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Chapter 3

Konna had dreamt a very strange thing: that Piccolo had been holding her and talking to her as she sat in his lap. She'd heard his real voice at some point, she knew that much for sure. And she had woken at some random hour the previous night, but was too drowsy and tired as of yet to ponder on it much.

She shivered, and curled into a tighter little ball. She felt fabric all around her suddenly, as if she were in bed being covered up. But that couldn't be right, she was in the wilderness…with Piccolo…in a cave…by a fire. So she rubbed her eyes and tried to forget about it, she was obviously dreaming it up.

And the weather in the desert never ceased to amaze her. It would be scorching hot during the day, so much so that she'd nearly die of thirst within the first half-hour of training. But the nights could get so cold you'd think you were in the Arctic or somewhere like that. Crazy why anyone in there right mind would willingly live out here; but then, Piccolo was unique unto himself.

She finally stopped fighting the inevitable and decided to sit up, knowing Piccolo's rule: "You wake up, you get up." It was one of his only ones, so she tried to obey it. Though he did seem to become more lenient as of late. He didn't kick her ribs every morning and call it a "wake-up call". He didn't pick her up by her hair just to smirk at the painful face she made. He didn't call her 'brat', or 'whelp'. Just mostly something nicer, like 'kid' or 'girl'…rarely did he use her given name.

She reached around to roll over and push herself up when her fist hit something rigid…not like a rock or the cave wall. She looked up and there was Piccolo's chest, he was meditating with her in his lap. In his lap…willingly, not even minding it. She grinned and leaned up carefully, so not to make him mad, and slid off the white cape he'd apparently put over her when she shivered.

"Thank you Piccolo-san." She said.

He cracked an eye and grunted. "Don't mention it," he said, then scowled. "Ever."

She smiled and nodded, carefully leaning against his chest again. But she yelped in utter surprise when he stood up, sending her crashing to the ground.

"You know the rule." He said gruffly. "Hurry up and get your breakfast."

She nodded and scurried out the cave entrance, smiling to herself all the way down the ravine. She knew that after breakfast came training, and it made her feel even happier. She was really beginning to enjoy this, and Piccolo was getting better and better to be around. At first he was really mean and grumpy and loud, but now he wasn't so bad…not really. He was still grumpy most of the time, but in a different way.

After she'd cut off a slab of dino meat she headed back to the cave, but Piccolo was no where to be found. She shrugged it off and built back up the fire, carefully placing the meat where it wouldn't burn or hit the ground, and ran off to find her sensei.

XxXx

Piccolo threw his training weights onto the ground in a heap, creating a crater where they'd fallen. Then he locked eyes with the first natural formation he could find, which happened to be a bolder, and punched it. After only one swift blow the huge rock was reduced to rubble, then Piccolo searched for another.

Venting. That's what he was doing. He didn't know any other way to do it. She'd caught him being…whatever that was he'd been doing. He'd fallen in too deep a meditation to notice when she'd become conscious. Now she knew he'd gone soft…she knew it. It was one thing to admit to some changes himself, but it was something completely different to let on about it. Especially to her.

He turned, let out an angry shout, and blew up the side of a cliff. His ears pricked at the sound of a twig breaking, and he turned to face the intruder.

He just cringed at the sight of her happy face, why was she always so happy?

"Jeez, what'd it ever do to you?" She joked, laughing slightly at her own corny humor.

"You ready for a workout?" He asked meanly, knowing full well she couldn't possibly have eaten yet.

"Oh, no…my meat's still cooking." She said, frowning. "What's wrong Piccolo-san?"

"Nothing." He answered, balling his fist…then relaxing it. "But hurry it up with your breakfast, you're learning to fly today."

Her eyes took on a new gleam and she perked. "Really? Oh, are you really teaching me to fly?"

He raised an eye ridge. "Yeah, so?"

"I've always wanted to fly, how come you've waited so long to teach me?"

"I don't have to answer to you, I'm the sensei and you're the student." He said, turning to retrieve his weights.

