Chapter Twenty-six
My foot falls echoed softly all around me as I walked forward in the hall of dreams. I hung a left and turned a corner to another long, brightly lit hallway. I resumed my walk forward, my eyes lazily scanning each door as I past it, looking for her door. Was there any logic to this? I pondered, again, as I tried to make sense of the layout of this place.
Further deeper into the maze of doorways I trekked, wondering if my sister was some how blocking me from visiting her dreams. I turned right down a dimly lit hallway and trudged forward still, frustrated at this stupid place for not being alphabetical or something equally as practical.
Just when I was beginning to give up, I heard the echoes of a child's startled gasp behind me. My head whipped around and my feet followed immediately, stepping forward after the retreating sound, back down the hall I just came from.
The child's footfalls echoed up ahead of me and I could see torch light dancing shadows on the wall. I quickly moved forward, running now to gain ground. I turned the corner and caught sight of the edge of a nightgown flutter down the hallway on the right. I leaped forward, catching up quickly.
I turned right, around the far corner and heard and saw the last door on the left of the long hall slam shut. Ka-thunk!
I jogged forward on my toes, silently closing the distance to the door. I paused outside of it, my ear to the door as my hand reached quietly for the brass doorknob. I heard shuddered sobs as I twisted the knob and gently pushed the door open, my eyes briefly scanned the ancient text on the door as confirmation that I had indeed found her.
Inside, the room was lit only by dim candle light. A little saiyan girl sat on a bed with her knees under her, her tail wrapped protectively around her drawn appendages. Her head snapped up as I entered the room and she glowered at me.
"What do you want?"
"Tsukemono! Ha! I finally found you!"
She scoffed and glared at me, "I wish you would loose me again!"
I gasp and stepped back, shocked, "What did I do?!" I asked, stepping forward again towards her.
"You tricked him! You tricked him into loving YOU!" Her tail unraveled and swished erratically behind her as she bared her teeth at me.
I stood still, shocked. "Who…what-?"
"It wasn't enough to have the foreign prince's love, but you had to keep his too! I will NEVER forgive you!" The little girl all but screamed at me.
I took another hesitant step forward, "Tsukemono, I don't know what you are talking about! Who-"
"ROU! MY Rou! He should be MINE! But he won't claim me because you filled his head with LIES! I HATE you!"
I stopped my advance to ponder what she was saying. Lies? What lies?
"Tsukemono, I haven't been around Rou in years! How could I-"
"You did! You did, you did, you did! Don't LIE to me! Take it back! Let him love ME!" She started sobbing again.
My heart melted at the sight of my older sister crying, her child's form tugging harder at my heart strings. I went over to her and tried to place my hand on her shoulder, wanting to comfort her and reassure her that I did not want to be with the Captain, but she pulled away from me, backing away further on the bed as if I was trying to drag her off to the pits of hell. She squeezed her eyes shut and yelled at me.
"Stay AWAY from me! I wish I had never found you!" The little girl cried out loudly. She opened her eyes with a gasp and clasp a hand over her mouth, looking around wide eyed as if the devil himself was coming now to her.
I scrunched my brows, confused by her actions.
She backed further away and jumped off the bed, still scanning the room wide eyed.
"Get out! Get out now! She is going to-!"
Her form suddenly started to vanish, becoming more and more transparent. I could hear an echoed cackle deep in the recesses of my mind. *oh ho hee hee hee…too late, oh ho...*
The sound faded as my sister faded away. Her mouth opened, forming a silent scream as her face winked out. I stepped back, backing towards the door I came in through, horrified. The room was starting to disintegrate right before my eyes. Trails of matter rose up like smoke tendrils until it just vanished.
My back hit the door and I reached behind me and turned the knob, watching wide eyed as the room vanished into nothing.
Afraid to disappear too, I turned to leave, swinging the door wide, then stepped back into the hall of dreams, shutting the door behind me. Once it was closed, I looked back at the ancient text etched into the door. It started to fade in and out right before my eyes and I gasp before being dragged away from it, as if some force was pulling me back through the maze. I closed my eyes and listened hard as my dream form was propelled backwards quickly through the halls I came through, my feet off the floor completely.
