Zenko and Nikka ch.4
Someone rapped at the door. "Come in," the voice of a woman called out. The door to the room slid open and a young boy, barely in his teens, walked in. "Mother?" Zenko asked looking around, not seeing her anywhere. A woman, with dark hair and in her late 30's, stood up behind the table she was working at. "Zenko, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you here, son?" she asked. "Well, you see... There's this girl I like, she's in my training group..." Zenko started to say, but stopped as he flushed with embarrassment. Zenko's mother held up her hand.
"Say no more! What's her name?" she asked with a smile. "Sakura..." Zenko began. "Hayata?" Mother finished with a bit of an inquisitive tone. Zenko slowly nodded and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"Oh! Sakura's such a sweet girl! She often comes down to the lab to help out. In fact, there was one time-" Zenko's mother was cut off by the sound of a large explosion. The force caused the entire facility to shake and vibrate, throwing Zenko's mother off her feet but was quickly caught by Zenko. "Thank you dear," she breathed out as another explosion rocked the lab. "Stay here, son." She quickly ran to the back of the room. "No mother! I can help with this fight!" Zenko protested. "I said no!" Mother replied as she returned to the main room with her Saiya- jin battle armor on.
"But mother, I can help this time!" Zenko argued. "No! You are not of age yet, Zenko. Now, you must hurry off to the shelter," she admonished, pushing him out the door. "No! I refuse!" Zenko shouted, chasing after his mother to the elevator leading to the surface. She stepped inside, turned and pushed Zenko out. "Mother! I want to help!" Zenko pleaded, but it was in vain. "I'm sorry dear, but there is no way I can let you fight. Maybe next time, okay?" she said gently as she pressed the button which activated the elevator. As the doors began closing she waved and said: "I love you".
"I love you too..." Zenko half-whispered. After the doors had shut and the whine of the elevator's transit had faded, he turned and walked sullenly to the shelter.
Three hours passed since start of the battle. It had all been quiet for the last hour. Finally fed up with waiting, Zenko stood up. "I'm going out there!" "Get back in your seat!" one of the guards shouted as Zenko strode towards the doors. "Out of my way," Zenko said in an unusually calm voice, but the guards held their posts in front of the doors even as Zenko walked right up to them. When it was evident that the guards would not budge, Zenko reached up and grabbed the closest one by the collar of his armor and flung him into the nearby wall. The remaining guard growled and pointed his energy rifle at Zenko, who looked at it, and then grabbed the barrel, crushing it in his hand and twisting it around. The guard was dumbfounded by this act of strength and defiance, and when he took another look at Zenko he saw a stare so cold and sinister that he instantly jumped to the side.
Zenko almost smirked and pressed a button on the controls, making the door slide open. He stepped out then burst into a run down the hall. Several of the other young Saiya-jins hurried to follow him out.
"Th-that kid. isn't normal!" the frightened guard stuttered to himself after Zenko had left. Looking at the rag-tag group who had trailed after him, Zenko chose the four strongest warriors out of the group: Sakura, Toshi, Hedeki and Fumiko. They entered the elevator and waited with anxiety as they slowly ascended to the surface of the planet. When the doors hissed open Sakura and Fumiko both gasped, Zenko and Hedeki turned white as a sheet and Toshi felt ill. What had been bodies of Saiya-jin fighters were strewn all across the charred and pitted landscape. Areas gleamed red as the spilt blood from the slain warriors soaked into the ground. Most of the people weren't even in one piece anymore; there were mislocated limbs, heads and organs scattered over the gruesome battlefield.
There were other bodies dotting the landscape which lay in pools of dark liquid. Parts of black skinned creatures which could only have been what attacked the Saiya-jin settlement were also scattered about with the pieces of the Saiya-jin warriors. Then a terrible stench struck the five teenagers, something they quickly recognized as the powerful odor of charred skin, decayed flesh and warm blood. A new wave of nausea flooded over them.
