Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Wishes, Horses and Beggars ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

For Piccolo, consciousness seemed an illusive friend, coming and fading away on it's own. From the time he passed out after using his ki to fly and failing it had visited him, almost teased him. He remembered voices, being moved a time or two, hazy reality seeming to mingle with realistic hallucinations. But now it seemed to tire of teasing, as it slowly surfaced. Small sounds leaked in; wind rustling through the trees, a passing car, faint breathing beside him, rain tapping on a windowpane, the groaning of an old house-

An old house?

Piccolo forced his eyes open, his vision blurring and doubling slightly, then clearing up after a few seconds. He found himself staring at a white ceiling, with glow in the dark stars scattered all over it, their glow barely present after losing their charge. After a moments he slowly turned his head to the side, seeing that his arm was in a sling, the bandage barely peeking up out of the light blanket he was covered with. He raised his eyes a bit, seeing the white curtains blow a bit in the cool breeze from the open window. Under the window was that same girl who had harassed him earlier, sleeping, all curled up in a squishy looking chair under a blanket.

She has taken me in...I am in her bed. Why did she do this? he asked himself, turning his head back. Why does she care about a pathetic has-been like me?

He let out a sigh, too tired to worry about it then. He closed his eyes and drifted into real, restful sleep, slipping and sliding in and out of fitful dreams.

Lisa awoke early that morning, curled up and shivering a bit under the window. She regretted having it open, but it was stuffy in that room the night before. She sat up in her chair slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and stretching widely, keeping under the blanket. She reached up above her and closed the window, catching the scent of rain. She pulled the blanket around her more to keep warm, lying back down on the chair. The clock on her dresser said that it was only seven in the morning, and she was just about to go back to sleep when she saw her charge move a bit.

It was apparent to her that he was no longer passed out, but rather sleeping normally. He mumbled something in his sleep about a bird, frowning urgently, stirring a bit more under the covers. She laid there on her chair and watched him with sleepy interest, not wanting to disturb him in the least. She grew slightly concerned, however, when his dream seemed to take a turn for the worst, the Namek growing troubled. Lisa frowned a bit and rose from her chair, leaning down over him a bit and lying the back of her hand on his forehead. He was slightly warmer than she remembered him being.

She poked her head out of her door, listening for sounds of the rest of her family. Upon hearing none, she walked silently across the hall to the bathroom, wetting a rag and bringing it back to her room. She closed the door firmly behind her as she entered her room again, walking across the floor and placing the rag on his head. He flinched a bit at the sensation, but seemed to enjoy it as his frown faded slightly. Seeming satisfied with herself, Lisa smiled and then snuck back downstairs for something to eat.

She came back a few minutes later with a bowl full of leftover stroganoff, freshly warmed up in the microwave, and a glass of water. She took both of them and placed them at her feet as she sat back in her beanbag chair. She brought the bowl on her knee and began to eat it slowly, blowing the steam from it before putting the fork in her mouth and letting it melt, savoring the taste and the smell.

Piccolo suddenly frowned again, his eyes still closed. "...god, what is that stench?"

Lisa blinked in surprise. "Hey! You're awake! Are you alright? How do you feel?" she babbled, setting her bowl down at her feet. Piccolo opened his eyes slowly, the mood emanating off him foul.

"I have been injured in battle, how do you think I feel?" he said, his voice husky from misuse. "And what is that stench, I asked?"

"Oh, that's just my stroganoff. It's good, really," she insisted. Piccolo merely snorted.

"Feh. I doubt that."

"My, you're in a wonderful mood this morning," she frowned, sipping some of the water.

"You would be too if your chest was half caved in," he grumbled.

"Maybe, maybe not," she shrugged.

"You should have left me there."

Lisa sighed. "You're not gonna start that again, are you? Because if you are, I'm not listening."

Piccolo grunted. "Would not be the first time."

"What's wrong with you, Mr. Piccolo?" Lisa suddenly asked, looking at him curiously and concernedly. "From what I've read about you, you never whine about anything!"

"I am not whining!" Piccolo snapped, whipping his head around to face her. He winced at the motion, however, his head protesting.

"Yes you are! You should hear yourself!"

"You had better stop right now, girl, or-"

"Or what?" she challenged. "You'll beat me? You'll hurt me? You'll just yell at me? Or you'll just lie there because you can't get up?"