*Oh ho, now you've done it, girl. I cannot have you helping your sister. I have no choice but to make sure you can never dream again!* An angered, aged voice reverberated through the halls as I left.
*No! No I was not helping her! Don't! You can't do this to me! I just want to be with-Mmm!* A young, frantic pleaded voice answered, but it was cut off by a muffled scream.
*Oh ho hee hee hee, too late for that girl! Too late!*
*Too late!* The echoes of the hag's shrill voice and echoed laughter faded from my grasp as my eyes popped open to an unruly, spiky head of hair and two large, round onyx eyes that shone with excitement. I slowly blinked away my dreams and smiled a sleepy smile up at my training partner's lit up face, pushing the dream further down into my mind.
"Mornin' Princess! C'mon, get dressed! It's sparrin' day!" The older Saiyan said enthusiastically as he pressed both hands down firmly and repetitively into the bed springs beside the groggy girl, causing her body to shake and jolt unevenly.
Reina grumbled at her friend's bubbly, care free attitude. She threw the covers off of her, using it as a distraction as she intentionally swept her arms up against Goku's shoulder, shoving violently, and causing him to be pushed back to the foot of the bed. He impacted the frame with a wood splintering thud and turned to her, smiling darkly.
She smirked over at him playfully, "That's a point for me!" She jumped up with a rush of excitement and ran for the bathroom door, barely stopping herself from running into Goku's broad chest as he transmitted right in front of her path in an orange blur.
She jabbed at him blindly with her right fist, but he blocked easily with his left forearm so she stomped on his right foot with her left heel. He glanced down in disbelief just as she hooked her left elbow into his jaw, whipping his head around and breaking herself free from the dazed man. She smiled briefly as the memory of fighting Vegeta with the same move crossed her mind. Works every time…
She scrambled around her Saiyan sensei and just made it to the bathroom door, slamming it shut right before she heard and felt two strong fists collide with the other side, sending spider web splinters crawling up the white, inner frame. She collapsed with her back against the sink with a heavy sigh, then yelled through the door, "That's two! And time out, let me pee!"
She heard Goku grumble something about a dirty trick before his voice and footfalls slowly faded as he retreated down the hallway. She relaxed a little and made her way to the toilet.
Eight months. Eight, long, tiring months of training with Goku. Every week he would pick something to focus on, like ki, stamina, or speed. Every day that given week he would drill endlessly on the focus area. He showed her every move he knew, and she learned them by practice, not by touch. She decided for complete mastery, she needed to learn it for herself, however her natural talent helped her pick up on the moves rather easily.
In the first few months, they decided that once a week would be sparring day. No drills, just spar and practice what was learned. Goku would usually wake her up in a similar fashion as this day, with her occasionally waking him up for a preemptive strike, since they only counted surprise attacks for points.
Reina loved every minute of their training. Occasionally, more than she cared to admit, she would think about the 'Badman' and what punishment she may have to endure once they came out. She shuddered subconsciously as the thought and the man crossed her mind once again.
As she looked herself over in the mirror, her mind wandered back to her interrupted dream. Tsukemono, I wonder if you're ok? She pondered, as her mind tried again to make sense of what her sister had said.
*"You tricked him into loving you!"*
Rou…I never led him on…that I know of…?
*"I'll never forgive you!.."*
Forgive what!? What happened?!
*"It's too late for that, girl! Oh ho hee hee hee…"*
Reina frowned and forced the thoughts away as she grabbed her training clothes-a dark blue tank top and her tight, black spandex shorts. She cleared her mind, then pulled her top over her pink sports bra, and finished dressing by tying her hair back in a tight ponytail. She nodded once at her reflection in the mirror, took a deep breath and reminded herself that it was only one day on the outside. She stepped into her shoes, pulled the laces tight and moved back to the splintered door. Ok…here we go…
She cautiously opened the bathroom door and stepped out defensively, leery of Goku ambushing her. She listened, then walked slowly towards the kitchen.
She rounded the corner of the kitchen, ready to defend herself – to Goku shoveling food into his mouth. She smiled and jogged over to the table, snagging a handful of bacon as she sat.
"Morning Sensei! Heeey! Did you eat all the sausage already?!" She looked up at him with an incredulous scowl after scanning the table.
