Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ I Always Keep My Promises ❯ Danger's of the Deep ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter 9

Dangers of the Deep

"OWWW! DON'T TOUCH IT!" Goten yelled.

"Yeah well, that's what you get for taking off my top, you pervert!" Shay yelled back. In a fit of rage, Shay managed to catch Goten when he ran away with her bikini top and punished him severely… by kicking his ass up and down the beach.

"It's not fair. You know I don't hit girls, even if they do fight like men, such as yourself!" Goten was holding his face away from Shay. Part of his punishment was the black eye that was now gracing the left side of his face. Where she had learned to hit like that was an unsolved mystery.

"Are you calling me a man?!"

Goten cowered, or at least pretended, at the tone of her voice. "NO, no! I said that you… hit like a …man." He rambled.

"Oh…" Shay sat back down. "Now, here. This will help to keep the swelling down." She brought the ice pack she bought from a nearby store up to his eye and smacked it up against his face.

"Yeah, thanks." Goten grumbled. Shay leaned back on the oversized beach towel they were sitting on, propping herself up on her elbows. The sun hadn't set yet, but it was evident that the day was slowly drawing to a close. She stared out into the water, watching as the growing waves crashed against the sand. Deep down she was sorry for hitting Goten so hard, but she would never tell him that! It served him right! But no matter how much fun she had been having these past few days with the guys, there was always a damper on her spirit; a void that would forever be in her heart.

Goten picked up on her mood changed and looked down at the pensive-looking Shay. In the short amount of time they had spent together, he could tell when something was wrong. Like when her foot shakes when she's angry or how she gets really quiet when she's upset or deep in thought. Bra on the other hand, was whiny when she got upset or didn't get her way. He cringed on the inside just thinking about how shrill her voice gets when she yells.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Goten asked, trying to bring Shay out of her thoughts.

She sighed. "Yeah. Brings back memories." She gave him a sad smile. He looked at her questioningly and she continued. "Tristan loved the water." She let out a dismal laugh. "She told me once that she wanted to die in the water. As morbid as that sounded. I just looked at her like she was crazy. She said that when she's underwater, she feels like she's in another world, like everything is so peaceful under there. When her last day came, she wanted to go to the water and just sink, no pain…" She trailed off leaving a silence behind. Goten moved closer to Shay and kissed her forehead.

"She'll be back soon, I promise. Think of it like… like a friend who went on a trip or…or of to college. Instead of thinking she's gone, just think of it like you haven't seen each other for a while." She sat back and thought about his words for a minute. After all, they were looking for the Dragonballs to bring her back. It would only be a matter of time before she saw her again.

Shay started to brighten up. "I guess you could look at it that way." She looked up at Goten again. "Thanks Goten." He waved it off. What is this I'm feeling? Could I actually be starting to like him? Shay thought to herself. Goten broke the silence.

"Want to see the ocean from her point of view?" He asked with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

"We can rent some scuba gear for an hour, if you want."

"Hell, why not?" She smiled. Goten stood and helped Shay up, leading her to the scuba rental hut.

Goten walked toward the shining water with an apprehensive Shay in tow. Just a half hour ago she had been overjoyed to go scuba diving to help get her mind off her late friend, but now she was thinking about backing out.

"Are you sure about this, Goten? I mean, what of something happens while we're down there?" Shay asked. She watched as he carried their equipment with ease.

"You worry too much! I've been scuba diving countless times. It's really nothing to be afraid of, unless you're scared of a few little fish…" Goten shrugged, obviously goading her. "But if you are, I can understand." He turned around and began walking back to the hut.

Shay grabbed his arm. "I am not scared! Give me that wetsuit!" She said while snatching it from his hand. Unbeknownst to her, she was giving Goten an eyeful when she stepped into her wetsuit. She carefully removed the magenta sarong from around her waist, leaning over toward him while she stepped into the leg holes of the suit. He stared openly as she shrugged her lithe body into the black and pink wetsuit, letting the image of the tops of her ample bosom burn into his memory.

"Aren't you going to put yours on?" She asked after catching him staring at her.

He looked up. "Hn? Oh, yeah… yeah, I was… um… making sure you put it on right… yeah!" He stuttered.

Shay laughed at his now red face. "Put your suit on, Goten!"

In ten minutes, the couple (Hee, hee! Couple!) were dressed and ready to dive. Goten strapped on his weight belt and strapped on Shay's for her; the weights would help keep them underwater. He was going through some last minute equipment checks as Shay had requested.

"Okay, breathe in…" Goten was checking her air gauge to make sure it was giving a correct readout. He trusted the place where he got the equipment from since he had rented from them on several occasions, but as always, better safe than sorry. The tanks had been filled with oxygen and it was finally time to dive. "That's everything." He said while flipping the tank onto his back. "I have my knife, flashlight, air tank, you… I have everything I need!" Shay pretended she didn't hear him imply that she was something he needed and rolled her eyes. He held out his hand which she willingly took. To be honest, Shay was scared shitless! I guess there's a first time for everything! Maybe he's right. I do worry too much.

