Two: Voice of a Namekian

Shinimi sprinted through the forests with her eyes full of hot tears. They fluttered away like cherry blossom petals, and streamed down her smooth face like the Kuja River down south. The clear yellowish liquid slid down from her eyelashes and rolled the curves of her cheeks, stinging the target of her mother's slap. She hated everything, so when she managed to rush through the forest, she tore the branches that got in her way, screaming and hissing through clenched teeth, imagining she was ripping the very souls of the villagers. She began to think about her Mother, ripping out her hair and tearing her face apart, pulling her jaw and snapping it away...

She stopped...how could she think like that? That wasn't very Saiyan of her. Saiyans are not supposed to think that sort of violence towards their family or home...so why was she? She began to ponder what she REALLY was. Was she just kidding herself? Why can't anyone accept her for who she was? Her mother rejected her and treated her very cruelly, she didn't ask to be born…so was she here on the planet just to be toyed with?

She was panting now, her entire body drenched with beads of sweat from rage, but something powerful was building up from her fingertips to her chest, and she was worried in case her heart was about to rip out of her chest somehow...

She trembled as she stood there, angry thoughts running through her head, trafficking madly…

She collapsed onto her knees on the forested floor that was carpeted with dried leaves and twigs. She stared at the woodland floor, thinking harder, more bitterly and very confused. More tears rained down her face, and she watched as the translucent golden tears dripped onto the back of her hand and her thigh.

Another strange oddity…but she wasn't bothered, nothing was surprising her anymore…

The villagers made her so intense with rage. She feels so alienated, so fake... They were full of Humans, maybe that's why...but what she doesn't understand is that they KNOW what Saiyans are like, so why did they treat her with such disrespect?

What did 'real' Saiyans have that she didn't…or what did she have that Saiyans didn't?

Snarling to herself, she rubbed her strange-coloured tears away with the palm of her hand, and when it was too wet, she moved to the other hand. She remained sitting on the floor for a long while, calming down.

Curiously, she stuck her tongue out and was surprised to even see it. It was slightly pointed and what her mother and the old hag said was right. Her tongue was purplish with a tint of blue. She also placed a thumb onto her teeth and felt it nearly piercing her flesh, so she tried feeling it again more gently. It wasn't Saiyan tongue and teeth, she could tell. Saiyans looked too human, but they had their side of oddities. Why the hell were they accepted? She slowly fingered her ear, running the tips along the shell, feeling the abnormal pointed tip and she sighed. This was herself. This was Shinimi. She could never change that...

Something caught her attention. She looked up, her dark eyes fixed firmly onto a bright yellow creature. It fluttered, gliding gracefully towards her. Shinimi didn't move, but she smiled at the beautiful Butterfly. It was a Fujitsu Butterfly, rare creatures they are. Its wings seemed to have glistened in the leaping sun from above the leafy canopy. She remained still. It flew towards her and landed straight onto her nose and she was tempted to scratch the tiny itch. She held in her giggle and it relaxed onto her nose. But it didn't last. It hopped away from her and glided around her before flying away. Shinimi jumped onto her feet, her tears dried now and she followed it as silently as she could, being careful not to scare it. She walked through the purple and pink flowered bush, pushing the branches away, following it. It waited for her to catch up and she smiled. It was as if it WANTED her to follow it. She managed to catch up with it, and soon, she was deep into the forested bush, but she wasn't scared. Keeping her eyes on the butterfly, she ended up to come to the end of the bush and forest. When she looked beyond the scene before her, it took her breath away.

She was in a massive landscape of grass that swayed gently in the air, the sky was bright-blue and had very little clouds. The massive sun shone down and she examined the landscape. Rolling foothills and grassland, bathed in the warm sun, the maroon-leaned Nakka trees were standing on the grassy area randomly, their branches thick with healthy buds of Clipknot flowers. Shinimi sniffed the fresh, warm breeze that began to blow through her hair and she looked up at the azure sky.

Shinimi bit her lip, too scared to take a step in this paradise. Shinimi thought she was hallucinating, but the pain that still stung her cheek told her otherwise. She blinked and soon, slowly walked into the paradise. She felt something in her suddenly, and it felt good. She felt safe to be away from her home. She felt as if this place was supposed to be for herself. She soon felt a smile run across her face and a noise came out of her mouth. A laugh. Something she felt as if she has never done before. She laughed, bright and happy, and she laughed even more and suddenly she couldn't stop. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she felt so free from her living nightmare, she wanted to practically live here. Skipping along the grassy hills, she flipped over onto her back and soon, panting, relaxed onto the grass, her arms folded behind the back of her head, pillowing it. She closed her eyes.