Goku smiled a goofy grin as he forked a whole pancake into his mouth, "Shuda got up soona!" He mumbled with a mouth full of confections. Reina rolled her eyes and chuckled as she grabbed what food was left and dug in. They had an unspoken truce while they were eating - no sneak attacks.
Once his breakfast was finished, Goku took his dishes to the sink, set them down, then turned and smiled at the girl's back as she sat and ate at the table. Man, if I have a daughter one day, I hope she's half as strong as you…and even if she's half as willing to train, she'll make a great warrior!
He smirked as he thought, but his smile fell as his thoughts turned to the Saiyan prince and how mad he will be. I don't think she has any idea what she's in for…but I can see why he wanted her to himself….heh heh…she's fun to spar with…hmm, I wonder...
His thoughts stopped as he watched her rise, still with her back to him. The left corner of his mouth rose minutely as she turned with her dishes to his position at the sink. Goku's smirk turned to a mischievously smile before he quickly blasted her with a small amount of ki energy. He then took off flying out of the open kitchen doorway and outside the house completely, snickering the whole way. That's one for me!
Reina swallowed the last of her food and got up to put her dishes in the sink. She forgot to stay on guard, and as soon as she went to look up at Goku, she felt a ki blast disintegrate against her left shoulder blade. She grit her teeth at Goku's surprise attack, ran and tossed her plate in the sink, before turning and blasting off after her teacher.
She caught up to him outside, and they exchanged a series of rapid blows, ascending ever higher into the expansive sky, before Goku connected hard with her jaw with a wide right hook that sent her plummeting back down to the white terrain.
Reina scrunched and stopped her descent easy enough. She blasted back up to her sensei, then rocketed past him, determined to pay him back. She paused in the air above him and placed her hands out to her side.
"Ka…me…" A slow dark blue energy began to take shape in her palms.
Goku grinned and mirrored her, quickly charging up to match her power level, and kept pace with her blast growth silently.
"Ha…Me…" Her voice cut through the silence of the plane as the dark blue energy swirled in her hands, growing larger still.
Goku narrowed his brow, watching closely, his own light blue energy blast growing steadily in his hands to counter hers. His smirk widened. Vegeta will be so surprised at her power now…she learns so fast!
Reina took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Once her breathing was slow and controlled, she focused on a spot behind Goku, about twenty feet away from him. She was hoping to catch him off guard, and just in case he did not react, she wouldn't kill him from that distance, but she knew the skilled warrior would react in time.
The Princess bit her lower lip, concentrated on the energy in her hand so she didn't blow herself up, and used her instant transmission to appear behind her mentor in the exact spot she wanted.
She grinned madly, the blast in her hands grew hotter as she held it, watching him look around for her. I hope Vegeta is just as surprised….she thought, then rolled her eyes as her thoughts inevitably turned to the man she missed, but she quickly refocused, her blistering finger tips becoming a painful physical reminder.
Goku blinked just as the girl should have been ready to launch. He was listening for her final cry, but when he opened his eyes again, she had vanished. He gasp and looked about frantically, then quickly whirled around at the sound of her voice from behind him.
"Ushiro! HAAAAA!" The girl let loose a large ki blast, that was barely countered by her teacher's. Her vibrant dark energy sped forward and collided with Goku's lighter blue energy. Reina's blast steadily pushed his wave back until she closed her palms tight, winking out the energy altogether. She grinned madly as she waited for the smoke from the blasts to dissipate.
Goku grit his teeth at the backlash of the impact, then smiled at her floating figure, "Not bad! You have gotten much stronger! When did you master the instant transmission kamehameha? Hahaha!"
Reina drifted cautiously closer to him, at the ready for any surprises, " Well, just now I guess, hahaha!" She laughed with him.
"Well, I'll give you the point for that one, but we still got all day!" With that, his aura pulsed brightly around him, charged and sparking. His hair turned golden as he rushed forward at full speed. Reina grinned and ascended instantly to his level, meeting his fists and knees evenly in a whirlwind exchange of strikes and counterstrikes.
Their battle did last all day, with only brief pauses to snack and hydrate. After many hours later, an exhausted female saiyan finally flopped down on the lone couch to sit and relax.
Her hair was wet from her recent shower, and she wore a pair of grey sweat pants and a plain white tank top under a dark blue button down shirt that hung open and loosely over her smaller frame.
