Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dragonball Victory : Legends Never Die ❯ IX ( Chapter 9 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Faia Saiyajin 
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Occult / Martial Arts / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.25.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 159 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Occult / Martial Arts / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.25.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 159 | Status: Completed
Chapter IX
Kaeru was snoring softly when Piccolo entered the room. Laying on her right side, she had haphazardly pulled the top sheet around her. Halfway curled into a fetal position, one of her arms was under her head, the other held tight to her chest. From underneath the sheet, the tip of her tail showed, brushing against her left ankle, and twitching every few seconds.
"Kaeru." he said quietly, hoping that she would wake easily.
She didn't.
Rolling his eyes, he went around to the side of the bed, to her back. "Kaeru." He said again, touching her shoulder. Shaking his head, he sat down beside her, touching her shoulder again. "Kaeru, wake up."
Moaning softly, Kaeru roused enough to roll over. Throwing an arm around his waist, she snuggled closely to him, muttering incomprehensibly in Nameckjin. Piccolo blinked, and looked down at her. "Kaeru...?" Studying her sleeping face, Piccolo rubbed the back of his neck. *What the hell is my problem? This odd woman shows up and throws me into a tizzy...* The sound of Kaeru waking drew him from his thoughts. Before she could wake fully, Piccolo found himself brushing a few strands of her black hair from her cheeks.
Her eyes slitted open, and for a second, she forgot where she was. "Gitah...?"
"No. Piccolo."
Opening her eyes all the way, Kaeru stared up at him, absorbing the words. She then bolted upright, realizing what she was doing. "Aiya... I'm sorry." Covering her eyes with her left hand, she composed herself. "I thought you were Gitah."
"It's quite all right. You were dreaming."
Dropping both of her hands into her lap, she sighed. Looking away from Piccolo, she closed her eyes. "Yeah. I guess I was."
"Is something wrong...?" he put a hand on her shoulder.
Kaeru swallowed with much difficulty. "When I was little, Gitah used to let me sleep with him like that. I guess I found comfort in knowing that he'd be awake, watching me while I slept. He was like my teddy bear." Even though her words were pained, she smiled. "My big... green... teddy bear." She bit her lower lip, to keep herself from giggling at the thought. A few stray laughs escaped her, and she covered her mouth. The image of Gitah as a teddy bear was disrespectful, but hilarious.
Behind her, Piccolo was smiling as well. "You really were a family, weren't you?"
Turning around, she nodded a little, wiping away a tear from her eye, which had formed from both sadness and laughter. "Yeah. He didn't always show it, but I knew how he felt. Some of the others didn't like me as much, because I was so different, I guess. But to him, I wasn't, you know? I was just some odd looking little Nameckjin. You know, like, an albino or something. With a tail." she chuckled, and shrugged, not knowing what else to say.
"I do know. I felt the same way about Gohan. Like I was his surrogate father for a while."
"You still are. From what I can deduce, he admires you greatly." She remembered his reaction, when she had first arrived on the Lookout. The elation on Gohan's face was unmistakable.
"I suppose." He snorted, and shook his head. "That kid.. he was a snotty little crybaby. I can't believe he's already a man."
"Yeah. We grow up fast."
"That you do." Talking about Gohan, and the years that had passed, it made him feel ancient.
Kaeru stood, and stretched. "So much for a power nap. How long have I been sleeping?"
"Nearly four hours."
"Damn."
He shrugged, and stood as well. "The party is underway."
"I guess I'd better make an appearance."
"Couldn't hurt."
"Yes it could, actually. But, eh, what the hell. I'm starving." Braiding her hair swiftly, she smoothed her gi.
"You'd better get out there, then. Knowing Gokou, he'll put a dent in the food before you can turn around twice."
Laughing as she turned around Kaeru started out the door and down the hall. "We Saiyajin are like that..." Pushing open the double doors, she looked the party scene over. The men were sitting at the table, and from the look of things, they'd been chowing down. The women were gathered around the food table, laughing and talking, but mostly fending off Muten Roshi's advances and perverse comments.
Gokou looked up, with a mouthful of noodles, some of them still hanging out of his mouth. "Kae'u! Heyyyy!!" He waved, and swallowed. "Come on over!"
