This is a short story about one of my favourite characters, Caliph. It gives some of his background, as well as some foreshadowing as to what's in store for my fic, Altered Realities/The Gauntlet. ^.^ But this story isn't just for those who've read my other fic; I've written so that everyone will be able to understand this. Though, if you have read it, you'll understand a few things a wee bit better.
For those of you who might wonder "who the heck are these three girls, I don't remember them from your other story!" Keep in mind that that one is from the point of view of Kyotzuki, a human, and she calls the other girls by their earth names. This one is from the POV of Caliph, so the girls' saiyan names are used. So they're actually the same people. Got it? Good!
Rain. It had to be raining. Caliph hated the rain. He hated being wet, and cold. And because it was almost certain that as soon as it started raining, he would have to go outside for something. And today was no exception. The rain started to come down, and Caliph realised that he was out of steak. You can't run a restaurant without steak. At least, not a restaurant on Vegetasei. So Caliph had to go out in the rain.
Another reason he didn't like rain was because of the pain it caused him, literally.
Nine years ago, while on a planet raid for the King, even though the inhabitants of the planet were far weaker than him and his teammates, one moment of carelessness had changed his life. His leg was broken while striving with one of the inhabitants. It was completely shattered. His knee was destroyed, as well as the bones directly above and below it.
It had been raining then, too.
Normally, this would not be a problem for a saiyan: he'd simply head off to one of Vegetasei's outposts, hop into a regen tank, and be completely healed within a few days.
Unfortunately, this planet was so remote that the nearest outpost was more than a year away. When Caliph arrived, they tried to fix his damaged bones but they had already healed, disfigured, and so there was nothing a regen tank or a doctor could do for him.
After that day, he was pulled out of the army, no longer being of any use to the king since he could no longer fight, and was put to work instead in charge of a restaurant that catered to the 1st class and Elite soldiers of Vegetasei. He had been working and living here for nine years, each day a constant reminder of what he would never become, and each day becoming more and more bitter towards those saiyans who were doing what they loved and longed to do: fight. Become stronger. Challenge themselves. Test themselves to their limit.
But not him.
Now, whenever it rained, the cold air and humidity would cause his leg to ache with a throbbing pain, an eternal reminder of what his carelessness had caused, and just how weak and useless he now was.
So he was out in the rain now, going to the grocery store to buy more food for all those saiyans who were still able to fight for their king.
Caliph flew as fast as he could, to get out of the rain sooner, and because it lessened the throbbing pain. Finally, and to his great relief, he saw the little grocery store that was reserved only for restaurant owners to shop in, and that he had been going to every week for the past nine years. Stepping through the door, Caliph shook as much water from his hair as possible, much like a dog would do. He made a beeline straight for what he needed, ignoring all the people around him.
Stepping up to the checkout, he noticed for the first time the girl behind the counter.
"You're new here," he said, somewhat surprised.
"Yup, I was just transferred from a store in Sal City. My name's Carran," she said, extending her hand. Caliph noticed that she didn't use the traditional saiyan introduction, adding what rank in the king's army she was. He hadn't used that greeting himself in over nine years.
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Caliph," he said, shaking her hand, subsequently creating a mini rain shower on her counter from all the water dripping off the sleeve of his rainshirt. "Oh, I'm sorry," he smiled sheepishly, trying to wipe some of the water away with his other sleeve, but only succeeding in creating a bigger pool. "Ugh..." Caliph was starting to feel pretty stupid, but a pleasant laugh from Carran quickly dispelled his feelings of self-degradation.
"Don't worry about it," she smiled, starting to ring through the small pile of groceries that Caliph had absently stacked on the counter.
After he had paid her, and had made what little small-talk he could, Caliph picked up his few bags, saying, "Well, I guess I should get back to my girls, and make sure they haven't destroyed the business yet."
The "girls" he was referring to were the three slaves that worked for him. They were of another race, from one of the many planets that the saiyans had conquered and was now a part of the vast Saiyan Empire. He called them "his girls" not because he was being friendly or familiar, and not because he cared about them in any way, but simply because that's what they were: they were female, and they belonged to him. …There used to be a fourth girl, but he didn't like to think about her anymore.
"Alright," Carran smiled, "goodbye Caliph."
He turned and waved as he walked out the door, in a far better mood than he had been in when he left.
Radda was washing dishes when Caliph came back, and immediately she knew something was up. He was smiling. Actually smiling. He never smiled anymore. She wanted to know what was up. Maybe this would mean something good for her. Less work, perhaps? At any rate, him being in a good mood would surely affect her, so she had to know what was making him so happy, so she could try and make it last.
He threw the groceries on the counter and began to unpack them, when Radda turned to him from her dishes.
"Caliph, what?" she questioned in her best Saiyago possible.
Heh, stupid girl still can't speak a sentence to save her life,
Caliph thought to himself.Even though she had been on Vegetasei for almost three years, Radda had still not been able to master the saiyan tongue.
"Never mind," he said, quickly changing his smile to a smirk. "Nothing for you," he added.
The next day, Caliph found himself looking for things that he was short on, so he could go back to the grocery store. But he assured himself it wasn't so he could see Carran again. Who am I kidding, of course it's so I can see her again. Caliph decided he could lie to everyone else as much as he wanted, but he just couldn't lie to himself. He wanted to see her again.
* * *
"Caliph," she smiled as he walked up to the counter.
"Hi Carran,"
"You look different when you're not soaking wet,"
"Uh, thanks," he laughed a little sheepishly. 'Thanks?' What the hell is that supposed to mean? Stupid! "So how are you today?"
"Oh, not too bad," she began to ring his items through, "You?"
"Pretty good," he looked at her, and caught her eyes with his, holding them there in that gaze for a moment.
