TUSOKI

19; Fly

A/n; One shot that has been sitting in my drafts for the longest time. Finished for a friend. Enjoy!


It was a warm and quiet day on Kame Island. The time of day where it was too hot to venture outside, even for a swim unless you wanted a nice sunburn. Later there would be time for that, but for now, the occupants of Kame house were inside, doing their own various little things.

Master Roshi had left earlier to get some new lady magazines. Krillin and Eighteen were at the kitchen table, sipping some iced tea while playing a quiet game of chess.

Glancing up at the ceiling, Krillin frowned a bit.

"You think we should wake Marron up? I'm surprised she fell asleep like that in the middle of the day."

Eighteen didn't answer him at first, she was too busy calculating her next move. When she moved her pawn she sat back with a grin as Krillin let out a sigh when he noticed what she had done.

"Your turn, and no, she's been running around with Trunks and Goten all morning, I can understand she was tired after that. Besides, when was the last time she took a nap willingly? At least let her sleep until we finish the game."

Krillin nodded in agreement.

"Good point!"

Unbeknownst to her parents, their five-year-old was not sleeping at all. Instead, she had climbed out of her window and was now standing on the roof of Kame House with a very thoughtful frown on her face.

Clenching her fists, she very cautiously scooted to the edge of the roof, gulping slightly when she saw just how high up she was.

"Don't look, it's OK." She whispered while tightly closing her eyes.

Eighteen was about to move her chess piece and win the game when a piercing scream ripped through the silence around them.

There was a clatter of chairs and chess pieces as both she and Krillin jumped up simultaneously.

"Marron?!"

"Why did that come from outside?!"

They quickly stepped outside and around the house. The sight that greeted them wasn't a pretty one.

Marron was on the ground, crying hysterically holding on to one of her wrists. One of her ankles had swollen up considerably and looked worse for wear and there were several small scrapes on her legs and arms. Her lip looked busted as it was bleeding a little. It took everything in Eighteen not too go into full panic mode. A look to her right told her, her husband was in the same boat.

She quickly sat down and very carefully pulled her daughter into her lap, making sure not to jostle her too much. Marron's heart-wrenching cries did not help her already racing heart. The little girl seemed inconsolable for a moment. Eighteen willed herself to stay calm.

"Shh...shh. It's going to be okay."

"It h..hurts!"

"That wrist looks broken," Krillin remarked as he knelt down in front of them.

"And that ankle doesn't look much better. What did you do, Firefly?" He gently wiped some of Marron's tears, her sobs had subsided somewhat but she was still very upset.

"I j..just w..wanted t..to f..fly!"

"Fly?" For a moment both Krillin and Eighteen were dumbfounded, then realization set in and Krillin clutched the front of his shirt in shock.

"Don't tell me...Marron did you jump off the roof?!" He asked.

Marron nodded, hiding her face in her mother's neck. Eighteen sucked in her breath at that revelation but didn't say anything. They would address that issue in a little bit, for now, Marron needed some first aid.

"Bring her inside, I think we still have some sensu," Krillin said. Eighteen carefully stood up and followed him in the house. She laid Marron on the couch while Krillin went to the kitchen to get the little miracle beans.

"Here we go, eat this."

Marron grimaced when she chewed, it tasted weird. After only a few seconds the pain subsided considerably and her wrist and ankle felt really hot for a moment until all the pain vanished and she felt better than ever.

"How are you feeling?" Eighteen asked. She helped Marron sit up against the couch cushions.

"Good."

Eighteen let out a relieved sigh. She sat up straight and folded her hands in front of her chest. Krillin took a seat on the corner of the coffee table. Marron could feel her parent's eyes on her. Now that she was out of danger, the reality of the situation set in. She bit her lip nervously, she knew she was going to be in trouble.

Krillin gently tousled her hair before he adopted a very serious expression.

"I understand you wanting to fly, but why didn't you ask me or Mommy to teach you? You're lucky you didn't get hurt worse than you were! You really scared us for a moment there."

"I thought I could do it after watching you and everyone else fly all the time. It looked so easy. But even if I jump really high, I won't stay in the air so I thought jumping down from something would help."

Eighteen raised a brow at that.

