The fire crackled loudly, casting shadows into the walls. The mist hood them from any other eyes that didn't belong there. They were huddled together around the fire, their backs bent. The cold from the alley brushed their bodies. Hard to believe these were children, lost and ruthless.
They stared at the fire, comforted by each other's presence. Their bellies were empty, their hair uncombed. They did not wear armour that was fitting of noble warriors. They had not been sent to conquer other planets. Their parents had not cared. They had remained in their home planet, living the best they could. They had never fit into their society where only the few chosen strong ones rule. In their hearts, they are Saiyan warriors. To others, they are rebels fighting for their own cause.
This has made them survive this long.
Tozai reached into the fire, holding out a piece of meat. He caught sight of his sister. Her head rests on her knees. She had been too quiet for the last days. They had gone on their usual hunts and she had not enjoyed them. Her eyes were not interested in the kill. He frowned. He took a bite of his meat. He accessed the presence of his friends. Kushiyo, sitting next to him; Yaukono leaning over the fire inspecting his meat, and Kafe sitting with her hands crossed over her chest, her eyes closed.
The mist hood the five of them from ordinary eyes. Not from the one in the shadows.
He smiled silently as his boots touched the filthy iron floor.
Tozai's eyes darted into the shadows. He dropped his meat. He rose to his feet. Kushiyo looked at him.
"Doushita, Tozai-kun?" he asked.
Tozai silenced him with his palm. The other boys looked at their leader, dropping their own food, alert. Maiika stared at her brother's face. A small gasp escaped her as she recognized the look she saw there. She rose on her feet, looking into the shadows.
Tozai's lip curled. He heard his four friends gasp. The boy in the shadows smiled. He took a step closer, the light of the fire drew his features. It shone on his shiny dark breast plates, on his royal pose, on his wicked smile. Tozai's brows knitted.
"Don't be surprised," Vejiita said. He walked slowly on the iron railing. His eyes took in the children below going from one to the other in slow calculation.
Kushiyo was leaner, shorter, no doubt younger, than Tozai. His face has a dozen scars, his breast plates are battered severely. Next to him, a taller boy, Yaukono, clenched his knuckles. He wares a red sachet wrapped over his shoulders and waist. His head bald, only a long pony tail falls on his back. His eyes look at the prince with anger. Then the prince caught sight of Maiika, her eyes looking at him strangely. He sniffed. That stare made him repulse. Next to her, a taller, leaner girl, Kafe, crossed her arms over her chest. Long dark hair fell over her shoulders. She was not looking at him, but at Maiika. There was a look of disgust in her face. He sniffed at the whole group.
His eyes fell back on Tozai. The boy's fists were clenched even tighter. Vejiita smiled at him.
"Did you think our last meeting would be our last?" he said.
"Tozai-kun," Kushiyo said. He came closer to his leader. "He's back for revenge. He probably brought the palace guards with him."
Tozai gasped. His eyes tried to make out figures behind the little boy. He listened searching for soldiers in the shadows. His friends tensed behind him.
"Relax," Vejiita said. "I am alone"
He unfolded his arms slowly. "I came to return the lesson you taught me last time we met."
He raised his fingers in front of him, aiming at the tall boy's chest. Tozai gasped, unable to react, as burning energy escaped the boy's fingers. He yelled as it hit his chest. It sent him crashing into a wall. His friends screamed. He gasped, blood spurting from his mouth. He felt Vejiita materialize, fast as lightning, in front of him. The little prince grabbed his collar menacingly.
"That felt nice," the little boy said. "Almost like what I felt"
Tozai growled, shaking off the prince's grasp. Vejiita narrowed his eyes. The tall boy whipped the blood of his mouth with his palm. Vejiita's eyes darted behind himself, his head not turning. The other children were coming at him. Returning the look back to Tozai's face, he raised his hands, palms out at his sides.
"Tell them to stop," he said. "before I fry them"
Tozai gritted his teeth. The smile on the prince's face made him snarl. He had been a fool for underestimating the prince's power, to had challenged him.
"Yamero, minna!" he called out to his friends. They stopped their onslaught, freezing where they were. Kushiyo cursed. Maiika walked closer to her brother and the prince. She reached out a hand towards them.
Vejiita walked away from Tozai's crumbled body. The children parted as he moved through them. Maiika dropped her hand. Tozai rose from his fallen position cursing. His hand rubbed his chest. The children formed a protective ring around him. Kushiyo stood beside Maiika, staring at Vejita's moves. Kafe and Yaukono stood on the other side. Tozai took his place in the middle grinning. Vejiita went over to the fire, ignoring the group. He picked up a bony meat leg. He sniffed, taking a bite of it. Tozai clenched his fists.
"What brings you to our humble hideout, your majesty?" he said through clenched teeth.
"I come and go as I please" Vejiita responded. He spit out a piece of the meat and took a new bite. "This meat is rotten." He tossed the leg backwards into the wall.
"If you must know," he went on "I've come so that I can spend some time among you"
"Nani?" Tozai gasped. Maiika felt her heart about to pop out from her chest.
"I've come to join your little party." Vejiita said." If only for a while. I must admit that you have become very interesting to me."
"We're not some of your friends that you can play with as you like, your majesty" Tozai said. His patience is thinning.
"Of course not," Vejiita said. "You are Saiyan fighters. That is why you are interesting to me."
"You'd like to live with us?" Tozai snarled. "What? You ran out of toys in the palace?" He laughed. "You wouldn't survive out here, little prince without your caretakers and your pampering servants"
Vejiita raised an eyebrow. He picked up another piece of meat, ignoring the tall boy.
"Of course," the prince said, "I'll be the new leader"
"You?!" Tozai yelled, mocking him. This little game has gone far enough. The prince ate with perfect composure as if it were normal what he was saying. Tozai growled silently. The little prince is mad. This conversation is getting him angry. He folded his arms over his chest. He snickered.
"What makes you think my friends will want to follow you?" he said. Behind him, his friends tensed even more. Vejiita didn't look at him. He began to poke the fire with the bone of the meat he had just eaten.
"They'd be fools," he said " if they refused to follow me and chose to follow you"
Tozai turned to his friends. They were looking at him gravely. The little one bowed his eyes. Maiika looked away. Yaukono gritted his teeth. Kafe averted her eyes. The tall boy felt his world crumble around him. His spine hurt with anger. Their silence answered his question.
Vejiita laughed as the tall boy turned to look at the him. His mocking shrill laughter rang in the alley. Tozai's brows knitted, hearing that laughter. Maiika felt tears once more in her eyes. She didn't dare speak. She felt her brother's pride hurt.
"Why did we attack him that day?" Kushiyo whispered.
"Why did you bring him here to our hide out that night, Maiika?" Kafe snarled softly. Maiika's skin curled.
Tozai bared his teeth. He wanted to kill the little boy. Vejiita raised an eyebrow. He stopped laughing. He rose slowly looking directly at the tall boy's eyes.
"Our battle has just begun, Tozai," he said. "Only the strongest among us will live"
His lips had a wicked smile. He looked up at the boy in defy as he came to stand before him. The tall boy was taller and stronger than him. For now.
"I will kill you" Vejiita said.
Tozai smirked. His eyes stared wickedly down at the little prince.
"All of you"