Disclaimer; As if any ones actually reading this, but just in case you are, I don't own DBZ. Why are you reading this?
A/N; Hello to everyone who is reading this, I hope you are all good today. In case you forgot it's me Deadly Beauty and I would like to say a really big huge THANK-YOU to everyone who has reviewed this so far, I love reading them all. But you probably came here to read the fic and not the A/N so I'll stop typing now ok. ~Deadly Beauty.
A Helping Hand
Chapter 13
"Krillen do you have to go?" asked 18 sadly.
"Do you want to be able to pay for our wedding?" asked Krillen. 18 saw his point, he really did have to go.
"Ok" said 18, she'd been trying to persuade Krillen not to go ever since she had found out almost 3 weeks ago, but now as they stood out on the beach, under the brilliant blue sky basking in the warm morning sun, she knew he had to.
"I'll only be gone for 4 days babe, not forever".
"4 days is a long time". Krillen kissed Marron on top of her tiny little head. "You look after your mum for me ok," he said. 18 laughed and held Marron just a little tighter.
"Don't hurt your self ok" said 18.
"I highly doubt I'm going to have to worry about that, the only competition I might have is Yumcha, but now I've undergone your special training I don't think I'll have to worry about that" said Krillen, clearly referring to the activities of the pervious night. 18 blushed just a little. "I would hardly consider that training but if that's what you want to call it go ahead" said 18. Krillen looked at his watch then kissed 18.
"I gotta go," he rose up into the sky, holding onto the little capsule that contained his suitcase tightly. "I love you".
"Wait!," called 18 and she pulled her engagement ring off her finger. "Take this". Krillen slipped the ring onto his little finger, blew a kiss at 18, then he was gone. 18 turned and made her way back into the house.
***
Krillen zoomed through air at his top speed. He was heading for a little island just east of Nikki Town, which unfortunately for Krillen was about a 3-hour flight. But he didn't mind he was actually looking forward to participating in the tournament, it had been a long time since he had done any sort of competitive fighting. He was just glad that Vegeta or Piccolo weren't fighting.
Some time later the island came into view. He could see air cars and planes landing in the car park. Krillen landed and began to search for Yumcha's ki, he felt it not to far away and headed off in that direction.
Yumcha was sitting on a bench it his orange gi, holding a can of coke and a hot dog when he saw Krillen, who was also dressed in a gi.
"Yumcha, you shouldn't be eating all that fatty stuff" said Krillen as he sat down next to his long time friend.
"I don't really care, I'm hungry" said Yumcha. Krillen looked around and smiled, the atmosphere here was terrific. Competitors and there families were walking around looking at the stalls or playing the sideshow games. Next to the World Martial Arts Tournament, this was the biggest competition of the year. This was the only tournament of its kind, unlike the World Martial Arts Tournament this one was held over 4 days. With 50 to 70 fights a day, depending on the number of competitors.
"Well should we go check in or what?" asked Krillen.
"Yeah, probably" said Yumcha and they made their way over to the registration desk.
***
Board and lonely, that was two ways to describe 18 at the moment. Krillen had only been gone for 4 and a half-hours and already it felt like a million years had passes. 18 had wanted to go with him, but she had to stay home to look after Marron, there was no way Marron could have gone, no way in the world.
Eventually she made her way back upstairs to her room, it felt like a crime to be indoors on such a beautiful day, but she didn't really feel like being outside. 18 found a packet of photos in the draw of one of the bedside tables and so she decided to have a look. The first shot was the one that used to be in the photo frame. There were a few shots of 18 when she was pregnant and some that Master Roshi had taken of Krillen and 18. There was also a few of Marron in there. Once 18 got back to the first photo she put them back in the packet and picked up the photo frame, which now had a new picture. It was one Roshi had taken of Krillen and 18 a few weeks ago. Krillen was sitting on the front step of Kame House and 18 was sitting on his lap, their hair was blowing around in the wind. It had been a candid shot and there was no real pose. At the time 18 hadn't even been aware Roshi had a camera, if she had known she probably would have hid, she didn't like having her picture taken very much. But still, this was a very nice shot. 18 put the frame down and looked at Marron, who was lying next to 18 chewing on her favourite toy elephant.