"Sorry, I'm just glad to be learning it." She said, turning to make her way back to camp.

When she was gone, Piccolo simply continued to scowl in her general direction. Stupid kid, nothing would delight him more than…well, he wasn't sure now. At one time, he would have liked nothing better than to be completely rid of her. But, not anymore.

He was moving through the woods now, bending to keep from smacking into the tree limbs. He was different now, because he had a new found realization. When he returned to camp, she would be there. She would smile when she saw him, because she was genuinely happy to see this particular Demon. She would ask him questions, want his opinion, want his attention, enjoy his unusually grim company…she would be his friend.

He had a friend. His first one…his only one.

"Oi Piccolo-san," Konna said, between a mouthful of dino tail, as he came into view. "I'm almost done…then we can fly."

He nodded, and simply stood near her as she ate. Perhaps, she wasn't really so bad.

X-x-X-x-X

Two hours. He thought. She mastered it in two hours! Kami, what's this kid made of?

"Hey, look at me! I'm above the trees." She said, waving down at him. "How am I doing?"

"Not bad." He said, scowling from sheer frustration. It had taken him weeks to master the art of flying, but she'd done it in just two hours. He'd never heard of anyone learning that technique so quickly, or so young. Good thing he'd decided to get on her good side, she'd be unstoppable one of these days.

"Piccolo-san!" He heard her yell, and he looked back up at her.

"What?" He shouted back, but he noticed she was quickly becoming just a dot in the vast blue sky.

"How…I can't get down!" She screamed. "Help me! Please help me!"

"Close your eyes, and don't panic." He said.

"I'm scared." She said quietly, forgetting that Piccolo (with his abnormally large ears) could still hear her, and did as she was told.

She relaxed quicker than she thought she would, and suddenly lost the concentration she'd been using to keep herself airborne. Her ki dissipated from beneath her and she began to fall. Opening her eyes she let out a blood curdling scream and tried to regain some form of control, but found she was just too scared to concentrate hard enough.

She clamped her eyes shut as the trees became larger, and she knew for sure then that she would hit the ground. But the expected impact never came, instead she was caught in a pair of strong arms. She immediately clung to her savior's neck and tried earnestly to stop shaking.

"Did you really think I'd let you fall?" He asked, a slight tremor of amusement in his usually harsh tone.

She just shook her head against his neck, and stifled a sob that caught in her throat.

"Hm, thought so." He said, floating down to land expertly on the ground. "We'll continue this…tomorrow."

She let go and looked at him. "But we never stop before sunset." She said.

He smirked. "So you don't want a break then."

Her eyes widened. "Oh, no, I'd like one. I'm…tired."

"I see." He said, bemused. He placed her on her feet, and put on a scowl. "Now get out of my sight, I don't want to see your ugly face the rest of the day."

She grinned. "Can I go fishing?"

He nodded, and bit the inside of his cheeks and tongue to keep from smiling with her. "Go on, get going." He said, pushing her shoulders in the opposite direction.

She grabbed his hand, and he flinched. "No, you come with me."

He pulled away and frowned. "You don't want me to come, I don't like to swim."

"Oh, it'll be fun." She said, again pulling on his hand.

"I don't have fun either." He said, but this time she wouldn't let him pull away.

"You deserve a break too. Please come with me, I like being with you."

He didn't have an answer to that, so after the initial shock wore off he complied and walked next to her through the forest. He could stand a few hours break, they had been working hard lately.

Bah, rationalization, that was a human trait. Truthfully, they should be working doubly hard, not going swimming. But this girl wore him down too quickly, got him to give in too readily. She was beginning to master the art of manipulating him, and that was not a good sign.

Not long after they'd set off for the lake, Konna lifted her hand and clasped his. He jerked and looked down at her, angry at first that she'd do such a thing. Was she mocking him? Challenging his authority?

But then she smiled, and his anger disappeared.

"Why do you do this?" He asked, sounding mundane as possible. He really didn't like asking things of other people.

"Because you're my friend." She said.

