Kakkhan: Saiyan Dimension Keeper

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball/Z/GT, but I do own everything else. Ha!

Chapter Eleven: Homecoming

In the four weeks since Catherine had left for the Llewellyn Wells, Kakkhanadori had been busy. With the additional absence of Tenna due to her new boyfriend Anton, Ilowe had taken it upon himself not to allow either him or Hodaia to retreat into the background socially as per their natural inclination. This meant that the Nightmare not only dragged them everywhere, but he forced them to participate in the various fun and games he found.

Furthermore, Kakkhanadori had restarted his daily chronicle of events (which he had not kept up since Catherine's arrival, much to his disgust and wonder if she had changed him that much) and also began the habit of visiting Earth every once in a while. Just last week, he had waited with Chokiiro at her school for Goten, who was unaccountably late to pick her up for over twenty minutes.

The week before that, he had watched as Trunks won the science fair at his school and, next door, as Goten came in a close third in the archery tournament.

This past week had, however, been a more staid one, as the atmosphere of the City had become increasingly anticipatory. The new trio had not gone out so much as in the previous weeks, but stayed closer to home and talked more than anything else.

(To his chagrin, he could now almost stomach Ilowe's histrionics, much less smile at them. He was far more amenable to the idea that he could see what Hodaia was thinking better by being able to interpret her body language more accurately).

Tenna had also managed to detach herself from Anton a few times and showed up a bundle of nerves at his house several times that week.

As an inevitable result of this staid pace, he had become more contemplative, especially of the Lady's words the day of Catherine's departure. The thought that Catherine was responsible for his spending more time with his friends as bothersome, as well as that he was incapable of living healthily without her, and that his fate was intertwined with hers—he had much to occupy himself with. Underneath it all, nevertheless, was the nagging worry that his very proximity to Catherine still had the capability of destroying her.

It was the final day of week four when the expectant air of the City outside of the Basilica Officii positively hummed. He looked around in disorientation, once again subject to that phenomenon of landing outside of the Basilica when he had intended to embark upon another mission instead. Restoring his bearings shortly, however, he quickly struck out into the Market, dodging the tens of people in the way of him and the Himeno Tsuruki Café—

'Kakkhanadori!' Ilowe waved at him. 'You're just in time,' he grinned. 'Catherine is due to arrive at the Hospital in seven minutes time—' He pointed at the crazily bent pole topped by a clock ticking off the seconds. It was nearly noon.

He nodded in acknowledgement. Hodaia hurried up just as he settled himself into his normal seat, with six minutes to go—

Tenna only barely made it to their table before the bell rung, signaling the arrival of Lord Midday. With a delighted 'Oh!' Tenna was darting off again, this time across the Plaza to the other side of the Market, where the Hospital was. The other three relaxed as coiled snakes within them loosened and began to dissolve.

'Whew,' Ilowe breathed, clutching at his ribs. 'I never knew how tense I was about this until Catherine finally arrived.' He looked over his two table fellows, who he observed to feel the same way. 'What is she at the Hospital for, you reckon?'

'Likely it's to check her over a final time and make sure she's fully recovered,' Kakkhanadori answered. He shook his head. 'Healers can be so overzealous sometimes when it comes to the health of their patients.'

'Especially since Cath was recovered since a week and a half ago,' Ilowe snorted. 'It does make you wonder,' he added thoughtfully, 'why she didn't come back then.'

'She may have physically been healed, but mentally is a different story,' the Saiyan argued. Hodaia nodded agreement; Ilowe, laughing, held up his hands.

'I was just kidding!' he teased, wriggling his stumpy fingers. 'It made for good conversation in any case.' He wrinkled his nose at Kakkhanadori's dark look. 'What's with the hair, anyway?'

He touched a hand to the object of Ilowe's query. 'Oh,' he sighed at the feel of the braids, beads, and leaves woven into his hair. 'I had to pretend to be an Elf today, to get past the Fay guarding the Royal Archives. My mission was to steal the naval plans.'

Ilowe snorted. 'Why couldn't you change it before you got here?'