Still in a shock, Zenko slowly walked away from the lift and looked at his surroundings with a blank look. He could recognize many of the faces -as several faces now lacked their bodies -as teachers, friends and. parents. He stopped dead in his tracks. "Zenko? What is it?" Sakura asked as she came up behind him, slipping her hand into his. She followed his gaze and gasped at what she saw. "No...it can't be..." she stammered. On the ground lay Zenko's parents, hand in hand, in a pool of their own blood, eyes locked wide open, staring at each other.
"Mother. Father." Zenko said into the emptiness around and within him. "Zenko...I'm so sorry..." Sakura said quietly, looking down.
Zenko fell to his knees and grabbed his head clenching his eyes tightly shut. He shook his head several times, trying to make the images go away, then threw his head back and screamed. He screamed until he had no air left to scream with, until his throat was hoarse and raw. When he finally ran out of breathe he slammed both his fists into the ground, creating small pockmarks which grew each time he slammed his hands down.
Attracted to the sudden noise of Zenko's outburst, a group of black, scaly creatures with large, fang-lined mouths, bulbous heads, sharp claws and lizard-like tails hopped into view. Zenko's four friends spotted them and got ready to fight, knowing that these were the creatures that had caused such destruction to their families and friends. There were twelve of the monsters in total, and Zenko looked at each one of them individually. To his dismay, he saw that none of the creatures looked as if they were the leader of the group. They were just soldiers that had survived the battle.
Zenko clenched his fists tightly, so tight his hands started to bleed, and let a low, animalistic growl build up in his throat. He glared at the aliens with such a hatred that it frightened even his friends. His aura started to burn around his form as the physical embodiment of his anger and he shifted himself into a battle stance which allowed for a quick first- strike.
Strike he did. Zenko blurred from sight, rushing forward bringing his fist around and connecting with a vicious right-hook to the closest alien, which was blown away by the force of the teenager's enraged attack and was sent skipping across the ground like a stone on a pond. Ignoring their comrade's plight, the remaining aliens all launched themselves at Zenko. Still blinded by rage and grief, he charged headlong into the oncoming group.
Neither Hedeki, Sakura, Toshi nor Fumiko liked the odds of Zenko against eleven foes, intercepted the aggressors. Joining the vicious melee, each of the young warriors took on two opponents, leaving Zenko with four as the one he just hit returned to the battle. His battle aura continued to flare as his attack power grew. With insaiya-jin speed, Zenko blocked the attacks of all four aliens, turning the fight around by kneeing one in the midsection throwing it back into a half demolished wall as one came from behind him and grabbed him.
Zenko yelled, leaned his head forward then snapped it back quickly, smashing the alien's face. It let go of him and Zenko flipped forward, catching the alien under its chin with his heel making the creature spin off backwards. Another alien tried to head-butt Zenko, but its face met Zenko's knee and it fell limply to the ground, unconscious. The last alien, seeing it allies fall so quickly got smart and took off. Zenko snarled when he saw it try to leave and he fired a pack of ki blast to track it and finish it off. The energy blasts quickly caught up to the creature and the series of explosions that followed was proof enough of the alien's demise. Zenko let out a long sigh, his aura shrunk and faded away as turned and saw that everyone else had won their fights and were alright.
"We need to search for survivors," said Zenko plainly, walking over to them. "But, Zenko...We might be the only ones left, other than the ones who stayed in the complex..." Sakura wailed with tears in her eyes. She flung herself at Zenko and hugged him. "No! It's not right! Why would anyone do this to us?!" she sobbed. He hugged her tightly and said: "I don't know, but-" Zenko's words were cut off by a thunderous explosion, but there wasn't any fighting going on near him.
Zenko awoke with a start and jumped up to the ready. The fire that had been blazing was now just smoldering cinders, the carcass of his dinner lay off to the side and his battle armor was next to his sleeping bag. He let out a mental sigh as he realized it had just been a dream, no, a nightmare, but one that has plagued him for years.
Returning to the present, he glanced around the immediate area and saw rising smoke not far from where his pod had landed. Fearing the worst, he dashed over and stopped in surprise to find a second space pod in a crater next to the one his own pod lay in. It's door was open.