She felt her very soul relax and all misery drained out of her as fast as a running pipe of water, gushing away from her body and soon, she was left with a bare shell of fluttering happiness. She felt free and incredibly light. Smiling so much made her face ache. But it didn't matter, she was in paradise, she was in Heaven. Nothing matter to her so much. She opened her eyes to see several butterflies hovering above her face, the same Fijitsu butterflies she saw before. She smiled at them and got onto her feet.

"What are you guys doing?" She giggled, and she reached over to touch them. They landed onto her finger and she smiled. But they flew away and began to tempt her to follow her again. Giggling, she began to following them. "I'm gonna get yea!" She laughed; skipping along the grassy landscape, the hot air gently caressed her face and black hair carelessly. She walked towards the grand tree that sat on the far side of the landscape, its massive roots bursting from the ground. She was thinking about climbing the tree, but something stopped her.

She stopped in her place and her blood went cold. She wasn't alone. Before her, next to the grand tree was a figure. It sat cross-legged, hands connecting each other finger-by-finger, his eyes closed. Shinimi hid behind a rocky wall, and peered over, examining more of this figure. He wore a massive white cloak with sharp shoulder-pads, and wore a Gi of dark purple. His rope-like belt was a shade of calm blue, like the sky but darker. He also wore a strange hat made from clean, crisp white cloth. Shinimi blinked at the figure. It wasn't a Saiyan. There was something different about him that she liked. His ears were the mirror-image of her own, but had flesh of green. She tilted her head. The figure was levitating beautifully, incredibly skilful. But soon she realised that he wasn't human, or Saiyan…perhaps something from another planet. He didn't look threatening, just peacefully. She wanted to say 'hi', but the courage ran away from her and only left the dominating darkness.

She watched in awe. She has never seen such a peaceful, looking creature in her life. It made her smile. She stared at him, peering shyly from behind the rocky wall, watching him. His green skin shone in the sun, glistening perfectly. His face, she secretly adored the most, was the most perfectly angulated face she has ever encountered. Narrow features and a stern expression from meditating had a strange aura. He certainly didn't look like the joker-type, but his face showed youth. He looked like he was in his older teens or something. Shinimi felt her jaw slowly drop in fascination without realising. There was something about this guy she really liked. She stared at him until she could no longer look at him. Her eyes darted to the grass beneath her wooden shoes and she covered her shy smirk with her hand and she felt her cheeks heat up. She was blushing? What was this, she wondered? Perhaps seeing an older, surprisingly attractive 'man' before her was the cause of it. She really never had any time to look at boys of her age. They all tend to laugh at her, or even run away from her scared. She feared he would do the same.

What was he? He was certainly beautiful, in a startling way. Just the way he's meditating there on his own...

...She remembered a time when her mother was teaching her about being a 'powerful Saiyan'. She explained about Saiyan and other species...

Namekian!

That was the one! She remembered the only enemy that was green-skinned...aren't they aliens of some sort? It didn't matter. He was amazing in his own manner. She has never encountered a Namekian before, but it was one of the greatest experiences in her life.

She glanced up and was sad to see that he was gone. How did he go so suddenly? Was he just a figment of her imagination? Sighing deeply, she felt all of the rejection and depression seeping back in her like black ink through white cotton. She frowned to herself and she sighed.

Turning around, she thought of doing something other then going home...

A massive hand snatched a clump of her pastel-blue shirt and yanked her tiny body from the ground. A scream escaped past her lips from the sudden change of atmosphere. The world spun around her and by the time she catch up with what was really happening, she felt her throat tighten in horror. She was several feet off the ground.

Her face was only inches away from HIM. She cowered down to see two piercing eyes staring back at her sharply. They seemed to have hypnotised her, as she could not move at all. Her body became numb with fear. The mysterious Namekian was staring straight at her and she suddenly felt in danger. It took her a while to notice how tall he REALLY was. He wasn't smiling just as she hoped, he was snarling at her.

"What are you doing here?" He snarled angrily as he shook the tiny girl in his grip. His deep-bass voice shook the very bones inside of Shinimi, making them grow soft with fear. Shinimi cried out in horror and tried to speak, but his cold eyes paralysed her from talking. She gripped onto his muscular arm and tried to force him to let go of her. "Well!"

