TUSOKI
15; Pierced.
A/N; This idea wouldn't leave me alone, I was writing to a different one shot but alas, plot-bunnies don't wait. So I hope you enjoy this installment!
Eighteen was seated on the beach of Kame Island, keeping a watchful eye on her daughter who was building sandcastles near the shoreline. Even after moving to the city, they still visited the small island often because it was so quiet and serene. A good place to take a breather.
She glanced back at the front of the house where Krillin and Master Roshi were playing a game of cards and from the looks of it, her husband was losing...again. She grinned softly to herself as she turned back to watching Marron.
Eighteen let out a small sigh as she observed the small girl leap away from the small waves time and time again, sandcastle seemingly forgotten as she yelled out in glee when the cold water managed to touch her bare feet.
In just a few days time, Marron would turn six. And while Eighteen was happy she grew up to be a smart and happy child, sometimes she wished time would stand still for a moment.
Marron turned towards her with a smile.
"Mama, look what Turtle found for me!"
Eighteen stood up and made her way over, crouching down to observe what she was holding in her hands.
It was a fairly large seashell that was covered in little barnacles and had some bright coloured streaks all over it.
"Isn't it pretty? I'm gonna put it on my shelf in my room."
"It really is." Eighteen agreed. She stood up and took her daughter's hand.
"Speaking of your room, it's about time we went home. Let's gather your stuff and get you changed out of your swimmers."
"Okay, bye Turtle!" Marron yelled over her shoulder with a small wave. Umigame nodded his head in response.
"Time to go?" Krillin asked when they stepped onto the wooden deck of Kame House. Eighteen nodded in reply.
"Alright, I'll gather our stuff and wait here till you're done changing."
A little while later they all said goodbye to Master Roshi and got into their air car before taking off. Not even five minutes into the flight home, Marron fell asleep.
Krillin smiled as he glanced at her in the rear-view mirror.
"She is knocked out, pretty sure she'll be sleeping soundly through the night." He said softly. Eighteen nodded.
"Which is a good thing, she needed to let out some of her energy anyway."
Krillin steered a little to the left, it wouldn't be long before they had to touch down and drive the remainder of the way home.
"Did you order the cake she wanted for her birthday yet?" Eighteen asked.
"Yup, that's all taken care of. Now all we need is a present and to be honest I have no idea what she wants aside from the little things you already got her. I asked her but she said she didn't know yet. Maybe you'll have more luck on that." Krillin said with a chuckle. He turned into their neighborhood.
"Home sweet home!"
"Finally."
Eighteen got their beach bag while Krillin gently shook Marron awake.
"Wake up sleepyhead, we're home."
Marron stretched lazily before getting out of the car, making sure not to drop her seashell.
She made a beeline up the stairs to her room as soon as Krillin unlocked the front door. Eighteen shook her head as she followed her daughter upstairs.
Krillin busied himself in the kitchen, preparing a light evening meal. It was a little later than their usual dinnertime, the sky was already turning with the colours of the setting sun.
Eighteen put their swim clothes and towels in the washer before heading to Marron's room. She stood silently in the door for a moment until Marron noticed her.
"I put it right in the middle, see?" She said pointing to one of the shelves next to her bed. It mostly held her storybooks aside from a few small knick-knacks here and there.
"Looks good." Eighteen remarked. She gathered some night clothes and motioned for Marron to follow her.
"We have a little time for a bath before dinner, let's go."
"Okay!"
After their bath, Marron was seated on her parent's bed while Eighteen was gently combing her hair. It had grown longer than her own by now and part of her wondered if she needed a haircut.
"Can you braid my hair?" Marron asked.
Eighteen nodded.
"Yes, and while I do that why don't you tell me what you want for your birthday? Your daddy says you didn't know yet."
Marron rubbed her chin, wrinkling her forehead as she pretended to think deeply about what she wanted. In reality, she already knew but didn't exactly know how to ask for it. When her hair was finished, she turned around and climbed into her mother's lap, observing her for a few moments. Eighteen raised a brow at the intensity of her daughter's stare.
"What is it? Do I have something on my face?" She joked.