'I couldn't exactly miss Catherine's homecoming, now could I?' he retorted. 'So I'll thank you to—'

'Catherine!' Ilowe shrieked, sitting bolt upright in his seat. He turned in his seat to follow the Nightmare's line of sight—

—and had to catch his breath when Catherine came into view.

Though she was wearing her glamour again, thanks to the amulet he and Hodaia had made for her, the Saiyan could still see flashes of the real Human underneath. She appeared healthy and robust, contrary to the last image he had of her convulsing on her bed, and when she turned her head, she was smiling more broadly than he had ever seen her smile before.

'Hey!' she cried. Her voice burrowed deep into his brain, imprinted itself in a way it had never done before; it robbed him of breath again with its cheerfulness. 'It's been a long time!'

'You look wonderful!' Ilowe cried, leaping up to hug her. 'How do you feel?'

Shaken out of his daze, he followed Ilowe out of his seat. When the Nightmare finally stepped back from her, he took his opportunity.

Covering her shoulder with his arm, he greeted, 'Welcome back, Catherine.'

When she smiled at him, it was as if the sun had returned to his life when he hadn't even noticed it had gone. 'Thanks!' she exclaimed, returning his embrace with eyes bright. 'It's really good to be back.' She next accepted Hodaia's bicep touch with a curious look.

'Yes?' she asked. She smiled again when the Illusionist nodded to her. 'Hello to you too, Daia.' She shocked the addressee of her greeting by embracing her warmly.

Watching her interact with others in a relaxed, carefree and laughing way, he felt all his doubts and worries melt away. He considered that perhaps being tied to the others by Catherine was not so unfortunate, that the Lady truly knew what She was doing (and She always did, really) and was just being cryptic again.

He was grateful also for the fact that being near Catherine did not appear to be causing her any problems ki-wise. In fact, her presence was thrumming healthily, with no indication of an imminent collapse due to all of the familiar sources of ki around her. If she could keep up her ki drains as well as she seemed to have, it was likely she would have no problems.

With that cheerful thought in mind, he joined in on the festivities as if he'd always been a part of them.

:-:-:-:

After a day that was simultaneously long and yet over too quickly, the group treated Catherine to dinner at a fancy restaurant well beyond the borders of the City. Her homecoming had united the quintet for a common cause, and though he knew it wasn't likely to be so tomorrow, he still reveled in it.

At the moment, in fact, they were preparing to depart for their homes. Ilowe had to swing by a gift shop to pick up something for Catherine, while Hodaia was going with him to replace some of her tools so she could make ready to work on Catherine's glamour. Tenna teased the both of them, saying they had been disappearing together far too many times. She added to the statement, however, by announcing:

'Speaking of disappearing together,' she started slyly, her sparkling eyes bright. 'I have to say goodnight to Anton.'

'Oh, no,' he groaned, echoed by Ilowe. Catherine instantly smiled and gave a huge wink to her roommate.

'You be good,' she said, her words belying her excitement. 'Don't do anything I wouldn't do.'

'I won't,' sparkled Tenna. 'I say this because Catherine then won't have a ride back to our apartment.'

'I'll take her,' he offered, choosing to ignore the obvious setup Tenna was plotting. Catherine smiled at Tenna, too, but resignedly.

'Thanks, Kakkhanadori.' Tenna shot Catherine a meaningful look. 'Well, I'm off!'

As Tenna herded Ilowe and Hodaia out the door, he looked at Catherine. 'Well,' he remarked.

'Well,' responded the smiling Human.

'Since we're not in the City,' he said, starting for the door, 'I can't City-zoom you. However...'

He opened the door and allowed Catherine through. 'I do have other means of transportation.'

Her mouth fell open as he gestured. As if it had been born to be there, the giant motorcycle lounged with a nonchalant air. Polished to a high shine, the machine was all chrome pipes, leather casing, and sleekness. It demonstrated one man's need for speed, or so Kakkhanadori liked to say.

Of course, Catherine was still gaping when they stopped in front of it. 'My pride and joy,' he said affectionately, touching the seat lightly. 'The one luxury I gave myself besides my weapons.'

'You drove that over?' she squeaked, finding her voice. He smirked.

