“Father…..Father!!!!!!!!!!!!” I cried. I cried out loud. It hurts, it hurts…… “Fatheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Color

When I was young, still really young I was happy. I really was. My father was one of the strongest people in the country, as well as one of the nicest. My mother was one of the most beautiful person in the world and was full of love. She was also one of the nicest people. My family was happy. I had two really nice and fun brothers that lived with me, and a brother, although I had never met him, that was going to be one of the strongest people as well.
My father’s best friend was one of ‘the’ strongest people. He had lived for 300 years and had served Yin all those years. He was also really nice since he would treat me with respect even though I was still a really young child. My life was full of good things. My aunt was even married to the king! She was a royal!! The country I lived in was a really beautiful place as well. It lived longer than I ever will!!! I loved it with all my heart, it was a kingdom full of color.
But then one day that beautiful country change. I don’t know how it happened but the king took another wife and the country started to go crazy. Or at least that’s what father said. I didn’t understand all the details but father would talk to mother at night in this really serious, scary voice. I used to listen to their conversations until Tenroku-Niisama told me that I shouldn’t be listening to such things.
Father was always worried about auntie. He never said anything openly but he’ll be looking at her old belonging and his face looked really sad then. What once was full of color seemed to have turned into one shade of a gray really close to black. But that didn’t mean I was unhappy. I was more fortunate than most of the people in the country.
I had food on the table everyday, I had clean clothes, my family was still with me. Every night I will count my blessings. Even if I was forbidden to play with kids my age(mother told me that it was for my own safety I stay with in the house) I was lucky. Soon, father’s best friend and my brother will come back. They will join father and defeat the evil queen and the country will be full of color again. I prayed every night to god for that day to hurry up and come.
One year, new years rolled around and mother left to visit auntie like she always did. Auntie lived in this place where no men were allowed and family members could only visit in new years. I missed auntie so I always wrote her a note and asked mother to give it to her. Auntie would always write me back and she sounded cheerful. I believed that that was going to happen this year again. Still I had this strange feeling and hung onto mother longer than I should have.
That afternoon I heard mother and auntie died. When I heard the details I grabbed my spear and ran for the castle. I screamed that I was going to kill the king and then kill my self. My brothers grabbed me and told me that I shouldn’t do any thing stupid but I wouldn’t listen. When father came home he took me into his arms and talked to me and my brothers.
“Kashi and Koushi died. I assume that the men told you guys what happened.”
“That’s why I’m going to kill the king!!!!!” I screamed again.
“Tenshou!!!!!!” Father yelled at me. “You must not say such things.”
“But aren’t you mad!! Didn’t you love mother and auntie!?!?” I asked. My brothers tried to calm me down again but father stopped them.
“Tenshou, you are the Kou family’s son. You must know that you have to give the king respect.” Father explained to me.
“But how can I after he pushed mother and auntie to death!!!”
“To tell the truth I don’t know whether I should continue following the king either, but no matter what decision I make you are still the son of Kou and you must respect the king.”
“Father, are you going to stop serving Yin?” Tenroku-Niisama asked.
“I might. I don’t know, this country isn’t the country that I gave my loyalty to. But it still is to many people.” Father replied.
“Can we not just defeat Dak-queen?” Tenshaku-Niisama asked. Father just shook his head.
“We’re not strong enough.” Father replied.
“Then ask Bunchuu!!!!!!” I whined but father flinched.
“He’s to loyal to Yin……” Father replied.
With in the next few days we were all ready to leave Yin. I wasn’t as sad as I thought I would be. I felt that this was no longer the country that I loved. The country I loved would never take the life of people I loved. I nodded my head once and walked alongside my family.
I had to be strong, I told my self. In one of auntie’s old letters there was a line that said ‘strength isn’t only physical but it is the mind as well.’ As a kid my physical strength wasn’t strong enough to help every one so I had to be strong in the mind. I did that by putting on a cheerful face and acting happy. At first it was hard.