The shirt was one of Vegeta's that she shamelessly snatched before exiting to this plane of existence. She smiled and inhaled the collar of the shirt while fumbling with the metal top of a mason jar. Spicy burnt wood and his unique, earthy pheromones saturated her senses. When did I start missing him so much...She sighed as she finally got the jar open.
She had discovered early on that things on this particular plane of existence replenished itself. When she grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and closed the door, then immediately reopening it, there would be an identical bottle in the same spot . The same was true with the pantry, so, being the genius she was, she stored her baggie of weed in a pantry jar and voila! She had weed for a year!
Reina broke up some bud as her teacher took his turn showering. She had a couch pillow at the ready next to her because no matter how many times she yelled at him, Goku couldn't seem to get it through his thick head that she didn't want to see him walk around naked. It seemed his wild upbringing gave him no sense of modesty.
Truthfully, she didn't mind seeing him nude, but she felt strange and a bit perverted at looking at him that way. Plus, she could almost feel Vegeta's angry, penetrating gaze on her anytime her eyes lingered on her current saiyan mentor longer than a few seconds. She smiled to herself as Vegeta's smirking face popped up in her mind, once again.
*"I could live my life right here…"*
She sighed as she ground the green plant matter in her worn out grinder. Her thoughts were inevitably always linked to the surly man, and how much she missed his grouchy attitude. She pondered again about how mad he would be when they emerged, and that thought always managed to make her shudder. She could imagine the anger he must be feeling and sighed again. Your short temper is going to get you killed, she thought, unaware of how true her thoughts really were.
After packing her small pipe, she torched the grass and inhaled slowly, blissfully happy after a long, hard day of physical training. She continued to smoke as she meditated on what areas she needed to improve on.
Goku came out of the bathroom some time later with the end of a towel stuck in his ear, wiggling it as he tried to dry the water that had accumulated there.
Reina raised the pillow at the first signs of his presence, never glancing over at his nude form. She had already seen enough of him the first few months to last a lifetime.
"Go-kuuu…." She started, but did not have to finish as the older Saiyan nodded dutifully on his way across the room to his bedroom, "Wakatta, wakatta…" (I know, I know…)
Reina had tried to get the man to try marijuana, but he had politely refused, saying something about Chi Chi killing him, and then dismissing the idea all together. After a few failed attempts, Reina quit asking and just enjoyed her pot by herself. It was always a welcome reward after a hard day's workout.
Goku came back into the room a few minutes later dressed in a sky blue tank top and white boxers. Reina tamped out her pipe and was packing another bowl when her teacher came and sank down onto the other side of the couch. He settled his feet up on the low, wooden table in front of them with a content sigh. There was silence for a few moments, as both Goku and Reina watched the white smoke cloud roll out above Reina. She smiled with droopy eyes, then sparked the bowl and inhaled again.
"Do you want to be with Vegeta? I mean, you do like him, don'tchu?" Goku asked out of the blue.
Reina started coughing violently as his questions registered in her mind. Once she got her breathing under control again, she looked over at the curious Saiyan as a slow smile spread on her lips.
"What makes you ask that?" She set her pipe down and turned to him, drawing her knees up under her sideways form.
Goku mulled over the question while lacing his hands behind his head, "I don't know...just watching you two…and there's Vegeta's possessiveness…I just get the feeling he likes you, and was curious if you felt the same way. After all, he is my friend…sort a…heh heh..."
Reina looked briefly into the man's mind to see if what he said was true, and she found that yes, he was genuinely just curious about his friend. Her smile widened as she sighed, "Goku….y-yes. Yes I do like him, very much in fact," she felt her cheeks heat up at the admittance, but continued, "but he doesn't act like he feels the same at all! With him its always hot one minute, cold the next..he's such a hardass, and for no reason!"
"Well, I think he does want you, and based on what I saw the morning we came here, you didn't seem to be questioning his feelings for you then, hahaha!" Goku chuckled lightheartedly.
