking effects
afterwards. Working only ten minutes
would bring such a strain on her heart that it felt like a heart attack. And therefore, Onni had taken on her
hardships of work so that she survive from immediate death. He didn't mind it much.
" Yes Onni?" His old mother replied.
" Are you cold?" He asked.
She nodded curtly.
Onni immediately stood up and picked up the blanket he was sitting on.
Shook it once, twice, before walking over to her. It was only two steps to get to her since it was such a small
tent. He poured the blanket over her
other one and rubbed her arm gently.
Muscles in his arm wavered, tired from the load he had taken on today.
" Oh Onni, you-," His mother started.
" I don't," he said and smiled slowly. It was a forced smile. He had never really smiled before in his
life, so it was a difficult task to do.
Onni returned to his seat on the floor and looked
back out the tent. More people were crowded
outside, shivering under the howling and harsh wind and talking quietly amongst
themselves. They were all adults, worn,
tired and most likely, starving. But
they never showed it.
One turned his gaze to meet Onni's and eyes narrowed
into a glare. Hatred sprung from his
eyes like fire, the only thing alive in those black eyes. The man's gaze never wavered from Onni's
face, and Onni sighed. He was use to
that look. The look of pure hate,
filled with so much rage in the hearts of humans, that was probably the only
reason humans lived. For revenge. For justice. For something that would never come.
Onni
finally looked away from the man's gaze, but he could still feel the burning
gaze in the back of his head, penetrating his thoughts and it feeling as though
he was trying to read his mind.
Impossible, yes, but it still felt like it.
Onni shifted uneasily and looked back-the man and
his group was returning to a tent, likely to continue their discussion
inside. Onni was thankful. But he didn't blame the man.
Onni looked beside him, at his long brown tail that
lay still on the ground with the exception of the end twitching every so
often. The very thing that kept him
outside. The very thing that made people
hate him with all the passion they could muster. The very thing that made him hate himself.
Onni closed his tired eyes as a burning hate grew in
his chest. He was half-Saiyan. He was part of the enemy. He was evil, no questions asked. He was…a half-breed, a being that belonged
nowhere. He hated himself, not the
people. He hated who he was. It wasn't fair…but then again, life was
never fair. Life was cruel and
harsh. He knew that. He was grown up with that stuck in his mind. Now life was coming back with a
vengeance. Full force.
*****
Onni stumbled outside, the mud still thick and fresh
from the night's rain. He was sinking
into the cold swamp, covering his blue and torn gi up to his knees. Onni sighed. He might as well swim.
" Onni!" His mother called from behind him in the
tent. He turned around to look at her,
but couldn't as black locks of hair swayed into his line of vision. He brushed them aside furiously.
" Yes?" He asked.
" Don't forget to pick up some wood on your way
home," his mother reminded him.
" Mom, I'm 8 years old. I think I can remember that," Onni argued.
" Just don't forget!" She replied and disappeared
back into the tent. Onni sighed and
continued on his troublesome way.
Trudging through the mud aggressively, Onni went
down the main 'street' of the camp, where tent after tent aligned. Onni was born in a tent, born in this camp,
so he hadn't seen anything else. He had
even barely seen other camps other then his.
So it was quite a natural sight for them to see gray, tattered and old
tents, one after the other. They were
all the same size but not the same quality.
Many had holes in them as big as a rock. Others were ready to fall down.
But Onni's tent stayed in good shape; his mother took care of that.
Onni finally neared the edge of his camp, where two
Saiyan guards stood watch. They were
unarmed, besides the traditional Saiyan armor over their skintight
clothes. The Saiyans turned their heads
and smirked at Onni, cocky and cold as always.
" Well, Onni," one of them said. He had black hair that was spiky all around
his head and the rest was pulled back into a ponytail. Onni often amused himself as thinking of him
as a ruffled chicken that got caught in a fight and lost. A long scar trailed from his ear to his neck
and beyond Onni's gaze, probably to his kidneys. He was happy to see that something
got his hands on the ugly Saiyan Chicken.
" How goes it?" The other asked. This one had dark red hair that was cut
extremely short but spiked up in every direction, pointing to the heavens. Onni was very thankful that he didn't get
the traditional Saiyan hair or he might have looked like one of these two.
Onni stopped in front of them and they closed in like
wolves to make sure he wouldn't past them.
" I've been better," Onni replied swiftly.
" Oh, what's the problem?" The Saiyan Chicken asked.
" Well-."
" I bet he just isn't getting enough work," Devil
Hair commented to his partner.