They both looked away, and she laughed a little quietly as she continued to ring his groceries through.
"…What are you doing tonight?" Caliph braced himself. This was the question that he was both really wanting, and really hesitating to ask.
"After the store closes…nothing."
The moment of truth…
"Would you like to come to my restaurant?"A pause.
A heartbeat.
A breath.
…a beautiful smile.
"Yes, I would like that."
* * *
Caliph closed his restaurant promptly at 9:00. He wasn't going to let it slide even a minute tonight. He even had the guts to throw out an Elite soldier who had planned on staying a little longer.
"Radda, Letta, Tamaiah, to bed!" he yelled. The three slaves looked at him with confused and disbelieving expressions, but they did not move. "Upstairs, now!" This time the girls took him seriously.
"What the hell was that about?" Radda said to the other two girls in english, her native language, after they had gone upstairs to their little "apartment". "He never lets us quit early!" Even though the restaurant closed every night at 9:00, there was still a lot of work that needed to be done; dishes, sweeping, mopping, cleaning bathrooms, putting everything from the day away, and preparing everything that was needed for the next day. Usually the girls weren't allowed to go upstairs until 10:30 or 11:00. "I wonder if this has anything to do with the good mood he was in earlier today?"
Quitting early was certainly welcome, but it still made them wonder.
* * *
The way to a saiyan's heart was through their stomach…Caliph wanted everything to be just right. He had just finished putting the last dish on the table when he heard to door open.
"Carran," he smiled.
"Hi Caliph," she walked over to where he was standing. "So this is your restaurant? It's nice."
"Thanks," he smiled, gesturing for her to sit down at the table he had prepared.
"Wow, did you make all this?" The table was spread with all kinds of delicious-looking foods: a roast, some stew, a type of potato dish, poultry, gravy, pastries, and many other things, and it was all making her mouth water. Saiyans loved to eat, and they seemed to have an endless capacity to do so.
"Mmhmm," Caliph answered, sitting down. He did all the cooking for the restaurant, and had been for years, so he had become quite good at it by now.
"It all looks so wonderful."
The two saiyans didn't talk much while they ate, but they had plenty of time afterwards.
"So how did you become a 'Super Low'?" Caliph asked with a slight smile. "Super Low" was the nickname that other saiyans used to describe the class for those who were so weak they could not adequately fight to be of any use to the king. Since they could not be in the army, they were put into menial jobs, like running a restaurant or a grocery store. "Super Low" was a play on the rank Super Saiyan, which only the most powerful of the saiyans could even dream about becoming, and it took such effort and hard work to make it to such a high power. In this way, they joked that someone could only reach such a low level of power if they really tried; it was quite a derogatory term. High power and strength were very important in saiyan society, and those who didn't have it were belittled and jeered at, and they became used to having no friends beyond those few in their small low class.
"Just born lucky, I guess," she smiled, somewhat hesitantly.
"Ah." So she had been born with such a low power level and potential, that she never even had the chance to be anything else.
"And you?"
Caliph's mind was filled with bitter thoughts as he thought about the events that caused his life to head in the direction it had. "I was a stupid kid," he said, "and let one moment of carelessness change my life."
"Oh…" So he hasn't been like this his whole life. I wonder what that must feel like, she thought. Though, it should've been obvious by the limp he walks with…
The two became silent for a moment, each reflecting on their own pitiful situations, and wondering what it must've been like for the other. Caliph never realised just how lonely he was. He hadn't had an actual "friend", someone he could relate to and who could relate to him, since his "accident". Except for that other slave of his, the one who was gone now, who he didn't like to think about… After his accident, it was just a matter of time before all of his "friends" stopped associating with him entirely. He really became quite embittered by it. Even though a lot of saiyans might assure you that they didn't need any friends, that was quite wrong. Everyone longs for acceptance; even saiyans.
Sitting here with Carran, and just talking, talking like equals…this was a nice change.
He smiled at this thought, and at Carran, and was pleased to see that she returned it, with such a beautiful…happy smile; the kind that hadn't been directed at him since…he couldn't remember when.
She's so beautiful.
He's so wonderful.
He had cooked this wonderful meal, all for her—for her!—no one had ever done anything like that before. It was so nice to have someone to talk to, to relate to. Sure, she got to meet lots of other "Lows" working in the grocery store, but most of them were all so old. There were some who were her own age, but once they found out that she had been born this way, even they usually stopped associating with her. She really hadn't had many friends in her life; no one would give her a chance. She was a little nervous to tell Caliph that she had been a low since birth, but thought, Well, might as well get it over with now. No need to get my hopes up. She was very pleased (and relived) to see that it didn't seem to phase him.She was the first to break the pleasant silence that had descended upon the room.
"Thank you for a lovely evening, Caliph," she smiled, standing up. As much as she didn't want to, she knew she should go. It was quite late, and she had a lot of inventory work to do before the morning.
"Can I see you again tomorrow?" Caliph asked, walking her to the door.
"Sure, your money's always welcome at my store," she laughed. "And…yes, I would love to see you again tomorrow."
Caliph noticed for the first time that her tail was hanging loosely behind her, instead of being curled tightly around her waist, the way most saiyans wore them. They did that to show they were always on their guard, knowing that anyone around them could be a potential enemy. They did it to protect themselves. But this…this showed Caliph that she was very relaxed, very comfortable, and that she trusted him.
"Can I walk you home?"
Sometime during the night while they had been inside eating, it had begun to rain again, but Caliph hadn't realised it, hardly noticing the pain in his leg while he was with her. Now as they walked together under the thick clouds, tails entwined around each other, the rain came down in gentle waves, seemingly washing an old life away. Caliph reveled in the cool refreshing feel of it on his face, mixed with the warm feeling of Carran next to him. It was a perfect night. And he loved the rain.
The End.