A/N: Yeah I'm a working girl now, so time on a computer is limited. Time to sit at a computer and type up something other than lesson plans - well it's downright nonexistent. So I apologize for the tardiness, but thank you if you are still reading. I can only imagine that, since my reviews have steadily declined, that many of you get tired of waiting and I do not blame you.
I will finish this, I promise. I do not leave a story incomplete if I can help it!
Chapter 21
Konna stepped onto the front lawn at six in the morning, the moist warmth of August made beads of sweat gather on her forehead and arms. She wore a deep, forest green dress; the very one she had told Piccolo only weeks prior that she would wear on this day. She knew it was his favorite dress to see her in though he had never said so, but his eyes would often dart to the long skirts and emerald fabric as she walked…he did not do that with any of her other outfits.
Why she meant to please him even in what she wore she did not know, but she felt strangely more confident if she knew she had his approval and attention. She carried a backpack over her shoulder filled with the supplies she assumed she would need. She did not know exactly what to expect and to tell the truth she was nervous about her first day of high school. She had seen the movies that depicted a hormone-driven institution, full of the defilement of today's youth controlled by gangs, sex, propaganda, violence and drugs.
She swallowed hard and took in a deep breath. Goten stumbled out of the door after her with his nighty still on and eyes red with sleep.
"Where's sissy going?" He asked, in as sweet and innocent a voice as only a five year old can ask.
Konna turned around and swept up her baby brother in a gentle yet firm hug. "Remember 'Ten, I have to go to school now."
Goten made a whimpering noise and looked up at his parents, both of whom looked just as sad as Konna did, and then to Piccolo who looked just as cold and distant as usual. Even at four years old, and even having known Piccolo since birth, he could tell his sister had a much better friendship with the green man than he did. Though, Goten never earnestly tried to form a serious attachment with Piccolo, he had Trunks as a playmate. So, in return, Piccolo more or less tolerated Goten rather than sincerely forming a bond with the child.
Which was surreally ironic, considering it was at this exact age that Piccolo had first befriended Konna, and Piccolo did not fail to miss the cynical humor of the situation.
"I'll see you this afternoon." She said after kissing his forehead and placing him back on the ground.
She turned toward her parents and Piccolo, the latter of whom was standing against a tree with arms crossed half hazard against his chest. His eyes swept over her once and then he nodded, pushing himself off the tree and walking toward her.
"Bye mom." She said, hugging ChiChi's neck tentatively, and then she repeated the action with her father. "Bye dad."
"It'll be great. It's just another adventure." He said down to her and kissed her forehead, for he was still at least four inches taller than his daughter.
Though Konna was tall for a girl, taller than the women she knew (which basically included only her mother, Bulma and Eighteen); she stood at five feet eleven inches and was not yet done growing. Piccolo at first deemed it Saiyan blood that made her taller than the average female teenager, but then he could not give Goku's bloodline all the credit. The Ox King was a giant even in human standards and was the only other person he knew that rivaled his own height, so Konna was inheriting her long bones from both parents.
She faced him last and gave him a mock bow.
"Well, I thought having only one teacher was bad…unfortunately for me now I have half a dozen of them." She smiled up at him and gave him a wink.
Piccolo smirked and replied sarcastically: "Good luck."
Had her parents not been there Piccolo entertained the idea of letting her hug him, which he knew she would have done if they were alone. Because when she smiled at him, any time she smiled at him, he became just a little nervous. Well, nervous was not quite the word, more like uneasy. Nervous was an emotion Piccolo did not feel even when he had a right to feel it, such as before a deadly battle. But uneasy was exactly what she did to him, all the time, and it had not been like this before.
He did not know when it had started, or if it even had a starting point, he only knew that one day he noticed the change in himself. They were sparing in late afternoon, as they always did, and she was letting him stay alive long enough to end the bout. When they finished she was leaning against his left side and shoulder looking up at the stars, and then he knew something was different about her small affections. She had always done this, she had never been afraid to touch him and he had always avoided the intrusion. Then suddenly, that very night, feeling like someone had dumped a bucket of warm, soothing water over him, he enjoyed the closeness.
Enjoyed is again not the right word, he yearned for it. It made him feel preoccupied with her every movement. Before that night he had never cared about how she looked, except that it never slipped his attention that she always looked pleasant. He had never cared about what she wore or how it looked on her, except that some days she wore dresses and others she wore her gi. And he had certainly never wondered about what she looked like underneath the clothes, those thoughts had never, ever occurred to him - but then suddenly he noticed.
All these things began making him uneasy around her, noting the way she was always both delicate and strong at once. He watched her when she ate now, which was pretty often, because she was not like Goku or Goten who vacuumed food into their mouths and used forks as rakes rather than utensils. No, she was precise and refined like her mother had taught her to be, never letting herself become messy and sloppy like her father and brother. Piccolo was very rarely hungry, so the idea of how Saiyans must gorge themselves nearly every hour had disgusted him for a long time. That, too, had changed.
