Nanaki shuddered, trying to block the horrible smell from his nose. It was everywhere: in the air, soaked into his fur, all over the floor. It made him want to vomit.
 In the next room he could hear his mother and father talking, in hushed tones.
 ".....Seto, please! You musn't go back out!"
 "I have to, Sadakko. They're just barely hanging on out there. If the Gi manage to muster another attack, then they will break through the line. People will die...."
 "That was just a little skirmish, Seto! They haven't mounted a large attack in days. What makes you think they'll attack now?"
 So that was where it was coming from. His father's blood.
 I hate it....that smell....
 He didn't want to see his father. The sight of him, bleeding from an open wound, would be enough to make him sick. The sight of blood, the smell of blood. Those were Nanaki's greatest fears.
 "Sadakko, I'm sorry. I don't know when the Gi will attack again, but I have to be ready for them. They're merciless barbarians, you know that, and the moment they see any weakness....."
 Sadakko sighed. "All right.....please be careful. Come home soon. Nanaki.....I want him to have a father who is there for him."
 "I'll be careful." Nanaki heard him pad out of the room. But even after he left, the smell was still there.
 "Nanaki?" called his mother. "Are you all right?"
 "Yes, Mother, I'm all right," he said quietly. He was a serious child, far more serious than he should be at ten years old.
 She came inside, and he looked up at her. She wore several stud earrings in each ear, and a headdress of long brown feathers. She was three hundred and sixty-five years old, but she looked much younger. Sadakko sat down on the floor, and Nanaki hurried to her side.
 "You've been awfully quiet. Why don't you go outside with the other children?" she asked.
 ".....I'm scared to go outside. Those....things are there."
 "I know, but....." she trailed off. The Gi were a terrifying race, and Nanaki had good reason to fear them. They were bloodthirsty warriors, and if they ever got inside the town, no life would be spared.
 "What will happen if they get inside? Will they kill us?" he said in a trembling voice, looking up at her with sorrowful eyes.
 She pulled him close to her, and rubbed his back. "Shhh....." she said, quietly. "I know you're scared. I am too. But your father is out there, protecting us, so you have nothing to worry about."
 "Father's hurt, though. Will he be okay?" Nanaki cared very deeply for Seto. They were very close.
 "Your father is a great warrior. He'll be all right."
 "Okay." He smiled weakly. "I'll go outside then. Father's out there, so we'll be safe...!"
 "That's a good boy. Have fun!" she called after him as he ran outside. Yet doubt plagued her thoughts.....
 He always says the other children don't like him. I don't know if that is true or not, but if it is.....I know why. He's too different from the others.
 She'd never had that problem, though. When she was a child, there had been many others of their kind. Her brothers and sisters had always been there for her to play with.
 But that was many, many years ago. The Gi tribe's attacks had taken their toll. Her entire family had died in the wars. What had once been a proud race of thousands had dwindled to just three....
 "Sadakko, may I come in?"
 "Of course you can, Bugenhagen." She smiled as the old man entered the room.
 "How is Seto?" he asked.
 "He just left. He's heading back to the fortifications," she replied.
 "And Nanaki......how is he feeling about this?"
 Sadakko sighed. "He's terrified. Of war, of fighting, of the Gi. Almost every day he's asked me why we have to fight them, and I can never give him an answer. It makes me feel so powerless....."
 "There is no reason we fight them. No good reason, not that there is ever a good reason to wage a war. It's just ancestral hatred, except nobody remembers why we hate each other." Bugenhagen looked out the window. "War is never a good time to raise a child...."
 "Nanaki's seen enough of it for a hundred children. It doesn't make it any better that he is a warrior's son...seeing Seto hurt scares him. He's terrified of blood. Just now, he waited in the next room, jus so he wouldn't see Seto bleeding."
 "Those two are close, aren't they?" inquired Bugenhagen.
 She smiled. "They do almost everything together."
 "It makes me happy to see Nanaki smile. When we are together, studying at the observatory, he is always happy. But when I see him training with the instructors, he rarely speaks, and never smiles...."
 Sadakko looked out the window, down at her son, and at the warrior's marks tattooed on his cheeks. "But he has to train. There's nothing I can do about it. But I see him train too, and I know you are right." She smiled, and looked at the old man. "He also loves studying with you. Every day he comes home and tells us everything he's learned....I am so proud of him."
 "As am I," said Bugenhagen. "He's my best student."
 She watched Nanaki sit down next to the other children, who were sitting in a circle near the Cosmo Candle.
 How do I know if he has any human friends? Oh, don't be silly, of course he has human friends. He has to.....
 But she still had her doubts....