"Marron you're not supposed to chew on your toys" said 18 and she took it off her. Marron looked up at her mother with sad eyes and 18 just couldn't help picking her up and giving her a big hug.
***
"Would all participants in the tournament please make their way to the waiting area now?" called a man with a deep voice over the P.A system.
"That's our cue Yumcha, let's go" said Krillen and he and Yumcha headed off to the waiting area, along with every one else.
Krillen looked around the big, crowed room. There must have been 200 people in there at least. Most of them were men but there were a couple of women scatted through out the room. Krillen looked at his list of fights for round one. He was to fight some guy who was just called 'X' in the 22nd match. Yumcha was up against someone called Riley in match 43. Each match was limited to 25 minutes since there were 62 matches to take place in the first round. It was going to take almost all day to get through it all, which was why the tournament was held over 4 days.
"Hey, Krillen, which room are you in?" asked Yumcha as he began to do some gentle exercises.
"11" replied Krillen. Yumcha's jaw dropped, "Me too".
That was another thing, accommodation was provided, it wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. There were to be 6 people to a room, and although the only furniture in the rooms were 6 camp beds and a chair, it would be fun. In a big coincident Yumcha and Krillen had somehow been put in the same room, which meant they would be put with four strangers. Oh well, they might make some new friends.
A tall man in a bright red jacket and black pants entered the room and everyone fell silent. The man cleared his throat and began, frequently referring back to the notes he had on his clipboard.
"Uh, hello ladies and gentlemen, firstly I want to thank you all for coming out here today, and I wish you all the best of luck. I'm just here to give you a brief run through of the rules. If you fall off the side of the ring; you loose. If your opponent hold you to the ground for 5 seconds or more; you loose. If you break any of you opponents bones; you loose, Please it is in your best interest to play fair and above all have fun and make some new friends" said the man then he left through the same door he had come through. About 5 minutes later the fighting started.
Krillen watched absent-mindedly as the fighting progressed, he would much rather be at home with his family right now, but he was here, so he might as well at least try to enjoy himself. Soon it was time for Krillen's bout against the mysterious X. He pulled 18's ring off his little finger and shoved it in Yumcha's hand .He walked out onto the ring and almost fainted. X was a huge guy, dressed in some sort of spandex that was clearly too small. (A/N: think Mr.Satans helper guy Parushgi, from the cell saga). Krillen gulped and dropped into a fighting stance. It turned out Krillen didn't have to worry, the moment the bell rung he remembered he was part of the Earths Special Forces and knocked X out in one blow. Krillen bowed formally to his opponent and left the ring.
"Yeah, you sure showed him" cheered Yumcha. Krillen blushed and put his hand behind his head.
"It was nothing really," he said sheepishly "can I have that ring back?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, here you go. Where'd you get that anyway, did you find it?" asked Yumcha. Krillen laughed as he slipped the ring back on. "It's 18's" he said.
"18's why do you have that robots ring?" asked Yumcha.
"That robot is my fiancee, and I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about her like that" said Krillen and then he remembered that he hadn't spoken to Yumcha for almost 3 years, he had no idea that Krillen was engaged and had a daughter.
Yumcha's face paled, 'Krillen was going to marry some one who used to be one of their greatest enemies'
"When exactly did all this happen?" asked Yumcha
Krillen smirked "About 10 minutes after she gave birth to my daughter". The next thing Krillen heard was a loud thump as Yumcha hit the floor, out cold.
Later that night Krillen was lying on his camp bed talking to his new friend Kemp, who had won his match earlier that day. Kemp was a big strong man, with lots of muscle, and like Krillen, also had a deep hate for Hurcule.
"So you got your self a woman?" asked Kemp. Krillen rolled onto his back and put his hands behind his head. "Sure do," he replied "you?"
"I been married for 15 years now," said Kemp "you hitched or what?"
"Na, I'm actually here to try and get the money for our wedding," said Krillen. The door creaked open and Yumcha crept in, he had a big lump on his head from where he had fallen on the floor earlier that day.