He watched her when she was running and playing with Goten, her hair would be flying around her face and catch in the wind. Her hair had changed over the years from the wild mass of tangles she used to pull back into a ponytail to the much softer, longer version it had become. He liked the change. When playing she would get red with amusement, sweat from the heat, and finally sprawl herself on the grassy hillside with Goten leaning his head on her stomach. He had even pondered what it would feel like if he were the one with his head on her stomach, and her hands touching his face as tenderly as she touched Goten. But he always wiped his mind clean of those delusions as quickly as they came, they were difficult to tolerate and even more painful than his usual wonderings.
The sound of her sweet voice, her laughing and giggling innocently, her eyes sparkling with energy and life, all these things he had always loved about her made themselves fiercely apparent to him. It made him want her in some strange way, he did not know yet what this intense feeling of longing was for or why it was only her that the feelings were directed toward. Why not long for some other woman on this planet, any other woman but her?
She was the one person he could not have, not that he wanted anyone else or believed anyone else would have him, because let's face it he knew he was far from normal or even tolerable to most humans; but that made the idea of her so excruciating. She was his student, she respected and loved him as she always had in her own innocent way. And in his mind she was forbidden fruit. An untouchable, unrealistic fantasy that could not really exist.
And that was what tormented him more than anything: she did exist, and she existed right in front of him every, single day.
He snapped his eyes shut violently and turned from her before she could do something to completely ruin his day, like actually hug him and cause him to exact rush of provocative sensations he both dreaded and desired. He did not know how to solve this horrible problem of his, because he had already tried separating himself from her but that had failed miserably. If anything they had ended up even more close after he had tried to disconnect from her. Even meditations and long periods of reflection gave him little comfort and far less ease.
Konna frowned and wanted to ask Piccolo what was wrong, but she knew he would never answer while in front of her parents. He was more distant around people and not so much when they were alone, so she simply waved good-bye and flew away into the distance. She did not look back, but rather called for the nimbus cloud to come carry her to school. She only wished that school could be as understandable as martial arts.
The blur of office clerks, administrators and classes gave Konna a headache. It did help either that in all her classes thus far the teacher had announced her outstanding test scores, which made her feel even more out of place. In her first class she was seated next to a boy that snored and drooled on his desk while he slept. In her second class the boy in front of her kept leaning back and blowing kisses at her, until he finally lost his balance and fell out of his chair. And finally she was at lunch and sitting alone at a table, wishing for the day to be done, when a blonde girl came across the crowded cafeteria to greet her.
"Hi." The girl said in a chipper, high pitched voice then sat at the same table across from her. "I'm Erasa." She added.
"Konichiwa." Konna said politely. "I'm Son Konna."
The girl made a slight face at her but shrugged it off and grinned lightly. "Wow." She said. "You're very proper."
Konna must have blushed because Erasa giggled at her and patted her hand.
"It's okay." She reaffirmed. "Your first day is always just a little scary. So I heard you've been home schooled for, like, ever. Is that right?"
Konna nodded. "Yes, this is my first day at any school...ever."
"Cool, so you're like a blank slate then!" She said, and then winked at her. "Don't worry, I'll be your high school guide. I'll show you the ropes around here."
Konna smiled, thankful to finally have a friend, when a rather gruff looking teenage girl with long black pigtails (who looked not even a day older than the blonde) came to stand behind them, facing Konna. A sour expression was planted firmly on the girl's entire face and, if Konna didn't know better, she even felt as though the girl's very aura positively radiated pure agitation.
"What are you doing over here?" The dark haired girl asked Erasa, her tone none-to-friendly. "Our table is over there." Then gave a stout jerk of the head in the opposite direction.
Erasa's smile neither faded nor faltered, she swiftly waved the girl away from over her shoulder. "Not now Videl, I'm making friends with the new girl."
The one called Videl snorted and Konna suspected she would have crossed her arms aggressively if she hadn't been carrying a food tray.
"So." She spat, rolling her eyes just a little. But then she sat next to Erasa and put down her tray, eating quietly for several minutes.
"Don't mind her." Erasa cooed, eying Videl from the side. "She's just antsy because you're so pretty and all the boys like you."
Videl very nearly spit out every bite of food she had just taken, her eyes large with anger and, perhaps, embarrassment. "That is not true, Erasa, and you know it!"
Erasa laughed gingerly, obviously accomplishing her goal to get Videl riled, then looked back to Konna.
"I am only kidding, Videl couldn't care less about the boys around here…but, you are very pretty and all the boys are talking about you. You're lucky, you're mysterious and that makes you super sexy to them."
