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Was this woman insane?
Was she crazy?
Was she out of her mind?
They didn't know.
All they knew was that she had played a prank, a practical joke, on Piccolo, of all people, and survived.
She was still standing, snickering down at him in the pool, desperately attempting to keep her laughter to herself, with little success.
She was giggling.
GIGGLING!!! At him, in his face, and he wasn't tearing her into itty bitty little bits.
She actually looked kinda cute, cheeks flushed and black hair loose, one hand curled into a fist, thumb resting on her lips as she shook with mirth, eyes half closed in amusement.
She was still giggling at him.
He was glaring daggers at her. It was a look that would have terrified any of them, even now. But she didn't seem to care. It slid off her back, like water form a duck.
She was still laughing.
And then, incredibly, he pranked her back.
He reached out a hand, for her to help him, she accepted, a knowing glint in her eye, and found herself in the pool with him.
Now it was his turn to laugh, deep and piercing, and utterly disturbing.
And she laughed harder, with him, at herself.
Together.
They laughed.
X-X-X-X-X
Later that night, when most had gone to bed, she was still up, with him. They talked, laughed, whiled away the hours together.
He was comfortable with her, and she with him. An unlikely pair, incredibly different, yet surprisingly similar.
He made her smile more, she made him laugh, joke, grin. They complimented each other, each becoming a better person with the others presence.
She laughed at something he said, he chuckled at the rememberance of her antics. Together.
Just the two of them.
Like it had always been.
They were all the other had, the only family she had ever known sat beside her, the only one that was left for him was resting her head on his shoulder, smiling sleepily.
She finally drifted into sleep, comfortable in his presence. He watched her sleep, peaceful. One of the few moments.
He remembered her as a child, laughing, running, playing, just as she did now. But decidedly less.
She dreamed of the old times, when they had lived on Namek, away from all the hurt and pain of her own worlds.
He remembered every moment she had spent with him.
She dreamed of the good times, spent together, training, living, laughing.
Always together.
Her dreams shifted, and that dark shadow reared it's ugly head, darkening the good times, casting them into darkness as it took all of her happyness away.
He saw her face shift, change, and knew immediately what it was. Gently, carefully, he gathered her in his arms, whispering sweet encouragements and wordless comforts in her ear in his own language.
And she knew who it was, remembered where she was.
And the nightmares ceased, driven back into the depths of her mind by his gentle voice.
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He yelled, swore, cursed them all, kept them in line. All while she watched from the sidelines. Even his younger self was getting a talking to, being reprimanded for something or other.
She sat, cross legged, watching.
Suddenly, a thought came to her, and she smiled.
She crept up to him, stood on tip-toe, whispered whicked, dark things in his ear. She loved the way his brow creased as he concentrated, his kind eyes soft only for her.
He nodded, smiling whickedly with her.
X-X-X-X-X
"Okay, you lot. Your assigment today is simple. Catch Venus, and you pass this test. If you fail, you will spend the entirety of the next week with me in the gravity room."
Just the thought of the prospective punishment had them accepting the challenge, not knowing what they were getting into.
She smiled, taking the white cloth and tying it around her head, like his turban. She nodded, and he pointed to the cloth.
"Lay hands on the cloth and return with it to me, and you pass. There are no rules or restrictions for this assigment. Use any and all means to get the prize, because trust me when I say, you'll need them."
They never took his warning, didn't think to take her seriously. But she had been trained by him, knew everything he knew. Had grown up with him on a distant planet, had lived with people not her own. She knew things, terrible things, that only he had known before, but now she shared.
She was strong, fast, intelligent in ways they couldn't fathom.
And they took their own strength for granted.
But they both knew, against her, in this fight, their strength was as useless as air.
X-X-X-X-X
That giggle infuriated them, her speed frustrated them, her agility irritated them.
She was quick, quicker then them. Intelligent, smarter than them. Agile, more flexible than them.
She knew what buttons to push, what to do, where to go, who to annoy.
And she laughed the whole time. It was fun for her, it elated her to watch them struggle.
Maybe, just maybe, she was sadistic.
Like him.
Cruel.
Like him.
Cold.
Like him.
Impatient.
Like him.
But she was also undeniably strong.
Like him.
Incredibly fast.
Like him.
Creepily intelligent.
Like him.