On our way to Seiki(Later known as Shang) I met three people that helped me heal from the sadness of losing mother and auntie. Tenka-Niisama, Nataku-Niichan, and Taikobo. Tenka-Niisama came down just in time to save us from our attackers. He’s the one that was gone. Tenka-Niisama was strong and nice to me. I instantly liked him, he was really nice to me and helped me improve on my spear. Nataku-Niichan may look scary but he’s really nice. He stopped fighting Tenka-Niisama when he found out I lost my mother and he carried me on his back and flew. Taikobo looked like a kid but was really a grandpa since he was seventy some years old and talked like one. But he acted like a younger kid then me. He’d think up of these wild things that no one else would have.
Once at Seiki we met more nice people. Kishou-san who Taikobo told me he was the one to rule after the king. I agreed with Taikobo’s decision since Kishou-san was smart, nice and most of all caring. But he died as well. I was sad when he died but Nataku-Niichan cheered me up. He flew with me on his back to some place where I could cry and waited for me to stop crying. Nataku-Niichan doesn’t talk much but I was glad about that. Later, Kishou-san’s son was designated to rule after the king.
Kihatsu-san, or Hatsu as he asked me to refer to him as, told me that he wasn’t fit to be king but I didn’t agree. What I thought made Kishou-san a right choice was that most of all he was caring. Hatsu is caring as well, he goes into town not only to play but to ask people what they think the government should do. He may not be smart but that’s what Taikobo and Tann are there for. I think Hatsu is going to be a good king, he doesn’t seem the type to forget about his people.
There were also Youzen-san, Bukichi-Niichan, the mole, Sengyoku-san, and Tann-san. Youzen-san once even said that I had talent and that I’ll be strong warrior. Youzen-san is one of the strongest people of Kunlun, the place where Tenka-Niisama was trained and even Taikobo says that he trusts and relies on Youzen-san more than anyone else. At Shang, everything was so fun that my heart was able to heal from mother and auntie’s death and I became stronger. I was even able to defeat a worm monster in one of the battles! I was soo happy when father congratulated me on that. I felt that the colors that were lost were slowly returning.
When Taikobo told me that we had to stay in Ningenkai while everyone fought in the sky I got mad. I thought I was strong enough. That’s why when father, Tenka-Niisama and the three sisters decided to go to the sky I went with them. When we defeated this huge bug(Tenka-Niisama called it Jyuttenkun) I felt that with me, father and Tenka-Niisama together we could possibly even convince Bunchuu-Ojisan to stop.
On our way to convince Bunchuu we met this boy who had blue skin and long ears with lots of earrings. He took us to where Taikobo, Youzen-san and Bunchuu were. There father and Bunchuu-Ojisan started to fight. I tried to save him but the boy stopped me again. The red fog that surrounded father scared me but I believed that he would live. Father was one of the strongest person. He would live.
Father had been with me every time something good happened. He never yelled at me for crying at night and going to his room. He would just let me cry and complain. Only Nataku-Niichan and father saw my tears. I felt it was safe to cry around them since I knew they won’t tell anyone and they didn’t make a fuss. Every one else did. But father most of all was always there for me. I always felt proud when people told me I looked like him.
Now, before my eyes he glowed and then disappeared. For the first time since mother and auntie died I cried, and cried. I felt the colors that returned turn into gray again.Father left the rest to Taikobo, at the end Bunchuu-Ojisan asked father not to go. I heard Youzen-san tell Niisama that Niisama’s master had died……by Bunchuu-Ojisan’s hands.
Now I know what father said by the ‘rest’. Bunchuu-Ojisan can’t be stopped. Father gave him back his human heart so that he could die as a human. It hurt, it hurt that father was gone, that I would never see him smile again or hear him laugh or just feel his pressense. It hurt. But somewhere inside me, I felt a little bit happy for him. Father always missed mother, now he could be reunited with her. I hope there will be bright colors when they are together again.
I’m sorry father, I can’t say good bye just yet, it’s still too fresh in my mind. But I’ll be able to say it some day. I regret not telling you one thing though. If I could rewind time there is one phrase I want you to hear. But since time can’t rewind I’ll scream it to where you are when I can say good bye.

“Thank you for being my father!!!!”

Some day……I’ll tell you. I vowed as the tears streamed down my face. This war would end, the gray would turn into bright colors again, then, then, I’ll say it. Since when the colors return, I’ll be strong enough in both body and spirit, to let go of you. Back to the fanfiction page?