Disclaimer: Nope, doesn't look like I own DBZ. Don't think I'd ever be
able to afford it. Hey! Maybe I can buy just Vegeta! Wait... if he's as
expensive as he is in my story, then I DEFINITELY couldn't afford him.
*Goes off to brood* Damn copyrights...
Author's notes: Hey, everyone! I know I should be working on my other story, "As Fate Would Have It," but I've been really busy these past few months (moving, you know), and I haven't really had the good bit of motivation that I find is needed to write certain stories, Lol. Don't worry, I'll get to work on that soon, but in the meantime, here's a whole new story from Walis-sama! I really hope you guys enjoy it, it's looking like it's gonna be another long one. The plot: It's Bulma's fifth birthday, and Daddy's going all out. What happens when a trip to the pet shop results in a new Saiyan pet? Jam-packed with drama, action, comedy, and poopy, you can bet that this will be a story to bookmark.
Ebert and Roeper give it two thumbs-up!
"A true masterpiece...something for the whole family to treasure!" - Miami Herald
"The biggest success of the year!" - New York Times
"Woof!" - My dog
*Evil grin* Without further ado, on with the story!
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
The clear blue sky stretched far over the city, no clouds present to blemish its infinite beauty. There was still a small chill remaining as the early morning faded away in the waking city. But even in these early hours of the day, traffic on the street below was already getting rowdy. Horns were honking, people were yelling, and the normal hustle and bustle of the big city was at full swing. People walked the sidewalks, each with a different destination. The traffic light changed to green and the lighted sign on the pavement switched to say "Walk." Multitudes of clicking heels and padded tennis shoes crossed the street.
"Bulma! Bulma, dear, hurry up!" The aging man waved his hand, a cheerful smile upon his wizened old face. His young daughter always seemed to bring out the best in him, and today was no exception. Abandoning his job at the Capsule Corporation for the day, he decided upon a far more enjoyable adventure with his little girl in the city, shopping for her birthday present. He soon saw her bright blue locks winding themselves through the other pedestrians on the crowded sidewalk.
"Coming, Daddy!" she called out to him, her flowery sundress flapping behind her. She skipped her way through the crowd, grasping her father's hand once she caught up with him. "Let's go!"
Dr. Briefs smiled and faced forward, continuing on. Bulma arched her neck to get a better view of the merchandise behind each of the windows, eager to spot that perfect present she was bent on getting. They wound their way through the crowded sidewalk, passing people up early for some Saturday shopping. Bulma's face lit up with glee at passing the local pet shop. She looked up at her father and shook his hand as she bounced up and down excitedly.
"Ooh, Daddy, look! A pet shop! Can we go in? Please? Please?! Pleeaase?!" Putting on her best innocent face, she leaped and squealed for joy when he smiled and nodded, dragging him into the store behind her.
The glass door opened with a light jingle, the new customers' entrance exciting the animals within, adding to the restless air about the place. The shop was larger than its outside appearance might have led one to believe, with many aisles lined parallel to one another, all containing various supplies and foods for different kinds of pets from all around the galaxy. Promptly letting go of her father's hand to wander around, Bulma shot off down one of the aisles toward one of the cage-lined walls.
Dr. Briefs slowly made his way towards the back of the shop, keeping Bulma visible in the corner of his eye. Having visited the shop often with his wife in search of the perfect pets for their little garden, he was familiar with all of the shelves and the maze-like quality they gave to the store. He gave the cashier a warm smile as he approached the cash register.
"Briefs, how are you? What can I do for you today?" The shopkeeper was a short, stout, middle-aged man. His peppered hair was short-cropped, and his crisp, clean shirt was neatly pressed, which struck one as sort of odd since he ran a pet shop and all. It always made the doctor wonder, after all, wouldn't cleaning all these cages and dealing with all these animals make it a little difficult for one to remain so tidy? But the doctor did not dwell on this for long.
"Hello, there, Howard. Splendid day, today, isn't it?" He took a glance behind him at his daughter, who was peering in each of the cages with wonder as a young lady came to help her. "I'm actually here this time to get my daughter a little early birthday present. She turns five in three days, you know." Howard grinned.
"Ya don't say. Well," he began loudly enough to be heard by Bulma, "a girl that grown-up deserves something nice for herself. I think she can handle a bit of responsibility, don't you Meryl?" he called out to the black- haired young lady that was with Bulma. She smiled back with an over- enthusiastic "absolutely" as Bulma pointed out an animal she wanted to see a little closer. Howard turned his smile upon Bulma's father once again and continued their conversation in a more normal voice.
"So, Doctor, is there anything you'll be wantin' for yourself and the Missus? We just got in a new shipment of exotics in the back room, if ye'd like to take a look," he said, pointing a thumb towards a door behind him.
"You know, that's not such a bad idea! Bunny's been asking me lately about making some changes around the house, and I think that'd make the perfect addition!" Putting his hands in his pockets, he followed the shopkeeper into the back room, giving his daughter one last glance.
