Chapter Six
TWO WEEKS LATER
Rettan sat in her soft bed, promising herself one more day to heal. Feeling like a complete
idiot for the stunt she pulled on the roof, Rettan told herself that she was lucky that she didn't kill
herself. Her ears picked up the sound of soft foot steps coming up the stairs and toward her door.
Without waiting for the knock, Rettan said,
"Come in."
The door opened slowly, and Bulma's head popped in. She looked nervous, but
determined. Rettan shifted uncomfortably in her bed, she knew that this day would come.
"Um, can I talk to you?" Bulma asked. Rettan only nodded and motioned toward the end
of the bed.
"What do you want to know?" Rettan asked. Bulma's eyes searched the room, but she
would not look at Rettan. She didn't know where to start.
"Everything." Was all that she could say. Rettan laughed, which caused a nervous smile
to cross Bulma's face. Rettan decided to humor her, after all, what else was she going to do this
afternoon? Her main entertainment, Trunks, had gone to see his friend, Goten.
"Okay..." Rettan started. "When the Prince and I were born, we were considered the
strongest of the elites, so our Union was arranged..."
Rettan could tell Bulma was hanging on her every word, so she told her many stories
throughout the afternoon. When she was finished Bulma began her tale, of when she first met
Goku, a 3rd Class Saiyan, when he was still a child. She explained how Vegeta first came to Earth
for the Dragonballs, and how it all evolved from there. The two women talked together well into
the evening, recounting tales of the man they both knew so well. Rettan smiled and laughed, she
had never met anyone like Bulma. Rettan was happy that Vegeta found someone so brave, if not
powerful. Rettan admitted to herself, Bulma was good enough for the Saiyan Prince.
* * * *
For the past month, Piccolo's mind kept on wandering back to the battle where he met
Rettan. Cursing himself for again breaking his concentration while training, Piccolo looked to the
southwest, where Capsule Corps. was. Not believing that he was actually doing it, Piccolo rose in
the air and began to fly toward the girl's ki. Convincing himself that he was just going to fly by,
Piccolo shook his head, why the hell would he want to check on this woman? He could tell by
sensing her ki that she was fine, and that she was regaining her strength. The Namek cursed again
as something in the back of his mind and on the edge of his heart began to bother him. Trying to
push the thoughts out of his mind, Piccolo growled and pushed himself into a supersonic flight,
promising himself that he was just going to fly past Capsule Corps. without stopping.
* * * *
Rettan sat on her bed, slowly stretching out her muscles. She was wearing a long sleeved
shirt and sweat pants on lend from Bulma. They didn't fit correctly, but Rettan didn't complain.
Looking forward to this day for two weeks, Rettan was planning to go outside and play with
Trunks, as she had promised him. Hearing two sets of feet racing up the stairs, Rettan opened the
door to see Trunks and his friend Goten standing in the hall. Each had a rod that had thin plastic
line running down its length and winding around a spool at the handle in their hands. Grinning,
Trunks pushed one into Rettan's right hand and grabbed her left.
"Mom said that you were still too tired to do anything all that fun, so I thought you may
want to go fishing." Trunks said as he pulled Rettan along. Not really understanding what
'fishing' was, Rettan followed the boys quietly. Smiling at Bulma as they past through the dining
room, Rettan was led out the front door and down a well worn path. Feeling a little better
because she was actually moving again, Rettan began to take in the sights and the smells of the
small wooded area that she and the boys had wandered into. Allowing the sun to warm her face,
Rettan looked to the clear blue sky and actually felt happy. Never believing that she would ever
feel joy again, Rettan really didn't know what to do. So, she let the boys lead her into their own
little world. Laughing and singing, Trunks let go of Rettan's hand as soon as the large pond came
into view. The boys began to run down to the water's edge but stopped suddenly as the felt a
familiar ki coming towards them. Rettan could feel it also. Looking up and to the northwest she
saw the Namek that saved her when she was up against the Hunters. All he did was float in the
sky, looking straight at her. Not knowing what else to do, Rettan just looked back at him. His
muscular form was outlined by the whipping cape that he wore and his eyes were searching hers.