He again had to shirk off an odd feeling of well-being, but he didn't release her hand. As long as no one else found out, he didn't mind the action so much. She really wasn't half bad, for a human anyway.

XxXx

Two more weeks remained before the Saiyans were due to arrive, and the training had heightened dramatically. Konna was flying like the best of them now, and her abilities far exceeded even Piccolo's imagining. She was truly amazing, and what's more astonishing about her was that she was Son's off spring. How could someone like him have a daughter like that? Piccolo didn't know, nor did he wish to question it any farther.

Near noontime on yet another day, all of which tended to mesh together for Konna, she rubbed her stomach contently, ready for the next few hours of training while daylight remained. Piccolo stood behind her, leaning against the cliff and meditating. Or, at least, pretending to. Konna could never tell which was the case.

"Piccolo-san?" She asked, walking toward him.

"Hm." He grunted.

"What kind of chance do we stand against the Saiyans?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her. Since when does she ask about them?

"I honestly don't know. About as good as we can get, with all the training we've been through."

"Oh, I see." She said, head down.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked gruffly, not exactly familiar with words of comfort or reassurance yet.

"I was just thinking, of all the things I've missed out on." She said.

He scowled, a little confused. "What are you talking about?"

She looked at him, an odd smile on her face. "Snow. I've never seen it. Not really, it never snows at my house. You know what I've always wanted to do?"

He shook his head.

"Build a snowman. And make a snow angel. I bet…that would be fun."

"When the battle is over, then go do it." He answered her, not prepared for the sudden outburst that come from her.

"Stop lying to me!" She almost yelled, but remembered poor Piccolo's ears. His eyes widened slightly, but then he resumed his scowling expression.

"Piccolo," She said more softly. "I'm not stupid. I know I'm young, and never fought in a real battle before. So chances are, I wont survive this fight."

She paused and Piccolo suppressed a cringe provoked by the last thing she'd said. It was the truth, he knew it and apparently, so did she.

"I just wish…I don't know. There were a few more things I would have liked to do." She chuckled. "Mainly, I really wanted to play in some snow."

Piccolo snorted, and pushed himself off the wall. "I've never heard such foolishness."

"Yeah, I know." She said, walking back and sitting down again.

"Did I say to relax?" He asked. "Get up and get ready."

She jumped up and turned to him, dropping to a fighting stance. Piccolo blinked and his weights were materialized on him again…but then he turned around. She shot up an eyebrow and made a confused face. What was he doing?

"Grab a hold of my cape." He said. Once she did so, he smirked. "And hang on tight."

They shot into the air flying faster than the speed of light…or so it felt to young Konna. She'd never flown so far or so fast as Piccolo was suddenly taking her. She closed her eyes against the onslaught of wind, and prayed the trip would be over soon. An hour passed and still they traveled, and it was becoming more and more chilly. Finally she yelled to Piccolo that she needed a rest, that she was getting too cold.

"Wimp." He shot back, but slowed down so she could fly casually beside him.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

He eyed her and smirked. "Don't question me."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Fine then, don't spoil the surprise."

He gaped for only a spit second, then closed his mouth and sped up. Why he was doing this, he didn't know. Maybe it was the solemn way she'd said it, or her apparent knowledge of how things would probably turn out. Here towards the end, Piccolo had begun regretting that there were Saiyans coming; that Konna would, shortly enough, be reunited with her parents and taken from him…forever.

That was a slap in the face if ever he'd been given one. And yes, the girl would probably die in this battle to come. She is not a seasoned warrior, as the others are. She is not in complete control of her powers, she lacks self-confidence, she still has her little fears of confrontation. All in all, she was not at all ready for a life-and-death battle. But, Fate seemed to merit her worthy of the challenge, for the Saiyans were only a few short weeks away. And nothing was stopping them from coming.

Suddenly, he was aware of his surroundings.

"Close your eyes." He said.

She looked at him oddly.

