A young five year-old girl ran through the forest. It was happening again. Her long dark blue hair trailed behind her as she ran and her bangs, that normally covered one of her blue eyes, were blown back out of her face. She had to get away, away from them.
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Back in the clearing was her seven-year-old brother, Zelgadis. He stood in the middle of the clearing surrounded by three boys that were a few years older than himself, and all were moving in on him. The dark blue hair at the nape of his neck bristled in fear and he yelled out "Rina! Run! Run and don't look back!
"That won't do any good, Grayworts! After we're through with you, we'll simply go after your precious little sister," mocked the boy to Zel's right. He was a large boy with thick brown hair and a bandanna tied around his head, and every day he and his two thugs would do this. They would gang up on Zel and his sister Rina for the sheer joy of watching them suffer. Zel knew he was weaker than they were, but he couldn't let them hurt his sister again.
"Are you listening, Zeldingos?!" yelled the tall and skinny boy in front of him. "Pierce! He's not listenin' to us!"
"My name is Zelgadis…" he said under his breath.
"What did you say, you little punk?" their leader, Pierce said to Zel, picking him up off the ground by gripping the front of his shirt in a tight fist. "It's rude to talk behind people's backs like that, so talk louder so I can hear you!"
"Look who's talking…" Zel commented though clenched teeth. "And you better not lay a finger on Rina."
"Or you'll do what, weakling? A little thing like you can't do anything to us," Pierce laughed and through Zel against the ground.
Zel allowed himself to hit the hard ground below him but then before a second had passed he had rolled over, pushed himself up a few inches off the ground, and thrown a sweeping kick at Pierce's legs in an attempt to knock him to the ground. He allowed himself to smile as his kick connected with Pierce's legs, causing him to fall flat on his back. Then, Zel attempted to get up and run into the forest, but was stopped by a blow to the back, causing him to fall to the ground flat on his face.
The one who had punched Zel in the back was Pierce's right hand man, Zane. He had been the one to call Zel "Zeldingos." Zane, the tall and skinny bully with no brain, but a punch like an oncoming bull. He laughed as Zel attempted to get up. But merely collapsed to the ground again, coughing up a little bit of blood. "That's what you get for treatin' Pierce like that, little brat! Are you listening?" He informed Zel while he kicked him about two feet away from him, causing dust to fly in the air and Zelgadis's crumpled form to cry out in pain. Zane laughed again.
Soon Pierce stood up, "Let that be a lesson to you, weakling, but in case you need further reinforcement, I'm sure your sister will take it for you." He laughed with a menacing smile.
"No…" Zel groaned, pushing himself up off the ground with a painful effort. "Not Rina…"
"Shut up, brat." Zane demanded before kicking him hard in both his right arm and side, causing him to flip over in the air and come back down on his right arm with a devastating crack.
Zel screamed out in pain and clutched his broken right arm with his left hand. His eyes were clenched tight and a stream of blood ran from his forehead. "You… you… monsters!"
"No, I'm afraid it's you who is the monster, fool," Pierce stated flatly. "I mean, just look at you, your arm and trashed body, pathetic, really."
"You're gonna pay, Pierce…"
"No, I'm afraid you're wrong. It's you and your sister who will pay," Pierce said mockingly and then motioned to his two sidekicks to follow him, into the woods where Rina had run.
"No…" Zel said exasperated, falling flat on the ground again. "You have to run, Rina… Run… don't let them catch you too… Run…"
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Rina continued to run through the dense forest, refusing to give in or look back. She had to keep going, for Zel. He was risking everything so she could get away, but… what about Zel? Who would risk their life for her big brother? What if he got hurt because of Pierce, Zane, and Virsega? All because of her… Rina stopped in her tracks and tears flowed down her face. She had to go back. Even if Zel got mad, she couldn't let him take those horrible bullies alone. She looked up into the trees and saw a strong sturdy branch. Perfect, she thought to herself. By using the cover of the treetops she would backtrack to the clearing, where her brother was without being seen.
