fifteen years ago, on an island somewhere in the grandline.
" Hahaha! Come on big brothers let's go! Let's go!" A young Manten, at the age of 4
" Yeah, come on!" Janten, age 4.
The young brothers ran through a street of dirt, happily playing together, while walking behind them were their older siblings.
" Slow it down, you brats." Bankotsu age 9. " Can't you see, you're being annoying?"
" Oh, but brother. You worked all days yesterday. And it's so pretty outside today. Can't you please just play with us a little?" Manten asked the older kids.
" That's such a drag. I don't want to run around in the dirt. We need to get out and see what we can find." Bankotsu stated. " We need more food, more money. And we need to start looking for another hideout. There're so many things that still need to be done, we can't just-" As Bankotsu was explaining things to the younger kids, a soft hand suddenly patted the boy on the back.
" Now, Ban-Ban, don't be mean. They've been asking for days. And you've been working hard. Take a break, today and play with them Zohakuten and I can handle getting the food. Right, big brother?" Kagura, age 10, and the younger twin sister of Zohakuten. Kagura was a young girl with long black hair and ruby red eyes. She was a little taller than Bankotsu was. Her face was soft and small. In every term of the word, she was a beautiful young lady.
" Right... Kagura." Zohakuten, age 10, answered. Even as a child, Zohakuten maintained his calm demeanor. He needed to. After the passing of their parents, Zohakuten was the rock the kept the family floating. So, it was only natural that he be the one to handle the hardships.
" Right, come on big brother. Come on!" Manten exclaimed. He shook Bankotsu's arm, rigorously trying to pull him along.
" But-"
" Oh, don't worry about it. Now just go along. We'll meet back up later. At the old spot. Got it?" Kagura told the boy.
" Alright." Bankotsu huffed. " Alright, what do you guys wanna play?" Bankotsu asked his younger brothers. His frown turned upside down, and he smiled brightly as he followed after the two younger kids.
Zohakuten and Kagura watched as Bankotsu and the others disappeared into the crowd of people.
" It's nice to see them having fun, isn't it Ten-Ten?" Kagura asked the boy.
" It is a change of pace. One that I'm glad to see." Zohakuten told the girl. " But why didn't you go play with them? You could relax and let me and bankotsu handle the food."
" Yeah. But you guys work hard enough as it is, and I thought I could give him a break for once. I know he really wanted to go." Kagura explained.
" That was nice of you Kagura. Thank you. Come on, let's try to find some vendors with leftovers." Zohakuten told the girl.
...........
At the edge of the town, Bankotsu and the two boys Janten and Manten played in the grass by the river.
Janten and Manten ran through the long blades of grass, while Bankotsu followed behind them, listening to the two boys laugh in excitement as they ran.
" Hey, come on, brother come on! Come on!" Manten shouted.
" Yeah, let's go!" Janten shouted as well.
" I'm coming. I'm coming." Bankotsu responded. He might not have admitted it, but he did enjoy having the chance to just have fun.
Manten turned around and watched as Bankotsu jogged along to catch up them. For all of his pouting, he was still a young kid, who loved spending time with his brothers.
" Hey, Manten, look out." Bankotsu yelled.
While Manten was yelling and running, he ended up running into a group of men. " Ugh!" Manten grunted. He hit the ground, falling square on his butt hard.
" Hey, watch where you're going brat." The man, who Manten hit, said to the boy.
" Sorry about that sir, it was an accident." Bankotsu told the man. He walked up to his brother and grabbed him by his shoulder and lifted him off of the ground. " You alright, Manten?"
" Yeah."
" Again, sorry about that. We'll be on our way now." Bankotsu spoke. " Come along Janten." He grabbed Janten and Manten and started pulling them out of the way of the men.
But the man wasn't willing to let it go. He reached down and grabbed Bankotsu by his shoulder. " Not so fast, boy. That little punk didn't apologize for running into me. You don't think that's fair do you?"
" Get your hand off me." Bankotsu told the man. He glared up at him, maliciously.
" What's that you little punk?"
" I said get off of me." Bankotsu told the man once more.
" Or what? Huh? What are you gonna do, you little punk?" The man asked. His two friends stepped forward and all of them grinned at Bankotsu.
Bankotsu however, didn't seem even a little bothered, by the group of men. Instead, he let Janten and Manten go, and silently pushed them away from him.
" Heh, I think this punk wants to fight."
" Yeah, I think so too!"
The old man took a swing at Bankotsu, and the young boy dodged it. He dodged to the left and jumped up into the air. He kicked the man in his face and then spun around and kicked the other two men in the head as well, dropping them all.
" Yeah! Brother Ban!" Manten shouted.
" That was awesome!" Janten exclaimed.
The two boys cheered as Bankotsu beat up the group of older men.
Despite his height and his weight, Bankotsu was no push over. In fact, his size made him quite the agile fighter. Living on the streets, and scavenging for food and shelter, Bankotsu and Zohakuten had to learn how to fight and survive very quickly. Even at such a young age, they were quite powerful, just as Markus was at that age.
After dropping the three men for the fourth time, Bankotsu stood over them menacingly. " Are you done, yet? Or do you want more?" Bankotsu asked the men.
" Gah, you fucking brat! You'll pay for this." The lead man shouted.
" Sure, now get out of here. And leave us alone." Bankotsu spoke.
" Come on, let's go. We'll be back, you brat. Watch yourself!" The man got up, and with his three friends, and ran away.
" Yeah! Brother Ban beat them up! That was awesome! That was awesome! That was awesome!" Manten ran up to Bankotsu and started jumping on him. Manten, out of all of his brothers, loved Bankotsu the most, and tried hard to be like his older brother.
" Yeah, that was awesome." Janten shouted.
" I know right?" Bankotsu muttered. He smiled at Manten and Janten and rubbed his finger under his nose proudly. " Now, come on. Let's go guys. We still have time to play before going home." Bankotsu stated. He started running down the field again, and Manten and Janten followed after happily.
For hours they played in the water and grass, enjoying their fun day until finally the sun began to set over the small town.
It would be a while before any of these boys would smile, innocently again.
*Doom!
To Be Continued!
.............
Alright, guys. What a difference in personalities of the God and Silver brothers. And even Bankotsu seems a little carefree here. Let me know what you guys think about the young antagonists by leaving a comment!!!!