As they entered, the doctor was taken aback by the sheer size of the new room. He had no idea that the shop was so large in the back. One wouldn't have been able to tell just by looking at it from the outside. He walked down the long lines of cages, peering into them between the bars, looking at the strange animals within. They were all either animals that had been there for a very long time and had not yet been bought, new arrivals that had to be quarantined, too dangerous to keep out in the shop, or too unattractive to be kept outside with all of the cute fluffy little creatures that appealed to little girls or bubbly housewives. Briefs also spared a glance at the rows of shelves and hooks where the equipment to handle the creatures was kept. The supplies varied from nooses to plain black collars, as well as a few restraining tools, some which made the doctor cringe (that wicked-looking spike-ended club surely gave him nightmares for a few nights).
The cages varied greatly in size, some being no larger than a shoebox, while others looked capable of holding an elephant quite comfortably. Briefs also spotted a few tanks containing fish-like specimens as well as a few reptilians. One of the larger enclosures housed a large, leopard-like beast, with the head of a serpent and the hooked tail of a scorpion. It paced restlessly within its cage, keeping its slitted, cat-like eyes upon Dr. Briefs the entire time. He quickly shuffled past this cage, growing uneasy under the creature's gaze. Shooting a quick glance at the sign next to its cage, it read, "Felinus saurus - Deinoni-sei - $969,000". He raised an eyebrow at the price. Even someone as rich as him wouldn't pay so much for the monster, but then there were some odd thrill-seekers out there that just might. Continuing on, he passed a few more cages, one containing a small flock of what seemed to be mice with feathered wings from Raton-sei, before the shopkeeper finally brought him to the aisle containing the newly arrived exotics.
"Here we are, sir. Fresh from the trade ship, they just got here about four days ago." Dr. Briefs thanked him and began his evaluation, trying to find a new pet to surprise Bunny with. He crouched down to peer at some of the lower cages, giving off comments about the animals he saw within, a little "Cute" and "Oh my" here and there. He turned away from the brightly colored birds of Ava-sei, not feeling the need to be blinded every time he entered his garden to see their spectrum-like wings, and he steered clear of the appropriately nick-named "Bog Bull", as the bovine resembling creature gave off such a putrid smell that the food in its bowl was already beyond rancid. The whole time, Howard was talking about something-rather, telling the story about how he came across certain animals during his travels when he was younger, but Briefs wasn't really paying him much mind, instead focusing his attention on a particular cage in the far corner, where the light didn't reach. He approached it curiously, narrowing his eyes as if to get a better view of the shadow-enshrouded creature within. The cage was relatively large, probably big enough for a very big dog to have walking space, but he couldn't see to the back because of the light this end of the aisle lacked. Howard suddenly seemed to notice that his one-man audience wasn't paying him much attention, and stopped long enough to see what had caught his interest so much. His eyes widened when he realized it. Making the long leap between the doctor and the cage, he raised his hands in front of him and began waving them around hysterically.
"Come on now, Doctor, nothing to see here!" he said with a very unmanly squeak. "These last few cages are empty, there's nothing for you to be lookin' for!" Just as his jumbled words came out, something from within the dark cage gave a chilling hiss, like a cat threatening its enemy. Howard sent a nervous glance behind him at the source of the animalistic noise. Dr. Briefs sniffed at the shopkeeper.
"Now, now, Howard. There's no harm in taking a look, now, is there?" Gently pushing aside the owner of the pet shop, he slowly approached the bars of the cage, crouching down to what he thought might be eye-level to the animal. He squinted into the darkness, hoping to see some sign of the creature that made the sound. That's when he saw them. Two small, narrow, ebony eyes staring out at him, fury and barely contained rage smoldering within. Briefs gasped as the creature spat at him and charged the bars of the cage, snarling and sputtering, reaching out hands through the bars and managing to get a grip on the end of his shirt. He stumbled back, terrified that the creature had nearly gotten him, and wrenched his shirt out of its grasp. Hand to his rapidly beating heart, he stared wide-eyed at the beast that had just attacked him, and his jaw dropped.
It was... a little boy. That's what had just attacked him. The child started pacing the cage on all fours, growling in a high-pitched voice that belonged to a youngster of no more than six or seven, baring his teeth at the two men on the other side of the bars. The doctor turned a furious scowl upon the shop owner.
"What is the meaning of this?!" he exclaimed, thrusting a pointed finger at the boy in the cage. "What the hell do you think you're doing keeping a little boy locked in this cage like an animal?! Let the poor child out this instant!" Howard suddenly looked very old, staring at Briefs with tired eyes.