 Nanaki cautiously approached the Cosmo Candle, hoping the three children would notice him. Their names were Ayame, Leon, and Celia, and they were practically inseperable. He always felt like an outsider when he was with them. The would ignore him, and pick him last for all their games. But when he saw their faces, he knew they were just as scared as he was.
 Leon turned around, and smiled. "Hey! Come over here!!"
 He grinned, and ran over to them.
 "Hi, Nanaki," said Ayame. She had pretty blonde hair and light blue eyes. "Where were you?"
 "I was up in my room," he said.
 "Where's your dad?" asked Leon, brushing his unruly black hair out of his eyes. "I want to hear his stories."
 "He had to go and fight," Nanaki replied.
 "Oh......so did my dad," sighed Leon.
 "Mine too," said Ayame. "What about your daddy, Celia?"
 Celia had her head resting on her knees. "He's at the hospital. He got hurt fighting, but the doctors said that he'll be okay." She looked up, her green eyes twinkling tearily.
 "That's good!" said Leon cheerily. "just as long as he's okay, then there's nothing to worry about, huh?"
 "What do you mean?" questioned Nanaki. "People still die."
 "N-no they don't," said Leon shakily. "The good guys always win, and the bad guys always lose! We're gonna smash the bad guys!"
 "That's not how it works in real life," said Nanaki sternly.
 "What's wrong with you?" asked Ayame. "Don't you want to win?"
 He sighed. "Yeah.....I'm sorry. I'm really worried about my father too. He went to fight, even when he was hurt."
 "You're dad is so brave!" exclaimed Celia.
 "Thank you..." said Nanaki quietly, falling silent.
 Suddenly, he heard a loud noise, but he couldn't tell where it came from. It made him shudder.
 "What's wrong?" asked Celia. "Are you okay?"
 "I'm fine. I heard something, though. It sounded like....."
 "What did it sound like?" said Ayame nervously.
 "I don't know...! It was scary...."
 He heard it again, an inhuman scream, then a ear-splitting roar.
 "I don't hear anything......" said Leon.
 "You don't want to," replied Nanaki.
 "Look! It's Nanaki's dad!" exclaimed Celia.
 "What?" He raised his head, looking around frantically for any sign of his father. Then he spotted him, and he stood up and ran towards him.
 Seto was an impressive creature to look at. He was three hundred and seventy years old. His fur was a dark red, the colour of dying embers, and his mane and tail were black. His legs were incredibly muscular, and were tattooed with sharp, swirling, thornlike designs. He also had warrior's marks on his cheeks, but they were more detailed than Nanaki's simple red bars.
 "Father? What's wrong? Did you have to fight again?"
 He nodded, wincing at the blood-soaked bandage on his leg.
 "You're hurt.....they hurt you, didn't they?!" He was on the verge of tears.
 "It's nothing serious."
 "You're wrong!!" yelled Nanaki. "You'll keep getting hurt, then you'll die!" He hung his head, and started to cry.
 "Nanaki...." Seto said, reassuringly. "I'm not going to die. I would never, ever leave you. Now, let's go home, okay?"
 "O-okay....." he sniffled. Forlornly, he turned and walked away.

 "Grandpa?"
 "Yes, Nanaki?" He turned around.
 "I'm scared, Grandpa. I'm scared that Father will die out there...." he said.
 "I understand that you are scared....."
 The fur on Nanaki's cheeks was matted from his tears. "Make him stop! Make him stay with us! Please, Grandpa, you have to make him stay!!"
 Bugenhagen put his hand on the crying child's back. "There, there......I'll talk to him...."