Konna had far too much self control to squirm under such a comment, but it did make her suddenly very aware of eyes on her from throughout the cafeteria, namely from members of the opposite sex. "Hm." Was all she said, she could think of no better answer to give.
"I don't know if you noticed," Erasa started. "But we have World Literature together first thing in the mornings. What is your schedule for the afternoon?"
Konna reached into her pocket and pulled out a neatly folded paper with her list of classes on it. "Um, next is Girl's Junior/Senior Gym 101."
"Oh yeah, that's great because I have that too. They don't separate the juniors and seniors for gym class. I must admit that you'd do great at basketball, you're so tall!"
Konna nodded and looked at Videl, who had yet to offer a single word directed toward her. "And do you have gym with us too?"
Erasa immediately snickered and patted Videl's shoulder, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah Videl, don't you have gym with us too?"
Videl rolled her eyes and gave a very unpleasant groan, Konna suddenly got the feeling she had said something wrong.
"Just where have you been?" Videl asked her. "Of course I don't have to go to girl's gym, I'm in the martial arts program."
Erasa squealed. "Yeah, that means she gets to rough-house with the boys for two hours every day! I'm so jealous!"
Videl smirked, the first sign of kindness on her part Konna had seen yet, and winked at the girls. "Yeah, that part's not so bad."
Konna kept eye contact with Videl for just a moment to see if the friendliness was genuine or for show, and as far as she could tell Videl had meant it. Perhaps Videl was a hard person to get to, like Piccolo had been - and in many ways still was. As the bell rang and the girls left to embark toward their respective classes, Konna decided right then that making friends with Videl would be her next project.
XxXx--
"Dear Kami." Erasa said under her breath, her eyes looking over Konna once and then scanning all over her a second time. "Seriously?"
Konna looked down at herself and made a face, what was wrong with her? She was standing in front of Erasa wearing nothing but her bra and underwear, because Erasa was suppose to be getting her a gym uniform from a shelf in the back of the locker room. But the blonde teen had stopped dead in her tracks before handing Konna the clothes, just staring at her in total astonishment.
"What is it?" Konna asked, now more than a little nervous. She had pulled out her tail days ago, surely there was not a noticeable bump already.
She looked down sheepishly, expecting there to be a large neon sign flashing "NOT HUMAN" on her tummy. There was nothing, and she had been careful to undress only after all the other girls had left for warm-ups. In fact, she had studied human female anatomy at home just to make sure nothing about her body, aside from the tail and height, would make her different from her peers.
Apparently, Konna feared, something small she had overlooked was setting off a warning signal in Erasa's head. The girl stared a hole through Konna looking her up and down for nearly a minute, the whole time a disgusted look on her face. Finally, Konna simply rushed up and snagged the gym clothes from Erasa's arms.
As she slunk quickly behind the wall of a shower stall Erasa followed slowly and sighed heavily, leaning against the wall's edge just enough to peek at Konna from around the corner. She shook her head slightly and looked down at herself in dismay, Konna noted the disgusted look was now directed at Erasa's own body.
"How do you do it?" She asked earnestly, looking back up at Konna with large, curious eyes. "I mean really, what kind of diets do you do to keep that kind of figure?"
Konna furrowed her eyebrows and looked down at herself, then pulled the small t-shirt down to tuck into her gym shorts. "Um, I'm not sure what you mean. A diet?"
Erasa pushed herself off the cold block wall of the shower and put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, your diet. What do you eat, or don't eat? How do you exercise and when? Whatever it is write it down for me so I can do it too!"
Konna let a small smile play on her lips. "So you like the way I look? I don't look…different?"
Erasa outright laughed. "Different, yes. But in a good way. Who wouldn't like the way you look? I'm as straight as they get but you still got me hot and bothered!"
"Hot and bothered? I'm rather cold -"
"Ah!" Erasa yelped, cutting Konna off, then laughing loudly for a few seconds. "Wow, this isn't an act is it? You really are an innocent little farm girl, aren't you?"
"My parents don't own a farm." She countered point-blank. "But my grandfather owns quite a few Oxen."
Erasa skewed her face for just a moment and then laughed at Konna as if she'd just told the most hilarious story imaginable. "You're great, I've never laughed this much in one day before. I think we're going to be very good friends."
The two began walking out of the gym to join the other girls playing volleyball, many of which welcomed Konna nicely as Erasa introduced her. Konna began playing the game, extremely careful not to show off any undue strength and agility, and decided school was not the horrible place she had made it out to be. With the help of some new friends she might actually make a go of it.
X-x-X-x-X
After several weeks and nearly the entire winter semester gone Konna was invited to stay the night at Videl's mansion along with Erasa. The girls would have a fun night together doing…whatever it was that teenage girls do. Konna wasn't quite sure how it worked but was eager to try something she had only read about and watched on television: a slumber party. Upon arrival a butler took her bags and she followed him up a mountain sized staircase, then across a banister, and into a huge room filled with everything a girl, or person, could want.