"I expected you'd react like this," he said softly, rubbing his eyes and seemingly preparing himself for a long lecture. "You see, when I went aboard the trading ship, looking for a few new additions to the shop, I came across this interesting specimen. I reacted much like you did, and I refused to listen to the explanations that the traders were frantically giving me. I bought the supposedly poor child instantly, as well as the rest of the batch, and made my way back home. Well, I was just about to let the boy out of his cage, when he went rampant. No, let me finish, Briefs," he stopped the Doctor from interrupting. "He destroyed everything within sight, even breaking out of the first few cages I put him in, and all of this happened with a new model of Ki Collar around his neck. He listened to no words spoken to him, and seemed to make no more sounds than growls and snarls. This was my last resort, putting him in this cage, and I'm afraid I just had to use it," he trailed off and turned away from the doctor, rubbing the back of his neck. "It might look barbaric, but this is the only thing that holds the little monster. Trust me, I've tried everything else."
The boy once had once again retreated to the shadows in the back of the cage, but by that time Dr. Briefs' eyes had partially adjusted to the dim lighting and he could still make out the child. He sent a critical eye along his body, going over his pointy black hair, the bangs that covered his face in shadow, the Ki Collar, a black band that wrapped around the boy's neck, the tattered remains of clothing which seemed to have been given to him out of modesty, and all the way down to the tip of the furry brown prehensile tail that was currently swishing through the air rapidly. Howard was right. The child seemed to be nothing more than a wild animal that happened to look very much like a human. But... no. The doctor couldn't stand it. Sentient species or not, it was killing Dr. Briefs to see such a humanoid creature treated like a zoo animal. He had made up his mind. The monkey-boy would come home with him.
"What information do you have on the... child, Howard?" Dr. Briefs put both hands behind his back and matched the boy's pacing, never taking his eyes off the creature.
"Well, according to what I got off the traders," he walked up to the wall beside the cage and pulled off a hanging clipboard, "it says here, 'Saiyan, male. Omnivorous,' prefers meat, though, 'Planet of origin: Vegeta. Purebred. Side notes: Generally violent, use extreme caution when handling. Do not remove Ki Collar, Saiyan harbors great destructive power. Best for: Exhibition viewing. DO NOT SELL AS HOUSEHOLD PET.' Briefs, I don't think I can sell this little guy to you. You might have a big compound, but don't forget about your family and all those innocent people. I don't want to be held responsible if that thing goes out of control on you. Besides, it's not worth the money. '$2,786,000.' Just let me keep him here," the owner pleaded. He looked up from the clipboard in his hands and focused his attention on the doctor. "It's not worth the risk, either."
"Howard, I cannot let this continue! Look at him! He's practically human, I tell you! You can't just keep him locked up like tha-"
"That's the point, Briefs!" Howard interrupted. "He's NOT human, and no matter how much he looks the part, he's not in any way intelligent. He's no more than a dog that looks like he can fit in at the local elementary school pretty well!" He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. His mouth opened as he continued. "I don't like it either, but ever since Earth joined the Empire, things have seemed to have gotten even less idealistic. People only do things for kicks and money anymore, and I thought I was doing the child a favor by taking him away from that horrid trading ship! I feel exactly the same as you do, and I understand that even IF he's not sentient, it still seems barbaric to treat something so humanoid like nothing more than a circus show freak! I felt the boy would live a better life here at the shop with me, even if I can't even take him out of the cage. You just don't know how horrible those ships are. This 'Saiyan' was so sickly and weak when I first saw him behind those bars - it looked like they beat him daily or something - and I've been helping him build his strength. I figured there must have been some kind of mistake or something when they locked him up, but now I've learned that I was the one that was mistaken. Now just let me live with the consequences of my own sentimentality. There are enough people suffering as it is, and I don't want you to be included with them." Howard ended his tirade, running a calloused hand though his short hair. Dr. Briefs said nothing for a while, and just switched his focus between the shopkeeper and the boy in turn. Just as he opened his mouth to reply, however, he was cut off by the approach of two sets of footsteps. Bulma and the young lady who had been helping her - Meryl, Briefs seemed to remember her as - rounded the corner into their aisle. The little girl seemed to be burdened with a large furry package in her arms.
"Look at him, Daddy! Isn't he just the cutest? He's the one I want!" Bulma said as she extended her arms, the furry package revealing itself to be her choice of pet. It was the size of a large, thin housecat, and looked very active and in good-health. It had the face of a fox with a short snout, and humorously large, pointy, fanlike ears. Each of its legs ended in large, padded paws, and its tail had the appearance of a long whip with a miniature duster at the tip. Its eyes were the biggest attention- grabbers, though. Large and almond-shaped, they gave a person the feeling they were being bombarded with a permanent puppy-dog look. Upon spotting the doctor, it opened its mouth to give a squeak of a greeting, exposing a row of sharp little teeth, much like those of a kitten. "So can we get him?"
In that moment, Bulma noticed the boy within the cage behind the two men. Bringing the fox-cat-...thing with her, she approached the cage. The two men both stood aside to let her by, Dr. Briefs with a particularly anxious look that wouldn't let her get too close. She stood by the cage, closely examining the creature within. For long moments she stood there, gripping her soon-to-be new pet, her bright blue eyes locked on the form of the child, ignoring it as it growled and sputtered at her through the bars. Then suddenly, with a loud gasp and shriek that caused even the boy to recoil, she brought something important to everyone's attention.