Marron shook her head.
"I know what I want for my birthday now." She said softly.
"Alright, what is it?"
"I want those, just like you." The small girl said with a smile, softly touching the small silver rings in her mother's ears.
Eighteen raised a brow at that.
"You want your ears pierced?"
Marron nodded eagerly.
"Please? Can I? Pleeeaaasseee?" She said clasping her hands together.
"Other girls in my class have their ears pierced too." She added for extra emphasis.
Eighteen chuckled at that.
"Well, how about we go downstairs and tell daddy about it and see what he thinks?"
"Okay!" Before Eighteen could even get up, Marron had already dashed from her lap, down the stairs into the kitchen where Krillin was finishing up the last of their meal preparations.
"Papa guess what, guess what?!"
"What?"
"I know what I want for my birthday!"
Krillin turned the stove off and turned towards her to give her his undivided attention.
"And?"
"And I want earrings just like Mama has!"
Krillin was surprised, he hadn't expected an answer like that. He glanced towards the table where Eighteen had taken a seat. She just smiled.
"It's what she wants."
"Can I?"
He turned back to his daughter.
"Well, I guess we can do that if you really want it." He said picking her up.
"But you have to be absolutely sure about it okay? I mean getting your ears pierced is a big step! There are still a few days before your birthday to think it over."
"I will, but I already am," Marron said with a serious look. Krillin had to stifle his laughter at it.
"Okay, well let's eat. I don't know about you, but I am hungry!"
Later that evening, the household had quieted down, Marron was sound asleep in her bed while Eighteen was seated on the couch in the living room, She was on a laptop. Krillin joined her with two steaming cups of tea which he gently placed on the table.
"What are you doing?"
"Research."
Krillin lifted his brow at that. He scooted closer, resting his head on her shoulder so he could view the screen. Eighteen was scrolling through a list of Tattoo shops nearby.
"Why are you looking at Tattoo parlors?"
"To see which one also does piercings so we can go get Marron's ears pierced." Eighteen said. She clicked another link.
"I thought they did that at one of the malls we have?"
Eighteen shook her head.
"They do, but I don't want her to go there. I've read up on it. It's safer to go to a professional than to those mall places where they use equipment that isn't cleaned properly." She said.
"I don't want her first experience to end in tears because of an infection or worse."
"Makes sense, but are kids even allowed in shops like that?"
Eighteen clicked a few other links.
"There is actually only one shop that pierces kid's ears and it's on the other side of the city." Eighteen said while browsing said shop's webpage. From the pictures, it looked like a clean and professional environment. Even Krillin was impressed.
"Isn't there an age limit though?" He asked.
"I don't know, let's see." Eighteen clicked on a different section and scrolled down.
"Yes there is, looks like Marron is lucky. They only pierce kid's ears 6 and up apparently."
She read some of the text out loud. After browsing the site some more and jotting down the address, Eighteen closed the laptop. She took a sip of her tea which had cooled down considerable by now.
"I'll go by there tomorrow and check it out first before making an appointment." She said.
"Sounds like a plan. Let me know how it goes. I'll be on patrol tomorrow so I'll check my phone periodically."
The next Saturday, Eighteen quietly made her way up the stairs, into Marron's room. Her daughter was still fast asleep, spread out all over the bed with the covers on the floor. She shook her head at that as she quietly opened the curtains. It was still early but the sun was already out. It promised to be a nice day.
She sat down to gently shake Marron awake.
"Wake up, birthday girl." She coaxed softly.
Marron groaned, turning away from her. Eighteen snorted at that.
"I swear you and your father are the exact same." She said to herself. She rocked Marron a little more firmly this time.
"Time to get up!"
She carefully lifted her into a sitting position, holding on so she wouldn't fall back.
Marron slowly opened her eyes and let out a yawn.
"It's too early, Mama." She muttered.
"It's never too early on your birthday!"
At that Marron perked up immediately.
"I forgot!" She said.
"How can you forget your own birthday?" Eighteen joked.
Marron shrugged. "Dunno, I just did."
"Let's go downstairs, your dad made you your favourite breakfast."
