Chapter 1

Growing up in the slums had been a challenge for the most part. But it was also a blessing. While it was true half the time his belly ached in hunger and he fought a long battle to save his rations of food given to him from his mother, he was mostly a happy child. Ah, his mother…

Alibaba's mother, Anise, was such a joy in the darkness that was the slums. With half the population of the slums being criminals, it was nice to know that their family was one of the most respected. Even though his mother was a harlot, she was such a kind and beautiful woman. Often when Alibaba was starving, she would sneak her food onto his plate when she thought he wasn't looking. He knew what she was doing but since it was her decision, he didn't fight her.

She worked so hard and managed to make enough money to feed them and get them clothes and a small tent, not much to most but it was enough for Alibaba. He didn't even have his own bed, but that was alright. He just spent his night cuddled up with his mother on their thin stack of old, moth bitten blankets. And it was enough.

Alibaba kept himself pretty entertained most days, playing games with the other children in the slums or doing odd jobs to make a little money. Small things meant so much in the slums that a loaf of bread or a small apple could mean life or death for some and Alibaba worked hard to make sure that didn't happen to him or his beloved mother.

One day Alibaba had been playing with the rest of the children of the slums when he met him. Kassim.

Kassim had been playing the game with the rest of the children, his tiny sister following him like a shadow. Only leaving a short distance to chat with the other girls every once in awhile. Alibaba remembered that they had been playing King of the Hill with a bunch of dirty, broken sandbags and an old dresser, but it looked like so much fun that he couldn't help but jump into the game as well, a huge smile on his face.

Alibaba was no good at up front attacks though, so he found himself flat on his butt, while the other children scrambled around him to take the top. All he could do was laugh. But then Kassim had stood up, already tall appearance for his age made him seem towering. His voice was equaling as menacing as he jeered and taunted back at the children, a huge smirk on his face.

"Listen up! I am the king of this tower, ruler over all of you. If you want my spot," he paused, his smirk growing wider, "you'll have to take it from me!"

This only egged the boys in the pile on and they fought twice as hard to get to the top, Kassim easily fighting them off, keeping his balance on the desk.

Alibaba knew there was no way he would win from on so he looked for another way. A small opening where two sandbags were placed together was his answer. Surprising, or not so with all the boys, the sandbags had broken under the ones on the top, so it was only sand. Alibaba got an idea and started to quickly dig his way to the top, under all of the boys. A few times he was afraid the tunnel would collapse on top of him but the tunnel held firm. Eventually he hit the desk, the bottom was rotted away and since the drawers were open, it was hollow inside. Alibaba climbed up, thankful for his small frame and wiggled out into the top drawer. Kassim had his back turned, fighting off another boy, and Alibaba, while hesitant to do so, gave him a slight push. This sent Kassim toppling forward onto the mass of wriggling kids, landing unscathed for the most part however.

Kassim glared at whoever dared to take his throne from him and was surprised as a small blond child with gold eyes glared down at him, a fierce look in his eyes. He was captivated, the sun was shining behind the boy making his already gentle features seem angelic. Even with all the mud on his face the boy looked like he was royalty. If not for the short hair and slightly sharper facial angles, Kassim was sure he would have thought the boy was a girl.

"What's your name, Pretty Boy?" Kassim grumped out, still peeved someone took his throne. 'Who did he think he was?'

"The name's Alibaba! Current king of the hill." Around him, the crowd had settled down, surprised that Kassim had been beaten for the first time. After all, ever since Kassim started playing this game for the first time, nobody had ever beaten him.

"How did you get passed me, Alibaba?" Kassim asked, his eyes narrowed. Alibaba gave him a grin and for a moment it left Kassim stunned with how white his teeth were. How had he managed that in the slums? Most of the time, nobody had enough money for dental supplies...

"That's easy. I tunneled!" He pointed to the sandbags beneath Kassim's feet. Kassim was surprised, nobody had ever done that before. As far as he knew, nobody had even thought of that before. Seeing no digging supplies, the boy must have dug by hand, but his hands were so small! Like his sister Mario's hands. He shook his head to clear the thoughts away. He then smirked at the angelic boy.

"I like the way you think Pretty Boy, the name's Kassim." Kassim said and laughed at the blush the other boy gave at the name. Alibaba looked at him in affronted fury.

"What did you call me?!" Alibaba screeched, now only registering the name since his excitement had calmed down a bit. Kassim laughed, which only made Alibaba more angry and he tackled Kassim with a high pitched shriek that ended up with them laughing on the sandbags.

From that day, Kassim became close friends with Alibaba, and Alibaba was just happy to finally have a friend. His features normally led to jealousy and spite with the younger children so he was just happy to have someone to talk to that wasn't his mother's age or older. Especially since the older women liked to pinch his cheeks and hold him down so they could brush his hair. Geez! Did they think he was a girl or something?

