Written for Femslash February 2019's twelfth prompt "Balloons."
Childish Things
Caulifla was a mighty, unabashed Saiyan warrior. Crude, confident, and constantly sneering, she towered over the competition on her planet. She boldly led her gang through a multitude of endeavors, striking down soldiers of the Sadala army who dared to stand in her way. She eagerly sought to obtain more power, and her current goal of achieving Super Saiyan 3 was always in the forefront of her mind.
Though, she never thought she'd be participating in something for a little kid. With her lips pursed and brow furrowed, Caulifla stared at the bright tents and gaudy lights before her that illuminated the night sky of West City. Children scampered past her with parents loyally darting after them. A sickening sweet scent perfumed the air around her, leaving her nose wrinkling as cotton candy vendors passed out treats. Laughter and screaming echoed around her, which was certainly not preferable to roars and mighty energy beams on the battlefield.
When Goku invited Universe 6 over for a celebration, she had thought there would be fighting involved, not a carnival. Out of the corner of her eye, she found Champa stuffing his gut full of caramel apples while Vados sighed, shaking her head. Some yards away, Cabba marveled over the various rides from the ferris wheel illuminated in rainbow colors to the roller coaster that whipped over his head. She watched him dart over to Vegeta and his family, waving and asking if they were well, leaving her behind to sulk in the middle of the street.
Even Hit was getting into the festive spirit. Along with Botamo, he fired a toy gun at a wall of water balloons, his collection of stuffed animal prizes amassing as the vendor paled. Although she couldn't see his expression, she imagined him smirking as he won another teddy bear for the cheering children clinging to his legs.
Glaring at the sidewalk, she still bristled over being rejected. Goku wouldn't even spar with her when she arrived. He was focused on having fun with his family, holding tiny Pan in his arms and trying to keep her still despite her many attempts of flying off. She had resisted pestering him, remembering Champa snap[ing at her that they would all enjoy themselves without conflict or else face his wrath. She was certain he had only commanded that because he wanted to make sure none of the food would be destroyed by ki blasts.
So, that left her alone. With her arms crossed over her chest, irritation spreading through her body like a disease, and a rising desire to fight someone, Caulifla wanted to bellow at the night sky. The itch to fight somebody crawled up her spine, and sensing so many strong contenders surrounding her, the urge to lash out with a powerful blow welled up in her stomach like molten lava filling a mighty volcano.
"Sis!"
Her shoulders untensed at Kale's exuberant cry, relief flooding into her. Lips quirking into a grin, she pivoted on her heels to face her and let her mouth hang open. All she could do was let her wide eyes speak for her, completely baffled in how to react to the other Saiyan darting towards her.
Kale beamed, skidding to a stop in front of Caulifla. Her face was painted with black dots and an orange hue, which Caulifla recalled as the markings of an earthly cheetah. In her right arm was a cheap doll of Earth's mightiest warrior, Hercule, or in Caulifla's opinion, Earth's mightiest fraud, clearly won from one of the several carnival games. Even though she couldn't resist wincing at the doll, she found her attention drawn up to the other oddity Kale had.
"Who is that?"
"He's called the Great Saiyaman. He's one of this planet's protectors. There's a movie about him coming out soon, so they're making a lot of merchandise," Kale said, lowering her bright green balloon for Caulifla to see.
With painted sunglasses and a loose white cloth glued to the top of the balloon, Caulifla couldn't help but tilt her head. The cheeky grin and thick black eyebrows reminded her of one of the Universe 7 fighters, but she couldn't put her finger on which one. Perhaps he would've been the eleventh fighter for their team if they were desperate enough, and the temptation to seek out this Great Saiyaman to battle him quickly cemented itself as one of her goals.
"What a face, huh? Bet this guy has looks only a mother could love if he has to wear such cheap sunglasses," Caulifla jeered, and Kale chuckled. Glancing at her up and down, she hummed. "Looks like you've been havin' a fun time, too."
Nodding, Kale rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand. "Ahaha! Sorry for leaving you behind. Dr. Rota dragged me to the bumper cars, and after that, I just started exploring by myself." She raised her knuckles to her chin, her formerly nervous demeanor replaced with joy. "It's really fun here! Sadala never has celebrations like this. I'm glad we can enjoy it together, sis."
The way Kale's eyes sparkled as she spoke made Caulifla's smile stretch into her cheeks. It had been a while since they had any real fun. Even though Caulifla saw the carnival as juvenile, the spark of delight that had burned brightly in Kale reached her. Her wide eyes and unfaltering smile began to quell the buzzing agitating brewing in Caulifla's stomach as Kale pressed her Hercule doll to her chest, gushing over how she beat Pirina in a rapid-fire ring-tossing game.
If Kale was having fun, then she supposed she could also relax. The simple bliss surrounding her like a peaceful aura was too contagious, and Caulifla found herself immersed in Kale's warmth, slipping her hand in Kale's and letting her guide their way through the carnival. Listening to her quickly prattle about which rides they go on, Caulifla grinned and let go of all of her pent-up aggression with a quiet chuckle.