 Seto looked at Bugenhagen incredulously.
 "What you ask is impossible, Bugen."
 "Seto.....please. I'm sure you can spare just a little time." Seto shook his head.
 "I can't do that. I'm sorry." Sadakko sighed.
 "Seto, I'm begging you. The Gi have moved back. There's no danger! You aren't needed at the front. You're needed here!"
 "Sadakko.....you know as well as I do how unpredictable the Gi are. They could attack at any time." He put his paw on top of hers. Bugenhagen threw his hands into the air.
 "It seems like you're trying to find an excuse not to spend time with him, Seto." he said, exasperated. Seto growled at him, losing his temper.
 "What did you say?!" he shouted.
 "You seem to be trying to find excuses not to spend time with Nanaki. Don't you care about him at all?" exclaimed the old man.
 "Of course I care about him! He's my son!" yelled Seto. "Do you think I like to fight? That I choose to fight over spending time with him?!"
 "Seto, please, don't shout," said Sadakko.
 "This is ridiculous......he makes it sound like I don't care for Nanaki at all...." muttered Seto. "Where is he, anyway?"
 "I'm here....."
 "Nanaki?" called Seto.
 "Father.....I'm sorry I started this fight," said Nanaki quietly. He stood in the doorway, his head hung low.
 "You didn't start any fight," said Seto, as he stood up and padded towards him. "I understand that you are scared. I am too. I wish I could spend more time with you, but I have to fight the Gi...."
 "Why do we have to fight them?" he asked. "What did they do to us?"
 Seto sighed. "I don't know....nobody knows why we fight." He opened the door, and walked outside, with Nanaki trailing behind him. "That's enough talk of war. We're going to do whatever you want."
 Nanaki looked up at his father, his eyes wide. "Really??" he said.
 Seto ruffled his son's hair. "Yep!"

 Days passed. The Gi had fallen silent. Not a sound could be heard from them. They simply sat outside the town gates, preparing. Every one of Cosmo Canyon's defenders were on edge. Tempers flared as the tension grew greater over the passing days.
 This was not so for Nanaki and Seto. Over the next few days they were inseperable. It was almost like normal. But then came the day when Nanaki's life changed forever...

 "Hurry! The Gi are attacking the front gates!"
 Nanaki was lost among a sea of frantically running legs. He ran out of the way to avoid being trampled. His mother was nowhere in sight.
Surely......surely she knows what's happening!
"Mother!" he called. "Where are you!?" The crowd cleared for a second, and he saw her, standing about twenty feet away. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.
 "Nanaki! Go to the Cosmo Candle and wait for me there!" Then he lost sight of her again.

 Seto took a deep breath, steeling himself. He sat in a corridor, deep within the cliffs of Cosmo Canyon. In front of him was a heavy metal door.
 "Seto, are you sure there is no other way?" asked Bugenhagen.
 "I'm sorry," he said. "This is all that can be done."
 "Seto, I......" said Sadakko. "I don't want you to go....."
 "And I don't want to leave you....." he replied, his throat tightening. Slowly, he walked towards her. "Please, don't tell Nanaki of my fate. He would die of grief if he knew."
 "What do I tell him then?" Seto smiled.
 "I'm sure you'll think of something," he answered. "It's time....."
 Bugenhagen opened the top of a barrel that stood beside the door, and pressed the red button inside. Slowly, the doors slid open in a cloud of dust.
 "Goodbye, Sadakko. Never forget me....." he said sadly.
 "I never will. G-goodbye....." Then he disappeared into the darkness, and that was the last she ever saw of her husband.

