The Hunter Captured by the Game
Author: Mei TwoMoons Rated: PG-13I've read allot of pairings in Dragonball fics, but it came to the attention of me and my fellow muses (whom I adore) that both Android 17 and Lime, a little girl about Gohan's age from just before the Cell games, are usually left out of the fun.
Special thanks to all my beloved muses, who kept my butt in front of the computer writing, and in particular Lexxie, who gave me awesome insights and inspirations for this piece.
Disclosure: I don't own any of these characters. And if I did, would I be writing fanfiction? I think not.
Part 3: Soup
The next time Lime woke up, it didn't take her long to remember where she was. The aching in her chest was a little better, but the light, which was filtered in through chinks in the cabin wall, was giving her a blazing headache. And there was no way to get away the torturous little rays, shutting her eyes only turning the white light an angry red. She craned her neck to the side as far as she could and then noticed a bowl sitting at her eye level on a stool next to the cot. If she didn't know better, she'd have thought it had been left for her to find there by that man.
She scowled and closed her eyes. Just how HAD she gotten back into the cot? The arrogant stranger with cold blue eyes must have done it, and the idea of him touching her even to move her was less than settling. He was probably the one who had bandaged her up too, and had probably felt her up in the process. But somehow, she doubted it. So then just what was he up to? He had mocked her, had seemed almost inhumanly cruel as he had treated her so shamefully. But then again, if he was taking care of her how bad could he really be?
She pushed the thoughts aside and tentatively reached up to take the bowl, wincing just a bit as her stiff muscles were stretched out. It was full of something, and she was just hoping it was edible. She wasn't hungry, but her throat was parched and she knew she needed to eat in order to get better and kick that guy's ass.
It took quite a long time and quite a bit of effort to push her up into a sitting position, her head pounding with the strain it put on her. But finally she was sitting up gasping for breath and looking down into the bowl of murky colored liquid. A broth of some sort maybe.
She raised the bowl to her lips and almost gagged as the liquid ran down her throat and a bit dribbled down the side of her mouth. To call it soup would have been far too kind. It tasted horrible! Bland and tasteless and cold. She wrinkled up her nose, made a 'yuck' noise and put the bowl back on the stool.
"If you don't like it you don't have to drink it."
That voice again. Her spine straightened up as she became aware of the presence sitting in the chair facing away from her. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was there. "It taste like something from the southbound end of a northbound bear." Her voice was creaky from disuse, but the words were clear.
The man turned in the chair to face her. "And how would you know that. Are you in the habit of eating such things?"
She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. "It's cold!"
Juu raised and eye at her. "You were asleep when I made it. You should be grateful I saved you some."
Grateful was not how she was feeling at the moment to say the least, and it showed in the burn behind her narrowing eyes. "You're the one who shot me aren't you?" It was more an accusation than a question, and the inference was clear. It was his responsibility to care for her because it was his fault she was in such a state. Juu caught this oh so subtle meaning, but decided to ignore it. After all, he could have just left her there and saved himself the trouble, so as far as he was concerned he owed her nothing.
"Can I help it that you're such a large target? Maybe if you didn't eat so many apples.."
Limes blue-green eyes narrowed to slits. That did it. She felt her blood boiling up in her once again with righteous indignation. Did this ass hole even care he's shot another someone? Without thinking it through, she picked up the wooden bowl and what was left of the soup and hurled it in his direction with a yowl. Had she been in perfect health she really could have nailed him from the close distance. But as it was the bowl sailed harmlessly over his head to bounce against the wall behind him with a hollow defeated sound. But the arch of liquid trailing behind it did manage to make contact, and she couldn't help the explosion of laughter that blasted forth as the brownish mixture splashed across his face.
This was a new experience for the android boy, having ice-cold broth dripping from his nose as the girl he's just been harassing laughed at him from a few feet away. He wasn't sure how to react to this. So he just stood there, watching her stoically as her giggles subsided into nervous titters and then silence.
Lime wasn't sure why he wasn't doing or saying anything. He just stood there, staring at her almost in angry shock. It was... unnerving. A bit of panic pulled at the corner of her mind, and she gulped down a knot forming in her throat. Was he going to do something to retaliate? After all, she was totally and completely at his mercy, and he didn't seem to possess a chivalrous nature. "I'm… sorry bout that. I don't know what came over me."
Juu stood looking at her, having watched her anger changing to amusement and now nervousness. She didn't seem afraid of him, but still she was afraid just a bit of what he would do. He could smell it, sense it. And still, he did nothing.
The feeling that was tugging at his insides was strange to him. What was it? He wasn't sure, but calling it anger just didn't fit. It was causing him no small amount of distress, this unnamed mixture of other feelings rolling around in his head. He finally turned his cold hard stare away and walked out the door, slamming it a bit harder than he usually would have, and leaving a shell shocked Lime sitting up in bed with a puzzled and somewhat worried look on her face. //What did I just do? Way to go girl, bite the hand that feeds you.//
Outside, Juu leaned against the frame of the doorpost, a look of sheer concentration on his face. It's not that what the girl had done was so surprising to him. Not at all. What was surprising is that he had expected such a response from her, and had knowingly goaded her into it just to see what she would do. And he couldn't for the life left in him figure out WHY he'd done it. Even when he was angry with her, he was more fascinated than angry, watching the emotions he evoked in her with some degree of childish glee. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. More than angry, he had been amused and strangely satisfied by her reaction.
A corner of his mouth tugged upwards in a smile. It had been… fun. The most fun he'd had in a long time. He'd been so used to his self-imposed marginal existence that he'd almost forgotten what fun was supposed to feel like.
He licked his lips, tasting the bland droplets of broth still adhering to them. Now that he'd gotten a taste of what he'd been missing, he was hungry for more.
And he didn't mean the soup.