"My goodness." Konna gasped, entering the room briskly. "What a lovely house you have!"
Videl shrugged from the couch across from the balcony, Erasa jumped up from the elaborate trundle bed to hug Konna around the waist. She knew the house would be grand, because she had long since found out exactly who Videl Satan was. Her father, Hercule Satan, had taken the credit for destroying Cell nearly five years earlier; making him one of the richest men in the world. The idea that she was now very good friends with his daughter made her feel just a little sneaky, although she had not done so on purpose - and never intended on making her identity known to any of them.
"I know, I love her house. Mine is a shack compared to it!" Erasa giggled in her flighty, yet endearing way.
"It's more feminine than I had pictured for you Videl." Konna said, noting all the pink colors and floral designs around the room, plus frills on the beddings and lace for all the tables.
Videl shrugged again. "My governess decorated it when I was, I dunno, thirteen or something. I really couldn't care less about changing it. Besides, the only thing I really ever do in here is sleep."
Konna nodded and joined Videl on the couch, smiling and nodding her agreement.
"Understandable." She added.
Erasa plopped on the couch between the two girls and moaned contently. "I could live here, you could give it to me if you don't want it!"
"Ha! Don't hold your breath." Videl joked, then grinned contently.
One thing Konna had come to notice about Videl was that, although at first she was quite harsh and even cross, once she was accustomed to a person she could be very generous and, at most times, downright nice. Videl had payed for their outings throughout the school year and refused compensation, she was continuously paving the way for Erasa and herself to do all the things they wanted...even if it was expensive and outlandish: clothes shopping at designer stores, eloquent luncheons and dinners, special trips around Orange City, horseback riding, academia related fund-raisers or trips, and so many more things that Konna could never have afforded to do on her own.
However, for all her coarseness in the beginning, Videl was nothing if not a loyal friend. Konna imagined that, if push ever came close to shove, Videl allowed herself too few friends to take a single one for granted – which was why Konna always noted that extra intentional emphasis she always gave in regard to being attentive to her closest friends: namely Erasa but now herself included.
"Ooh, you know what we should do?" Erasa asked in a sly and rather scandalous tone.
Neither Konna nor Videl answered, for they both new Erasa well enough to simply listen for the inevitable conversation that was to begin, but both gave their attention to the blonde.
"We should start picking out who we want our dates to the Winter Ball to be." She held the school yearbook in her hand and twisted it for general accent mere inches from the girls' faces. "I've got dibs on Sharpener." She added quickly and with a pinch more volume.
"You can have him." Videl brushed herself away from the book, leaning forward to grab a bottle of water from the cooler beside the window. "I don't have an interest in going at all."
Erasa rolled her eyes. "You say that as if I'm actually going to believe you this time." She turned her attention toward Konna and become slightly more serious, as though she was telling a dramatic secret to an eager news reporter.
"Videl likes to pretend she's the toughest gal around, but she can be just as feminine as the rest of us. In fact she hasn't missed a school dance since fifth grade..." She winked at Konna, who then leaned back to take a glance at Videl's turned face.
Downing a quick gulp of water Videl eyes her comrades carefully. "Why do you say things like that as if I'm not sitting right here in the room?" Her annoyance was obvious but her anger was fake, Konna could tell because she had seen Videl angry on a number of occasions and she was never managed to keep her temper in check.
"There is nothing wrong with being a tom boy, Videl." Konna assured her with as much empathy as she could muster and for that Videl turned to give a small grin of satisfaction toward her.
Konna believed that if saying were to be believed, and that opposites attract like in the case of magnets, her soft spoken nature was the reason Videl had allowed a friendship to start between them to begin with. Videl could be as hotheaded and temperamental as her mother, Vegeta and Piccolo put together; but one easy word or gesture from Konna could calm the raging teen into, if not complete remission, at least a much more calm mood.
"Whatever." Erasa smirked, opening the book on the inntable for them to see. "Let's pick out our candidates."
For all her talk of disinterest and tomboyish preference, Videl turned pages and giggled with the other two while they talked of the Winter Ball. Konna could not find any one boy that she preferred over any other. They were all nice to her, they all helped her carry book at some point, or sat next to her, or asked for her phone number. She dared not tell them that her phone line was far too long-distance to call regularly, so she fibbed and told everyone but Erasa and Videl that she had no phone.
"Hmm." Konna said, once the girls had looked through all the senior and junior pictures. "I don't suppose I have made any real choice. Most of them would be a decent date, whomever I choose."
"Yeah yeah, stop with being so proper." Videl said, sliding over and flipping the page to point out a particular senior. "He really likes you, I've heard he's going to ask you to go with him when we get back on Monday."
