Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Shadow in the Twilight ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7

After carefully removing the MAARCU off her left ear and handing it to Adarath for safekeeping, Lluvia's firm grip found the back of Tristan's tunic and pants, lifting and spinning him bodily around toward the exit. The Saiya-jin warriors were still chuckling from Lluvia's performance of the ribald song for Totepo, so no one impeded her and Tristan's progress from the room in what appeared to be an adjunct slapstick performance. The momentum of her next push forcibly propelled him out through the entrance's swinging double doors. She kept shoving him until the two of them were well enough away from the raucous noises emanating from the mess hall and the sharp ears of the Saiya-jins. One last shove sent him neatly into the promenade's far wall, the back of his head smacking against the hard surface.

"Ow, Yu-vee! Not so hard! That actually hurts!" His hand came up to rub the bump rising under his tousled russet hair.

"No shit, brainiac! It's supposed to hurt! Obviously, the only way I can seem to get through to that dense cranium of yours is to first put a dent in it!"

"Aw, c'mon, Yu-vee! Don't be such a hard case all the time!" Her hands came up to drive his shoulders back into the stone wall, her dark blue eyes drilling sharpened dirks into his vacuous lighter ones. He kept forgetting how really strong his lifelong friend really was, especially like now when she got her dander up.

"It's my friggin' job to be the hard case, Tristan! I have to be in order to keep this group of ours together and safe from harm! It can't always be beer and skittles, you know! Someone has to keep things on an even keel and, as artistic director of this company, that responsibility falls squarely on my shoulders!"

"But…"

"But NOTHING!" Lluvia moved off his bruised shoulders and looked at her fists, angry with herself for letting him push her buttons yet again. Her hands, usually so graceful and eloquent in their expressiveness, were shaking at the thought of how irresponsible Tristan was with the lives of their fellow performers. One of these days, his thoughtless actions could cost them dearly.

"Look at me, Tristan! Look at my face, my eyes! Don't talk, not one word! Just listen and listen hard!" Her angry loud voice was reduced to a measured, lower level. Lluvia was not taking this incident lightly, not this time. They just couldn't afford any more close calls like this one. There was just too much at stake for all of them.

"If you had bothered to do just the tiniest bit of background research on our illustrious hosts, you'd know that Saiya-jins are some of the most ferocious and merciless warriors in this part of the universe. Moreover, for as long as their tails are," she spread her arms outward to gesture an approximate length. "Their tempers are short-wired and are about…this…big!" Lluvia brought her right hand up to his nose, illustrating a space no bigger than an inch's width with her thumb and forefinger. "On top of which, the majority of these characters run on a hair-trigger ninety-nine point nine percent of the time! You can't go off spouting what may or may not be interpreted as an insult without them reciprocating with an instantaneous ki blast that will reduce you into what amounts to a teaspoon of sneezing powder! Do you comprehend what I am trying to tell you, Tristan?"

The familiar idiot grin emerged while she was berating him. "Sure, babe! I understand. You love me and you'll stick up for me like always!" Lluvia blew out a short, tense breath as her left hand clenched into a fist at her side.

"For crying out loud…yes, I love you, like a brother! And I have always watched out for you, ever since we were small! I also love Jenika and your baby, which she is carrying within her! And I do not want to be the one to give her the bad news that you've gotten yourself blown into the next dimension, just because you happen to suffer from chronic `foot-in-mouth' disease!"

Since the musicians were taking a small break, Bardock found a seat next to Adarath. The lead dancer was shaking his dark curly head and chuckling.

"Man, you just know she's corn-holing him again! That Tristan never learns."

His statement was met by knowing grins and nods by the other entertainers.

"So what is their relationship?" Bardock asked, trying to sound as if he didn't actually care very much. Adarath glanced over at the Saiya-jin's blasé inquiry.

"Yu-vee and Tris? They're like siblings, though not related by blood. He's the pesky little brother who's getting his hand continually caught in the cookie jar and she's the big sis who always ends up covering for him."

"What else can you tell me about her…them?"

As fate would have it, Bardock had tapped into the one member of the entertainers who loved the sound of his own voice and who wasn't reluctant to share what he knew about the leader of their group.