'I thought it might be a good idea,' he explained. 'I take it out so rarely; it's not a good idea to just let a motorcycle sit and get no exercise. It needs to be shown off every once in a while.'

'Show off, all right,' Catherine muttered. 'I don't suppose you have any helmets?'

'I do.' He reached over and retrieved the helmets, giving the extra to Catherine. 'If you don't like motorcycles, that's fine. Just hang on tight to me, close your eyes, and I'll have you home in a jiff.'

'I'm not closing my eyes while on that thing.' She eyed "that thing" suspiciously.

He only chuckled. Helping the woman put her helmet on, he donned his and climbed onto the motorcycle. The vehicle instantly warmed at his touch, seeming to spring to attention when his hands curled around the handlebars. He waited until Catherine had gingerly seated herself behind him, wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, and bolstered herself with a deep, steadying breath.

'Okay,' she called to him, fortified. 'I'm ready.'

She nearly screamed when he started up the motorcycle and revved it. At the noise, several heads within and without the restaurant swiveled around. He paid no heed to them as he kicked off and began slowly coasting to the exit. Catherine's grip on him was comfortably tight, but, he knew, what was "comfortably tight" for a Saiyan (and an Immortal at that), was more likely "choking" for a Human.

Checking both ways, he rolled into traffic. He drove casually, but kept a professional eye out, a task made slightly harder with a tense Catherine behind him. But Subayaku, his faithful vehicle, did not fail him: Soon they were traveling on the Road of Heaven, which lead straight to the City, and would be nearing it in a matter of minutes.

'This isn't so bad,' Catherine told him suddenly. He didn't look back, not from navigating between crowds of people going back and forth, but he made sure Catherine knew his amusement.

'Be quiet!' she cried to his laughter. She couldn't do anything else to rebuke him, so, grumbling, she resettled into her seat.

They made it through the Gates and turned onto the Road of the World, where the crowds thinned out; Subayaku picked up its pace. Demonic Parks flashed by, as did the intra-City entryway called the Road of the Stars the he himself never used, and the Village, where Los Sueños Dorados was located. They turned onto the Wanderland Way and finally came within the Seren Wanderlands.

'We're here,' he said over his shoulder. Catherine looked around, recognized her apartment building, and seemed to sag all at once. Kakkhanadori smiled to himself, patted Subayaku until the Human had climbed off. He put the helmets away, dismounted, and clicked the capsule in his hand. Subayaku glinted once, then disappeared with a poof! Catherine's voice calling, "Thank you, Subayaku!"

At the last, he glanced at Catherine. She had a semi-guilty look on her face, but it faded when he only smirked at her.

'It seems you have proven yourself worthy' was all he said. 'Foreknowledge,' he elaborated when she looked confused.

'That's what's been happening to me?' Relief was evident in Catherine's tone. She blew out a breath. 'I thought I was going crazy!'

'No,' he reassured her. 'Do you know why you said "Thank you, Subayaku"?'

'That's your motorcycle's name, isn't it?'

He nodded, smiling smugly. 'Do you want me to wait with you until Tenna returns?'

'Would you?' Catherine asked. She blinked. 'Somehow I Knew you were going to ask that.'

'Not somehow,' he reminded her. 'I Knew how you were going to answer, too, though I didn't necessarily need Foreknowledge to tell me.'

A small smile answered him; together they went inside. Tenna's apartment was almost stiflingly hot after the cool evening. Catherine's eyes lit up; she headed over to the computer, held her hands out.

'Watch this,' she said, glancing at him over her shoulder. He nodded at her to show he was attentive. Ki started streaming from the computer to her, but before too much could be taken, she slowed the flow to a gentle stop.

'Very nice,' he complimented. She developed a pleased smile upon hearing this.

'Thanks,' she accepted. 'I've been practicing really hard at this.'

'I can tell.' He shrugged off his coat. 'Was that part of what the Northwest Librarian told you?'

'Among other things.' She gestured next to the television. 'Her books also told me to drain from multiple ki sources, not just one.' The television dutifully surrendered its excess ki.

'Oh!' she pointed to a drooping tree in the corner that was wilting not from being fed too little, but from being fed too much. 'I have another thing to show you. It has to do with draining one source of ki while refusing another at the same time.'