Gripping onto the thick branch above her head, Rina was able to pull herself up into the dense foliage of branches that soon surrounded the young five year-old. She brushed her long blue bangs out of her left eye, leaving the right eye covered due to habit. Then Rina looked around at her surroundings, taking in the feat she had before her. The stretch back to the clearing was about 500 yards or so. Also, Rina's keen knowledge of the forest's layout as well as her skilled abilities at climbing made this trek through the treetops seem relatively simple, as long as she wasn't seen. "I'm coming back for you, Zel," she thought with a weak smile. "No more running away for me."
With a deep breath, Rina began her journey back to the clearing, quickly moving from branch to branch with ease and accuracy. She was careful not to make a sound, knowing that the slightest noise would give herself away if Pierce, Zane, and Virsega had left Zelgadis to find her. She couldn't let that happen, not now.
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Zane trudged through the forest. Pierce and Virsega were searching as well, trying to find the missing Graywords brat. From the looks of it, she was hiding, and therefore they had split up to find her. "We'll find you, you little demonic brat. There's nowhere to hide from us," he laughed stupidly.
"Zane! Have you found her?!" came Pierce's voice booming through the trees.
"Negative, sir. But we'll find her. She can't escape us."
"Right. Keep looking, we don't want to build up a bad reputation for not being able to catch a little girl."
"Don't worry, Pierce," Zane assured him, running off to search another section of the forest. "She will be found."
Rina paused for a moment, looking down at the scene below her. They were looking for her, all three of them. She could see Zane below, looking in bushes and behind trees. "Well," she thought, "He had the right idea." Then, once he had moved on beyond where she perched, Rina allowed herself to continue on towards the clearing.
She was running and leaping along the branches as soon as Pierce and the others were out of earshot. Now that they were behind her, the only important thing was getting back to her brother. But if Pierce, Zane, and Virsega were looking for her now, that had to mean that her brother, Zelgadis, would almost without a doubt be seriously hurt. At the thought of this, Rina almost lost her footing on the branches below her, but she caught herself just in time with a loud gasp of air and then paused for a second in an attempt to clear her mind of what state her brother could be in. She reasoned that if she got back there as soon as she possibly could, at least she'd be able to do something about it.
With this in her mind, also accompanied by another deep breath, Rina Graywords started once more towards where her brother was, careful not to think about what she would find once she got there.
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Zelgadis Graywords lay there on the ground in pain, clutching his broken arm and swallowing painfully as blood trickled down his throat. He then attempted once again to push himself up off the ground by way of his left arm, allowing his right to hang at his side momentarily, but only to cause himself to fall flat on his face once more, clenching his teeth in pain but careful not to make a sound.
He coughed again, as drops of crimson blood sprayed onto the green grass below him. The seven-year-old's chest heaved harshly as he slowly gave into the harsh reality that he wasn't going to be able to get up. Pierce and the others had been right. He was a pathetic fool.
Zel allowed his head to rest on the soft, wet grass as he hoped against hope that at least Rina was all right. Tears rolled down his cheeks, if she wasn't, he'd never be able to forgive himself.
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Climbing through the treetops, Rina continued to get closer to her destination, the clearing where she knew Zel was. She was well past where Pierce, Zane, and Virsega were searching, and she was making good time.
Ahead of her, Rina saw golden light shining through the constantly less dense foliage, meaning that she was indeed almost there. With this thought in her mind, Rina picked up her pace one more notch. She was virtually flying through the scenery around her, eyes focused on the beams of golden light in front of her as leaves whipped past her pale face. Suddenly she broke free of the branches and leaves and jumped nimbly down from the branch onto the soft grass below. She landed on her feet and looked around the clearing. Where was Zel?