"Chocolate pancakes with strawberries?"
Eighteen nodded.
"With whipped cream?"
"I don't know about that, that's not really a breakfast food is it?"
"But today is a special day," Marron said
"That's true, but you won't know until you go downstairs. Come on."
Marron's eyes widened when she stepped into the living room, there were balloons and streamers everywhere.
"It's so pretty!"
She turned when Krillin emerged from the kitchen.
"There she is! I was wondering if you were just going to sleep all day!" He joked.
"Of course not!" Marron said. She giggled when Krillin gave her a hug and ruffled her hair.
"Happy birthday, firefly! Ready for some breakfast?"
"Yep!"
They all sat down at the table. Marron was delighted when Krillin made a 6 out of whipped cream on her pancakes. Eighteen just watched the scene before her while sipping some coffee. She wasn't hungry.
"These are so good."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Krillin offered Eighteen some strawberries but she declined.
After breakfast was over, Marron got to unwrap the gifts that were waiting for her on the living room table which consisted of some new summer dresses she had begged Eighteen to get her when in the mall one day as well as some new storybooks and a toy or two.
"Thank you, I love all of it!" She said giving her parents a big hug.
"But that's not all, you have something you needed which are the new clothes, something to read and something to play with. But what was it that you really wanted?" Eighteen asked.
"Earrings," Marron said without hesitation.
"Well then I suggest we go and get you dressed so we can go get that done, don't you think?" Krillin chimed in.
"Really?" Marron asked with widened eyes.
"Really."
"Yes!" Marron jumped up with glee.
"Right now? Can we go right now?"
"Do you really want people to see you in your pajamas?" Krillin joked.
"No!" Marron said laughing. "That's silly! Can I wear one of my new dresses?"
Eighteen nodded.
"Which one?"
Marron had to think about that for a little while before deciding on the light blue one.
After getting dressed, Eighteen put her hair up in a bun so it wouldn't get in the way later. Krillin had already cleaned up and was waiting for them by the door.
The drive to their destination was a bit longer than anticipated because of traffic. Marron had quieted down in the backseat. She was holding her favourite small plush rabbit that Seventeen had gotten her a while back.
"Will Uncle Seventeen come by today?" She asked.
"Yes, he will as well as your aunt and cousins. And of course everyone else too."
"Yay, that's going to be fun." She said with a small smile.
"We're here." Krillin announced. He parked up the street. Marron grabbed a hold of his hand. All of a sudden she felt a little nervous though she tried not to show it when they stopped in front of a small building.
Eighteen went in first. She was immediately greeted by a tall woman with short, bright bubblegum pink hair. Her arms were covered in colourful tattoos and she had several piercings and earrings.
Marron couldn't help but stare at her in awe.
"Hey there, right on time." The woman shook both Krillin's and Eighteen's hand before crouching down to Marron's height.
"And this must be the birthday girl!" She said with a smile.
Marron nodded shyly, stepping a little closer to her dad.
"I'm Ira, what's your name?"
"Marron."
"That's a pretty name," Ira said. She stood back up and motioned for them to follow her to a room in the back. Krillin was impressed as he looked around. The shop was immaculately clean. There were a few other people in the shop and soft music was playing over the speaker system.
Ira led them into a small, brightly painted room that had paintings of butterflies and flowers all over the walls.
"This is my special room, just for kids like you who come here for the first time. Do you like it?"
Marron nodded, she hadn't let go of Krillin's hand yet and he could feel her squeeze a little. He figured she was getting quite nervous by now. He pulled her into his lap as he sat down in one of the comfortable chairs the room possessed. Eighteen sat down next to him while Ira went over the procedure with them. Eighteen already knew this since she had visited the shop beforehand.
"It's okay to be a little nervous, but I promise you, you'll only feel a realllllly small pinch and it will be over. Wanna come sit in this big chair?"
Marron shared a look with her parents before resolutely hopping of her dad's lap. She climbed into the chair and sat back.
"Can I hold my rabbit?" She asked softly. Eighteen didn't miss the hitch in her voice. She smiled at Krillin, both knowing Marron was trying her best to be very brave.
