Disclaimer: Still don't own DBZ.

"Are you sure you want me to do this?" inquired Rojelio. He was in the tool shed with Vicente who was insisting that he cut his hair and his tail.

"Please Rojelio. It's going to be hard enough to get adopted without looking like a freak."

"Alright" said Rojelio uncertainly. Soon, the hair on Vicente's head was only one inch long (or tall) and the rest was on the floor. "You know, you could just keep your tail in your pants."

Vicente thought about this. It was true enough, but there was something about his tail. Something in his memory that he just could not bring forward, but he knew it was bad.

"Cut it off, Rojelio."

"Fine. But if my father kills me, I'll haunt you for the rest of your days." Rojelio took Vicente's tail, laid it across the worktable, lifted the ax and

From the tool shed came a cry like that of a wounded animal. Upon hearing this cry, Arturo, who had been looking for Vicente to give him news, took off towards it.

Arturo burst into the tool shed to find his son holding an ax in one hand and Vicente's tail in the other with a strange, triumphant look on his face, as though he had just killed a great monster. Vicente stood, breathing heavily, with a wooden beam in his hands. He was bending it, and soon it was in pieces.

"Rojelio!" Arturo shouted. "¿Qué hiciste?" What did you do?

"He made me do it!" Rojelio insisted, pointing at Vicente with the ax, the quickly hiding it behind his back when he realized he was doing it.

"Vicente, ¿estás bien?"

"Yes." Vicente said, turning to face them. There was sweat on his forehead and tears in his eyes, but neither slid down his face. "Don't be mad at Rojelio. He speaks the truth. I made him do it. I didn't want to go to the orphanage with a tail."

Arturo shook his head and smiled. "Vicente, you're not going to the orphanage. I've adopted you. I was just looking for you to tell you.

A few days later, Rojelio and Vicente stood in the barn. Rojelio was holding an ax and a live chicken by the neck.

"Alright, Chente." he said. "My father used the money he was saving to hire help to adopt you. So, you are going to have to help with the work. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Ok. You're about ten and in this family, once you're ten, you get the 'privilege' of killing chickens when we're having one for dinner. Do you think you can handle it?''

"Probably. I'll try"

Smiling grimly, Rojelio laid the chicken across a tree stump kept in the barn for the sole purpose of beheading livestock. He indicated that Vicente come over. When he did,

Rojelio had him hold down the struggling fowl, then handed him the ax.

"Now, it's all right if you can't do it the first time. Lot's of people can't. I couldn't, in fact. But if you do, make sure you bring down the ax good and hard."

Vicente held his tongue between his teeth and the ax above his head. He looked down at the bird, then, with a deep breath and a swallow, brought the ax down on the chicken's neck and was greeted by a spurt of blood on his face.


"Oh, Chente! I'm sorry!" said Rojelio. "What an awful thing to happen on your first time! I'll understand if you don't want to do this again for a while. Chente?"

Vicente was silent. His face twitched, then an evil sort of smile crossed his face. There was something about the blood, the foul smell of it, the deep redness of it, the wet, oozey warmth of it. It triggered something in his memory. He wanted to do it again. He had to. He lifted the ax and brought it down repeatedly on the dead chicken.

"Chente! Chente, what are you doing?!" Rojelio asked, frightened. Was his newly adopted brother insane? "Chente, stop! Please!"

Vicente continued hacking away.

"Chente!" Rojelio tried to pull the ax from Vicente's hand. As a reflex, Vicente punched him, sending him flying across the barn.

Even as his bloody fist connected with Rojelio's face, Vicente felt himself coming back to reality. Suddenly disgusted by the blood he was covered in, he retched noisily on the hay. When he was finished, he went over to Rojelio.

"Lo siento, Rojelio!" Vicente cried. "Are you all right? I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" He helped Rojelio to his feet.

Rojelio stared at him with fear in his eye, then ran from the barn leaving a confused and frightened Vicente standing alone in a blood-filled barn.