"Then I'll go with him, my problem is solved." Konna said, giving a short laugh and sitting back gingerly on the sofa.
"Wait just a minute. Tobias is going to ask you too, and don't rule him out he's totally hot. He's had a crush on you since you got here." Erasa flipped a few more pages and pointed out a senior Konna remembered from her English class.
"Are you sure?" Videl asked skeptically. "Because I'm sure I've heard of at least three more guys planning to ask her to go."
Both looked at Konna, who was slightly red-faced and crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh dear." Was all she could manage to say.
"What's 'oh dear' mean? You got it made if they all want to ask you, at least you don't have to worry about going alone." Erasa crossed her legs and smiled. "Well, neither do I but still, the point is you don't have anything to worry about."
"Yes I do!" Konna countered. "How do I tell them 'no', and nicely? And how do I chose which one?"
Videl humphed and rolled her eyes. "It's easy, repeat after me: 'no'."
Konna unfolded her arms and made a face. "I'm being serious, Videl. I'm not good with disappointing people. I'd feel like a failure if I couldn't solve this without hurting someone."
"Oh fart." Videl snapped, making Erasa giggle from the very slight vulgarity but not straight-out laugh for fear of Videl's temper. "Don't be a twit. Just say 'no thank you' or 'I have other plans' or even 'up yours'! But get a little backbone and learn to tell people 'no' once in a while."
Konna's eyes widened a little and she looked away, not sure exactly how to combat such a statement. Videl patted Konna's hand after only a moment, obviously just a little unsure of how she had come across. "I didn't mean to be raunchy. I'm just saying that you're too nice, like I'm too uptight. We both have to work on our own selves just a little..."
She paused for a minute, waiting to see if Konna's face became less abrasive. When it didn't she added sarcastically, yet more than a little seriously, "And h-ll, if you can't tell them 'no' God knows I can, in more ways than one."
Videl seemed to relax when Konna smiled again and even gave a breathy giggle, but before more could be said of that particular matter Erasa jumped up and ran across the room. At first Konna and Videl exchanged unsure glances, but she returned with a magazine from her purse and folded it to a particular page.
"Okay, I know how we can solve all our problems. There is a quiz in here that is suppose to tell you all kinds of interesting things about your love life. In your case," She pointed to Konna. "It should tell you who you should take to the Winter Ball."
Konna, intrigued, sat upright and nodded. "Well okay, my fate is now in the hands of media propaganda and disconcerting relationship quizzes...let's do it."
"Okay, clear your mind and don't think. I'm going to ask you a series of questions and you have to answer with the first thing that pops in your mind. And when I want a name you have to say a guy NOT related to you. Okay?" Erasa cleared her throat loudly.
"I'm ready." Konna said, not actually as excited as she let on because she knew the accuracy of these little tests were never good. Rarely reliable, but if it made Erasa and Videl happy, or at least entertained, she didn't care to play along.
"Color?" Erasa began, snapping Konna into attention.
"Green."
"Food?"
"Dim sum."
"Song?"
"Blue Danube."
"Huh? What's that?" Erasa asked, completely thrown off by the unconventional answer.
"It's a Waltz by Johan Strauss Jr., he was a very popular composer in-"
"Oh shut it and finish the quiz. I don't have all night to listen to all this nonsense." Videl crossed her legs furiously and sat back, eying both the girls in a 'get a move on' scenario.
"Okay, okay." Erasa began. "Anyway, I'll just go on. Your favorite pastime?"
"Sparing."
"Hot or cold?"
"Hot."
"Spring or Winter?"
"Spring."
"North or South?"
"South."
"Man's name?"
"Piccolo."
Erasa's eyebrows shot up in shock and Videl had a look of curiosity splattered all over her face. Konna blinked twice and sputtered for a moment, she felt her face begin to heat and was sure she had turned pink. There was nothing to be embarrassed about, was there? These girl's didn't even know him, didn't care about who he was -bor what he looked like. But still, that had been weird.
"What kind of name is Piccolo for a man?" Videl asked.
"Psht, the better question is what kind of man is named Piccolo? Just who is this guy that you thought of first?"
"Oh, just my old martial arts sensei. I've known him since I was a little kid. He's not a relative, and he is a man. So he still fits the criteria."
Erasa and Videl both lost interest, relaxing and sighing in dismay. "Well from now on try and concentrate on guys at school that you might actually have the hots for...and take to Winter Ball...now, let's go again. The guy's name that comes up the most is the one we're shooting for. He's suppose to be the one you're in love with." Erasa winked and Konna suddenly saw the importance of keeping only the boys they had discussed earlier in mind while playing this game.
"Beach or cruise?"
"Beach."
"Light or dark?"
"Light."
"Pink or Blue?"
"Pink."
"Summer or Fall?"
"Summer."
"Flower-"
"Cherry Blossom."