"Of course! And guess what? I got something for you to take the nerves off a little bit. How about a lollipop?"
Marron nodded.
"I've got strawberry, lemon or grape flavoured ones."
"I want strawberry, that's my favourite." Marron said.
"Strawberry it is!"
Ira unwrapped the sucker and gave it to Marron who happily stuck it in her mouth.
"So first you have to choose which earrings you want. I've got a few here." Ira held out a small tray with packaged earrings.
"These are in sterile packaging and made of titanium so the risk of infection is really small." She explained to Krillin and Eighteen before turning back to Marron who was peering at the earrings in concentration.
"I want that one, those look like Mama's earrings," Marron said pointing at the tray.
"Oh nice choice!" Ira said, she set the tray aside and grabbed a rolling table.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes!" Marron said.
Ira laughed at the determination in her voice.
"Okay then, let's begin with your right ear. Turn your head a little so I can clean it." Marron did as she was told. She looked at her parents who gave her a thumbs up.
Krillin couldn't deny getting a little nervous himself when Ira finished cleaning Marron's ears and marking the spot where the needle would pierce her skin. The sight of the needle didn't really help. It looked really sharp.
"Okay now comes the hard part, Marron. Take a really deep breath when I tell you too okay? You might feel just a little pinch but it will be over in a second!"
Marron nodded, holding on to her rabbit a little tighter and squeezing her eyes shut in anticipation.
"Okay here we go, deep breath!"
Marron did as she was told, biting her lip when she felt the small pinch of pain the pink haired woman had described. After doing her other ear, Ira leaned back and discarded the needles she had been using into a specially marked bin.
"All done! Look at you, you're so awesome!" She said.
She held up a small mirror so Marron could look at her ears. She was smiling broadly as she turned her head sideways to get a good look at them.
"I did it! Look at my cool earrings!" She said turning to her parents.
"Really cool!" Krillin agreed.
Eighteen nodded.
"Well done."
Marron was practically beaming with pride when she hopped off the chair to join them again.
"Alright, now you got to take good care of your ears for a little while okay? Don't touch the earrings without washing your hands first and mommy and daddy will have to clean them once or twice a day with this special lotion." Ira said holding up a small bottle of liquid. She handed it to Eighteen.
"She can switch these starter earrings for different ones after six weeks, the cleaning is most Important in the first week. After that, you can go to cleaning once a day or every other day. It's highly unlikely but if you do see signs of infections, make sure she doesn't develop a fever, small kids sometimes do. Take her to a doctor if that's the case. And that's about it, let's go back to the front."
They followed her to the front desk where Krillin paid before they said their goodbyes.
"You were amazing today, Marron. I hope you have the best birthday!" Ira handed her some stickers.
"Thank you," Marron said with a smile. She waved until the door closed behind them.
"They look really good on you." Eighteen remarked as she took her daughter's hand.
"You were a little scared weren't you?"
"Just a little bit! But now I am happy because I have earrings and they are super cool!" Marron climbed into the backseat of the car. She had the urge to reach up and touch them but didn't.
"Mama, can I have your little mirror, please?"
Eighteen chuckled softly, sharing a look with Krillin when she handed it to Marron who promptly spent the car ride looking at her ears.
"We've got to go pick up your cake and then we'll go home. Everyone is coming over soon." Krillin said glancing in the rear-view mirror.
"Okay, I can't wait for everyone to see my ears! Trunks and Goten are going to be so surprised! And now I also match with Uncle Seventeen! This is going to be the best birthday ever!" Marron said with a happy sigh.
"Oh and Mama?"
"Hm?"
"When I get older, you know what?"
"What?"
"I'm gonna get pink hair just like Ira, did you see that? It was so awesome!"
Krillin almost choked at the expression on his wife's face before they just smiled at each other. Yes, sometimes they wished Marron wouldn't grow up so fast, but at the same time, they couldn't wait to see who she would become as she grew older.
END!
Thanks for reading. Also, it should be known that I really do not follow the DBZ/DBS timeline in some of these. Don't forget to leave a review to tell me what you think! See you next time!
