Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Principles know no Love ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Ah, yes! The second chapter, if I have counted right. Well, math isn´t my best subject…. *Shrugs* (I´ve the strange feeling that nobody´s really interested in my math-talents…. Ah, I´m rambling….)

On with the fic, then!

Oh yes, and enjoy! ^-^

Chapter 2

Curious eyes followed him, hidden behind old curtains as he strode to his new office. His head held up and a cheerful expression carefully covering his nervousness, he entered the place, not once meeting the looks he was receiving.

His mood dropped immediately to a more sober level, when he once again was confronted with the shabbiness of his new workplace.

Sighing loudly, he moved rubbish out of the way, arranging the room to a more proper appearance. He avoided the `prison´ though, still not having gotten used to the idea of having only one miserable cell to use, not to mention the missing bars and the one-man-seized whole in the wall.

Forcing a smile to his face, he started removing the boards nailed to entrance and windows. The smile turned genuine, when the last barrier fell away and sunlight flooded the room, having him instantly feel much more at home.

"Howdy sheriff! How is it going?" Kakarott´s head snapped up with a jerk, colliding with the hard wood of the table he had just knelt under; he inwardly swore as the pain set in. Rubbing the aching spot, already feeling the swelling of the bump that was sure to form, he turned around, looking at the intruder.

His `rescuer´ -also going by the name `Gipson´- grinned up at him, casually rolling a smoking cigarette between his thumb and index finger. "Yeah, everything alright." Kakarott mumbled, getting to his knees and continuing with his repair work.

"Sounds good…. I guess." Silence ruled the atmosphere afterwards, having Gipson scraping his feet in uneasiness.

"Weeeeeell," he finally said, drawing the word out as though he still had to look for the right thing to say. "I just wanted to ask you, if you´d like me an´ ol´ Thomson to bring you something from the town- ´cause we are going there right after he has finished saddling his horse- he! that would be by tomorrow than." His eyes roamed along the ceiling, watching a spider making its way down, swinging lazily from side to side on its self-made threads.

"The ride will take us at least two days. If you want to I could show you the right way some time in the future." Gipson offered, glancing down at the sheriff.

"Oh right, how about some food…. Hm, rice, potatoes and …. I don´t know. I´m sure you´ll find something good, won´t you?" Kakarott didn´t even look up when he spoke, still focused on the task at hand. Gipson nodded, turning on his heels and leaving the sheriff by himself.

****

"Finished!" he slapped his hands against his pants in satisfaction, sighing in contentedly while he surveyed his handywork. The office was freed of spidernets and other insects, though a thin layer of dust had already recovered from Kakarott´s cleaning and had settled itsself over the objects and the floor once again.

The sheriff smiled to himself and went outside with slow steps, tired from his task. The sun was already sinking, covering the landscape in red and orange light. He looked up at his office one more time before going back to the hotel, planning on having a nice, good dinner before falling into a long, much-needed sleep.

Suddenly he was woken from his pleasant daydreams by the trampling of hoofs. Looking up he groaned inwardly, having had enough of that already. The mounted group was coming his direction, apparently aiming for him. "Hello there!" the leader yelled at him, grinning evily and lifting his hut slightly in a gesture of mock-greating.

"Nice to see you again so soon." he laughed and rode straight towards the standing man, not changing his course in the slightest. Kakarott swallowed, torn between getting out of the way or standing his ground. The decision was made for him however, when the other forced his horse to the side abruptly, missing the sheriff only narrowly. Kakarott closed his eyes for the briefest moment, relieved yet faintly proud of himself.

"We´ve gotta go now, wish you a nice evening, sheriff !" The whole group rode past him then, some shouting obscenities and other rough comments at him. Kakarott didn´t reply, just remaining were he was until even the last cowboy had passed him. His eyes glued to the ground, he tried to let the insults slide off him, trying to maintain his confident outwards appearance. After long minutes of standing like that, he turned around and went to the hotel, seeking for the peacefullness of his room

.

****

Days went by, people seemed to get used to the presence of their new sheriff, and Kakarott spent his time cleansing the whole office, bringing the house into a better condition and now even living there. Though the cell was now possessing bars he still hadn´t done anything against the whole in the wall, avoiding the `prison´ stubbornly.

Looking at the sky, he silently enjoyed the sun warming his face, knowing that the peaceful silence would soon be shattered again. Sighing -and sighing again just because he had done it in the first place and it was slowly beginning to become an annoying habit- he pressed a hand against the back of his neck. Rubbing the hard muscles there, he let his eyes drift closed, only concentrating on getting that tension massaged out.

Shouts and neighing brought him back to reality immediately, as he was already used to the sounds and the resulting actions. Opening his eyes, he watched the group make their way into the town, coming to a halt in front of the bar and dismounting there horses.

The leader was not present. Actually he was missing for awhile now, as Kakarott had noticed unhappily; without him, the others seemed to be even more rude and uncarring. Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, he stood up, stretched and went to get his revolver. Times were dangerous and he sure wasn´t going to appear completely helpless.

When he reached his destination, he could already hear the loud voices of men drifting towards him, disturbing the quiet athmosphere.

"Here we go!" he whispered to no one in particular and stepped forward, climbing up the wodden steps and pushing open the swing-doors. The bar was full of people, residents, travellers and amongst them, his favorite group of cowboys, roaring and molesting everything that was at least to some extent female.