Rina looked around frantically, seeing nothing, then her eyes lowered to ground level and she saw him. "Zel!!!" she screamed out in terror. He was face down in the clearing and didn't appear to be moving. Rina ran over to his side and kneeled beside him, tears flooding her eyes. "Zel… oh Zel… please be all right…"
Zel opened one eye, an act that seemed to cause him a lot of pain, but when his eye focused on Rina's form kneeling beside him he smiled weakly. "Rina…" he said very horse and weakly, then he let out a sigh of relief and closed his eye again, coughing lightly.
"What happened? What did they do to you?" Rina questioned through her tears, looking continually worried by her brother's condition.
"I got my body trashed…" Zel said, his eyes still closed. "But… at least… at least you didn't get hurt."
"At least I didn't get…? Oh Zel!" she repeated, unable to accept his words, tears continuing to slide down her pale cheeks. Leaning down, she wrapped her arms around her brother, unable to stop her tears.
Zel winced as she did this and his whole body tensed up, his right arm ringing with pain from her quick movement, and his back from the pain of being simply touched after the blow he had endured. He let out a soft groan accompanied by yet another cough. At this, Rina released her hold and gazed down at her brother with deep concern. "Sorry…" she apologized softly.
"Do you think you could do me a favor?" he asked weakly.
"Anything." Rina answered as she wiped her tears from her eyes.
"Can you help me sit up?"
"Sit up?" She questioned, eyes wide and one eyebrow raised. "How are you going to sit up?"
"With your help, I think I'll be able to. I would on my own, but… my right arm's busted and my back really hurts. I tried a few times and it hurt me more than it helped." Zel answered, sounding slightly defeated.
"Your arm's broken?!"
"Yeah… I fell on it and it cracked…"
"Oh Zel…" Rina sighed, looking just as worried as ever. "And you still want to sit up?"
"Yes. And get out of this clearing."
Rina sighed again and shook her head. "Your arm's broken, your back's injured and all you can think of is that you want to sit up?"
Zel smiled weakly and nodded as much as he could face down in the grass.
"Oh all right… I'll help you up, Zel…" Rina gave in, "but next time don't let them…"
She stopped, for much to her amazement, Zel was trying to push himself off the ground. He almost got up on one arm when his left arm yet again gave out. However, Rina's arms were there to catch him this time, and she eased her brother up to a sitting position. "Thanks, Rina…" Zel said sounding very thankful that he wasn't face down on the grass once more.
"I was going to help you up, you know," Rina told him in an attempt to sound serious, but it came out in a much softer tone.
"Sorry…" he apologized, right arm limply hanging at his side.
Then a long shadow fell over both of them, directing the warm sun away from their backs. Both looked back and saw the outline of a tall man robed in red and purple and holding a staff with four rings that ring with an unearthly chime every time he walked a step closer in their direction. Soon he was standing only a few feet away from them, his long yet shaped purple hair outlining his pale and pointed face in an elongated and almost diamond shape. His bangs were thin and almost nonexistent, exposing both of his eyes, which were closed. The man was blind and his name was Rezo, the red priest, the great grandfather and grandfather to Zelgadis and Rina. He kneeled down next to the two of them and said in a solitary voice. "Well, well, my dear grandchildren, what trouble has befallen you on this day?"
"It's nothing, Gran'pa…" Zel lied, cradling his broken arm with his left hand. He didn't want to admit what happened to his grandfather, one of the greatest sages of the era, the red priest. He was so powerful, while he, Zelgadis, remained weak.
"Zel!" Rina retaliated.
Rezo smiled and shook his head. "If only I could see to witness the looks on your faces, I'm sure they would be quite the sight to see."
Zel glared at Rina and stuck out his tongue at her "Tattle-tail," he scolded.
Rina only grinned at him.
"So are you going to tell me what happened? I heard something going on not long ago. Have you been getting into trouble again, Zelgadis?"
Before Zel could answer, Rezo turned his head after hearing the sound of running behind him. A young girl of around 11, wearing a kaki cotton tunic with blue trim ran across the clearing and finally right beside Rezo. Her chin length blue hair styled so that it fanned out slightly at the bottom, but it was frazzled from running. "Master Rezo, what happened? Why did you take off so…? Oh." Her eyes suddenly changed to a stuck up childish glare as she noticed Zelgadis and Rina on the ground. "It's you two."