"Have you got a picture?" asked Kemp.
"Yeah, I do" said Krillen and he pulled a small photo of 18 and Marron out of his wallet.
"Is that you kid?"
"Yeah, that's our daughter".
***
18 groaned and rolled over, she missed Krillen. She couldn't stop looking at the picture in the frame. She hated being alone, it just brought back unhappy memories, of the few months after cell, before she found her brother, before she even found herself in the jumbled mess that was her mind. Suddenly noises started to come through the baby monitor. 18 managed to climb out her nice warm bed and trudged down the hall to Marron's room. She picked Marron up and began to slowly walk back and fourth, but Marron wouldn't stop crying. 18 changed her nappy and gave her a bottle, but she just wouldn't go back to sleep. This was ridiculous.
"C'mon Marron, go back to sleep" begged 18. Still Marron wouldn't shut her eyes. 18 groaned and sat down in the chair in the corner of the room.
'Why do you have to be so far away Krillen?' 18 asked quietly. She yawned and rubbed at her eyes. It was about then that 18 realised how reliant she had become on Krillen, she had just become so used to having him around to cheer her up when she was down, and to help with Marron and so much more. He made her feel special in only a way he could. He knew almost everything about her. And he had shared his deepest secrets with her, which obviously meant that he trusted her. That was a first, there were very few people on this planet who actually trusted her enough to confide in her. And finally, after how ever many months it was, she was able to tell Krillen how she felt, and she had never been happier. 18 couldn't wait to marry Krillen, the wedding was 2 and a half months away and just about everything was set. The church and hall had been hired, the food was taken care of, and the dresses were being made up. That reminded 18, she, Bulma and Chi-chi had to go get the dresses fitted next Wednesday. 18 looked down at Marron, sometime while she was thinking, Marron had fallen asleep. 18 put Marron in the cot then headed back to her own room, soon she was fast asleep.
***
"Krillen, wake up" came Yumcha's persistent voice. Krillen groaned and buried his face in his pillow.
"Go away," he mumbled "it's to damn early".
"That doesn't sound like you Krillen, if I remember correctly you always used to be up before the sun" said Yumcha.
"Yeah, well I have a kid now, you have no idea how much I cherish a good decent nights sleep," said Krillen and he sat up "but I guess I'm not going to go back to sleep now".
"That's the spirit, now let's go get some breakfast". Krillen got out his bed, got dressed and followed Yumcha down the hall
In the hall there were rows of long tables. Krillen spotted Kemp sitting by himself on the far side of the room and headed over to join him.
"Morning" said Kemp when he spotted Krillen.
"Hi," Krillen greeted his friend, then he remembered that Yumcha and Kemp and never been formally introduced. "Kemp, this is my long time friend Yumcha, Yumcha this is my new friend Kemp". The two men shook hands before Yumcha and Krillen took their seats.
***
18 slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room. She figured she might as well enjoy the peace and quiet while she had it. Suddenly 18 heard a loud crash down stairs. She immediately jumped out of bed and ran to investigate the noise.
"What the hell happened in here?" she asked as she burst into the kitchen. Master Roshi was lying on the floor, seemingly unconscious and Oolong was holding a frypan above his head. 18 actually found the scene rather amusing.
"It was an accident" said Oolong. 18 looked suspiciously at Oolong then picked Master Roshi up by the collar of his shirt, as if he weighed no more than a feather.
"I really don't care if it was an accident or not, I just want to know what happened". Oolong gulped.
"Well Roshi and I were arguing and things got a little out of hand". 18 rolled her eyes toward the ceiling then headed into the lounge room, she dumped Roshi on the couch and headed up to Marrons room.
Marron was lying in her cot, eyes wide open, and making funny baby noises when 18 walked into the room. She watched Marron for a while before picking her up and taking her into the bathroom for a wash. Once Marron was clean 18 dressed her in a little pink jumpsuit and took her downstairs so she could have something to eat. 18 entered the lounge room just as Master Roshi was waking up, he had a big red lump on his head, which would surely bruise. She went into the kitchen and got a bottle out the fridge then heated it up and gave it to Marron, who sucked hungrily at the bottle until there was nothing left.