Zenko instinctively got into a ready stance and sensed the area for any hostile power levels. He spotted a sudden movement to his right but he couldn't react before something tackled him and pinned him to the ground.
"What the fuck!?" Zenko shouted in a fury, "Who the hell are-mmph!" Zenko tried to finish, but was cut off by the someone kissing him. He blinked when the person finally pulled back and saw her smile.
"Long time no see, huh, Zenko?" the woman giggled in a sing-song voice. "S-sakura?" Zenko asked in disbelief. She smiled sweetly, bent down and kissed him again, her tail swishing behind her in happiness. "So you do remember me!" she said a smile in her voice. She stood up and offered her hand to Zenko to help him up. He took it gratefully and stood up, now looking down at the woman.
Sakura was about 5'1". She had long black hair pulled back into a pony- tail, though several loose strands hung down in her face. Her eyes were a deep, warm blue. She wore Saiya-jin armor, but it was cracked and faded from apparently heavy use. Zenko also saw that she had a small scar on her cheek, proving that she had seen her share of combat since they last saw each other. "So, what are you doing here?" Zenko asked. Sakura put her finger on his chest and smiled at him again. "You silly. I've been trying to track you down for awhile now. I detected you a few days ago in space," she tapped the blue-lensed scouter device on her face, "and I just had to follow you. Before now I was always one step behind you. The only leads I had were the ruins you left behind on each planet you visited," she said with a grin.
Zenko scratched his head and asked, "So, what? You wanna elope or something?" Sakura's tail stood up and frizzed as she flushed red with anger and hit him on the head. "Of course not!!" she yelled, crossing her arms. Zenko rubbed his head and said: "Well you sure haven't changed..." to which she replied: "Neither have you."
Zenko walked close to Sakura and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry," he said, "I'm happy to see you again." Sakura smiled and hugged him back. "I'm happy I found you," she said while laying her head on his chest. They stayed like that for some time, until Zenko broke the hug and took a small step back. "Come on. I'll make us breakfast." He took her by the hand and lead her back to the camp.
-end chapter 4-
Someone rapped at the door. "Come in," the voice of a woman called out. The door to the room slid open and a young boy, barely in his teens, walked in. "Mother?" Zenko asked looking around, not seeing her anywhere. A woman, with dark hair and in her late 30's, stood up behind the table she was working at. "Zenko, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you here, son?" she asked. "Well, you see... There's this girl I like, she's in my training group..." Zenko started to say, but stopped as he flushed with embarrassment. Zenko's mother held up her hand.
"Say no more! What's her name?" she asked with a smile. "Sakura..." Zenko began. "Hayata?" Mother finished with a bit of an inquisitive tone. Zenko slowly nodded and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"Oh! Sakura's such a sweet girl! She often comes down to the lab to help out. In fact, there was one time-" Zenko's mother was cut off by the sound of a large explosion. The force caused the entire facility to shake and vibrate, throwing Zenko's mother off her feet but was quickly caught by Zenko. "Thank you dear," she breathed out as another explosion rocked the lab. "Stay here, son." She quickly ran to the back of the room. "No mother! I can help with this fight!" Zenko protested. "I said no!" Mother replied as she returned to the main room with her Saiya- jin battle armor on.
"But mother, I can help this time!" Zenko argued. "No! You are not of age yet, Zenko. Now, you must hurry off to the shelter," she admonished, pushing him out the door. "No! I refuse!" Zenko shouted, chasing after his mother to the elevator leading to the surface. She stepped inside, turned and pushed Zenko out. "Mother! I want to help!" Zenko pleaded, but it was in vain. "I'm sorry dear, but there is no way I can let you fight. Maybe next time, okay?" she said gently as she pressed the button which activated the elevator. As the doors began closing she waved and said: "I love you".
"I love you too..." Zenko half-whispered. After the doors had shut and the whine of the elevator's transit had faded, he turned and walked sullenly to the shelter.