"Daddy!! That boy has POO-POO coming out of his butt!" she exclaimed as she pointed a short finger at the boy's slender brown tail. Everyone present promptly fell forward on their faces. "Boy, he's not very polite, either, is he? Why are you growling?" Bulma looked the boy in the face, into the eyes that were partly hidden by his thick, spiky bangs. He responded by snarling further, and Bulma could take no more. She did the most insulting, most degrading, and most vulgar thing that just came naturally to a little girl her age: she scrunched up her face and stuck out her small pink tongue at the offending boy. "Nyah!" The child in the cage instantly stopped snarling and made a strange face. He dropped his menacing look and raised an eyebrow. He was utterly perplexed as to what the little girl before him was doing. His violent noises and threatening thrashes had never been met with THIS kind of reaction before! He had no idea what to do in the situation, so he did the only thing that came naturally to a little boy his age: he scrunched up his face and stuck out his small pink tongue at the little girl. "Nyah!"
"Nyah!"
"Nyah!"
"Nyyah!"
"Nyyaah!"
"Well, this is unexpected." After Bulma's rather humorous observation, Howard had stood back to observe what the two children would do, but he had no idea that something like this would come out of the confrontation. Dr. Briefs had a similar look of astonishment on his face. Who'd have thought that the little girl could get something more than a snarl out of the wild child? Then is when the doctor's analytic nature took over. If the boy was capable of mimicry so soon after learning the initial expression, maybe he was more than just a dog in a human's body. Maybe he had the same mechanics as a human did, and could really think like them.
"How much is he again, Howard?" Dr. Briefs said as he pulled out a checkbook from his back pocket. He had a stern look of determination planted on his face, and it was clear there was no stopping him. With a defeated sigh, Howard glanced at his clipboard once again.
"$2,786,000," he said in a low voice. "I still think you're making a mistake, Doc."
"Nonsense," the older man replied, scribbling some numbers on his check. "Have it cashed at West City National, I'll call them ahead of time to confirm it. We have so many forgeries to my company that the bank agreed it was easier that way." He ripped out the slip of paper and handed it to Howard. The owner reluctantly took it, and then turned to look at the little girl and the animal she was holding. Dr. Briefs followed his gaze. "Ah, yes. How much is this little fellow?" He pointed his pen in Bulma's direction.
"$639.52. This little guy's on sale." The young lady from earlier spoke up for the first time, sending a timid little smile to Bulma, who returned it with a full grin. Bulma really liked this lady, even she thought her short haircut looked corny. She was still very nice.
"$639.52. Well, that's chump change next to that last check I wrote, eh?" Briefs chuckled as he scribbled the second check. Howard only gave a half- hearted "heh" in reply. As he ripped out the second check and handed it to Meryl, he gave Howard a friendly pat on the back. "Don't worry about a thing, my good man. Everything'll be taken care of, just leave it to me. Go take a vacation or buy a house with that check! You're the big winner in the overall deal. Come on now, Bulma, let's make our way back to the front. Now how did you say I'd be getting the boy home with me?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah." Howard and Meryl followed alongside the Briefs as they returned to the main room of the pet shop. "I'd recommend a confined transport, just to avoid probing eyes. Saiyans were just added to the Cold Empire's Intergalactic Domestic Animal Listing, you know." Dr. Briefs replied distractedly as Bulma introduced him to her new pet.
"What kind of creature is this little one, anyway?" he asked, referring to the fur ball currently cuddling up against his chest.
"Him? He's a Sonian Tree Fox from Zorro-sei. Very popular among the children, but very rare, as well. You got a good deal on him, you know."
"Well I would hope so, after spending such a fortune on the boy!" Briefs huffed, handing the tree fox back to Bulma. "Now, then! Let's head on home. I'm sure Bunny will be very excited to find what we're bringing home for her, won't she Sweety?" So in a windowless Capsule truck and with a considerably lighter bank account, the Briefs made the long trip across West City back to the mansion, where they would be introducing the wild monkey child to the hyperactive bouncy housewife known as Bunny.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Roshi: Yes... BOUNCY... *Nosebleed*
Walis: *Shoots him with Derringers*
Roshi: ,x__x,
Walis: There it is!! I hope everyone enjoyed what I have so far. I made it longer than any other chapters I've ever written, hopefully making up a little for my... extended vacation... ^__^;; BTW, I hope all the Trigun fans out there noticed the little treat I put in there for you! Yeah! *Tosses Derringers back to Meryl* Thanks!
Meryl: No prob! Now I gotta go whack Vash a few times, if you don't mind.
Walis: *Waves hand casually* Not at all! Go ahead. And if enough people want it, she'll be back in the future! Just let me know in a review. *Points to little lavender button at the bottom of your screen* Now click, if you know what's good for you! *Points Colt at reader*
Vash: Hey! I was looking for that!