"I'm s-s-sorry!" She stuttered, fright growing more and more in her eyes. "I d-didn't mean to-"

"Mean what? Spy on me! You must be one of those," He snapped, shaking the girl harder by the scruff of her shirt. Shinimi began to panic even more, kicking her feet in the air, hoping to be released. It failed.

"No!" She exclaimed, fear full in her voice. "I just found this place, and..."

"What?"

"...and I'm sorry!" Shinimi was close to tears now. His features darkened and her fear grew more.

"Give me one good excuse why I shouldn't kill you right now!" He threatened darkly. Shinimi's eyes widened to see fangs in his mouth as he yelled at her. They were the same as her own. She couldn't speak once again, and then he leaned over towards her face, so close she actually thought he was going to kiss her. He examined her face and he smirked at it darkly. With his other hand, he pinched his fingers onto her chin, moving her head from side-to-side. She allowed him to do this. "Such a pretty face..." He said and then he added evilly. "...shame I'm going to smash it." He laughed and stopped to see the girl's face crumple to tears. He watched as the clear yellow tears sit on his thick black lashes for a moment, shimmering in the bright sunlight and the finally fell onto his dark green wrists. He stared at it heartlessly for a moment, and when he faced Shinimi, she was crying tears of fright but she was giving him a hot glare that said 'Don't annoy me'. It was a face he often made himself. He took a moment to examine more then her face. Her ears were pointed, like his ears, her eyes enchanted him and her hands seemed familiar. He closed his eyes, thinking into her mind, what was she..?

"I just wanted you to be my friend..."

He opened his eyes to see Shinimi staring back at him, her tears still running down, but her face was painted with courage. Her small voice caught his attention. To see such a small, strange child facing towards a dangerous Namekian seemed pretty abnormal to him. She should have known he was dangerous...

"But I'm dangerous," he murmured heartlessly. "Just a Namekian that can kill your tiny body with on snap," To explain it more, he snapped his fingers in front of her face. She didn't flinch. "What are you, exactly?"

"...I...I don't know..." She began to cry even more. He watched her golden-clear tears roll down her face. They were not tears of a human nor a Saiyan... Humming silently to himself, he placed the palm of his hand onto her forehead. She closed her eyes as he did so, feeling the pleasant warmth of his hand against her skin. He stared at her with his narrow eyes and thought, until he discovered the answer and his hand slowly moved away. She looked back at him and he seemed stunned. His eyes were wide with shock, his pupils dinted. Could she be the one?

"Y-You're...you're a Saiyan...but you're not at the same time..." he answered lowly. He tilted his head at her. "What species are your parents?"

"I...I really don't know..."

"What about the one you call 'Mother'?" His voice seemed softer.

"To be honest...I don't think she's my mother..."

"...neither do I..."

Shinimi looked up from the startling reply. He was smiling lightly at her and soon, gently placed her back onto the ground. They exchanged looks for a while, then he reached over towards her. She flinched, waiting for some sort of attack to happen, but instead, he grabbed the antenna-like hair from her face and examined it. He then smiled. "Hmm, Hybrid..."

Shinimi stared up at the supposing enemy. He seemed to have misunderstood her in the first place, but now, he seemed to know her problems, know her past life and know her attitudes and personality. She suddenly felt close to him herself. There was an aura he gave out that made her feel...safe. As if he was her own kind...

"What are you doing here?" Shinimi asked silently.

"Just doing my own business...just meditating really..." He folded his arms. "You ran away from home, right?"

"H-How did you know that?" She asked. He replied only by smirking and turning away from her, walking back towards the grand tree. Shinimi followed him. "Excuse me, but, what's your name?"

The towering Namekian before her looked over his shoulders, his white cape flapped gently in the sun-baked breeze.

"Piccolo..." Shinimi nodded in response of his answer. He began to walk towards the tree. "So, who slapped you, Shinimi-Chan?"

"What?" She jumped back, horrified of his answer. "H-How did you know my name and..." she gently placed her tiny fingers onto her sore cheek. "...and this..?"

"I can just tell," He replied lowly without looking back at her. He stood by the tree at the same spot he was before and folded his legs, fluidly levitating in the air again. He folded his arms. "So, tell me..." His voice became stern suddenly, and so Shinimi did as she was told by command of his tone.

"My mother..."

"She's not your mother!" he fired instantly. Shinimi felt her heart stop and jolted at the suddenly reply.