Self-consciously, Rettan reached up to her hair and tucked a loose strand behind her ear. This
seemed to break the Namek's trance, and without a word he was gone. Rettan felt the sonic
boom the Namek created, and watched his form grow smaller and smaller with the distance that
he gained. Staring at the spot that the Namek floated in just moments ago, Rettan's eyebrow
furrowed, What was that? She wondered. Looking over at the boys she could see them giggling.
"Rettan and Piccolo, sitting in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g!" The boys sang in unison. Laughing,
they ran on ahead, as Rettan slowly turned away from where the Namek had been. Shaking her
head, she tried to make sense of what had just happened. Finally dismissing it, Rettan followed
the boys to the water's edge. She wanted to learn how to fish.
* * * *
Cursing himself, Piccolo rose high into the air, as high as he could until he began to feel
dizzy because of the lack of oxygen in the upper atmosphere. What the hell was going on? It was
all so strange and foreign to him, but he felt like he wanted to see Rettan again, and soon. Trying
to sort out the muddled thoughts in his brain, Piccolo decided that perhaps Dende could help him
out. Piccolo knew that the feelings he was having were not something a Namek would normally
have. Maybe he was sick, or maybe... Piccolo forced the thoughts out of his head as he flew past
a jet airliner. Allowing the rumbling of the great engines to fill his head, Piccolo concentrated on
anything and everything that didn't remind him of the white haired Saiyan.
Reaching the Lookout seconds later, Piccolo was surprised to see Dende waiting for him.
However, he didn't like the smug look on the younger Namek's face.
"What?" Piccolo growled.
"Oh, nothing." Dende said, clasping his hands behind his back.
"No. It's not 'nothing. What are you grinning like an idiot about?" Piccolo said as he
walked up to Dende. Putting his hands up in front of him as a sign of surrender, Dende smiled.
"You like her, don't you?" The Earth Guardian asked. Piccolo's eyes burnt with rage as
he figured out what Dende was saying.
"YOU READ MY THOUGHTS? How dare you, you little..." Piccolo growled as he
grabbed the front of Dende's robe.
"Hey! Lay off Piccolo! No, I wasn't reading your thoughts, YOU were broadcasting
them so loudly that you basically told me. Blame yourself for that one." Dende explained. As
Piccolo let go of his robe, Dende began to smooth out the silky fabric.
"Dammit." Piccolo whispered under his breath. He hoped no one else 'heard' what he
was thinking. Turning his back to Dende, Piccolo crossed his arms and huffed. Dende stood
behind him, still smiling.
"Fine. So you know. I thought Nameks couldn't..." Piccolo couldn't find the correct
word to say in this situation. He hated talking about feelings and the like, but he had to know
this.
"Of course we can Piccolo. We have all the necessary parts, right?" Dende stated.
Piccolo only nodded.
"I still don't understand. Why, then, weren't there any females on Namek?" Piccolo
asked.
"Back before even Guru was born, there was a great pestilence that swept over Namek.
The disease only struck the female population, but we couldn't find a cure for it. As the
generations began to die out, we had to adapt. The ancients tried to create females once more,
but the disease was still rampant. After watching child after child die, our ancestors decided that
the only way to protect the population would be to reproduce asexually. That way, an exact
replica of the parent would be born, and no more children would die of the disease. That's why
you have feelings for the Saiyan, Piccolo, because it's natural. What the ancestors did, they did
out of necessity." Dende explained to his friend. Piccolo only nodded again. If what Dende was
saying was true, it explained a lot of things. Turning to watch the sun set, Piccolo crossed his
arms, thinking about what could happen now.
* * * *
"MOM! Look! We caught seven fish today!" Trunks said as he rushed into Bulma's lab
with bucket full of several smelly, slimy fish in his hand. "Can Goten stay for supper?" Trunks
began to babble on about how Goten fell into the pond trying to stop one of the fish from
escaping, and about the huge water fight that followed. As a testament to the story, Rettan stood
in the doorway, drenched from head to toe.