Walis: o__o;;
Meryl: *WHAM*
Vash: *__*
Author's notes: Hey, everyone! I know I should be working on my other story, "As Fate Would Have It," but I've been really busy these past few months (moving, you know), and I haven't really had the good bit of motivation that I find is needed to write certain stories, Lol. Don't worry, I'll get to work on that soon, but in the meantime, here's a whole new story from Walis-sama! I really hope you guys enjoy it, it's looking like it's gonna be another long one. The plot: It's Bulma's fifth birthday, and Daddy's going all out. What happens when a trip to the pet shop results in a new Saiyan pet? Jam-packed with drama, action, comedy, and poopy, you can bet that this will be a story to bookmark.
Ebert and Roeper give it two thumbs-up!
"A true masterpiece...something for the whole family to treasure!" - Miami Herald
"The biggest success of the year!" - New York Times
"Woof!" - My dog
*Evil grin* Without further ado, on with the story!
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
The clear blue sky stretched far over the city, no clouds present to blemish its infinite beauty. There was still a small chill remaining as the early morning faded away in the waking city. But even in these early hours of the day, traffic on the street below was already getting rowdy. Horns were honking, people were yelling, and the normal hustle and bustle of the big city was at full swing. People walked the sidewalks, each with a different destination. The traffic light changed to green and the lighted sign on the pavement switched to say "Walk." Multitudes of clicking heels and padded tennis shoes crossed the street.
"Bulma! Bulma, dear, hurry up!" The aging man waved his hand, a cheerful smile upon his wizened old face. His young daughter always seemed to bring out the best in him, and today was no exception. Abandoning his job at the Capsule Corporation for the day, he decided upon a far more enjoyable adventure with his little girl in the city, shopping for her birthday present. He soon saw her bright blue locks winding themselves through the other pedestrians on the crowded sidewalk.
"Coming, Daddy!" she called out to him, her flowery sundress flapping behind her. She skipped her way through the crowd, grasping her father's hand once she caught up with him. "Let's go!"
Dr. Briefs smiled and faced forward, continuing on. Bulma arched her neck to get a better view of the merchandise behind each of the windows, eager to spot that perfect present she was bent on getting. They wound their way through the crowded sidewalk, passing people up early for some Saturday shopping. Bulma's face lit up with glee at passing the local pet shop. She looked up at her father and shook his hand as she bounced up and down excitedly.
"Ooh, Daddy, look! A pet shop! Can we go in? Please? Please?! Pleeaase?!" Putting on her best innocent face, she leaped and squealed for joy when he smiled and nodded, dragging him into the store behind her.
The glass door opened with a light jingle, the new customers' entrance exciting the animals within, adding to the restless air about the place. The shop was larger than its outside appearance might have led one to believe, with many aisles lined parallel to one another, all containing various supplies and foods for different kinds of pets from all around the galaxy. Promptly letting go of her father's hand to wander around, Bulma shot off down one of the aisles toward one of the cage-lined walls.
Dr. Briefs slowly made his way towards the back of the shop, keeping Bulma visible in the corner of his eye. Having visited the shop often with his wife in search of the perfect pets for their little garden, he was familiar with all of the shelves and the maze-like quality they gave to the store. He gave the cashier a warm smile as he approached the cash register.
"Briefs, how are you? What can I do for you today?" The shopkeeper was a short, stout, middle-aged man. His peppered hair was short-cropped, and his crisp, clean shirt was neatly pressed, which struck one as sort of odd since he ran a pet shop and all. It always made the doctor wonder, after all, wouldn't cleaning all these cages and dealing with all these animals make it a little difficult for one to remain so tidy? But the doctor did not dwell on this for long.
"Hello, there, Howard. Splendid day, today, isn't it?" He took a glance behind him at his daughter, who was peering in each of the cages with wonder as a young lady came to help her. "I'm actually here this time to get my daughter a little early birthday present. She turns five in three days, you know." Howard grinned.
"Ya don't say. Well," he began loudly enough to be heard by Bulma, "a girl that grown-up deserves something nice for herself. I think she can handle a bit of responsibility, don't you Meryl?" he called out to the black- haired young lady that was with Bulma. She smiled back with an over- enthusiastic "absolutely" as Bulma pointed out an animal she wanted to see a little closer. Howard turned his smile upon Bulma's father once again and continued their conversation in a more normal voice.
"So, Doctor, is there anything you'll be wantin' for yourself and the Missus? We just got in a new shipment of exotics in the back room, if ye'd like to take a look," he said, pointing a thumb towards a door behind him.
"You know, that's not such a bad idea! Bunny's been asking me lately about making some changes around the house, and I think that'd make the perfect addition!" Putting his hands in his pockets, he followed the shopkeeper into the back room, giving his daughter one last glance.
