Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Slumber Party! ❯ Focusing Her Ki ( Chapter 13 )

The weeks had passed much quickly than she would have thought possible. She had regained her strength, having a new purpose, however grim, to continue on. Though it was hard, her body ached in places she hadn't even known exsisted before each night that she fell asleep and she was often awoken in the night not by nightmares but by cramps from protesting muscles not used to being used so much!

She knew, no matter how difficult the training that Piccolo put her through, she would not give up. She could not give up. She felt deep in her heart of hearts that something, something more than just vengence for her family, had brought her to these people. She felt, that even had nothing at all happened to her family that she would have, eventually, found herself being trained by this great, silence and powerful fighter.

Tori stood near the fishpond. The light of the day was fading fast and she was watching the purple-pink streaks of light across the horizon with what seemed to her like a new pair of eyes. Before, she would have simply noticed the pretty colours and left it at that.

Now, however, she saw other things within the colors, feelings and, although she would have been embarraced to say aloud, some kind of sound that was nearly musical. She watched the sunset with as much interest as anyone else might have watched a popular television series, a slight smile upon her lips and reflected in her baby blue eyes. Even though she was engrossed in the wonderful vista she did not fail to sense his approach.

"Tori." Piccolo spoke her name and she turned instantly, bowing.

"Sensei?"

"I think it's time you learned to better focus your ki." He said, "That is where your fire-starting power comes from, you know."

She shook her head. She did not understand what he was telling her. Besides, her fire-starting, her pyrokenesis, was bad…dangerous! Horrible things happened when she used it! Look what happened when she showed him it that one night…with the candles…and her family had paid the ultimite price! If she'd only kept her power hidden, inside, than those aweful men would never have found her house. Never have hurt her family like that.

"I can't." She said, turning away, "The fire is…not right."

"What do you mean?" He asked, "Look at me when I am speaking to you!"

She started, like a small child at the sound of an elder's reprimanding tone, and turned back to him, afraid to met his ebony eyes. "I don't know how to explain it, Sensei…" She started, paused, and went on; "Whenever I use my power…something happens…something bad. Sometimes right away. Sometimes later. I must not ever use it. Ever!"

"Your power isn't bad, Tori." He said, slowly, as if speaking to a very small child, which she was, to him, "It comes from the ki…the energy and essence that is life and all it's power and strength. All of us, all things living, have some amount of ki within, it's just a matter of learning how to tap into it. You must lose these ideas you have that what you can do is wrong and bad. It's not, Tori, here, give me your hand."

She did so, he took her hand and held it palm upward, slowly she felt something akin to heat, only it did not burn. As she watched, a small bit of flame seemed to lick across her palm. He placed his other hand over her's and the flame grew until it was an orb, glowing with something she could not name but the feeling was somewhat like what she felt when she made her fire work for her. A kind of faint tingling, like touching a low voltage electic fence. The current ran over her hands and up her arms, like a million buzzing insects.

"Feel that, Tori?" He asked, not waiting for her to respond, he went on; "Now, try your fire-starting power…only just a little…"

She reached into herself for the power she knew always slept at the core of her being, pulled it forth, just a little, as he instructed, and watched in amazement as her tiny flame joined the ball flickering between their hands.

"Make it larger, but pull the heat back." He said, taking his hands away, she was momentary confused. No heat? But how could she…Then she smiled, for suddenly, it all made sense. She pulled a bit more of the power from within, focusing on making the flame dancing upon her palm larger…and the sphere she'd seen and felt between them came into being between her own hands. The flame still flickered within it's center, it's warmth comforting though not scorching. The crackling of sensation flowed thoughout her being.

"Good." Piccolo said, encourging her, "Now, remember this."

She nodded, pulled the whole thing back into herself and smiled. Nothing bad would happen. She knew.

"Tomorrow," He said, looking at her with narrowed eyes, though she could hear a tinge of what sounded like satifaction in his tone, arms folded over his chest, "You learn to fly."