Maybe, just maybe, she was too much like him.
Maybe.
X-X-X-X-X
She squatted down by his feet, poking Goku in the head with her index finger as he lay, panting, completely exhausted, just like all the rest.
He growled in annoyance, and she grinned up at him cheekily, before straightening.
He started to shout at them, yelling at them, reprimanding. She had seen him like this before, nut never with her. No, never with her.
She smirked, unwinding the white cloth from her head, before handing it to him. He gripped it in his fist, anger creasing his brow, before brandishing it in their faces.
Growling, he gestured towards the Gravity Room, and they trudged toward it, dejected, beaten.
He turned to her when they had vanished from sight.
He smiled, just for her. She grinned, laughing when she hugged him.
He praised only her.
Only her.
The white cloth fluttered, gently, in the breeze.
X-X-X-X-X
Maybe they were so content now because they knew it wouldn't last.
Maybe they knew it would eventually come to a bitter, painful end. For both of them.
Maybe that was why they loved each other so much. Spent so much time together. Laughing, living, spending what little time was left to them together.
Always together.
He didn't want to leave her alone. He didn't want to abandon her, he wanted her always by his side.
Maybe he was selfish.
She never wanted him to leave, never wanted him to turn his back on her. She never wanted him to see her weak, vulnerable. Unless it was with him. He made her safe, protected her.
Maybe she didn't want to be strong.
Maybe she wanted him to stay.
Maybe she, too, was selfish.
Maybe they both were.
Maybe they were both realistic, knowing it would end. Bitterly, painfully, with tears, and blood, and death.
Maybe they knew, and were waiting, with baited breath, clutching each other in anticipation of the end.
Or maybe, they could have done that.
Maybe, instead, they had decided to stand, and live what life they had left.
Together.
X-X-X-X-X
She died, and so did he.
A part of his heart was gone, never to return.
He no longer cared about the world, about anything.
His own strength was meaningless if he couldn't protect her. And he hadn't been able to.
She was too stubborn for her own good.
Like him.
Too thick headed, like him.
She had been too much. For him, this world, anything.
She was too much.
She meant too much to him. Mattered too much for him. Was loved too much by him.
And now she was gone.
His heart, too, was gone, what little love he had been capable of had vanished, flitting away into the night sky beside her. Fleeting memories where all that remained.
He was alone.
But, so was she.
And she cried too.
X-X-X-X-X
"Thought you'd never see me again, huh?" she asked. She was laughing at him, giggling in that way only she had.
He stared at her, unbelieving.
She had to be a ghost.
She stood, black hair wild and unruly, like always, jet black eyes glinting with mirth and mischief, creasing with laughter.
"You're not real." He managed.
He had lived, all these years, alone again, by himself, only to be haunted by this…this apparition.
She frowned.
"I'm not that easy to get rid of, Piccolo, unless you hadn't noticed before."
She grinned at him, but he turned away, he missed the hurt frown on her face.
"You're not real. You're dead." He repeated. He wouldn't be hurt again.
She sighed, before walking to him. He was sitting. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind.
He let her, because he knew, deep down, that she was real.
"I'm here, Piccolo. I'm here." She whispered.
He turned, taking her in his arms, breathing her in, arms refusing to let go.
"You're alive." He breathed, his ear resting against her beating heart.
"You're heart beats, I can feel you're breathe, You're skin is warm." He breathed her in, tears falling, unheeded, from his eyes.
She smiled, cradling him as he cried for all the loss, all the pain.
And he awoke with a cry, the tears still falling.
X-X-X-X-X
He found her, finally.
It was a tiny house in the middle of nowhere.
Thank Kami he had asked directions from the God of Worlds.
She was sitting outside, under a massive tree, eyes on the sky.
She smiled at him.
"Took you long enough."
He laughed, gathering her to him as he sat down, breathing in her all to familiar scent. It was her, just her.
And him.
Together.
Like always.
And he didn't care anymore, about them.
He didn't give a damn about the tears shed back on earth.
And Kami help them if they resurrected him.
He was here, with her.
And that was all that mattered.
Together.
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END!!!!!
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I'M SORRY!!!!!
The girl is an OC and the other is our favourite Namek person, Piccolo…and some people are pissed about it being an OC, but I was feeling EMO today, so just…SHUT UP…
AND READ…and…REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WPD