Monzen

*In Progress*

I have no recollection of my true origins.  My earliest memory, is waking up in one dark, dilapidated corner deep within one of the many slums that litter the outskirts of the Sand.  I have no past, no family, and no name; not unlike the company I found myself surrounded by when I came to.  Even then, I knew that place was cursed.

As a rule, children grew up fast in the slums - I was no exception.  Food, shelter, and ryo were in short supply, so day after day, we would fight among ourselves for what little there was to go around.  Some fights were "organized", and the main point of interest for betting folk.  If you won your fight in the pits, you guaranteed yourself a decent meal and an evening of leisure.  Every other fight was a matter of survival.  In those days, if you could fight, you could take what you needed and protect what you had.  If you could fight well, then you had the best chance of easing your suffering.  So far before I could grasp any semblance of control over my chakra, I learned the strength of my own two fists.  For years, I fought, and I fought hard.  But you can't win them all.

If you weren't a great fighter, you padded your faults with numbers. The weakest of them all surrounded themselves with more of each other.  And while I never needed anyone else, I made it a point to avoid areas where these gangs frequented.  They picked on loners, drifters, and any and all who wouldn't put up much of a fight.  I was a harder target, but any good fighter goes down when matched against the right number.  I often wondered what my number was, but never enough to seek out the answer.  On my final day in the slums, I found out.

That day, I was sloppy.  I won my night in the pits, so the jangling of my ryo-filled pockets echoed in the streets.  Not unlike most days, I was contemplating of the day I could leave this cursed place.  With the winnings I accrued over the years, it was not long now.  But I didn't notice that I was not the only one who had kept track of my growing cache. 

*To be continued*