"W-What?"

"I know I'm only young, but by looking deep into you, I can tell you she isn't your mother!" He closed his eyes, his arms still folded and he added, much softer this time. "I'm sorry, but she's human. You are in no shape and form of those humans,"

"So, what am I?" She asked, starting to get irritated by riddles he was saying now.

"Hybrid,"

"A Hybrid of what?"

He said nothing after that. Shinimi waited for a reply, but nothing happened. Snarling, she walked towards him and began to playfully tug onto his ears.

"Leave my ears alone!" She ignored him, and he sighed darkly to himself as she shuffled herself to sit onto his folded lap. "What are you doing, fool?"

"Tell me!" When she got comfy, she folded her arms and legs on top of him and glared at him over her shoulder. He rolled his eyes and force-pushed her off his lap. She growled at his reaction, and she rubbed her side in where she landed on and looked at him.

"I think you're too young to realise what you really are," He murmured, opening one eye to look at her. He chuckled mockingly at her.

"Really?" she muttered furiously. She sat onto her knees before him and was suddenly startled to compare his body to her own. He was much broader and taller than herself, and less fragile looking. "And how old are you then, almighty Sensei?" She bobbed her head from side-to-side as she said that. There was a pause, broken by the chirping of happy birds.

"Old enough," He replied, closing his eye again.

"Age?"

"Older than you...let's say I'm a teenager," He said lowly. Shinimi soon gave out a deep sigh, giving up with him. She looked at him and crossed her legs over like he did and blinked at him.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Levitate, and so perfectly too,"

He smiled at the compliment.

"Nice. I've been trained by my father," He replied.

"Could you teach me?" Shinimi requested silently. Piccolo snorted a laugh.

"Could you really do it?" he answered her question with another question, to which Shinimi nodded instantly.

"I could try!" She almost screamed in excitement, and she calmed herself down. Piccolo didn't smile. There was a pregnant silence, until Piccolo broke it.

"Isn't it time you go home?"

Shinimi turned to him, feeling slightly hurt from the comment. It was as if he was trying to get rid of her. She sighed and faced to the grassy flooring.

"I don't want to go home…"

"And why's that?"

Shinimi sniffed.

"My…she will hurt me again. I can feel it…every time I got through that door I call 'home', I end up in a death-trap of false accusation and lies. I'm told I'm a bitch, that I'm horrible, I'm a liar, deceitful, that I smell…that I am alien…" Piccolo stifled a giggle and Shinimi fired a hot glare at him. "The hell is so funny?"

He shook his head at her.

"Humans are ridiculously foolish," Piccolo smirked. Shinimi's eyes fell to the ground and she nodded.

"Tell me about it…" Shinimi whimpered, tears threatened to fall once again. She covered her face with the palm of her hand and hid her eyes as tears ran down. She tried extremely hard to hide them, but…

"You're crying," No reply. Piccolo blinked at Shinimi, who had kept her head down, avoiding eye-contact from him. "Why is that?"

"I-I'm hated!" Shinimi hissed through tears. "I'm a freak; I'm a rupture-being! If that witch isn't my mother then why did my mother leave me? That must be why! I'm hideous!" She clasped her hands onto her eyes and wept louder, unable to hold in her tears anymore. Piccolo suddenly felt a heavy weight clash onto him. It was like watching a lost Namekian child cry for its mother, and yet she's dead beside it and the child is unable to understand why she isn't moving…

Shinimi felt something on her head, and realised that Piccolo was stroking her hair. She calmed down suddenly and she smiled wetly, ease rested onto her soul again. She felt safe again from the thought of her home.

"You're not hideous…those humans have no clue what you are. For I, I do…" He nuzzled his knuckles onto her jaw-bone gently, before pulling away. Shinimi whimpered as he pulled away. She faced him, wiping her tears away.

"What am I then?" She muttered shortly.

"Beautiful…compared to those freaks, anyway," he murmured back, like a rebellious teenage human itself. Shinimi giggled at his answer and felt her cheeks go red. "They probably hate you because they're jealous….because they know what powers you have…you need to stop letting those humans control you like one of their own…you are from two proud races…"

"You seem to know a lot about the humans and…me…" Piccolo hummed in reply. Shinimi shyly held onto his hand and squeezed it. His pointed ears pricked up in alert. "Maybe you can help me. Can you teach me? I need to know my powers."

Piccolo laughed, and was planning of snatching his hand back, but couldn't make him do so.