Piccolo blinked at that, and, realizing she was right, sighed and looked up toward the ceiling. "I do not care what you say, girl,-"

"My name's Lisa."

"Fine. I do not care what you say, Lisa, you do not know the whole story. You would not understand. My time has passed, you should have left me there."

Lisa shook her head stubbornly. "I don't believe that, Piccolo. You're awesome."

That seemed to jar some of the hard self-pity loose, and for a moment he wanted to suddenly just thank her. But Piccolo was too stubborn to give up, even on giving up. He frowned and shook off the warm feeling he got from her words, looking away.

"Then apparently you do not read much," he grumbled. Lisa sighed in frustration. "I don't believe this! Piccolo, the Piccolo, giving up. Throwing in the towel, " she shook her head. Piccolo suddenly growled.

"I am not...!" Piccolo started angrily, but then let her words sink in. "...giving up."

"You've given up, Piccolo. You've lost hope." she said in a quieter tone as he looked away, seeming to size up the truth in her words.

I have given up. I have given up on myself. I have given up on ... on everyone around me. Because I was selfish. God, what have I done to myself? he suddenly thought. Looking over to Lisa, the last of the self pity broke away, her very look of disappointment in him driving it away. Piccolo clenched his teeth and looked down again, sighing a little, changing the subject quickly before he lost his cool.

"How did I get here?" he asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. He slowly brought his eyes back up to meet hers.

"I brought you here." she replied, stuffing some stroganoff in her mouth after she answered.

"Do not lie, you are hardly big enough to even begin to pick me up." Piccolo said, eyeing her.

Lisa held up a finger and swallowed. "Well, my friends and I. We snuck you up here into my room."

Piccolo sat up slightly and frowned. "Why did you have to sneak me up here?"

"Because my mom would have freaked out. An' the authorities are out looking for you. Americans are paranoid. The American government's wanted to get a hold of you for a long time, because you're not from this planet. You know how that goes." she rolled her eyes slightly. "So, this was the safest place for you to go while you got better."

Piccolo grunted a bit. "It seems that in coming here, I have attracted more attention to myself then I had planned to."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Lisa concured, swallowing another bite of food.

Piccolo looked down at himself and sighed a little, his bandages rustling a bit under the sheets and blankets. Grunting, he sat up slowly, pushing the blankets down his chest to his lap, running his hands over the bandages and wincing.

"What are you doing, Piccolosan?"

"Assessing how badly I am wounded, so that I may regenerate myself." Piccolo half mumbled, absorbed in his self evaluation.

"Oh, so that part isn't broken. Good, I was beginning to worry." Lisa sighed a little in relief. Her comment make Piccolo cock an eyebrow and gaze at her.

"How do you know so much about me?"

"I read all about you in history. I even did report on you," Lisa replied, smiling. She opened the drawer to her nightstand and pulled out a bundle of papers, stapled together. "See? I got an A- on it."

"Impressive." Piccolo mumbled again, giving it a glance, then going back to his wounds. Lisa stuffed the papers back into her nightstand, somewhat hurt that he didn't give it more attention, but brushing it aside nevertheless. What he was about to do was much more interesting.

Piccolo grunted a little bit, closing his eyes, seeming to concentrate. He began sweating as his cuts and scraps seemed to just melt back into his skin. The bandages loosened as swelling diminished under them, and broken bones mended. Piccolo was gritting his teeth as his regeneration drained him of his energy, and after he was done, he fell back onto his bed panting, his eyes closed.

"Wow! That was awesome, Piccolosan!" Lisa half exclaimed, trying to keep it down, lest her mother hear her. Piccolo grunted tiredly, but blushed slightly.

"To you...perhaps.... to me...it is tiring...." he panted, his green, highly muscled chest rising and falling with each heavy breath. He felt the sheet suddenly being pulled up over him, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that Lisa was covering him.

"You go ahead and get some sleep, Piccolosan. I've got to go start on morning chores." She said quietly. "You get some good rest, okay?"

"...why are you doing this for me?" Piccolo suddenly asked, looking up at her confusedly.

Lisa shrugged. "It's always been a dream of mine. Besides, somehow I know you'd do the same for anyone else." With that, she smiled brightly and left the room, taking her bowl of stroganoff with her. Piccolo watched her go, slightly puzzled, but eventually just let it go and closed his eyes again.

Silly girl... he thought, then slowly drifted into slow, much needed sleep.