As they entered, the doctor was taken aback by the sheer size of the new room. He had no idea that the shop was so large in the back. One wouldn't have been able to tell just by looking at it from the outside. He walked down the long lines of cages, peering into them between the bars, looking at the strange animals within. They were all either animals that had been there for a very long time and had not yet been bought, new arrivals that had to be quarantined, too dangerous to keep out in the shop, or too unattractive to be kept outside with all of the cute fluffy little creatures that appealed to little girls or bubbly housewives. Briefs also spared a glance at the rows of shelves and hooks where the equipment to handle the creatures was kept. The supplies varied from nooses to plain black collars, as well as a few restraining tools, some which made the doctor cringe (that wicked-looking spike-ended club surely gave him nightmares for a few nights).
The cages varied greatly in size, some being no larger than a shoebox, while others looked capable of holding an elephant quite comfortably. Briefs also spotted a few tanks containing fish-like specimens as well as a few reptilians. One of the larger enclosures housed a large, leopard-like beast, with the head of a serpent and the hooked tail of a scorpion. It paced restlessly within its cage, keeping its slitted, cat-like eyes upon Dr. Briefs the entire time. He quickly shuffled past this cage, growing uneasy under the creature's gaze. Shooting a quick glance at the sign next to its cage, it read, "Felinus saurus - Deinoni-sei - $969,000". He raised an eyebrow at the price. Even someone as rich as him wouldn't pay so much for the monster, but then there were some odd thrill-seekers out there that just might. Continuing on, he passed a few more cages, one containing a small flock of what seemed to be mice with feathered wings from Raton-sei, before the shopkeeper finally brought him to the aisle containing the newly arrived exotics.
"Here we are, sir. Fresh from the trade ship, they just got here about four days ago." Dr. Briefs thanked him and began his evaluation, trying to find a new pet to surprise Bunny with. He crouched down to peer at some of the lower cages, giving off comments about the animals he saw within, a little "Cute" and "Oh my" here and there. He turned away from the brightly colored birds of Ava-sei, not feeling the need to be blinded every time he entered his garden to see their spectrum-like wings, and he steered clear of the appropriately nick-named "Bog Bull", as the bovine resembling creature gave off such a putrid smell that the food in its bowl was already beyond rancid. The whole time, Howard was talking about something-rather, telling the story about how he came across certain animals during his travels when he was younger, but Briefs wasn't really paying him much mind, instead focusing his attention on a particular cage in the far corner, where the light didn't reach. He approached it curiously, narrowing his eyes as if to get a better view of the shadow-enshrouded creature within. The cage was relatively large, probably big enough for a very big dog to have walking space, but he couldn't see to the back because of the light this end of the aisle lacked. Howard suddenly seemed to notice that his one-man audience wasn't paying him much attention, and stopped long enough to see what had caught his interest so much. His eyes widened when he realized it. Making the long leap between the doctor and the cage, he raised his hands in front of him and began waving them around hysterically.
"Come on now, Doctor, nothing to see here!" he said with a very unmanly squeak. "These last few cages are empty, there's nothing for you to be lookin' for!" Just as his jumbled words came out, something from within the dark cage gave a chilling hiss, like a cat threatening its enemy. Howard sent a nervous glance behind him at the source of the animalistic noise. Dr. Briefs sniffed at the shopkeeper.
"Now, now, Howard. There's no harm in taking a look, now, is there?" Gently pushing aside the owner of the pet shop, he slowly approached the bars of the cage, crouching down to what he thought might be eye-level to the animal. He squinted into the darkness, hoping to see some sign of the creature that made the sound. That's when he saw them. Two small, narrow, ebony eyes staring out at him, fury and barely contained rage smoldering within. Briefs gasped as the creature spat at him and charged the bars of the cage, snarling and sputtering, reaching out hands through the bars and managing to get a grip on the end of his shirt. He stumbled back, terrified that the creature had nearly gotten him, and wrenched his shirt out of its grasp. Hand to his rapidly beating heart, he stared wide-eyed at the beast that had just attacked him, and his jaw dropped.
It was... a little boy. That's what had just attacked him. The child started pacing the cage on all fours, growling in a high-pitched voice that belonged to a youngster of no more than six or seven, baring his teeth at the two men on the other side of the bars. The doctor turned a furious scowl upon the shop owner.
"What is the meaning of this?!" he exclaimed, thrusting a pointed finger at the boy in the cage. "What the hell do you think you're doing keeping a little boy locked in this cage like an animal?! Let the poor child out this instant!" Howard suddenly looked very old, staring at Briefs with tired eyes.
"I expected you'd react like this," he said softly, rubbing his eyes and seemingly preparing himself for a long lecture. "You see, when I went aboard the trading ship, looking for a few new additions to the shop, I came across this interesting specimen. I reacted much like you did, and I refused to listen to the explanations that the traders were frantically giving me. I bought the supposedly poor child instantly, as well as the rest of the batch, and made my way back home. Well, I was just about to let the boy out of his cage, when he went rampant. No, let me finish, Briefs," he stopped the Doctor from interrupting. "He destroyed everything within sight, even breaking out of the first few cages I put him in, and all of this happened with a new model of Ki Collar around his neck. He listened to no words spoken to him, and seemed to make no more sounds than growls and snarls. This was my last resort, putting him in this cage, and I'm afraid I just had to use it," he trailed off and turned away from the doctor, rubbing the back of his neck. "It might look barbaric, but this is the only thing that holds the little monster. Trust me, I've tried everything else."
