Well, this is it. How the CoA gets started, and how Slop Doggy lost his parents. Now then, there is a clue to Kuroouja's identity in here. See if you can find it. Plus, if you notice little Slop's tendency to not act like a normal 6-8 year old, it's because he is a child prodigy. Lastly, I own Slop Doggy, but not Kuroouja's identity. I do own the title, Kuroouja, though. At least…I think I do. Hmm…

CoA: Slop Doggy

Slop Doggy sat outside the penthouse that was the current headquarters of the CoA.

"Well now. It'll be ten years tomorrow. Ten years to the day the fires of vengeance were forged…"

12 years ago

"Remember, be good!" a young woman said as she let out a young boy out of her van.

"I know, Mom," the boy said with a mischievous glint in his eye. He appeared to be about 6 years old.

"And no showing off," the woman said, giving the boy a stern look.

The boy sighed theatrically, and said, "Fine…" before turning and heading into a building, a blue backpack on his back.

The woman sighed happily and said, "My little boy's first day of school."

--

The boy sat in the classroom, trying not to yawn. The teacher was trying to teach them the alphabet, but the boy, having learned it at the age of two, was not very interested. He briefly considered reciting both the English and the Hebrew alphabet, just to break up the monotony, and to see the look on the teacher's face. But, no. He promised his mom he'd be good and wouldn't show off. Still, the look on the teacher's face…

Two weeks later

The boy sat in the classroom, bored out of his skull. Keeping to his promise not to show off, he was making average grades.

The teacher stood up and said, "All right, class. Today, we have a new student joining us. So please say hello to Gabriel!"

A dark-haired boy with kind eyes walked into the classroom, looked at the ground and shyly said, "Hello."

In unison, the class said, "Hello, Gabriel."

The boy looked up, faintly interested, but seeing it was just a new student, he put his head down again.

"Gabriel, why don't you find yourself a chair to sit in," asked the teacher.

"Ok," Gabriel said softly. He looked around, and made a beeline toward the half-asleep boy.

The boy cracked an eye and noticed Gabriel coming toward him. "Oh, God. Please, no," he pleaded silently. But it was all in vain. Gabriel sat down next to him. But before he could speak, the teacher clapped his hands and said, "All right, class. Time for lunch and recess."

The boy stood up quickly and headed toward the door. "There's no way I'm letting some new kid come in and spoil things for me," he thought darkly.

After lunch, it was time for recess. The boy headed toward an oak tree, intent on getting some sleep in, but he was stopped midway by Gabriel.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Gabriel," he said brightly, holding out his hand.

The boy looked at it in disgust, then resigned himself to the fact that Gabriel wasn't going away. "Nice to meet you, too," he began, grasping Gabriel's outstretched hand.

"I'm-"but before he could finish, he felt a rush of power course through him. Gabriel's body began to shake, as if he were cold. High-pitched noises emerged from his throat, and smoke began curling from his clothes. Startled, the boy let go of Gabriel's hand. Gabriel fell to the ground, twitching and moaning. The teacher came running up. "What happened?" he demanded in a loud tone.

"I…I don't…" the boy muttered in shock, staring at Gabriel.

"Damn," the teacher said under his breath, checking Gabriel. He pulled out a cell phone and called 911. He gingerly picked Gabriel up, said to the boy, who was still standing in shock, "Stay here," and headed off. The boy looked around, to see every child on the playground staring at him. The boy whimpered, choking back a sob, then ran off.

The next day

"No! I don't want to go back to school!"

"But, son-"

"NO! Everyone hates me! They think I'm a freak!"

The young woman sighed, and said, "All right. If you feel that strongly about it, you don't have to go back to school. We'll hire a tutor to teach you."

The boy got up, ran toward his mother, and embraced her.

"Thank you, mommy," he sobbed into her clothes.

The young woman embraced her son, and they stayed like that for a few minutes.

The boy's father came in and said, "Now, son. We need to ask you this. What happened?"

The boy took a few shuddering breaths, and said, "I don't know. All I know is that when I touched him, I felt a power rush from me to him. Next thing I know, he's in the hospital for severe electrocution."

