-- Level 01 --
....such beautiful lights....
She sighed, and pulled her leather jacket tighter around her torso. Even with her aura at it's strongest, it was still biting cold. She had no idea why she decided to get so close to the outer atmosphere, but knew it had something to do with the Saiya-jin part of her, wanting to go home...
But home was gone. And the Saiya-jin lived here now. Earth. In fact, Kako had never seen Vegeta-sei. The little that she had learned in her history class was that it had exploded about four years before her birth, of unknown causes. Some of the Earth's scientists spectated that Vegeta-sei had built up a lot of geological tension, and then released it in a "Big Bang". Kako thought they were full of shit.
She floated, high above any other air traffic, and watched the stars. Her hair, white as snow, keenly reflected the pale light of the moon, and her tail swayed in the currents of the wind. She pulled the jacket tighter, nearly stretching the skull and crossbones sewn into the back.
Kako had won the jacket in a fight, just as she had won the rest of her clothing. Baggy jeans, tank tops, training sweats. All black. To contrast her hair, and distract from her dark skin.
Her stereo, all of her CDs (she had many, mostly of hard rock/alternative groups like Not So Good Touch by The Ginyu Gang, and Sheepstein, a new German Death Rock group), and most of her food stocks (Jack Daniels, red meat, and cigarettes), all from fighting. And winning.
She was the best fighter on the circuit, and she allowed herself a small smile to remind herself of that simple fact. The Old King had come to watch her fight once, then flew off with disgust when she refused to kill her opponent. She had a twisted sense of honor. And the troll's legs were gone. And his arms. And most of his hair.... It wouldn't have been fair. Besides.... Left to live, his arms and legs would grow back... Right?
She cursed, shivering. Her Drow half demanded heat, warmth, the comforts of underground life... She could feel the warm tunnles of her youth, sufficatingly hot, muggy... Her mother cursing her foolishness... Raising her fist.... She shook her head violently, clearing the images that had been forming.
She cursed the cold again, opting to head home for some liquor and a smoke.
-- Level 02 --
....old habits are hard to break....
She flipped the switch on her CD player, letting the sounds of smooth techno filter through her expancive living space. It was a large studio apartment, almost the size of a small warehouse, seeming only bigger by her lack of furniture. She had a spartan bed in the corner, the CD player next to it, a dart board (falling apart from the various knives stuck in it), and an extensive bar. Besides that, all that decorated her apartment were the tiny multi-colored bulbs strung about the ceiling that she used as lighting.
She plopped down on her bed, taking a swig of JD, closed her eyes, and attempted to relax. A fighter's body never relaxes, though. It is always tense, always ready for battle. A siren passed below her window, the lights flashing blue-red-blue-red against her walls, and the sound of an explosion echoed in the near distance... All a part of living in Los Asparagas.
Ever since the Saiya-jin had come to Earth, they had insinuated and conquered their way into every aspect of society. Trolls and Elves walked among Saiya-jin and Human, but the Saiya-jins got privialges (Saiya-jin Only arenas, diners, and casinos). And half-Saiya-jins like Kako had to give up theirs (sitting in the last rows at a concert, not fighting back against a Saiya-jin that spit on them...). The Drow Elves were dispised... Spit on, stomped on, killed when the crime would be ignored by the local Elite Force (which was more often than not...). So a half-Saiya-jin-half-Drow child had to fight hard to survive, let alone live. And Kako lived.
The sirens returned from where-ever they had gone, and she groaned in disgust. Another Human dead. Another Saiya-jin twenty gold richer. She felt sick.
She kicked the bag again, knocking it off it's hook for the fourth time that evening. Even though it had been built to a Saiyan's advanced physiology, it was not built for a professional fighter... Only lower class citizens. She kicked it once more, sending it across the room and slamming into a wall. The landlord would hate her for it, but he was just a Hobbit. Not much he could do about it.
But then, it was thoughts like THAT that made life on Earth hell for her.
-- Level 03 --
....just another day....
She grabbed a towel and slumped onto the bed, mopping her face. It had been a long day... Fighting the landlord to keep her room, and then being beaten and almost killed twice by Torgo, a leading Jinzouningen fighter. Nothing worse then being beaten at her own game, especially by a cyborg. A cyborg, of all things....
"Nice fight today, Kako of Den 17. Good form. Slow reaction time, though. I was really quite surprised."
She turned slowly, her fists dropping to her sides, and looked toward the window.
"It's not really any of your business, Boy."
The boy (and surely he was a boy, for he looked only 16 years old) slowly cocked his head and smiled. He jumped off of the window ledge that he had been standing on, and helped himself to some crackers from her bar.
"I had really expected more from you."
Kako's hands found her hips.
"So what the hell are YOU doing here?"
The boy shrugged, grabbing another handful of crackers, and shoved them rudely into his mouth.
"Listen up, you little shit. You leave. I stay. That's how it works. Don't make me go all-out on your ass."
"Ha! If 'all out' is anything like you were today, I'd kill you in a split second!"
Torgo leapt off of the bed, one fist out.
Kako sighed.
It was going to be another long day.