The boy once had once again retreated to the shadows in the back of the cage, but by that time Dr. Briefs' eyes had partially adjusted to the dim lighting and he could still make out the child. He sent a critical eye along his body, going over his pointy black hair, the bangs that covered his face in shadow, the Ki Collar, a black band that wrapped around the boy's neck, the tattered remains of clothing which seemed to have been given to him out of modesty, and all the way down to the tip of the furry brown prehensile tail that was currently swishing through the air rapidly. Howard was right. The child seemed to be nothing more than a wild animal that happened to look very much like a human. But... no. The doctor couldn't stand it. Sentient species or not, it was killing Dr. Briefs to see such a humanoid creature treated like a zoo animal. He had made up his mind. The monkey-boy would come home with him.
"What information do you have on the... child, Howard?" Dr. Briefs put both hands behind his back and matched the boy's pacing, never taking his eyes off the creature.
"Well, according to what I got off the traders," he walked up to the wall beside the cage and pulled off a hanging clipboard, "it says here, 'Saiyan, male. Omnivorous,' prefers meat, though, 'Planet of origin: Vegeta. Purebred. Side notes: Generally violent, use extreme caution when handling. Do not remove Ki Collar, Saiyan harbors great destructive power. Best for: Exhibition viewing. DO NOT SELL AS HOUSEHOLD PET.' Briefs, I don't think I can sell this little guy to you. You might have a big compound, but don't forget about your family and all those innocent people. I don't want to be held responsible if that thing goes out of control on you. Besides, it's not worth the money. '$2,786,000.' Just let me keep him here," the owner pleaded. He looked up from the clipboard in his hands and focused his attention on the doctor. "It's not worth the risk, either."
"Howard, I cannot let this continue! Look at him! He's practically human, I tell you! You can't just keep him locked up like tha-"
"That's the point, Briefs!" Howard interrupted. "He's NOT human, and no matter how much he looks the part, he's not in any way intelligent. He's no more than a dog that looks like he can fit in at the local elementary school pretty well!" He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. His mouth opened as he continued. "I don't like it either, but ever since Earth joined the Empire, things have seemed to have gotten even less idealistic. People only do things for kicks and money anymore, and I thought I was doing the child a favor by taking him away from that horrid trading ship! I feel exactly the same as you do, and I understand that even IF he's not sentient, it still seems barbaric to treat something so humanoid like nothing more than a circus show freak! I felt the boy would live a better life here at the shop with me, even if I can't even take him out of the cage. You just don't know how horrible those ships are. This 'Saiyan' was so sickly and weak when I first saw him behind those bars - it looked like they beat him daily or something - and I've been helping him build his strength. I figured there must have been some kind of mistake or something when they locked him up, but now I've learned that I was the one that was mistaken. Now just let me live with the consequences of my own sentimentality. There are enough people suffering as it is, and I don't want you to be included with them." Howard ended his tirade, running a calloused hand though his short hair. Dr. Briefs said nothing for a while, and just switched his focus between the shopkeeper and the boy in turn. Just as he opened his mouth to reply, however, he was cut off by the approach of two sets of footsteps. Bulma and the young lady who had been helping her - Meryl, Briefs seemed to remember her as - rounded the corner into their aisle. The little girl seemed to be burdened with a large furry package in her arms.
"Look at him, Daddy! Isn't he just the cutest? He's the one I want!" Bulma said as she extended her arms, the furry package revealing itself to be her choice of pet. It was the size of a large, thin housecat, and looked very active and in good-health. It had the face of a fox with a short snout, and humorously large, pointy, fanlike ears. Each of its legs ended in large, padded paws, and its tail had the appearance of a long whip with a miniature duster at the tip. Its eyes were the biggest attention- grabbers, though. Large and almond-shaped, they gave a person the feeling they were being bombarded with a permanent puppy-dog look. Upon spotting the doctor, it opened its mouth to give a squeak of a greeting, exposing a row of sharp little teeth, much like those of a kitten. "So can we get him?"
In that moment, Bulma noticed the boy within the cage behind the two men. Bringing the fox-cat-...thing with her, she approached the cage. The two men both stood aside to let her by, Dr. Briefs with a particularly anxious look that wouldn't let her get too close. She stood by the cage, closely examining the creature within. For long moments she stood there, gripping her soon-to-be new pet, her bright blue eyes locked on the form of the child, ignoring it as it growled and sputtered at her through the bars. Then suddenly, with a loud gasp and shriek that caused even the boy to recoil, she brought something important to everyone's attention.