The boy's mother and father exchanged glances. "All right, son. We'll leave you alone for a few minutes. We have a tutor to find," the father said.

"Ok," the boy said weakly.

His parents left, but the boy, smarter than your average rabid wolverine, got up and walked over to the door. He cracked it, and heard, "Do you think he has a power?"

"I don't know, dear. But even if he doesn't, we still have to protect him."

Two years later

"Your room's so messy. You're so sloppy, like a little dog," the mother said playfully.

"It's not my fault. That tutor gave me a lot of work to do. I don't have time to pick up my room!" the boy said, teasing as well.

Downstairs, the doorbell rang, followed by the father's voice, "I'll get it!"

The mother said to the boy, "Now I'm going to go greet our guest, but when I come back up here, you better be cleaning this room, young man."

"All right," the boy said, sounding defeated.

The mother left the room, but the boy, curious, followed her and stood on the upper level, looking through the bars in the stairs. What he saw was this:

His father, standing at the door, letting in a non-descript man into the house. The man was about middle-aged, faint five o' clock shadow on his chin, with short black hair, and all dressed in black.

"How can we help you, Mr…?"

"Oh, Kuroouja will suffice," said the man.

The father looked surprised for a second, then said, "Of course, Mr. Kuroouja. How can we help you?"

The man turned around, facing the father and mother, who had come downstairs. "Actually, I was hoping you knew something about…Authorian."

The boy was confused, wondering if he heard the man right. Authorian? What was that?

His father stiffened, ever so slightly, then responded, "No, I'm afraid I don't know anything about that."

The man smiled coldly, sending a shiver down the boy's spine. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes," his father said firmly. "Now I'm afraid you have to leave. Now."

The boy was shocked. His father always told him to treat guests with respect. But here he was turning one away just for asking an innocent question.

"Really?" the man said, never dropping his smile. "And why would I do that?"

"Because if you don't, I'll call the police," his father said threateningly.

"So?" the man said, sounding amused.

For the third time, his father was surprised. Most criminals would've run away when faced with the police. But this man stayed, as if he…wasn't afraid.

His train of thought was interrupted by the man saying, "Well, if you don't know about Authorian, I guess there's no reason to keep you alive."

"Wha…?" said his mother, before she came apart the length of her spine.

The boy stared in shock, and then bit his arm to keep from crying out loud, as his father turned and roared, "NO!" He turned to face the man, and then ran at him, his fist swung back. The man disappeared, and then reappeared behind the father. He turned, and held his hand out, as if he were holding someone's neck. His father started choking, and the man clenched his fist. The sound of breaking bone was deafening in the silence. His father went limp and fell to the floor.

"What a shame. And here I thought that I had finally found it," the man said casually. He then left, not bothering to close the door behind him.

The boy, tears running down his eyes and blood running down his arm, ran down the stairs toward the corpses of his parents.

"Mom…Dad…" he sobbed, falling to his knees.

Suddenly, before his very eyes, his father's form wavered, like a mirage in the desert, to form his father, but dressed in a black cloak, and scars all over his body.

Choking back sobs, he stripped the cloak off of his father, trying not to look in his eyes. He fastened it on himself, slightly surprised that it fit him. Then, suddenly, the conversation he had with his mother rose up in his memory.

"You're so sloppy, like a little dog."

"It's not my fault! That tutor gave me a lot of work to do."

"Mom…Dad…I promise I won't forget you. I have Dad's cloak. Now, to remember my mom, I will take up the name…"Slop Doggy."

The boy, now known as Slop Doggy, stood up, glaring out the door, hatred in his eyes and sparks flying from his hands.

"Kuroouja…I'm going to kill you..."

Present day

Slop Doggy gritted his teeth as he remembered that day, 10 years ago. Slowly, he raised his arm, and turned it over. There, pale in the moonlight, was the faint mark of a human bite mark on his arm.

"Mom…Dad…"

This is it. The awakening of vengeance, and the beginning of the CoA. Before you review, however, I ask that you read the first 2-3 chapters of Eureka Seven: A Second Chance, then tell me if I've improved my writing skills. More chapters coming later, so keep an eye out. ;-)

Be safe and well

Slop Doggy