" You think so?" Saiyan Chicken. " Well, we'll fix that for you, Onni."
" Oh thanks," Onni said with sarcastic
brightness. " That's all I ever
wanted!"
Devil Hair laughed, " Get goin', kid, or we will
make you work." They stepped out the
way and Onni rushed past. Maybe it
wasn't going to be such a bad day after all.
*****
Onni's muscles tensed and glinted with sweat as he swung the hammer
over his shoulder and onto the boulder in front of him. God, what was in this stuff? He grunted as
he swung it again and came crashing on the rock. It cracked only a bit.
" You're swinging that wrong, mutt," a rough voice
said behind him. Onni turned his head,
stopping the next blow he was going to give the killer rock to a tall man
behind him. Human. Well, that's one good sign. But Onni grimaced at the name the man gave
him.
" Oh?" Onni asked, pretending to be stupid. He found life was a lot easier that way with
humans instead of trying to outsmart them or show them something they didn't
know. They had a hard time accepting
it.
" Yeah," the man said and walked over. He had a bowl
cut hair, black and slick. He looked in
extremely good health, beside the scar on his cheek. His body was unbelievably built for his young age and he wore a white
shirt with a blue jacket over it and black pants.
He jerked the hammer free from Onni's grasp roughly,
as if Onni was going to fight him for it.
He wasn't of course, because he was willing to learn the 'right way' to
do this so he could move on to his other chores.
" Now hold it like this, bozu," the man growled and
put one callused hand near the edge and one near the medal of hammer. " And hit it like this!" He swung the hammer behind him and then
front wards, all by his side and it slammed into the medal rock and immidately
shattered into crumples of rocks.
" Wow," Onni awed at the rubble before him. Women started to pick them up and heave them
away.
The man seemed thoroughly pleased with himself too,
" Yeah I know. Now you try." He handed the hammer back to Onni, with a
slight more gentleness. Well at least
he isn't thinking about slamming it on my head, he thought. Onni then got a mental picture of his head
being the rock and the man before him slamming the hammer on his head. He chuckled in his throat. His mother always did say he thought too
much.
" What are you laughing at?" The man growled
angrily, glaring down at Onni's thick mop of black hair. Onni looked up.
" Sorry sir, I was just dreaming-," Onni started.
" Don't dream! Work!" The man ordered and pointed to
the next boulder in line for crushing.
Onni shrugged and walked over to the oversized slab. Well it's nice to know he is dedicated to
working, Onni thought miserably and swung the hammer hard into the rock, which
crumpled in front of him. Onni barely
noticed as he started off for the next one.
" Hey kid!" The man called and ran after him. Onni stopped and turned to meet him.
" How'd you do that?" The young man asked.
" Did what?" Onni asked stupidly. This time he wasn't acting.
" Break that boulder?" The young man seemed
impatient. " Only people with-."
" Well you broke it," Onni interrupted. " Why couldn't I?"
" You weren't-."
" Were you trying to trick me?" Onni interrupted
again. " Make me do something stupid?"
" I was testing you."
" Well next time, warn me." Onni began to walk away but was called upon
again.
" What's your name kid?" The man asked behind him.
" Onni," he replied, looking back. " What's yours?"
" I'm Yamcha," the man said and smiled slowly. " Maybe we'll see each other again." Then he walked away into the mob of humans.
*****
Onni walked home slowly, a heavy load of wood on his back. He didn't want to drop one or the whole camp
would be on him within a second, begging for some of his wood. Either that, or they'll beat him up for
it. It didn't matter to them how they
got it.
Even though he was worried about losing some wood
from the pack on his back, he didn't and made it home without anyone attacking
him.
" Mom, I'm home," Onni called into the tent and
shifted the flap aside to enter. His
mother was chopping up some bread in her lap.
" Hey honey," she cooed softly. Onni dropped the pile of wood near the fire.
" Oh, you got some food!" Onni said excitedly.
" Luckily," his mother answered, swiping back a
greasy strand of black hair away from her face. " I had to fight this
other woman for it when the Carriage came in today."
The Carriage.
The Saiyans little pile of scrap food that they throw in every now and
then. And when they do, people nearly
tear each other apart to get some of it.
Onni grimaced at what his mother had to simply go through to get some
rotten bread.
" Somebody came to call for you," his mother said,
wrapping up the bread carefully with one of her cloth shreds.
" Call for me?" Onni echoed disbelieving. He sat down near the fireplace in the middle
of the tent and began throwing twigs into it.
Who would ever call for me? He thought.
" Yes, a young man named Yamcha," his mother
continued.
