something that i couldn't forget

i like reading manga and watching japanese anime alot.

and there was just this particular anime scene i saw when i was really young. it just suddenly popped up in my head. as if an invisible magnetic force pulled it out of a pile of junk.

it was set somewhere between now and the GUNDUM era. that particular anime episode was the first of its kind i had ever seen. there were soldiers that looked around the age of 7 to 15, and there was gunfire and canons and stuff and buildings that were already destroyed.

the characters in that scene was a typical japanese boy around 15 years of age. he had a companion; a small african american boy that was about 9 years old. they were walking to a camp i think. then elsewhere, there was another japanese boy. he was younger, about 13 perhaps, and he had a little sister that was around the same age as the african american boy. maybe 10 years old or so. both of them looked like they had already lost their parents. during then, they were running away from something, i think. their clothes were simple and plain, but rather ragged and dirty. they were unkempt. the 13 year old boy seemed to be the main character.

they both came to some place where everything seems almost wiped out. there was no one, only lots of debris. the older brother went into one of the half detroyed houses and he found a group of really young kids (about 5 or 6), in the same state as he was. then, the two child soldiers (mentioned earlier) found them. seems like they were raiding the place or something. but there was only the few of them in that entire area. meaning the two soldiers weren't with their troops. so, there's the bunch of kids, the two soldiers, and the siblings.

the older soldier went in first, and he stood at the doorway. he stood facing the older brother directly, who was some distance away, standing in front of the bunch of kids, protecting them. they were up against a wall. (can imagine?) and then the older soldier pointed his rifle at them, but the older brother still stood his ground and the some of the kids were whimpering.

they just froze there like that. i think the older soldier was contemplating on shooting or not. and then the screen showed the younger sister, who was holding a rifle (dunno where she got it from). she was standing nearby, behind the 15-year-old boy. she was aiming at him, ready to shoot him in the sly. the older brother can't see her because the 15-year-old boy was standing at the doorway, so he was blocking his view. his 9-year-old companion was beside him. he could see into the house, but he wasn't exactly facing the house directly. his body was half turned, so his back was half-facing the sister.

at first, he didn't see her. but at the last moment, as he realised that she was there and all, she had opened fire. but the african american boy took the shot just in time to save his older companion. he died, i should think. they showed him diving in front, with one hand held out in a 'stop!' action. his eyes were wide as the bullet went into him, his expression bewildered. it was slo-mo like that for that few seconds. and then he fell.

then a series of events took place. the 15-year-old boy turned as the sound of the shot rang out, just in time to see his companion fall. he was shocked, and upset. i think he shouted his young companion's name (which i can't remember what it was). then he saw the sister standing there, and before she could react or run or scream, he killed her in one shot. the older brother saw this then, and i guess he shouted his younger sister's name as well.

so they both lost someone dear to them each.

after that, i can't remember what really happend next. i can't remember if the bunch of kids survived, i can't remember if the two older teens fought or not. but i remember flashes and snippets of different scenes. like the older brother being taken to some place where he was beaten up rather badly and middle-aged men in black suits (like office wear) and a young girl sitting at a long table in what looked like a big, dark conference room, amongst the men in suits. she was of the, uh, high class type. not a rich spoilt girl, but the refined and royal and high status type of girl.

she around the same age as the older brother.

i think they met somehow. that part of my memory is really foggy and vague, but i think they did meet eventually.

i think the reason why i couldn't forget this was because it struck a chord in me. a really deep one. probably because i've never seen such a.. a.. 'serious' anime before. worlds apart from the likes of pokemon and digimon and whatnot. that was so real. it came like a punch in my tummy, knocking the wind outta me. i believe i was no more than 10 years old then, when i saw it. probably 8 years old at that time.

yep.