"Ocean-"
"Wave."
"Man-"
"Piccolo...wait, I mean Tobias. Erg!" Konna sputtered for a minute and smacked her face. "Really, I meant Tobias, I don't know why I said Piccolo again."
"I think I'm getting an idea why." Videl said slyly, crossing her arms and smirking.
"Why have we not heard about this guy yet, Konna? Sounds to me like you might have a thing for him." Erasa grinned widely. "No wonder none of the boys at school interest you."
"No, that's not it. I don't know why I keep saying his name. I was thrown off by something, I was thinking of the boys at school...honest." Konna's desperate attempt to explain herself had an obvious reaction from the girls: suspicion.
"That's fine, let's keep going. Just remember to keep a clear mind...boy-"
"Oh, um, Goten."
"Woman-"
"Bulma."
"Black-"
"Cat."
"Race-"
"Car."
"What would you rather do, kiss or hug?"
"Kiss."
"Who would you rather spend time with, your mom or dad?"
"Dad."
"Who do you want to hit?"
"James."
"Why?"
"He pinched my butt." The girls laughed at that answer.
"Okay, okay shush. Who do you want to play with?"
"Goten."
"Who do you want to sing with?"
"Mom."
"Who do you want to swim with?"
"Krillin."
"Who do you think is pretty?"
"You." Erasa smiled.
"Who is your favorite teacher?"
"Mrs. Harper."
"Who do you want to kiss?"
"Piccolo...ah! No, that's not it. Um, Linkin...no Blake."
"Seriously, Konna, you've got it bad for Piccolo. There's only one more question and I'm pretty sure I know that one's answer too. Maybe you ought to think about giving Mr. Piccolo a nice surprise."
"Oh no, don't call him that. Please, I called him that when I was little." Konna buried her face in her hands. "I can't do this, it's not right. He's my sensei. My teacher, I look up to him. He could never...we couldn't...it's impossible."
"Nothing's impossible, do you love him?" Erasa asked. "Really, do you like him at all that way?"
Konna didn't answer for a long time. "Is it an age thing?" Videl asked. "Is it icky for you because he's older than you?"
Konna shook her head. "No, he's only four years older than me."
Erasa snapped her fingers. "Then what are you waiting for? Go for him, he's only twenty and you're plenty old enough to date."
"No, no. It's complicated. You don't understand, you can't. And right now I can't tell you, it's too much. Just drop it, please." Konna looked up at them and, for the first time since she had known them, her eyes were filling with tears.
"I'm sorry Konna, really. We won't do this anymore." Erasa threw the magazine down and sat next to her. "Really, it was just suppose to be fun, maybe even a little helpful. I didn't mean to make you upset."
"I'm fine, can we just do something else? Anything else?" Konna stood up and walked a few steps away.
"I've got a movie to watch, we should take a break and do that." Videl half ran across the room and opened the door. "A change of scenery would do us some good too, let's go." And out all three girls went, not to return until that night to sleep.
However, as Konna lay on the pullout futon to sleep she was troubled by her small discovery from before. She loved Piccolo, she had always known that. But she thought it was a different love, like a best friend/big brother love, not romantic. Surely, not romantic. But that last question she had been asked, who would she want to kiss most, her heart cried out one name: Piccolo. She had no interest in kissing anyone else, and the heartbreaking part was that Piccolo, however fond she knew he was of her, would always see her as the child she'd once been.
He called her 'girl', and until very recently 'kid'. What Videl and Erasa didn't understand was that Piccolo could not love her in the way they understood romantic love, as physical responses to emotional feelings. Piccolo was an adult when they met, however young he was by human chronology, he taught her and loved her as any sensei would love and nurture a student. He was her protector and confidant...but could never be her lover, even if by some miracle he wanted to be.
Konna wiped away tears and closed her eyes tightly, pushing these thoughts and feelings as far from her consciousness as they could go. Piccolo did not need to be troubled by these irrational thoughts and feelings through their link, it would only serve to hurt them both in the long run. She needed to find a safe outlet for this, but a solution did not come to mind immediately.
Piccolo, who had been meditating far in the Northern Country, had felt even at that distance the sensation of emotional turmoil radiating from Konna. He overlooked it at first because it was not life threatening but soon his intense drive to oversee the girl's wellbeing drove him inland until he could pinpoint her location. He thought, if nothing else, he could merit the visit as a checkup and be on his way. But Konna had not been at home.
Instead he was forced to fly hours out of his way into one of the large cities, until he could tell that Konna was nearby. He let down his ki shield enough of give her warning of his presence, so she could meet with him quickly. Her wellbeing was not all he wished to check on, he missed her when she was not near him for a length of time. It had been over a week since she had last sought him out for training, so now she preoccupied his thoughts rather often. The sooner he had his dose of her the sooner he could do without for another week, and how he hated this need for her. This weak, vulnerable, completely useless waist of his energy...that he had no control over whatsoever, a fact which made him even more angry with himself.