Everyone went silent as she made her first step outside. "Well... here goes nothing." she murmured, her tail looping around her waist. Piccolo was behind her, and he stopped. "Eh?" Glancing over at him, she raised a brow. "Aren't you coming?"
"Being social really isn't my strong suit..."
"Oh come on. I gotta have someone to talk to." she flashed a grin. "I'm sure you can tolerate 'em for a few hours."
Piccolo resigned with a low growl. "Fine."
The crowd watched as the pair walked towards them, Piccolo looking like his usual 'genial' self, and Kaeru forcing herself into acting like everything was normal. "Did I miss anything?"
"A good portion of the food." Goten said, before cramming his mouth full of vegetables. Vejita grumbled around a hunk of meat.
"It's a shame Tienshinhan missed this..." Gohan mused, sipping his beer.
"He'd be welcome to come, that is, if he hadn't dropped off radar." Gokou chuckled. "He, Chiatzou and Lunch have just about dissapeared." Seeing that Kaeru was still standing, he motioned to the end of the table, to where a free seat was. "Get some grub, Kaeru."
"Yeah.. before my Tousan eats it all.." Goten chirped.
"All right.." she grinned, and went to the buffet table. Pausing by the women, she introduced herself to Videl.
But before the introductions could be completed, Muten Roshi had pounced on her. "Sayyyy there, sweetie! These young folks have told me you're a Saiyajin?" Kame-sennin's words were slurred, and he wobbled a little, the half-drunk beer sloshing out of his tankard.
"Yes, I am, Sir." she replied polietely, holding a plate, that was only sparsely spotted with food. She hadn't been able to get it really weighed down.
At Kaeru's respectful response, Buruma winced. Making a slicing motion across her throat, she tried to indicate to her to cut out the niceities. It would only get her in trouble.
Looking at Buruma out of the corner of her eye, Kaeru tried to put an end to the conversation. "Well, ah.. Sir... if you'll excuse me... I'm really... quite hungry..."
"Yes yes, go right ahead." Roshi hiccuped, and let Kaeru return to the buffet, and she heaped her plate full of everything on the table.
She passed by Buruma, and hesitated for a moment. "Thank you." she mouthed, and rolled her eyes. After getting herself a beer, she stopped by the grill, to where Kuririn was flipping burgers like he was a professional.
Kuririn, who was a wee bit tipsy, looked at the vampire. "How do ya want it?"
"Rare." she said flatly.
"Thought so..." Kuririn tossed another patty on, barely searing each side.
"That'll work." She grumbled, and let Kuririn slap the practically raw meat on the hamburger bun. "Thanks..." Precariously balancing a large plate of food and a beer, she went back to the table, sitting at the end, beside Trunks. "Hungry." she grunted like a neanderthal, chuckling. Tearing into the meal, Kaeru ate with the gusto of a Saiyajin, packing away the food like she had a bottomless stomach.
Piccolo sat across from her, next to Yamucha, who was too busy cracking lude jokes to notice the imposing Nameckjin sit down. He watched as Kaeru put away plate after plate of food, and slam enough beer to drink an alchoholic under the table.
"Are you finished yet?" he asked, a browridge raised, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, his elbow on the table. Kaeru had finally paused for a breath.
She grinned. "I think so." Beside her, a mountain of plates and bowls, and empty beer mugs lay discarded. All the food and booze had certainly helped to loosen her up. It had seemed that everyone else had finished as well. The men who had been busy feeding their faces were now up and moving around, chatting about old times. Even Vejita had become social, but it was mostly the beer talking.
"Vejita...? Just HOW much have you had?" Kuririn eyed the sloshed Saiyajin.
"I dunno... Sixteen... twenty-three... fourty-two..." He shrugged, for once not snapping at anyone who looked at him wrong.
"HUT!!" Goten blurted, his cheeks ruddy. This moronic joke made everyone double over in hysterics, Yamucha actually falling down, Puar dumped rudely from his shoulder. Seeing him fall made Kuririn laugh, until tears streaked the face of the minute monk. Marron, who had been busy playing with Pan, looked up at her father for a moment.
"Poppa... you're tanked." she said with the factual nature of a child. That was all she wrote, as the entire crowd's laughter tripled, Gokou clinging to Gohan to keep from falling down. The eldest Son had been a little more careful with his drinking, but he still had a severe case of the giggles.