"Just do it." He said, grabbing her up by the arm to guide her. A gust of freezing cold wind cut through her thin gi and made her shiver, then she pushed herself up against Piccolo for warmth. The Demon didn't push her away, but he did grunt at her for doing so. She figured, if she'd made him mad he would have shown it, otherwise he didn't mind so much.

He landed and a crunch could be heard. With every step there was a distinct sound his feet made, and Konna furrowed her eyebrows in an attempt to recognize the noise. But she couldn't, and Piccolo finally let her stand in the cold, cold grass.

"Open them." He said, and she did.

"Oh!" She yelled, as she noticed there was no grass at all, just lots of white, fluffy snow! "Piccolo-san! You, you…oh, thank you!"

She jumped up and wrapped her arms as far as they could go around his middle, and he immediately pulled her off.

"Stop that. Now, do whatever it was you wanted so badly to do." He said, spinning her around and kicking her rump forward.

"Ha, you're the greatest!" She yelled, instantly putting her hand into the white softness.

"Iya!" She yelled, pulling her hand out quickly. "Oh, Piccolo, its so cold!"

He rolled his eyes. "That's because it is snow." He said, hiding a laugh with a cough as she tried eating a handful.

"Must you attempt to eat everything?" He asked, bemused.

She laughed and started to roll a small ball of snow into a larger one, until the ball was twice her own size.

"I read about how to make a snowman in a book. It was about (grunt) two little boys who did it, and it came alive. They had a magic (grunt) hat, and pipe, and scarf that they put on him. His name was Frosty." She said, finishing the snowman with the last, and smallest, ball.

"Mine will be named Fred." She said, arms crossed. "Hi Fred."

The three large snow balls didn't move or respond, they just sat there. "I guess you're not magic like Frosty was." She said, kissing where "his" cheek would be.

She frolicked and played, making dozens of snow angels that soon enough Piccolo became disinterested. He closed his eyes and began a meditation, crossing his legs and levitating a few feet above the ground. Soon though, he blocked out the child's playful laughter and tried earnestly to envision perfect silence. When all of a sudden, something wet and cold hit his face.

He wiped the snow of himself and glared at Konna, who was trying very hard not to fall over laughing.

"I…think (giggle) you got (snort) a little wet!" Falls over with laughter.

Piccolo smirks and says "That's okay, you'll be asleep tonight…and I will not."

She stopped laughing slightly, but kept smiling. "I'm ready when you are."

"Good. Then get over here." He said, waiting on her to skip over to where he stood.

When she reached him, he picked her up and took flight. She leaned against his shoulder pad and couldn't stop smiling. Piccolo had let her take a break to see snow. Why? Because she'd said she wanted to? Or because he knew, really knew, that she'd probably never have the chance again.

"Thank you Piccolo." She said, leaning around to kiss his cheek.

He jerk to a complete halt mid-air and glared at her. "What do you think you're doing?" he yelled.

"What?" She asked.

At her utter clueless expression, he softened. "Why did you kiss me? No one has ever kissed me."

"So? It was just a peck on the cheek. Best friends can do that, I would." She just frowned. "Are you mad at me?"

He grunted. "No. I don't…guess so." he cringed at how unsure he sounded. "But you don't breathe a word of it to anyone…ever!"

"Okay. But why?"

"Because I said so, that's why." He said, again flying toward the desert.

"But why do you say so? What's the big deal?" She again leaned on his shoulder pad.

"I'm Piccolo Daimaou, the Demon King…the incorruptible evil. I can't have everyone knowing a little girl hugs and…kisses on me."

"But you don't care? As long as no one else knows?" She asked.

"I don't like it. Don't do it again." He said in finality, and she just shrugged it off.

"It doesn't really matter." She said after a little while. "I wont be around much longer to tell your secret to anyone."

She smiled sadly at him, and curled up against his chest. For some reason, he didn't understand, he had the sudden urge to keep her from participating in the battle. She could just…die. She was better than that, deserved better. He promised to protect her, and that's what he'd do. When the Saiyans attacked, she'd not be one to die. She'd survive.

He would make absolute sure of that.