" Oh him," Onni nodded. " What did he want?"
" He wanted to meet with you," she said. " At midnight, near the forest."
" Oh," Onni murmured, trying to start the fire.
" Are you going to go?" She asked.
" I don't know," Onni answered truthfully.
" He seemed nice," she commented.
" What's that suppose to mean?"
" I think you should go."
" Why?"
" He made it sound awfully important."
Onni sighed.
Knowing his luck, it would be some ambush of humans.
" I don't know," Onni said. His mother didn't say anymore as the fire
began to light. Anyway, Onni had a lot
of thinking to do.
*****
Onni put on his heavy cloak in the dark. It was nearly midnight. He
decided to meet this Yamcha character.
For some reason, he didn't think there would be an ambush by this man.
His mother slept peacefully on, lying close to the
embers of the fire.
" See you later, Mom," Onni whispered and kissed her
quickly on the cheek before rushing out of the tent and into the chilly
night. It was unusually cold as Onni
walked over the frozen ground, slightly frosted from the chilly breath of the
air. He made his way to the forest that
was at the end of the camp with ease.
White puffs escaped from Onni's nostrils as he chose to breathe lighter,
straining his ears against the silence.
He heard nothing ahead of him in the darkness of the forest. But even then, he tensed for anything as he
entered the forest.
The trees in the forest were thick with mold on
their barks and wet to the touch from the heavy rainfall the night before. Droplets of water fell continuously in
Onni's messy hair from the tree's leaves.
The smell in the air stank of wet wood and refreshing rain. Onni liked the smell; it wasn't near as
everything he smelt in the camp.
Onni walked gingerly on the stick littered ground,
making no sound. He had that graceful
ability since he was four, but Onni hadn't really cared until he realized what
a useful tactic it was against humans and Saiyans alike. Onni knew Saiyans had trained and wonderful
hearing, more sharp then humans. He had
once watched a Saiyan hear a child laugh from across the camp. But Onni's footsteps were light enough that
the Saiyans didn't even look up as he passed them time and time again. He had gotten very lenient on the maneuver.
And then of course he had found out about his own
incredible hearing. Even if he was just
half Saiyan, he had the hearing of a full one.
He heard each whispered word that was spoken between the Saiyans as he
worked half a mile away. When he found
this trick too, around the age five, he had harnessed it, improving it little
by little. Now he could hear a cough
from the other side of camp. He used
his hearing to watch over his mother the most.
He was always afraid the Saiyans would try to dispose of her while he
was away.
While Onni was deep in thought, Yamcha was sitting
on the branch behind. The boy had
walked by, not noticing the silhouette in the tree. Yamcha grinned slightly. This
boy needs to learn how to keep his mind on matters at hand, he thought.
" Hey kid!" Yamcha called out. The boy tensed and whirled, fists flying up
to protect himself. Yamcha noted as the
boy's face distorted from that of daydreaming to a blank, concentrated
one. He wore a familiar frown on his
face-he wasn't pleased with himself either for not paying attention. The grin on Yamcha's face broadened.
" Glad you came," Yamcha said and the boy's eyes
snapped up to him in the tree. Yamcha
kept noting this boy's faults.
" What do you want?" Onni asked in a low face. The man named Yamcha studied Onni with
lifted eyebrows, a smirk on his face.
Onni felt a small twinge of anger.
Was he laughing at him?
Finally, after staring at each other for a couple of
minutes, Yamcha spoke, " So you're a half breed huh?"
" Isn't that obvious?" Onni asked in return. He waved his tail around behind him into
view to show his point.
" Of course," Yamcha said. " Only Saiyan kids have so much muscle when their young. How old are you anyway?"
" Eight," Onni said slowly. He kept his fists up. Yamcha seemed to lighten up a bit and he
jumped down from the tree.
" I'm not going to hurt you."
" What do you want?"
Yamcha ignored his question once again, " Do you
know whose mutt you are?"
Onni's eyes flared with anger. Mutt?
" Would you stop calling me that?" Onni asked, not
bothering to cover his anger in his tone.
" Sure," Yamcha said simply. " Do you know whose son you are?"
" Yes."
" Who?"
" I asked you a question first."
" Really?
What was it again?"
" What. Do. You. Want?"
Yamcha grinned slowly, " I train Saiyan boys. I'm looking for a certain one."
Onni raised an eyebrow slowly.
" He'll have incredible abilities, if trained
right," the man continued. " He's half Saiyan and has a natural gift for
fighting."
" What does this have to do with me?" Onni asked.
" We don't know yet," Yamcha said. " But I want to find out."