Piccolo watched everyone heaving for breath, their feeble attempts at sobriety only making matters worse. Kaeru, the only one not making a drunken spectacle of herself, was laughing hard behind her hands. This made her ribs ache, and soon, she was burying her head in her arms, forehead on the table. It hurt to laugh, but it didn't stop her. That was when Muten Roshi staggered over, his face beet red and his shirt soaked from where he'd spilled his beer.
Without warning, he grabbed her rear, the sight of her tail waving back and forth too much to resist. Instantly, Kaeru's laughter subsided, and she spun around, slapping the Turtle Hermit hard in the jaw. He flew backwards a good distance, skidding to a halt on his back. Fortunatly the shell he usually wore kept him from leaving most of himself on the floor. He was dazed, but he'd live. His turtle companion was stunned, making startled turtle noises.
Suffice to say, this pretty much killed the moment. Everyone stared at Kaeru, eyes wide, jaws dropped open. Buruma and Videl silently cheered for her. Thoroughly embarassed, Kaeru stood, and left, it taking all she had to not break into a run. Once she was inside the safety of the main building, the twin doors slammed closed behind her, did Kaeru put her hands over her face, shuddering.
Dende opening the door nearly caused Kaeru to tumble backwards, but she checked herself just in time.
"Are you all right?" he asked quietly, the door closing with a soft click.
"I'm ...fine. I don't know what came over me." Calming her racing heart, she pushed her hair from her face, which instantly fell back into place when she removed her hands.
The God put a hand on her shoulder. Although he wasn't sympathetic for the deserving smack Roshi had earned, he was concerned over Kaeru. This woman had lived alone for over 200 years, and thrusting her so suddenly back into the mix might prove hazardous, especially when she had a Saiyajin's short temper and violent streak. "Will you be okay?"
"Yes. I just need.. to calm down..." There was a sour feeling in her stomach. She knew better than that. She was a vampire, after all. Or at least half-vampire. Her body didn't tolerate food as well as it should, especially when she was this hungry. "Excuse me..." Her breath hitching, she walked briskly down the hall.
Dende watched her go, before returning to the eerily quiet gathering.
Kaeru was snoring softly when Piccolo entered the room. Laying on her right side, she had haphazardly pulled the top sheet around her. Halfway curled into a fetal position, one of her arms was under her head, the other held tight to her chest. From underneath the sheet, the tip of her tail showed, brushing against her left ankle, and twitching every few seconds.
"Kaeru." he said quietly, hoping that she would wake easily.
She didn't.
Rolling his eyes, he went around to the side of the bed, to her back. "Kaeru." He said again, touching her shoulder. Shaking his head, he sat down beside her, touching her shoulder again. "Kaeru, wake up."
Moaning softly, Kaeru roused enough to roll over. Throwing an arm around his waist, she snuggled closely to him, muttering incomprehensibly in Nameckjin. Piccolo blinked, and looked down at her. "Kaeru...?" Studying her sleeping face, Piccolo rubbed the back of his neck. *What the hell is my problem? This odd woman shows up and throws me into a tizzy...* The sound of Kaeru waking drew him from his thoughts. Before she could wake fully, Piccolo found himself brushing a few strands of her black hair from her cheeks.
Her eyes slitted open, and for a second, she forgot where she was. "Gitah...?"
"No. Piccolo."
Opening her eyes all the way, Kaeru stared up at him, absorbing the words. She then bolted upright, realizing what she was doing. "Aiya... I'm sorry." Covering her eyes with her left hand, she composed herself. "I thought you were Gitah."
"It's quite all right. You were dreaming."
Dropping both of her hands into her lap, she sighed. Looking away from Piccolo, she closed her eyes. "Yeah. I guess I was."
"Is something wrong...?" he put a hand on her shoulder.
Kaeru swallowed with much difficulty. "When I was little, Gitah used to let me sleep with him like that. I guess I found comfort in knowing that he'd be awake, watching me while I slept. He was like my teddy bear." Even though her words were pained, she smiled. "My big... green... teddy bear." She bit her lower lip, to keep herself from giggling at the thought. A few stray laughs escaped her, and she covered her mouth. The image of Gitah as a teddy bear was disrespectful, but hilarious.