Reina bit her lower lip as her mind played back images of Vegeta looking down on her, his eyes blazing with desire, and something else. *I could spend my whole life right here, and be content…*
It all seemed so long ago, but in reality, it was less than a day. She shook her head lightly to clear it, then turned back to the Saiyan across from her, "Well…that just…sort of happened…I….he…"
Goku unlaced a hand and held it up, " N-no need to explain. Look, the point I'm gettin' at is," he turned his head to face hers and his features hardened, "if you choose to be with him… please, don't break his heart. I know he seems tough, but if anyone deserves someone to be good to them, it's him."
Reina's eyes widened at his sincerity. His face darkened slightly as he spoke again, softer this time, "I thought he and Bulma were going to be together forever…and I just can't understand how she could do that to him…."
He trailed off, and Reina reached a hand over to pat his knee, "I know what you mean, and I had to be the one to tell him about it. I was so afraid he was going to call me a liar and beat the crap out of me…but he didn't. It was like he already knew…and I was just confirming it." She looked up into Goku's dark eyes, her own orbs full of sadness.
Goku smiled reassuringly, "Well, what happened, happened, but I'm glad you're here for him now. He needs someone like you to keep him in check, hahaha!"
Reina sighed and chuckled, "Ha! Me? Keep HIM in check? Goku, you must have been hit in the head too many times…"
Goku grinned, "Mmm, perhaps, heh heh…" His face lit up suddenly, "Oh hey! If you two do get together, y'all could have babies that would be Saiyans! The first full bloods in forever! Wow…and royalty too!" He sat back and contemplated the idea.
Reina pulled her hand away from his knee and chuckled slowly, "Ah ha ha…well, I don't know if that will ever happen…umm…er…oh! Hey Goku! What's that?" She asked, pointing over his shoulder and gasping in surprise.
Goku turned a curious face in the direction she pointed, successfully distracted from the topic of mating. Reina grinned then used her instant transmission to appear right where he was looking.
"Boo!" She threw her hands out and smiled ear to ear, then quickly started giggling uncontrollably.
Goku laughed with her, amused by her antics. He grabbed his sides as tears leaked from his eyes. He knew she had diverted his attention from their discussion, but understood why, and it only made him laugh harder.
Once their laughter died down, Reina stretched her arms up and yawned loudly, "Ooohh-ooh, I think it's time to go to bed, at least for me. What are we working on tomorrow, sensei?"
Goku thought a moment, then grinned, "I think for the next month I am going to teach you a special technique called Kaioken. You'll love it, but you have to be careful though…it's dangerous…"
Reina tilted her head, "Oh? An new dangerous technique? That IS exciting! I can't wait!" She grinned, feeling slightly less tired at the prospect. Slightly.
Goku got up and moved towards his room, pausing to let her catch up.
Reina skipped over to him and stopped beside him, looking up at the tall man, "Thanks again, Goku, for doing this for me." She reached an arm around his back and gave him a sideways hug.
Goku placed his arm around her shoulders, "No problem, glad I got the chance to teach you, butchu better learn all you can, 'cause Vegeta really WILL kill me when we get out of here..."
Reina rolled her eyes, " No he won't…he'll be too busy trying to kill me! Hahaha!"
Both of them laughed at that, then the girl pulled away from the man and walked to her bedroom door, "But, thanks to you, I may have a decent chance this time," she winked at him, " plus I have a few technique that I practice specially for him."
"Oh? Like what? I didn't know you were workin' on anything special!" He asked excitedly as he paused in his doorway to listen.
Reina chuckled nervously, "Uh huh….these moves are….umm…not ones I'd use on you…heh heh…dirty tricks….if you will." She blushed madly and hoped he wouldn't ask her to elaborate.
Goku tilted his head in thought, then his eyes widened, "Ooohh! Oh, that's…haha, that will certainly catch him by surprise. You're just as bad as him, hahaha! I hope you two do have babies, they'll be unstoppable!" With that, he tapped the door frame to his room a few times, then saluted her, "See ya in the mornin'. Sweet dreams, princess." He smiled, winked, then vanished into his room.
Reina smiled back at the empty space, then rolled her eyes as she stepped into her own room, slowly making her way to the bed. Sweet dreams…huh, I doubt that….I wonder if I can find Tsukemono again...
She drifted off to sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. She was so exhausted that she didn't even dream that night, not once.