"Daddy!! That boy has POO-POO coming out of his butt!" she exclaimed as she pointed a short finger at the boy's slender brown tail. Everyone present promptly fell forward on their faces. "Boy, he's not very polite, either, is he? Why are you growling?" Bulma looked the boy in the face, into the eyes that were partly hidden by his thick, spiky bangs. He responded by snarling further, and Bulma could take no more. She did the most insulting, most degrading, and most vulgar thing that just came naturally to a little girl her age: she scrunched up her face and stuck out her small pink tongue at the offending boy. "Nyah!" The child in the cage instantly stopped snarling and made a strange face. He dropped his menacing look and raised an eyebrow. He was utterly perplexed as to what the little girl before him was doing. His violent noises and threatening thrashes had never been met with THIS kind of reaction before! He had no idea what to do in the situation, so he did the only thing that came naturally to a little boy his age: he scrunched up his face and stuck out his small pink tongue at the little girl. "Nyah!"
"Nyah!"
"Nyah!"
"Nyyah!"
"Nyyaah!"
"Well, this is unexpected." After Bulma's rather humorous observation, Howard had stood back to observe what the two children would do, but he had no idea that something like this would come out of the confrontation. Dr. Briefs had a similar look of astonishment on his face. Who'd have thought that the little girl could get something more than a snarl out of the wild child? Then is when the doctor's analytic nature took over. If the boy was capable of mimicry so soon after learning the initial expression, maybe he was more than just a dog in a human's body. Maybe he had the same mechanics as a human did, and could really think like them.
"How much is he again, Howard?" Dr. Briefs said as he pulled out a checkbook from his back pocket. He had a stern look of determination planted on his face, and it was clear there was no stopping him. With a defeated sigh, Howard glanced at his clipboard once again.
"$2,786,000," he said in a low voice. "I still think you're making a mistake, Doc."
"Nonsense," the older man replied, scribbling some numbers on his check. "Have it cashed at West City National, I'll call them ahead of time to confirm it. We have so many forgeries to my company that the bank agreed it was easier that way." He ripped out the slip of paper and handed it to Howard. The owner reluctantly took it, and then turned to look at the little girl and the animal she was holding. Dr. Briefs followed his gaze. "Ah, yes. How much is this little fellow?" He pointed his pen in Bulma's direction.
"$639.52. This little guy's on sale." The young lady from earlier spoke up for the first time, sending a timid little smile to Bulma, who returned it with a full grin. Bulma really liked this lady, even she thought her short haircut looked corny. She was still very nice.
"$639.52. Well, that's chump change next to that last check I wrote, eh?" Briefs chuckled as he scribbled the second check. Howard only gave a half- hearted "heh" in reply. As he ripped out the second check and handed it to Meryl, he gave Howard a friendly pat on the back. "Don't worry about a thing, my good man. Everything'll be taken care of, just leave it to me. Go take a vacation or buy a house with that check! You're the big winner in the overall deal. Come on now, Bulma, let's make our way back to the front. Now how did you say I'd be getting the boy home with me?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah." Howard and Meryl followed alongside the Briefs as they returned to the main room of the pet shop. "I'd recommend a confined transport, just to avoid probing eyes. Saiyans were just added to the Cold Empire's Intergalactic Domestic Animal Listing, you know." Dr. Briefs replied distractedly as Bulma introduced him to her new pet.
"What kind of creature is this little one, anyway?" he asked, referring to the fur ball currently cuddling up against his chest.
"Him? He's a Sonian Tree Fox from Zorro-sei. Very popular among the children, but very rare, as well. You got a good deal on him, you know."
"Well I would hope so, after spending such a fortune on the boy!" Briefs huffed, handing the tree fox back to Bulma. "Now, then! Let's head on home. I'm sure Bunny will be very excited to find what we're bringing home for her, won't she Sweety?" So in a windowless Capsule truck and with a considerably lighter bank account, the Briefs made the long trip across West City back to the mansion, where they would be introducing the wild monkey child to the hyperactive bouncy housewife known as Bunny.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Roshi: Yes... BOUNCY... *Nosebleed*
Walis: *Shoots him with Derringers*
Roshi: ,x__x,
Walis: There it is!! I hope everyone enjoyed what I have so far. I made it longer than any other chapters I've ever written, hopefully making up a little for my... extended vacation... ^__^;; BTW, I hope all the Trigun fans out there noticed the little treat I put in there for you! Yeah! *Tosses Derringers back to Meryl* Thanks!
Meryl: No prob! Now I gotta go whack Vash a few times, if you don't mind.
Walis: *Waves hand casually* Not at all! Go ahead. And if enough people want it, she'll be back in the future! Just let me know in a review. *Points to little lavender button at the bottom of your screen* Now click, if you know what's good for you! *Points Colt at reader*
Vash: Hey! I was looking for that!
Walis: o__o;;
Meryl: *WHAM*
Vash: *__*