 "I wonder if we'll see a Gi for real?" said Leon enthusiastically.
 "I don't want to see one," said Nanaki. "My father says they're scary looking."
 "My dad said they take bad children and eat them!" said Ayame. "Gross!"
 The four children sat in a small group near the Cosmo Candle. Other children sat in their own groups, supervised by various adults. The horizon glowed red from the flames burning in the distance, and only Nanaki could hear the fighting.
 "Who do you think is winning?" asked Celia.
 "We are, of course!" answered Leon, confident as always. "The good guys always win!"
 "I hope so....." she replied, but her tone said otherwise.
 Just then, they heard shouting from behind the walls.
 "What's happening?" cried Ayame.
 There was another scream, like the one Nanaki had heard before. Then there were several more, followed by cries of pain from the human soldiers as the Gi attacked.
 "Quickly, children! Get inside where it's safe!" shouted one of the soldiers protecting them. They stood up, and ran as fast as their legs could take them. All except Nanaki.
 He remained stock still, paralyzed by fear. The three soldiers who had been standing guard around them hefted their spears and waited. They did not wait long, for the wall slowly began to crack. They glanced uneasily at each other.
 Suddenly, the wall exploded. Huge chunks of red stone flew in all directions. The horrible screams grew louder and louder as the smoke cleared. The soldiers readied themselves for battle....
 Then, Nanaki saw something he would never forget, no matter how hard he tried.
 It was a Gi.
 It was about six feet tall, and wore tattered scraps of clothing. It had long, sticklike arms and legs. Its face was obscured by a helmet, but he could see two glowing green eyes in the darkness.
 The human soldiers charged, and thrust their spears forward. A Gi shrieked, and began to cough up blood as he was impaled. Nanaki felt no ill effects of watching the horrible drama unfold. He could not turn away.
 Before he knew it, a Gi was charging towards him, screaming. His eyes widened, and he began to scream as well. Nanaki knew his short life was about to end.
 Out of nowhere, he heard a bloodcurdling howl. The Gi turned to look, just in time to see Sadakko fall upon him, and tear him to shreds with her claws.
 "Mother?!" called Nanaki.
 "Go inside! Now!" she yelled, as she lunged at another Gi and ripped his throat out. He fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood. "Get away from my son....." she growled menacingly at the remaining Gi. "Do as I tell you, and get inside...." she hissed at Nanaki.
 The Gi, taking advantage of her distraction, attacked. One let an arrow fly at her, and it buried itself in her hind leg. She cried out in pain, but remained on her feet.
 "Mother!!!" he cried. Suddenley, one of the Gi pitched over in the dust, a bullet wound in his back. Three more gunshots were heard, and each of the remaining Gi screamed, and died. A soldier could be seen on the wall, with a rifle in his hands.
 "Sadakko!" he shouted. "I have news! Gi Nattak has been slain! The remaining Gi are retreating!"
 "So....we won...." she said, through clenched teeth.
 "Yes! We've finally won!" he answered, jubilantly.
 Nanaki looked around him, surveying the carnage.
 One of the human soldiers was groaning on the ground, clutching his abdomen. His hands were covered in blood. Another soldier lay motionless, his face frozen in an expression of terror. The third one was helping his injured companion. The corpses of the Gi were scattered everywhere.
 Then the stench hit him. He had never seen so much blood, so much death before. His trembling gaze locked on his mother. The arrow poked through the other side of her leg. Droplets of blood tricked down the arrowhead.
 Nanaki shut his eyes, but it was too late, as he started to vomit.
 "Nanaki.......my poor little Nanaki...." Sadakko said. She put her paw on his back, trying to comfort him. He coughed, and through the coughs, she could hear him sobbing.
 "They're......they're all dead....." he rasped.
 "Shh......that's enough of that talk...." she said reassuringly. "Let's go inside."
 His eyes met hers. "Is the war over?" he asked. Sadakko rubbed her cheek against the side of his face.
 "Yes.....it's finally over!"
 "Where's Father?"
 She stopped smiling.

 It was not until several days later that he asked again.
 "Mother, what happened to Father? Where is he?" he asked, nervously.
 "Nanaki.....this is hard to tell you, but....." replied Sadakko, her throat tightening at the thought of her dead husband.
 "What happened to him...?"
 "He's gone. He ran away because he was a coward."
 Nanaki gasped, his eyes widening in shock.
 "But.....but why!? Why did he leave us?" he cried.
 She sighed. "He could not face us. He was too ashamed of his defeat." It was all she could do to stop herself from crying.
 I'm so sorry, Seto..... she thought.
 "I can't believe.....I trusted him..." Nanaki growled, closing his eyes. "I respected him! How could he do this to us?"
 "Cowards think only of themselves," she replied. Nanaki opened his eyes, and his gaze bored into hers. When she saw his eyes, she felt a tide of fear rush through her body.
 They were hate-filled eyes.

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Seems fitting to put this here....