Over time though, Alibaba realised that sometimes Kassim and his sister Mario, as he later found out, would show up with bruises or limps. Injuries not caused by childish roughhousing. His theory, which he had desperately hoped was wrong, was proven correct when he and his mother were out on a walk to get water and saw Kassim's father hitting him with his fist and sometimes his beer bottle with sloshed around, getting alcohol on Kassim and Mario who was cowering behind him. Kassim's father, getting fed up and becoming increasingly unsteady on his feet, left Kassim and Mario, muttering and swearing under his breath. Horrified at what she saw, Anise took Kassim and Mario back to her tent and bandaged up their cuts, despite Kassim's protest that 'he was a man' and 'he could handle it.' Anise ignored him and helped him and Mario, to which he was secretly grateful (but would never admit to). It turned out to be just in time because Kassim and Mario's father never returned. Nobody had seen him around town or even in the whole country side! It was like he vanished into thin air.

From that day on Kassim and Mario lived with Alibaba and Anise in their small tent and mountain of pillows and blankets. And for a time, Alibaba was happy despite the food being even more scarce with four people to now feed. Now his family was even larger! He was happy, until… It happened.

Since the slums were just mostly tents or boxes put together to make 'houses' illnesses spread quickly. With no proper sanitation and definitely not enough medicine, the illness spread like fire and it was stopping anytime soon.

So despite their best efforts to keep themselves healthy, Anise got sick with the illness. Alibaba felt so helpless for his mother who was just wasting away! He couldn't do anything! Alibaba and Kassim looked everywhere for a job to make money, but there was nothing. It looked like everyone had the same idea as them, and no jobs had an opening. Unless of course they went into their mother's line of 'business' but Alibaba wasn't that desperate. Not yet anyway.

And so Anise wasted away, Alibaba, Kassim, and Mario looking on helplessly. They couldn't even get close to her in fear of catching the illness themselves. One day Anise went to sleep, and didn't wake up.

Alibaba had never felt so much sadness. Never. For days, he didn't move from his mother's body, just laid curled around her, hoping beyond all hope that she would just wake up! But… She didn't. Eventually, Kassim moved Alibaba, dragging him out of the tent kicking and screaming.

"She's gone Ali! You can't do anything to bring her back!" Kassim yelled at Alibaba, trying to make him see, see that nothing could be done.

By this time, the royal guards had finally gotten around to doing something. By something, they took all the dead bodies from the slums. Took them and burnt them at the edges of the slum and the town. Once they got wind that Anise had died, they took her and just threw her body on the wagon, with all the others. Alibaba struggled against Kassim, trying to reach her and save her from those mean men but Kassim held firm, whispering apologies and sweet nothings in his ear as he sobbed on the ground when they finally took her away. It had finally become real to him, that she was gone and something inside broke.

Alibaba didn't move for days, weeks. In fact, he doubted he ever would, had it not been for Kassim slapping some sense into him. Quite literally. Kassim, getting fed up with Alibaba's lack of response, went straight up to him and slapped him across the face. The sharp pain brought a shocked looked on Alibaba's face. Better in Kassim's eyes than the dazed and lost look that had been on his face for weeks.

"I get that why you are sad ok?! I get it, I'm sad too and she wasn't even my mother! But everything she did was for you, every job she worked was for you. And you are just spitting on her grave by ruining all the work she did for you. Of saving you, of keeping you alive! SO LIVE YOU IDIOT!" Kassim yelled at him, his eyes tearing up with tears that would not fall. He wasn't a girl, and he didn't look like one like Alibaba. He had to be strong. His cheeks were red as he glared down at Alibaba's shocked form on the ground.

Alibaba's thoughts struggled to make sense of what was happening. Everything was a blur, a mess of jumbled words that didn't form a complete thought. Slowly, the world came back to him, and he realized what was happening.

"Kassim?" Alibaba asked, his voice so confused. What was happening? Why was Kassim so angry?

"I'm here you idiot. I'll always be here," inwardly, Kassim breathed a sigh of relief. Relief that Alibaba was back, was still there and mostly functioning again. Except for his brain of course. You can't exactly fix stupid…

All of a sudden, the memories (however fuzzy and blurred they were) came rushing back to Alibaba. His eyes watered for a moment as he thought of his poor, poor mother. He blinked them away, he had cried more than enough. Standing up straight, he looked at Kassim and smiled.

"I suppose we should get to work right?"

"Right."

/AN: Love it? Hate it? What do you guys think? Also, I apologize for my format jumping around from past to present and from POV. It doesn't really settle and moves with the characters. Just how I write. Hopefully the chapters will get longer once I get to the main story. Oh that's right. This isn't even the main story yet. That begins in the same time/place as the Anime/Manga. Also forgive me, I go by Anime most of the time. I am actually reading the manga currently. Although the Fallen part shall stay the same as in the Anime. I absolutely love that part and all the angst it contains! XD

Does that make me a sadist then? For enjoying characters' pain? Either way, I don't care. I also don't care what you say in reviews. Hate it, love it, call it trash, call it the god of all's best work (HA! I wish) Either way, it's cool with me. I just hope that you enjoy it. Tata~!