One word came to Shay's mind as she swam alongside Goten; Wow. With her hand in his, they explored the depths of the ocean from the rocky cliffs on the far left side of the beach and were on their way to a nearby coral reef. So far they had been underwater for 15 minutes and Goten guessed that it would be another five before they reached the small reef. He watched her closely as she silently marveled at the marine wildlife that she had never seen this closely outside of the aquarium. She tugged his arm and pointed at least 20 times since they started, and he loved every moment and found himself wanting to feel her touch only on a more intimate level. The sun was still in the sky, making it still bright enough to see without the help of the flashlight that he brought with him. The waters were aquamarine and clear enough to see perfectly around them. Shay did however almost have an incident with an eel hiding in a patch of seaweed and probably would have gotten attacked if it weren't for Goten's sharp eyesight. Fish of all types of colors swam about them, some in schools and other roaming about by themselves, all caught Shay's attention and admiration. She couldn't help but to feel like a kid on her first trip to the aquarium, and to finally understand why Tristan liked the water so much. Everything seemed to have a serene feel to it which was the direct opposite of Shay's inner turmoil about Goten. She was having the time of her life and so was Goten, only he had one gripe; she swam too slow!

Goten could see that they were approaching the coral reef and was kind of disappointed that no dolphins had graced them with an appearance. He imagined the look on her face if she would have seen them, but dismissed his disappointment on account that this wouldn't be the last time he would take her scuba diving. In the meantime, he enjoyed Shay's brightening face as the reef came into better view, but she was still swimming rather sluggishly. With a backward glance, he figured that she was probably fatigued from swimming for a long distance. After all, this was her first time scuba diving.

Once again Shay was fascinated by what she saw when they finally approached the reef. The coral was a beautiful mix of oranges and reds, giving excellent camouflage to the school of orange and white clown fish that had made the reef their home. This particular fish was one of Shay's favorites, making the sight before them that much more awe-inspiring. Shay swam in for a closer look since she had read that this kind of fish was known for its docility, guessing that the only thing she would have to worry about was being cut against the sharp coral.

The hard material broke with a muted snap as Goten broke off a small piece of the coral, thinking that it would be a nice souvenir for his companion, and placed the small shard into the black pouch he had carried on his weight belt. Luckily she hadn't noticed his actions since he had wanted to have the shard strung on a necklace. Of course the edges would have to be softened to ensure his gift didn't abuse her delicate skin, but he felt that it would be a perfect gift.

The sensation of his arm being yanked yet again snapped Goten's attention back to his companion. He mused that she must be getting tired from the excitement because of her half lidded eyes behind the Plexiglas facemask she was wearing. Following the path of her pointing finger, his eyes rested on… nothing, but coral. He looked warily at Shay and shrugged his shoulders, trying to indicate that he didn't know what she was trying to tell him. Large amounts of bubbles escaped her mouthpiece; plain evidence that she had sighed at his folly. Once again, she pulled him over to where she had been previously hovering and pointed again at the same spot, only this time Goten saw what she was trying to show him.

Three pale orange stars stared back at him from amidst the dense coral. He was genuinely surprised since they had agreed that this would be a day of resting from their search. Shay smiled meekly as the realization dawned on him that they had inadvertently found the three-star Dragonball. She tentatively reached a hand down past a few lingering fish, making sure not to cut herself in the process. Try as she might, she couldn't get the orange globe to move. Goten smiled at her and patted his chest with one hand as if to say `move over sweetheart and let a man handle this'. She would have ignored him, but her head was beginning to feel light from her straining to remove the Dragonball from its place. With one swift tug Goten had managed to pull the ball from its place with seemingly no effort on his part, when Shay had all but gotten an aneurism trying to remove it. Goten laughed silently at her obvious chagrin and deposited the ball into the same pouch he had placed the piece of coral minutes ago. Without a second thought, he turned to face Shay, and his heart sank.

Panic was written all over Shay's features as she looked around in fear. Seconds later she began to flail about, cutting herself several times on the coral and sending the school of fish scattering about. Goten's eyes widened in mortification and he tried to restrain her. He knew that if she panicked that it would only make whatever that was going on worse. Quickly he turned her around and did a quick check of her oxygen gage. Wait…that's not right… Before we left, it was a little under full. It holds about an hours worth of air even if someone were breathing heavily the entire time… We've been down here for about a half an hour, and it's still reading full! …Oh no… Just as the severity of their situation dawned on him, he saw Shay's mouthpiece floating up as far as the connecting tube would allow. She had spit out her mouthpiece.

Shimatta! She's out of air!