"We'll see, perhaps if we see each other tomorrow after the 2 cycles past lunch," Piccolo commented, his voice utterly deep but soft. His eyes fixed onto Shinimi's. "Then I can help you teach those pathetic bastards the true powers of us,"

"Us?" Shinimi seemed confused on that certain word. Piccolo smirked and finally found the energy to pull his arm away from her.

"C'mon, you brat. You better leave me alone now,"

"I'm not a brat!" Shinimi screamed, aiming her fist to punch his face from rage, but it startled her to see how fast Piccolo blocked it. He folded his arms and nodded.

"Yep, training is indeed recommended for you," Piccolo smirked darkly, a scornful laugh escaped past his fine green-fleshed lips. "Now go," he indicated this by waving his hand. "Leave me alone for now, and we'll see each other tomorrow?"

"You mean it?"

"It depends if I feel like it," Came back the sullen reply. Shinimi was suddenly torn between two choices. She was confronted by a random Namekian, and yet he was willing to train her to become stronger, or was he just toying with her? She found her answer soon enough, that first sensation of trust clipped itself deep into her heart like a diamond, precious and valuable. Somehow, even through those intimidating eyes, she could trust him…

"Okay, Piccolo-Sama," She replied and with that, she leaned over and pressed her lips onto his smooth, young cheek. It was a fleeting touch, but it possessed a quality of untouched beauty and undamaged innocence it practically startled Piccolo. He flinched away from her, holding his cheek as if her lips were fire.

"What was that for?" Piccolo cried out, taken back. His eyes stared back at her in utter horror, which gave Shinimi more then one reason to giggle at the cute reaction.

"You're the first guy I have ever kissed," She gave him a short, little bow and began to dart towards the forest where she came from, waving at Piccolo as she left him. "See you tomorrow, Piccolo-Sama!" She burst out cheerfully, the pleasurable sense running along with her blood.

Piccolo watched the young girl go, and when she vanished through the bushes, he wondered what happened just then…

…he smirked menacingly. Finally, something to play with…

Sprinting down the dirt path, Shinimi didn't care about anything anymore. She was just too happy, a joy that filled her soul made her feel careless about home. She felt as if she has made her first friend, and something told her that she was safe with him. She burst out laughing between pants from running so fast and wanted to tumble down the hill back into the village, not caring in the world what everyone thought of her.

But by the time she got to her home, the wrench she called 'mother' slammed the door open.

"Shinimi!" She screamed, and suddenly the joy was drained from her body. "How DARE you scare a kind, old lady like Mrs. Sasaki and run out of the house!" She snarled and Shinimi mirrored her snarl. He thought of what Piccolo told her…

"So, with what that bitch was doing to me, I thought that was disrespectful!" Shinimi argued back angrily.

"You disrespect your elders, child! Don't you DARE treat us like the pile of dirt you are!" She stabbed a sharp finger into Shinimi's chest. Shinimi giggled.

"You want respect; you have to fucking earn it!" She snapped suddenly. Her mother's expression gawked at her, unbelieving what she has said, then grinding her teeth, she grabbed a clump of her long, black hair and yanked her into the house like some sort of tug boat. No matter how hard Shinimi tried to ignore the pain, it forced her to give in. After slamming the door, the woman spun around and struck her hand across Shinimi's face, slapping her at the same spot. Shinimi cried out and soon, her living hell became alive.

"You EVER speak to me like that again, and I swear to the almighty dragon, I'll kick you out of my house! You're living under my roof, you abide by my rules! Get it? Got it? GOOD!" Shinimi tried hard not to smirk. That sounds good to her. Leave this hell hole and to do what she wants. But where will she go? She's only twelve, who would take her? If she has no sign of family, what was she going to do? Shinimi closed her eyes and suddenly thought of Piccolo. If this woman who she called mother was really her mother, why would she treat her like this? She has done nothing to her, and yet from the very beginning, she could not understand why she was hated. "Now, get back into your room, you spineless bitch!" Mrs. Fugikage stormed back into the kitchen, leaving Shinimi to hurry back into her bedroom and collapse onto the bed, and she wept, whispering the name that rolled silkily off her tongue.

"Piccolo…"

Huzzah! Yeah, just a note, I'm sorry if I have killed Piccolo's personality, I REALLY need to watch the series again and I can promise you it'll get better. College is a damn, hard place to be…anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the next instalment ^^ Thankies!