Three hours passed since start of the battle. It had all been quiet for the last hour. Finally fed up with waiting, Zenko stood up. "I'm going out there!" "Get back in your seat!" one of the guards shouted as Zenko strode towards the doors. "Out of my way," Zenko said in an unusually calm voice, but the guards held their posts in front of the doors even as Zenko walked right up to them. When it was evident that the guards would not budge, Zenko reached up and grabbed the closest one by the collar of his armor and flung him into the nearby wall. The remaining guard growled and pointed his energy rifle at Zenko, who looked at it, and then grabbed the barrel, crushing it in his hand and twisting it around. The guard was dumbfounded by this act of strength and defiance, and when he took another look at Zenko he saw a stare so cold and sinister that he instantly jumped to the side.
Zenko almost smirked and pressed a button on the controls, making the door slide open. He stepped out then burst into a run down the hall. Several of the other young Saiya-jins hurried to follow him out.
"Th-that kid. isn't normal!" the frightened guard stuttered to himself after Zenko had left. Looking at the rag-tag group who had trailed after him, Zenko chose the four strongest warriors out of the group: Sakura, Toshi, Hedeki and Fumiko. They entered the elevator and waited with anxiety as they slowly ascended to the surface of the planet. When the doors hissed open Sakura and Fumiko both gasped, Zenko and Hedeki turned white as a sheet and Toshi felt ill. What had been bodies of Saiya-jin fighters were strewn all across the charred and pitted landscape. Areas gleamed red as the spilt blood from the slain warriors soaked into the ground. Most of the people weren't even in one piece anymore; there were mislocated limbs, heads and organs scattered over the gruesome battlefield.
There were other bodies dotting the landscape which lay in pools of dark liquid. Parts of black skinned creatures which could only have been what attacked the Saiya-jin settlement were also scattered about with the pieces of the Saiya-jin warriors. Then a terrible stench struck the five teenagers, something they quickly recognized as the powerful odor of charred skin, decayed flesh and warm blood. A new wave of nausea flooded over them.
Still in a shock, Zenko slowly walked away from the lift and looked at his surroundings with a blank look. He could recognize many of the faces -as several faces now lacked their bodies -as teachers, friends and. parents. He stopped dead in his tracks. "Zenko? What is it?" Sakura asked as she came up behind him, slipping her hand into his. She followed his gaze and gasped at what she saw. "No...it can't be..." she stammered. On the ground lay Zenko's parents, hand in hand, in a pool of their own blood, eyes locked wide open, staring at each other.
"Mother. Father." Zenko said into the emptiness around and within him. "Zenko...I'm so sorry..." Sakura said quietly, looking down.
Zenko fell to his knees and grabbed his head clenching his eyes tightly shut. He shook his head several times, trying to make the images go away, then threw his head back and screamed. He screamed until he had no air left to scream with, until his throat was hoarse and raw. When he finally ran out of breathe he slammed both his fists into the ground, creating small pockmarks which grew each time he slammed his hands down.
Attracted to the sudden noise of Zenko's outburst, a group of black, scaly creatures with large, fang-lined mouths, bulbous heads, sharp claws and lizard-like tails hopped into view. Zenko's four friends spotted them and got ready to fight, knowing that these were the creatures that had caused such destruction to their families and friends. There were twelve of the monsters in total, and Zenko looked at each one of them individually. To his dismay, he saw that none of the creatures looked as if they were the leader of the group. They were just soldiers that had survived the battle.
Zenko clenched his fists tightly, so tight his hands started to bleed, and let a low, animalistic growl build up in his throat. He glared at the aliens with such a hatred that it frightened even his friends. His aura started to burn around his form as the physical embodiment of his anger and he shifted himself into a battle stance which allowed for a quick first- strike.
Strike he did. Zenko blurred from sight, rushing forward bringing his fist around and connecting with a vicious right-hook to the closest alien, which was blown away by the force of the teenager's enraged attack and was sent skipping across the ground like a stone on a pond. Ignoring their comrade's plight, the remaining aliens all launched themselves at Zenko. Still blinded by rage and grief, he charged headlong into the oncoming group.