^v^v~Earth, eighteen hours into the day without the girl~^v^v
Vegeta panted hard as he continued to train his body well into the night. The twinkling stars were becoming brighter as the sinking sun retreated for the day. He dropped into a one handed push up, pumping his tired body up and down on the hard packed earth repeatedly, occasionally switching to his other hand periodically. He had been training to distract his mind from the girl and what she did.
As soon as he left the lookout, he came to his training spot to blow something up. He. Was. Furious. She openly and blatantly defied him, and he was starting to re-think his feelings for her. The last thing he needed was her up and deciding to leave him just because they had one little fight. They could of talked it out, he wasn't unreasonable.
He thought about her defiant glare, and her low handed tactic with the mind control. He should of blasted for the tower right away, but he didn't think she would go.
In truth, he knew he was being a little unreasonable by telling her she couldn't train with the half wit, but really he was just hurt that she would choose the third class over him. I could teach you better…his moves are nothing compared to what I learned on my home planet.
He thought about his time on her planet as he kept training, doing one armed chin ups now on a tree, high up in the branches of a old oak tree. A night owl hooted near by.
When he had gotten to her planet, her older sister was all over him, he remembered, and the younger princess didn't really want to spend time with him. This made him curious, and so he sought her out one day to see why.
*"Why don't you want to play with me, Kyuri?" He had asked.*
*She grunted, "Cause I looked in your mind, and you do not even want to be here. You do not want a mate, and I do not fancy trying to win your affection. I have training to do, if you do not mind, so go bother my sister…and it is PRINCESS Kyuri to you, thank you very little."*
It had pissed him off that she blew him off, so he started following her and asking to train with her. After many refusals, she finally relented and started training with him, learning his moves, and he even picked up on some of hers. Somewhere along the way, they became very close. When it came time for him to leave, the young prince had begged his father to let her come, but the King had said no, since Kyuri needed more time on her planet to train her mind. He didn't understand why she couldn't practice on his home world, but in retrospect it was probably due to an unfinished political business.
He let go of the branch and let himself fall to the earth, turning and landing on his hands in a push up position. He promptly started a series of push ups again, sweaty and tired, but determined to keep going.
He practiced everything he could think of, again and again, exhausted by the time the sun came up. He leaned back against the trunk of the large oak tree and watched with half lidded eyes as the sun slowly started peeking up over the distant mountain tops.
By the time the sun rose halfway over the mountain, the tired saiyan had fallen asleep in a sitting position next to the tree. He did not dream, his body and mind too exhausted to do anything but recover.
^v^v^~A few hours later~^v^v^
"…hey, Vegeta…?" A cautious voice asked shyly.
The man by the tree grumbled, but did not open his eyes.
A sigh, then a slightly sterner, louder voice, "Vegeta….wake up Vegeta." A man nudged the sleepy prince's shoulder gently, afraid he would wake up in anger.
Vegeta sighed heavily then his eyes blinked open, then narrowed as a person stood over him, "What? What do you want, brat!" He grumbled groggily.
Gohan stepped back and scratched his head nervously, "Hah, well…I just…I wanted to tell you…"
Vegeta rose from the ground slowly, his rear end numb from sitting so long, "Spit it out boy! Why are you bothering me?!"
"I just wanted to tell you that my father just got home….which means-"
Vegeta did a quick search for her ki as soon as the demi human said 'father' and found it. It was in the city. He grabbed Gohan by the shirt collar, cutting him off, "How long!?"
"Uh, l-less than an hour now, I think…" Vegeta let go and scoffed, "Tsk," He took off towards the girl's apartment, angry at himself for sleeping too long. He had hoped to greet both of them as soon as they exited. He flew faster, determined to give the girl a piece of his mind. You better be there when I get there, or you will be sorry...
Author's notes:
Oh my….Vegeta is so mad! How will Reina deal with his anger? Find out next time, my friends!
Oh! homework for my devoted readers!
Next chapter I will reference a song called:
"I want you bad" by The Offspring.
If you have not heard this song, please PLEASE go give it a listen before you read the next chapter….it will add depth and understanding in a way that is sure to satisfy.
Also! Please review!
I kinda purposely delayed posting this chapter so you guys could relate to Vegeta a bit on having to wait….hahaha! Evil, I know ;P
Anywho, please come back and read on….more exciting things are coming!
Thanks for all the support! Until next time!
~K