***
"C'mon Krillen, it's this way" said Yumcha as he lead Krillen downs many different halls.
"No, I really think it was back the other way" said Krillen, he was beginning to get frustrated with Yumcha.
"Just trust me Krillen, the phone is this way".
15 minutes later, they found the phone. Yumcha had totally lead them in the wrong direction. Krillen growled and vowed to get him back later.
"Ok Yumcha you can go now, I think your match is coming up soon". Yumcha checked his watch then ran off down the hall. Krillen picked up the phone and dialled in the number of Kame House.
***
Oolong walked past the phone just as it started to ring. "Hello" he said
"Hi Oolong, is 18 there?" asked Krillen.
"Oh, hey Krillen" Oolong didn't get to say anything more because the phone was snatched out of his hand. He looked up to see it was none other than 18 who had taken the phone away. He should've known it would have been her.
"Hi Krillen" said 18, she was happy just to hear his voice.
"Hey babe, how ya going?" asked Krillen.
"I'm good, and you?"
"Apart from the fact I miss you, I'm doing great. I'm kinda board though" admitted Krillen. 18 smiled, it was good to know he was enjoying himself. They talked for about 15 minutes. But the phone was a pay phone and Krillen and run out of money to put in it, so he had to go. 18 put the phone down and walked out onto the verandah.
It was a beautiful day, the sky was blue and fluffy white clouds floated lazily over the sparling ocean, she smell of the ocean filled her noes and she could hear the waves crashing up against the wet sand. 18 smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She loved it out here in the middle of no where, it was just so peaceful. She highly doubted she could ever live in the city, she was just so used to the solitude of Kame Island. It was the only place in the entire world where she could just be herself, and she considered herself very lucky to be here. Sighing happily, she turned and made her way back into the house.
***
The crowd at the tournament grew quiet as the two finalist bowed, the listened as the announcer gave out information on either of the two remaining competitors. Then the small bell rung and they were off. The audience could see nothing more but coloured blurs as Yumcha and Krillen exchanged blow after blow. Both as determined as each other to get that 4000 zenni prize money. Before long the two men were flying high above the arena.
"Is that allowed?" called the announcer. Krillen grabbed Yumcha's hand and pinned it against his back, preventing him from moving.
"You know you can't beat me, and I really need that cash, so why don't you just give up now" suggested Krillen. Yumcha twisted around and broke free of Krillen's grip. "I don't think so".
Krillen rolled his eyes, "Suit yourself, I'm going to win this thing eventually".
A few minutes later Krillen slammed into the ring with a loud thud, he got up almost straight away though. Yumcha landed on the ground, panting and out of breath, it was obvious he hadn't been doing an awful lot of training. 'Time to end this' thought Krillen to himself and he charged at Yumcha and caught him off guard. Krillen forced Yumcha to the ground and held him there. 5 seconds later the bell rang. Krillen had won the tournament.
He helped Yumcha up and shook his hand.
"Congratulations buddy, the better man won" said Yumcha as he and Krillen made their way off the ring.
"Na. You just haven't been training"
***
18 was so absorbed in the book she was reading that she didn't hear Krillen land on the island, she didn't even hear him enter the house. So when her engagement ring landed on the page she was surprised to say the least. 18 threw her head back and saw Krillen looking down at her.
"Hey babe" he said. 18 smiled and jumped over the back of the couch and into Krillens open arms, knocking them both back onto the floor.
"I thought you weren't going to be home until tomorrow" said 18, she pushed herself up off Krillen and helped him up.
"The tournament finished early" said Krillen.
"Did you win?" asked 18.
"Did I win, of course I won, I have the money in my suitcase" said Krillen. 18 kissed Krillen and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank-you Krillen" she said
"For you babe, I'd do anything".
A/N; Please review. Please *Makes big pouty face* I'll give ya a cookie, or if you'd rather, my sister. And now I'm thinking about it, you should go and review all the fics you read while the site was in read-only mode and you couldn't review cause that would be really nice of you and your all nice people. ;) ~Deadly Beauty