"Trunks! You got Rettan all wet?" Bulma asked, shocked that her son had behaved so
poorly in Rettan's company. She was about to berate him when Trunks blurted out,
"But mom, she started it!" Trunks said, trying desperately to defend himself. Bulma
looked up at Rettan, doubting her son's words, but Rettan only grinned and nodded. Great, not
another one. Bulma thought to herself. Taking the fish from her son, she pushed him toward the
door.
"Go get cleaned up, and then go visit your Grandma and Grandpa. I'm going to take
Rettan shopping." Bulma said as she herded her son up the stairs.
"Shopping? What is shopping?" Rettan asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Oh, you'll see." Bulma said.
* * * *
"We'll take this, and this, and, oh yes, this too." Bulma said as she pulled article after
article of clothing off the shelf. Rettan held up a skimpy bra and raised an eyebrow.
"None of these are very practical, are they?" Rettan questioned.
"What do you mean?" Bulma said absent-mindedly as she rummaged through a rack of
summer dresses. "Now, this, this would look good on you, with your complexion and all."
Bulma said as she held a short emerald green dress up for Rettan to see. Knowing that objecting
wouldn't help, like it didn't help in the last twenty three stores they were in, Rettan smiled
weakly. Bulma seemed to be enjoying herself, so Rettan thought it would be better to just use
this time to become better acquainted with her Prince's mate. Leaving Bulma to her search for
more clothing, Rettan let her eyes wander to the bustling mall, outside of the store. Noticing a
man walk by holding a long box with the picture of a katana on it, Rettan decided to see where he
came from. Walking outside of the clothing store, Rettan caught glimpse of a martial arts store,
loaded to the roof with all sorts of weapons. Glancing back at Bulma, Rettan smiled. The
woman was so engrossed in selecting clothing, she didn't even notice that Rettan held left her
side. Promising to be quick, Rettan approached the store closely, marveling at the craftsmanship
of the weaponry. She was impressed, she had not seen such beautiful work since she had left
planet Vegeta, but when she walked into the store, she was meet with blank stares, and then
muffled laughter. Not understanding what the men in the store were laughing at, she asked one of
them if she could see one of the beautiful thousand fold katanas that was hanging on the wall.
The man obliged her, but there was an unwholesome smirk on his face. Feeling out the weight of
the sword in first her right hand and then her left, Rettan's acute hearing picked up on the
whispering clerks. They were laughing at her! With a frown, she listened intently.
"Everyone step back! The woman has a knife!" A ugly fat man guffawed.
"Oh! Look at that! I broke a nail trying to act so tough! Maybe this big pointy knife thing
can be used as a nail file!" A skinny little man with pock marks on his rat like face imitated.
Scowling Rettan turned away from them. Spinning the sword in her right hand, Rettan went into
an intricate dance, weaving the blade around her lean body. The men's jaws dropped as they saw
her move, so graceful and yet so strong. Finishing the small exercise she learnt so long ago,
Rettan sheathed the blade. She was beginning to understand this planet a little more, women were
not thought of as warriors, they were treated like they were weak, almost child like. Smiling
sweetly at the pock faced rat behind the till, Rettan laid the sword down on the counter.
"The balance is good on this, I'll take it." Rettan said sweetly. Bringing her nails up to
her face, she tilted her head the left. "Oh, and would you look at that...I think I just broke a nail."
* * * *
Turning around to show Rettan a cute little t-shirt with the words, "Hot Stuff" on it,
Bulma was confused. At one moment Rettan was standing beside her, the next second she was
gone. Giving all the clothes she had collected to the clerk at the front counter, Bulma walked out
of the store, searching for Rettan. Looking to the left, Bulma could see a shock of white hair
through the window of Jerry's Martial Arts Emporium. Rettan had found some traditional kung-
fu uniforms in the store, and was sorting through them. Seeing a pile of weapons on the counter,
Bulma put a hand to her forehead and rolled her eyes.
"Not another one to deal with." She complained to herself.
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