Behind her, Piccolo was smiling as well. "You really were a family, weren't you?"
Turning around, she nodded a little, wiping away a tear from her eye, which had formed from both sadness and laughter. "Yeah. He didn't always show it, but I knew how he felt. Some of the others didn't like me as much, because I was so different, I guess. But to him, I wasn't, you know? I was just some odd looking little Nameckjin. You know, like, an albino or something. With a tail." she chuckled, and shrugged, not knowing what else to say.
"I do know. I felt the same way about Gohan. Like I was his surrogate father for a while."
"You still are. From what I can deduce, he admires you greatly." She remembered his reaction, when she had first arrived on the Lookout. The elation on Gohan's face was unmistakable.
"I suppose." He snorted, and shook his head. "That kid.. he was a snotty little crybaby. I can't believe he's already a man."
"Yeah. We grow up fast."
"That you do." Talking about Gohan, and the years that had passed, it made him feel ancient.
Kaeru stood, and stretched. "So much for a power nap. How long have I been sleeping?"
"Nearly four hours."
"Damn."
He shrugged, and stood as well. "The party is underway."
"I guess I'd better make an appearance."
"Couldn't hurt."
"Yes it could, actually. But, eh, what the hell. I'm starving." Braiding her hair swiftly, she smoothed her gi.
"You'd better get out there, then. Knowing Gokou, he'll put a dent in the food before you can turn around twice."
Laughing as she turned around Kaeru started out the door and down the hall. "We Saiyajin are like that..." Pushing open the double doors, she looked the party scene over. The men were sitting at the table, and from the look of things, they'd been chowing down. The women were gathered around the food table, laughing and talking, but mostly fending off Muten Roshi's advances and perverse comments.
Gokou looked up, with a mouthful of noodles, some of them still hanging out of his mouth. "Kae'u! Heyyyy!!" He waved, and swallowed. "Come on over!"
Everyone went silent as she made her first step outside. "Well... here goes nothing." she murmured, her tail looping around her waist. Piccolo was behind her, and he stopped. "Eh?" Glancing over at him, she raised a brow. "Aren't you coming?"
"Being social really isn't my strong suit..."
"Oh come on. I gotta have someone to talk to." she flashed a grin. "I'm sure you can tolerate 'em for a few hours."
Piccolo resigned with a low growl. "Fine."
The crowd watched as the pair walked towards them, Piccolo looking like his usual 'genial' self, and Kaeru forcing herself into acting like everything was normal. "Did I miss anything?"
"A good portion of the food." Goten said, before cramming his mouth full of vegetables. Vejita grumbled around a hunk of meat.
"It's a shame Tienshinhan missed this..." Gohan mused, sipping his beer.
"He'd be welcome to come, that is, if he hadn't dropped off radar." Gokou chuckled. "He, Chiatzou and Lunch have just about dissapeared." Seeing that Kaeru was still standing, he motioned to the end of the table, to where a free seat was. "Get some grub, Kaeru."
"Yeah.. before my Tousan eats it all.." Goten chirped.
"All right.." she grinned, and went to the buffet table. Pausing by the women, she introduced herself to Videl.
But before the introductions could be completed, Muten Roshi had pounced on her. "Sayyyy there, sweetie! These young folks have told me you're a Saiyajin?" Kame-sennin's words were slurred, and he wobbled a little, the half-drunk beer sloshing out of his tankard.
"Yes, I am, Sir." she replied polietely, holding a plate, that was only sparsely spotted with food. She hadn't been able to get it really weighed down.
At Kaeru's respectful response, Buruma winced. Making a slicing motion across her throat, she tried to indicate to her to cut out the niceities. It would only get her in trouble.
Looking at Buruma out of the corner of her eye, Kaeru tried to put an end to the conversation. "Well, ah.. Sir... if you'll excuse me... I'm really... quite hungry..."
"Yes yes, go right ahead." Roshi hiccuped, and let Kaeru return to the buffet, and she heaped her plate full of everything on the table.
She passed by Buruma, and hesitated for a moment. "Thank you." she mouthed, and rolled her eyes. After getting herself a beer, she stopped by the grill, to where Kuririn was flipping burgers like he was a professional.