"Flying can be easy, once you learn the proper way to do it. You don't just go jump off random things and hope you don't get hurt! That was a really reckless thing to do, do you understand that? You could have gotten hurt worse!"

Marron bowed her head at her mother's stern tone of voice and nodded.

"I'm sorry."

Eighteen just shook her head and sighed. Sometimes she really wondered if Marron was capable of seeing the danger in anything she did.

"I won't do it again, I promise."

Krillin stood up.

"You got that right, no more roof access for you, young lady. At least not until you know how to properly stay in the air.

Marron's eyes lit up.

"Will you teach me, Daddy?"

"I might think about it. For now, I think it's best you stay inside for the remainder of the day." With that, he left the living room to clean up the chess pieces and chairs from the kitchen floor.

Marron slumped back against the cushions of the couch after that. She had planned to go swimming with Turtle when the sun wasn't too hot anymore.

"And no TV, and I think an earlier bedtime for the next three days should suffice." Eighteen added. "7 pm sounds like a good time to me."

Marron frowned at the last part of Eighteen's statement but knew it was useless to try and argue it. Her mother usually kept her foot down unlike her dad, who could be persuaded every once in a while.

"Okay."

Eighteen held her arms open and Marron crawled into her lap.

"I'm sure glad you're okay though." She said hugging the small girl close.

"But why do you want to fly so badly now? You never asked us or told us before you wanted to learn. We figured you didn't really care for it."

"I just want to keep up with Trunks and Goten. They always fly up when we play tag, because they know I can't follow them. It's not fair!" Marron huffed, crossing her arms. Eighteen shook her head at that. She could have known it had something to do with those two boys.


Marron's face was scrunched up in concentration as she stared at the small ball of energy her dad was rolling between his hands. He had been trying to teach her all about KI the past few days and she had almost made a small ball of her own but it was harder than she anticipated.

"I'm never gonna do it, do I really need KI to fly?" She asked with a sigh.

"Don't give up, Firefly! You almost had it not too long ago. And yes you do."

Marron assumed her previous position and held out her hands.

"Can I feel it one more time? Maybe that helps."

"Sure." Krillin carefully let the small energy ball roll around her palms.

"What does it feel like?"

Marron thought for a moment.

"Uhm...it's warm and a little fuzzy... like my favourite pillow?" She answered.

Krillin made the ball disappear.

"Okay, concentrate on that feeling and maybe yours will come out this time."

Marron nodded, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply. From the porch, Eighteen and Master Roshi were watching them.

"I wonder if Marron will be able to adapt to KI like Krillin does once she gets the hang of it." The old man rubbed his beard.

"He has a unique way with it, he can sense things about it even I can't. He can manipulate it to his will and pinpoint almost exactly just how strong someone is or if they are hiding their powers."

Eighteen nodded in agreement. Krillin was special in that way. Even if she herself did not produce KI, she knew pretty much all about it courtesy of Gero's modifications. But knowing about it and dealing with it every day were two entirely different things, a fact she had brought up when Krillin suggested her joining in with his training sessions.

She stepped down from the porch and made her way to her husband and daughter. She sat down next to Krillin, chuckling softly at the intense concentration on Marron's face. He nudged her softly, pointing at the small girl's hands.

Eighteen raised a brow as she observed a decent sized ball of energy dancing above her daughter's palms.

"Pretty impressive hm?"

Marron opened her eyes when her hands started to feel warm. She smiled brightly when she saw she accomplished her goal.

"I did it!"

The ball flickered a little and Krillin warned her to stay focused. After a few more moments, it dissipated.

"Aw, it's gone."

"Try again."

Marron concentrated and almost jumped up in surprise when the energy came back almost immediately.

"Did you see that?"

Krillin nodded.

"Keep practicing until you get the hang of calling your KI at will. Once you can do that, we can go ahead and go to the next step."

"OK!"

Eighteen agreed to stay seated with Marron while Krillin got supper ready. She smiled as she watched her daughter get excited every time she managed to call forth her energy.

"I'm getting better, look, Mama, I can move it!" Marron slowly moved her hands so the ball jumped from one to the other. Eighteen raised her brow at that.

"Very good." She remarked.

"Very good indeed!" Krillin said with a smile when he returned.