Neither Hedeki, Sakura, Toshi nor Fumiko liked the odds of Zenko against eleven foes, intercepted the aggressors. Joining the vicious melee, each of the young warriors took on two opponents, leaving Zenko with four as the one he just hit returned to the battle. His battle aura continued to flare as his attack power grew. With insaiya-jin speed, Zenko blocked the attacks of all four aliens, turning the fight around by kneeing one in the midsection throwing it back into a half demolished wall as one came from behind him and grabbed him.
Zenko yelled, leaned his head forward then snapped it back quickly, smashing the alien's face. It let go of him and Zenko flipped forward, catching the alien under its chin with his heel making the creature spin off backwards. Another alien tried to head-butt Zenko, but its face met Zenko's knee and it fell limply to the ground, unconscious. The last alien, seeing it allies fall so quickly got smart and took off. Zenko snarled when he saw it try to leave and he fired a pack of ki blast to track it and finish it off. The energy blasts quickly caught up to the creature and the series of explosions that followed was proof enough of the alien's demise. Zenko let out a long sigh, his aura shrunk and faded away as turned and saw that everyone else had won their fights and were alright.
"We need to search for survivors," said Zenko plainly, walking over to them. "But, Zenko...We might be the only ones left, other than the ones who stayed in the complex..." Sakura wailed with tears in her eyes. She flung herself at Zenko and hugged him. "No! It's not right! Why would anyone do this to us?!" she sobbed. He hugged her tightly and said: "I don't know, but-" Zenko's words were cut off by a thunderous explosion, but there wasn't any fighting going on near him.
Zenko awoke with a start and jumped up to the ready. The fire that had been blazing was now just smoldering cinders, the carcass of his dinner lay off to the side and his battle armor was next to his sleeping bag. He let out a mental sigh as he realized it had just been a dream, no, a nightmare, but one that has plagued him for years.
Returning to the present, he glanced around the immediate area and saw rising smoke not far from where his pod had landed. Fearing the worst, he dashed over and stopped in surprise to find a second space pod in a crater next to the one his own pod lay in. It's door was open.
Zenko instinctively got into a ready stance and sensed the area for any hostile power levels. He spotted a sudden movement to his right but he couldn't react before something tackled him and pinned him to the ground.
"What the fuck!?" Zenko shouted in a fury, "Who the hell are-mmph!" Zenko tried to finish, but was cut off by the someone kissing him. He blinked when the person finally pulled back and saw her smile.
"Long time no see, huh, Zenko?" the woman giggled in a sing-song voice. "S-sakura?" Zenko asked in disbelief. She smiled sweetly, bent down and kissed him again, her tail swishing behind her in happiness. "So you do remember me!" she said a smile in her voice. She stood up and offered her hand to Zenko to help him up. He took it gratefully and stood up, now looking down at the woman.
Sakura was about 5'1". She had long black hair pulled back into a pony- tail, though several loose strands hung down in her face. Her eyes were a deep, warm blue. She wore Saiya-jin armor, but it was cracked and faded from apparently heavy use. Zenko also saw that she had a small scar on her cheek, proving that she had seen her share of combat since they last saw each other. "So, what are you doing here?" Zenko asked. Sakura put her finger on his chest and smiled at him again. "You silly. I've been trying to track you down for awhile now. I detected you a few days ago in space," she tapped the blue-lensed scouter device on her face, "and I just had to follow you. Before now I was always one step behind you. The only leads I had were the ruins you left behind on each planet you visited," she said with a grin.
Zenko scratched his head and asked, "So, what? You wanna elope or something?" Sakura's tail stood up and frizzed as she flushed red with anger and hit him on the head. "Of course not!!" she yelled, crossing her arms. Zenko rubbed his head and said: "Well you sure haven't changed..." to which she replied: "Neither have you."
Zenko walked close to Sakura and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry," he said, "I'm happy to see you again." Sakura smiled and hugged him back. "I'm happy I found you," she said while laying her head on his chest. They stayed like that for some time, until Zenko broke the hug and took a small step back. "Come on. I'll make us breakfast." He took her by the hand and lead her back to the camp.
-end chapter 4-