'Really?'

She nodded and motioned from him to come over. 'The Healers said I shouldn't ingest your energy for at least five months, to let my ki center get used to proper forms of ki, whatever that means,' she rolled her eyes, 'so this'll be good practice.'

'Ingest?' he inquired, raising his eyebrows.

Catherine held up her hands. 'That's what they said.' She smiled at him. 'It sounds like I'm eating energy or something, doesn't it?'

'It does.' He walked over to her and looked upon the curling floral. 'So, how are we going to do this?'

'You stand behind me,' he did, 'and put your fingers on my palms, like this.' She showed him what she meant. 'And then you try to put energy into me.'

'What would happen if I managed to put ki into you?' he worried.

'I'd probably get sick for a little bit,' she answered honestly. 'But you're not going to get it into me. Watch.'

She touched the plant and leeched the beginnings of its excess ki. 'Now try to get the energy into me.'

He pushed lightly at her palms with his ki offerings, but he was repelled by a reactionary pressure. Catherine chastised him for his gentleness with her eyes; he pushed harder. The same pressure again intervened, but this time his energy streamed into the ground instead of returning to him.

He forced harder yet.

Now the pressure increased, but only to continue to divert the energy into the floor. Catherine had ceased her thievery of the tree's excess ki, (the plant was looking considerably happier, he noticed) but focused on repulsing his ki with a single-minded intent he had not seen from her in all the months he knew her.

'That's good,' he told her, decreasing the current of his ki. 'Impressive,' he said when she looked up. She smiled tiredly.

'I can do that without taking energy first, but it takes more energy out of me at this point than less. It's the same for the split-focus technique—that's what that's called—but it gets easier every time I do it.'

'For only two weeks of a recovered ki center, that's not half bad,' he reassured her. 'Were you working on this as your center recovered?'

'Yeah,' she said. 'I think it actually helped build it up again faster. Certainly getting a variety of ki from different ki sources helped.'

'I'm glad,' he said quietly. He stated absently, 'Tenna's about to come in.'

'You're right.' The Human seemed slightly disappointed. 'Well, thanks for helping me. It was fun doing the last exercise with you.'

'Thanks for showing me,' he returned, still quiet. He stepped away. 'You put my mind even more at ease.'

'Huh?' She stared at him, but he turned away. Tenna chose that moment to come stomping in, muttering obscenities under her breath.

'That (censored) (censored),' she was saying. 'He aggravates me to no end!'

'What has Ilowe done now?' he asked automatically. Tenna glanced at him sharply.

'Not Ilowe,' she sniffed. 'Anton.'

'O-kay.' He guided his hands to his pockets. 'What has he done?'

'Nothing major,' the Drake told him frostily. 'We just had a fight, that's all.'

'Which is a euphemism for "I don't want to talk about it",' he translated. Tenna cracked a smile that was really a grimace. 'I'll leave you to rant to Catherine then; I know how much more comfortable you are with her than me.' He vanished outside the door.

Emerging from the building after descending the stairs and cross the Atrium, he paused. 'Women,' he snorted. 'I don't think I'll ever understand them.' He shook his head. 'Time to hunt down Anton,' he informed himself matter-of-factly, 'and grab some of his baby pictures while I'm at it.'

Whistling, the Legendary Lord set off.

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A/n: Well, well, well. Only a week after my last update. Not bad. This is being updated, of course, in place of a fourteen-page research-paper that's due tomorrow...that I haven't started. Whatever. I hope you guys are happy.

:)

Urgh, I miss writing. I can't stand not writing. Stupid college. (Wails)

:-:-:-:

SNEAK PREVIEW OF: Acceptance

'As if that would solve the problem,' Tenna scoffed, but Inu's mouth only widened, showing more teeth than possible.

'The Horsemen haven't heard from the Legendary in a while...' It snickered as Kakkhanadori groaned in understanding.

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Thanks to Lov3the3vil and lpgohanfanatic for reviewing! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as the last one!

Ciao,

TheShadowPanther and Allati, from AASN

AASN; Writing is what we do for you at AASN. Enjoy.

Updated 05.06.08