After a few more sessions during the following days, Krillin determined Marron was ready for the next step. He had a feeling she would not have much trouble from here on out. Her KI control proved to be remarkable, a trait she definitely inherited from him according to Master Roshi and Eighteen. It made him feel proud and a little giddy at the same time.

"Alright, give me your hands."

Marron did as she was told. At once Krillin hovered up.

"Don't go too high, please!" Marron said quickly. Her whole adventure of jumping off the roof had made her a little more cautious.

"I'm not, don't worry. Now try and concentrate all your energy on your feet."

Marron nodded, doing as she was told. She felt a small jolt as if she was standing on a cloud of air.

"I think I did it." She said softly.

"How do you know?"

"Because it feels like there is something invisible under my feet."

Krillin nodded in approval. He started to slowly loosen his grip on her hands but Marron stopped him.

"Don't let go, Daddy! Not yet!"

"Alright, I'll just let you do it. Whenever you're ready."

Marron bit her lip nervously as she slowly let go of Krillin's hands. Krillin expected her to drop down the few inches to the sand of the beach but to his surprise, she stayed afloat in the air. He cocked his head a little when he noticed her stiffened posture.

"Relax, Marron. You got it!"

"Daddy, shh!" But it was too late. Her concentration was broken and she dropped down.

"Ah man!"

Krillin chuckled at his daughter's expression, she resembled her mother so much right at that moment. He sank down as well and grabbed a hold of her hands again.

"Let's try again."


To say she was nervous was the understatement of the year! Marron gulped slightly as she clung to her father. They were really high up in the sky. So high that her mother, who was below them just above the ocean, looked like a little dot.

"Alright, I think it's time we fly for real now," Krillin said with a smile. Marron had mastered hovering up a few inches and had gradually added more height and movement but now was the moment of truth. How would she do from a great distance such as the one they were facing right now?

If she could pass this little test, she'd be ready.

"I'm scared," Marron said softly as she looked down once more.

"If you don't want to do it, just tell me."

"No, I wanna! But I'm scared I'll fall into the ocean or get hurt."

"That's not going to happen, your Mommy would never let you fall. She'll be there to catch you if you can't do it."

Eighteen looked up at the sky. Marron and Krillin were quite a distance above her. She had her doubts when Krillin told her of his plan but had to agree it was a foolproof way to see if Marron had what it took to keep herself safe in the air. That didn't mean she wasn't a little apprehensive. And from the looks of it, Marron was having second thoughts as well.

"Everything okay up there?" Eighteen yelled so they would hear her. Krillin gave her a thumbs up.

"Whenever you're ready, let me know." He said as he turned towards Marron. The girl took a few deep breaths.

"I'm ready!"

Krillin gave her a quick hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Alright, start counting down."

Marron opened her hand and counted down loudly from 5 to 1.

At the last count, Krillin lifted his arms and let go. With a loud scream, Marron plummeted towards the ocean. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes tightly as she felt the air rush past her.

Eighteen watched her come down at a very fast pace and braced herself, making sure she was ready to catch her daughter if needed.

All of a sudden everything went quiet. Marron had stopped screaming and slowly opened her eyes. She had come to a halt a good few inches above her mother's outstretched arms.

She was flying.

"I did it! I did it!" Her outburst made her wobble a little bit but she managed to stay airborne.

"You did, I'm so proud of you." Eighteen said with a smile. Marron willed her body to move. She flew the last few inches towards her mother and almost crashed into her arms happily.

"Did you see me?! That was so scary but so cool!" She untangled herself from her mother's arms and floated upwards.

"Daddy! Look I'm really flying this time!"

Krillin caught her as she zoomed up to him.

"Well done, Firefly. I think you're ready to give two certain saiyans a run for their money now!" He joked.

"I sure am!" Marron stretched out her arms and flew in a circle around him before descending again. Krillin followed her, coming to a halt next to his wife. Together they watch their little girl fly around them with the biggest smile on her face.

"I guess your idea worked."

Krillin nodded.

"I knew it would, I don't think Marron realized it, but she was already pretty much flying. She just needed a little push to go a bit higher."

Eighteen chuckled at that.

"At least now we don't have to worry if she jumps off the roof."

Krillin agreed wholeheartedly with that statement.

END

Thanks for reading! A review is always appreciated!