She was waiting for him on the roof of a disturbingly large house, waving to him from the white top of marble with only a sleeveless satin sleeper keeping her covered. It was getting too dark to really tell the color but the material was dainty and smooth, hugging her shape nicely.
Piccolo cursed mentally and landed with a rough thud nearly six whole feet away from her. Irate at his own stupidity for getting such odiously arousing thoughts into his head. Why did he have no control over this?
"Piccolo-san." She said softly, something about her eyes warning Piccolo that she was not feeling her normal chipper self, and their link was giving him mixed feelings of both unease and affection.
"Hm." He hummed, careful not to look anywhere but at her face. She was too beautiful for her own good and he knew impure thoughts would invade his mind faster than he could filter them if he looked anywhere below her neck.
"I'm so happy to see you." She very nearly sang to him, her voice dripping with extra sweetness. Piccolo could not deny he found her unusually sensual tone to be completely intoxicating. He felt suddenly dizzy, as though someone had hit him squarely in the head and yet he felt no pain.
"Good to hear it." He said, his voice low and more growl than words. He looked down at the marble, and how he wished she would have worn something more. It was even slightly chilled out, it was only mid February so she needed to be warmer. At least, that was the rationalization he gave himself for wanting her covered.
He slid off his cape and walked two steps closer, then thought better of getting so near her. Her scent was also stimulating to him, she always smelled so sweet like fruits and nectar. So he tossed her the cape and told her to wrap up, absently noting that she did wrap herself in the white cloth. He kept his eyes on the marble floor, persistent in his attempt to ignore every part of her that was driving him to arousal. He shouldn't feel this way, Nameks did not have an opposite sex on their planet. If this was a sex drive why in the name of all the Kais was he having it, and now of all times?
"Thank you, you're sweet." She said, gathering every once of her nerve she stepped up to Piccolo and wrapped her hands around his large, and erotically muscular, torso.
She saw Piccolo snap to attention after having been examining the floor for most of their visit. She knew this moment would make or break them, but she couldn't stop herself nor did she want to. She slid her hands to the front of his chest to lean on him for balance, because she was having to stretch herself and stand on tip-toes to even reach his neck. He had always bent down to meet her, for their many pecks on the cheek in the past.
And he did this time too; he bent down to receive, what he believed to be, a small kiss on the cheek. He closed his eyes but she did not, and once he was not looking down at her she turned her head and their lips met for the first time. Konna could only think that, although she had kissed a very few young men at the school before tonight, this was so much more invigorating. She knew little of kissing but far more than Piccolo would, so she knew she would have to lead.
She did not have the chance. Milliseconds after their lips had interlocked, before she had the chance to even deepen the kiss, Piccolo jerked back roughly. His eyes were wide with, what she could only describe as horror. She felt a blush creep up on her face but she did not back away from him, she stood flat footed with her eyes as large as she could make them looking up at him expectantly. She wanted him to realize his mistake and bend to continue the kiss. Piccolo, who almost looked angry at first, saw her eyes begin to water and his face turned to indecision.
"Was that an accident girl?" He asked roughly and very low. He hands were clinched tightly at his sides, very nearly drawing blood, while he stayed very aware that she was still pushed up against him.
She let out a sad sigh and shook her head, and then he became angry. "Then what the h-ll are you doing?"
Konna blinked hard, trying not to cry; Piccolo was so rarely this rude with her anymore that, given the hope of romance, this outburst struck a very tender nerve. She was out of place, wasn't she? All this stupid girl talk with her friends and silly name game made her act foolish and childish…well, kissing wasn't childish. But foolish at least considering who it was she was doing the kissing with.
"You don't know what you're doing." Piccolo said down to her and stepping away, more frustrated now than angry. "Do not play games with me, I'm not here to be your experiment."
"But Piccolo, I…didn't…I don't…" She trailed off, unable to finish the thought. Piccolo waited until his impatience got the better of him, and then he powered up. What he could never tell her was that he wanted this, so much more than she could understand or even be aware of. He even wanted things that would not just make her blush but make her turn tail and run, never look back or give him a second thought. He wanted to be with her, all the time…in every way. For her to kiss and touch him this way was torturous to him and she didn't even know it.
"Enough playing." He said. "You're a woman now, stop acting like a child. This is not something I am willing for you to learn from me. I am not your teacher anymore, especially not with this." He turned around but Konna grabbed his arm hard enough to keep him where he was.
"Piccolo, I want this. I'm not playing…I haven't thought of you as my teacher in years. Many years." She begged him as much as she could not to leave in haste, she even tried to speak to him through their link, where she knew he could not ignore her.