"Nice to see you too, Eris." Zel said in a very forceful tone. Eris was his older sister and an annoying one at that. She was practically in love with his grandfather as far as he was concerned, and both he and Eris detested each other. She was always hanging around Rezo during his experiments and other activities, and it drove him crazy. She was obsessed.
Eris grinned down at Zel. "I see you got beat up again, brother."
"Thanks for the concern." Zel said coolly.
Rezo turned back to Zel. "Both of you stop your babbling, now, Zelgadis, where does it hurt?"
"I'll be fine, Gran'pa. Just a few scratches, nothing to worry about."
Rina opened her mouth to say something, but Zel looked back at her and she kept her comments to herself.
"All right, if that's the way you want it…" Rezo sighed, but before Zel could stop him he placed one hand on Zel's chest and chanted a white magic healing spell. Energy radiated through Zel's body and a red aura surrounded him. He could see most of the visible wounds on his body being healed and the blood began to vanish even from his tunic. He could also feel the pain in both his back and arm fading away. "There you are, you'll be able to walk now."
Zel proceeded to attempt to stand up slowly, and was soon on his feet. His face lit up with joy, but then he felt a sharp pain in his right arm again as he tried to move it, the bone was still broken. Zel grimaced and groaned softly.
"Oh yes," Rezo remarked with a sly smile, "your arm and stubbornness can heal together. That's what you get for not telling me what I asked of you, Zelgadis. Remember that."
Zel nodded, "yes, Gran'pa Rezo," sitting back down next to Rina looking rather defeated.
"That's a good boy, now, let's all go back home and get that arm of yours wrapped up," Rezo suggested, standing up and then motioned to Eris to lead the way back. His staff rang with its unearthly chime and he began his blind trek back to his home, while Zel and Rina stood up again and soon followed Eris and Rezo, Zel still cradling his broken arm.
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Sitting on his bed, Zelgadis looked down at the floor. His arm was set in a splint, bandaged heavily, and held across his chest with a sling. Rina sat quietly across the room on her own bed trying to think of something to say but her mind was a blank slate. She wanted to say something to raise her brother's spirits, but eventually she sighed in defeat and just looked on at his troubled face as he looked at the floor in silence.
The silence continued to penetrate into the two of them for many long minutes. Then Zel looked up and out the window to peer into the starry night. "I have to be stronger," he said, the light of the stars gleaming in his blue eyes. "Strong. Strong so I can beat them, strong enough that I won't need to be protected."
Rina looked into his eyes, there was something new in those eyes, a determination she had never seen there before. "But Zel… how can you…?"
"I don't know, Rina, but I have to. I can't keep going out there knowing that you'll get hurt and I won't be able to do anything about it. I just can't." He said, clenching his fists and eyelids with some long hidden inner rage that up until now had quietly boiled inside of him. "I will be stronger, no matter what it takes, I have to."
"No matter what, Zel?" Rina questioned timidly.
Zel opened his mouth as if to answer yes, but stopped himself and the light that illuminated his eyes slowly vanished from sight.
"Zel?"
Eyes closed, "I have to…" Zel repeated in answer, tone subdued and seemingly in a voice years older than of his own seven.
Rina sighed and lowered her head. "Zel…"
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It was from that moment on that Zelgadis and Rina's fates would be changed forever, and Zel's obsession for power and strength would lead him down a dark path that would result in an event that would stay with he and Rina for the rest of their lives. In a few years, Zelgadis would find his eleven-year-old self in a position to make a choice, a choice that would leave him "completely transformed". However, until then, he would blindly trudge forward in search of the power he would receive, but at a price. A price that would start another turn in his life. He would be left to find a way to undo the evils that would be done on himself and his little sister. From then on he'd curse the day he'd been foolish enough to not see past the trickery, leaving him miserable and, aside from Rina, deathly alone.
And the rest is history… (owari)