Kakarott titled his head to the side, trying to get a sufficient view and make out the biggest troublemaker- literally meaning the most drunk. Shaking his head in irritation he spotted a stocky man of small stature, sitting in a far corner and groping a rather unwilling, rather disgusted looking waitress.

Kakarott frowned, pushing his way through masses of warm bodies, ducking once to avoid a punch, clumsily aimed at him. Determination written all over his face, he grabbed the stocky man by the arm, freeing the gratefull woman and drawing the attention of several other man to himself as his `victim´ cried out in vociferous protest.

"Oh no, if it isn´t our cute, little sheriff." someone teased, earning laughter from several bystanders. "What brings you here, slut of law?" the speaker continued on, diverting Kakarott´s attention from his original goal. The sheriff looked at the cowboy, glaring for an instant and letting go of the arm he was still holding.

"I am only looking after things. We don´t want something bad to happen, do we?" he asked nonchalantly, trying to keep his voice as cool and steedy as possible. His gaze lingered on the speaker´s face. He made sure though to avoide direct eye contact, having learned from experience that it could arise feelings of threat on the other´s part, leading into aggressive behavior. He wouldn´t provoke a fight.

"As you see, everything is fine here." The speaker announced, leaning back in his chair with a smug expression smeared all over his bearded face. Kakarott frowned, looking at the men still surrounding him and back to the other. He wasn´t so sure about it.

"Well then, get your ass out of here already, we want to celebrate," the cowboy stared at the sheriff spitefully, his lips pulled back slightly, revealing an incomplete, yellowish gleaming row of teeth. "and you are not invited!" Kakarott´s face twisted slightly, just for a short second, going by unnoticed. His eyes flickered from one person to the other, uncertainty expressed in the way his fingers looped around eachother, his movements erratic.

"Okay, I guess I have to believe you then, mh?! You see, I just wanted to make sure, ne?" He shifted his weight, throwing an apologetic smile into the circle, nodding once. "I mean, that you behave- you know, not destroying other´s property and…. Well, wish you fun then. Bye!" He turned around fully, marching with long strides to the swing-doors, keeping his eyes on the wodden survace purposefully.

He heard laughter coursing from behind him, following him all the way to the exit, sticking to his ears stubbornly, even as he had already left the bar, his revolver clenched in his hand tensely.

The cool metal had a calming effect on him as he took one deep breath, holding it for several seconds before exhaling it with a hissing sound. His eyes closed of their own accord and he could feel the sting of tears, building insistently behind his eyelids. Closing his fingers more tightly, eyebrows knitted together in concentration, he opened his eyes once more, making his way to the office.

****

Peng.

How he hated the sound.

Peng.

He pressed his palms flat against his ears, trying to draw the noise out.

Peng.

It wouldn´t stop; it got even louder, grew even nearer. Taking his hands away from his head, he stood up, gripped his revolver in determination and stomped out of the office. When the sheriff steppedout into the bright light of a sunny day, he had to blink, his eyes eventually adjusting to the harsh light.

He turned his head into the direction the shots had come from, eyes growing wide at the sight that presented itsself to him; the inhabitants were running around like startled chicken, shouting at each other. He could even make out the cloud of dust, occasionally revealing the backside of a galloping horse, that sitlently told about the previous visit.

"What´s going on here?" the sheriff screamed at the person standing next to him; Gipson. The older man looked up at him, his expression one of boredom. "Ah, you mean the commotion?" Kakarott nodded, Gipson yawned. "Just another bank raid, nothing special." He shrugged his shoulders and tiltled his head to the side, watching people trying to put out the fire that was dominating one of the buildings.

The sheriff whirled around, staring the other male down with a hard glare. "`Nothing special´, you say? Bank aid is illegal- it´s not allowed and in the end it´s your money being taken from you, so why the hell do you look as so you would fall asleep any minute, huh?" His blood was boiling, his nostrils flaring. Gipson lifted an eyebrow, pursing his lips.

"Because," he pointed a finger at Kakarott´s chest. "I´m better off poor than dead. You´re asking what I mean? Well, whippersnapper in case you haven´t noticed yet, there are certain cowboys besieging us every now and then," He leaned his face close, having to stand on his tiptoes in the process. "and I´m not going to fight a horde of trigger-happy man out there, who have nothing to lose than their life but do not even fucking care!" His voice had gone rather loud to the end, his finger poking repeatedly into Kakarott´s chest to make sure he had brought his point across.

Kakarott looked down at him, his expression softening for an instant. "But we have to do something. They are robbing us of our hard-earned money- continuously as it seems and I´m not gonna let that continue! After all I´m the sheriff!"

His eyes shone with determination and pride. He was just about to open his mouth again, when Gipson beat him to it. "No, you are gonna do absolutely nothing! We have trouble enough bringing that town back to life, we don´t need a running battle in addition." His eyes narrowed. "Do something usefull for once and help the people rebuild their homes, but leave the remaining things to us. Otherwise you can just leave!"

"And besides, there was little to nothing in the bank. The haul couldn´t have been that good. I´m sure they´re soon gonna move on, leaving us in peace!"

****

That part may contain more writing errors than usual, but I was eating a joghurt at the time I was beta-reading and therefor got somewhat- well, distracted…. ^-^ But it´s visibly longer than anything else I´ve written so far, isn´t it?

*grins proudly*