Kuririn, who was a wee bit tipsy, looked at the vampire. "How do ya want it?"
"Rare." she said flatly.
"Thought so..." Kuririn tossed another patty on, barely searing each side.
"That'll work." She grumbled, and let Kuririn slap the practically raw meat on the hamburger bun. "Thanks..." Precariously balancing a large plate of food and a beer, she went back to the table, sitting at the end, beside Trunks. "Hungry." she grunted like a neanderthal, chuckling. Tearing into the meal, Kaeru ate with the gusto of a Saiyajin, packing away the food like she had a bottomless stomach.
Piccolo sat across from her, next to Yamucha, who was too busy cracking lude jokes to notice the imposing Nameckjin sit down. He watched as Kaeru put away plate after plate of food, and slam enough beer to drink an alchoholic under the table.
"Are you finished yet?" he asked, a browridge raised, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, his elbow on the table. Kaeru had finally paused for a breath.
She grinned. "I think so." Beside her, a mountain of plates and bowls, and empty beer mugs lay discarded. All the food and booze had certainly helped to loosen her up. It had seemed that everyone else had finished as well. The men who had been busy feeding their faces were now up and moving around, chatting about old times. Even Vejita had become social, but it was mostly the beer talking.
"Vejita...? Just HOW much have you had?" Kuririn eyed the sloshed Saiyajin.
"I dunno... Sixteen... twenty-three... fourty-two..." He shrugged, for once not snapping at anyone who looked at him wrong.
"HUT!!" Goten blurted, his cheeks ruddy. This moronic joke made everyone double over in hysterics, Yamucha actually falling down, Puar dumped rudely from his shoulder. Seeing him fall made Kuririn laugh, until tears streaked the face of the minute monk. Marron, who had been busy playing with Pan, looked up at her father for a moment.
"Poppa... you're tanked." she said with the factual nature of a child. That was all she wrote, as the entire crowd's laughter tripled, Gokou clinging to Gohan to keep from falling down. The eldest Son had been a little more careful with his drinking, but he still had a severe case of the giggles.
Piccolo watched everyone heaving for breath, their feeble attempts at sobriety only making matters worse. Kaeru, the only one not making a drunken spectacle of herself, was laughing hard behind her hands. This made her ribs ache, and soon, she was burying her head in her arms, forehead on the table. It hurt to laugh, but it didn't stop her. That was when Muten Roshi staggered over, his face beet red and his shirt soaked from where he'd spilled his beer.
Without warning, he grabbed her rear, the sight of her tail waving back and forth too much to resist. Instantly, Kaeru's laughter subsided, and she spun around, slapping the Turtle Hermit hard in the jaw. He flew backwards a good distance, skidding to a halt on his back. Fortunatly the shell he usually wore kept him from leaving most of himself on the floor. He was dazed, but he'd live. His turtle companion was stunned, making startled turtle noises.
Suffice to say, this pretty much killed the moment. Everyone stared at Kaeru, eyes wide, jaws dropped open. Buruma and Videl silently cheered for her. Thoroughly embarassed, Kaeru stood, and left, it taking all she had to not break into a run. Once she was inside the safety of the main building, the twin doors slammed closed behind her, did Kaeru put her hands over her face, shuddering.
Dende opening the door nearly caused Kaeru to tumble backwards, but she checked herself just in time.
"Are you all right?" he asked quietly, the door closing with a soft click.
"I'm ...fine. I don't know what came over me." Calming her racing heart, she pushed her hair from her face, which instantly fell back into place when she removed her hands.
The God put a hand on her shoulder. Although he wasn't sympathetic for the deserving smack Roshi had earned, he was concerned over Kaeru. This woman had lived alone for over 200 years, and thrusting her so suddenly back into the mix might prove hazardous, especially when she had a Saiyajin's short temper and violent streak. "Will you be okay?"
"Yes. I just need.. to calm down..." There was a sour feeling in her stomach. She knew better than that. She was a vampire, after all. Or at least half-vampire. Her body didn't tolerate food as well as it should, especially when she was this hungry. "Excuse me..." Her breath hitching, she walked briskly down the hall.
Dende watched her go, before returning to the eerily quiet gathering.