Please, she begged. I love you. You know I do, and you love me too. I want this and I only want this with you. No one else. This isn't a game for me either.
Piccolo furrowed his eyebrows and looked hard at her, giving her the sensation that he was staring down an enemy on the battlefield. She let go of him and she couldn't help that her eyes began to water again. And then her bottom lip quivered, and all she could think of was that she had ruined everything. Every wonderful ounce of their friendship was falling apart in front of her, and it was more than she could bare.
She stepped far back and turned around, crying so hard she was shaking. She wrapped his cape around herself so tightly she thought for a minute it would rip, but it held fast. Piccolo, feeling such a strong pang of quilt and longing to comfort her made himself walk the few feet distance enough to stand behind her. He put a hand on her back, the only amount of affection he would allow himself, and tried to say to her without words that things would be okay.
"Just go." She snapped, after only a minute and turned swiftly around to toss the cape back at him. She was unexpectedly angry, and Piccolo did not know why. He had tried to be kind just now.
"Go back to your waterfall and your mountain, go and meditate. It's what you love most in this world anyway." She starting walking off, and Piccolo was left completely unsure of what to do.
"Konna." He called after her, forcefully because in the past that would always make her stay. This time she half turned her head and violently wiped away a tear.
"I can't see you now. Don't come and visit me." Her harsh words and fierce tone shot through Piccolo like tiny ki blasts, leaving his insides burnt and charred. He had never heard her speak this way to anyone before, save perhaps one of their many enemies from the past.
Now angry himself after such a singe, he shot back at her with just as much vile and venom as he could. "And what exactly did I do wrong? You're the one that kissed me."
Konna turned and a new set of fresh tears streamed down her face. "Yeah, that's right. I screwed up. I offered you something special and you spat in my face, something I thought would be wonderful completely disgusted you." She paused and wiped her eyes so hard Piccolo thought for minute she might actually damage them.
"I disgust you." She added slowly, quietly; she stared at the floor just as intently as Piccolo had first done. "I guess I keep forgetting you couldn't possibly want me."
Piccolo's fury dissipated at her last words and he abruptly realized she truly wanted him too, this was not a game or strange new lesson she wanted to learn. She wanted what he wanted, thought what he thought, longed the same longings he did. He could have smiled in that moment of realization but she snapped her head up at him so quickly he thought her head would spin off and land on the marble tiles.
There was a fire in her eyes he had never seen before, a fire that was not in the least bit pleasant.
Konna. He tried to say, because he was not sure if he could trust his voice not to waver or even form the right words. But she pushed his one word back at him and it scrambled his brain for a moment before dispersing into just the echo of an echo. She had never done that before.
"I mean it Piccolo. Go, and don't visit me again…I don't want to see you." Her finality was absolute. Then she turned around and began walking away. More than walking away, she was leaving him completely.
He could not call after her with his mind, and he said her name more than once to get her attention. He went to catch her but she darted inside the house, closing the door behind her. He was not sure what to do, he was in completely uncharted territory. He did not want her to leave, he wanted her to stay…he wanted her to stay with him and never leave. When he realized she wanted him too it was like a overflow of emotions and hopes flooded him so fast he barely had time to process it all.
Then, as suddenly as the wave of hopeful feelings had come an even more intense feeling of dread came upon him. What if he had lost her? What if his own stupidity and complete ignorance had made her hate him, truly never wish to see or speak with him again? He felt a sudden sickening in the bottom-most pit of his stomach with a mix of bile in his throat, burning and churning inside like the magma of a volcano.
In one fluid motion he took flight and headed in whatever direction his subconscious took him. He needed to get far away. As far away from her and the muddled mess she managed to turn him into, far from whatever emotions threatened to overtake him and change him to a sniveling blob of useless matter on the ground. If she was leaving him he needed far from her as well.
But, in the back of his mind, he wondered just how long he could respect her wishes and stay away; for he knew, as much as he could never have admitted it to anyone…he needed her. And to need something, aside from basic life functions, was not a weakness Piccolo wished to ever expose.
I do not need her. He told himself, forcefully enough that it could have sounded as true as any other fact of life. The sky is blue, clouds are white, water is wet, I don't need her. It sounded factual, true, void, and empty.
I do not need her. He repeated. I am Piccolo, I do not need anyone. I need water, air, and a good fight…I need training, quiet and meditation…but I do not need anyone.
The sad and disappointing part of the confusing conundrum in his heart and mind was that, behind all this, he knew he wasn't even fooling himself. Just as much now as ever, perhaps more now than ever before, he knew she was just as necessary to him as any other act that continued life: breath, nourishment, meditation, training…Konna; not particularity in that order, in fact nearly the opposite of that order.
He needed her. Curse all the deities that be for it, blame it on absence of mind, weakness, blindness, stupidity or loss of malicious intuition, but he needed her nonetheless.