Mind Games – Part Four
A Dragonball Z fanfic
By Hana Noir
Kyrie's eyes opened slowly, finding nothing but blackness. She let out a strangled scream, bolting up in the bed. A pair of strong arm wrapped around her and a familiar warmth moved against her back. A dim glow began to emanate from the ceiling, making the furnishings of the room barely visible.
"What's wrong?" Piccolo's voice rumbled in her ear. She was breathing in gasps, trying to calm herself.
"Dark," she managed to get out. "It was dark. I couldn't see."
Behind her, Piccolo frowned. He had never seen her like this; it was an almost phobic fear. "You fell asleep, so I turned off the lights."
She shook her head, one trembling hand reaching up to grasp his larger one. "I like to sleep with a light on. I can't stand to be in total darkness." She leaned her head back against his hard shoulder, her eyes slitted as they stared up at the ceiling and the tiny light glowing there. "They used to lock me up when ever I disobeyed," she continued softly. "in a little storage compartment. It was just big enough to shove me into. At first, it was the lack of space that terrified me so much, but I got over that. As I got older, bigger, they moved me to another place, a utility closet. Both places were totally dark… I was locked in the closet once, and a rat or something was in there with me. I could hear it moving around, feel it touching me but I couldn't see anything… I was almost hysterical by the time someone remembered to let me out…"
Piccolo's fangs bared in a feral snarl as he felt her fear resonate down the mental connection that bound them together. The people that had done this to her were all dead and gone, unable to harm her any more, but he wished that he had been able to pay them back for the years of cruelty instead of giving them quick, clean deaths. He held her tightly, not knowing what else he could do for her. Slowly her shudders subsided and she went limp with a great sigh.
"I don't know what's more exhausted," she said wryly, managing a grin. "My mind or my body. Both have been worked over pretty hard lately." Piccolo blinked at her words, surprised. Her free hand trailed over the defined muscles of her stomach. "Look," she continued. "I've actually got a six-pack going." Her voice was even more amused. "They kept me fit at the Facility, but nothing like this. You could make a fortune as a personal trainer."
He snorted, his arms tightening around her. "You are definitely weird, kid," he muttered.
"That's not saying much, coming from you," she retorted, her eyes growing heavy. Her head lolled against his shoulder as sleep pulled her under again. He sat there for a while, holding her as she slept, a small tender smile on his face. Once he was sure she was sleeping soundly, he lowered her back onto the bed and slipped out to stare down at her. He just couldn't believe how quickly his life had changed because of one person. Gathering the clothes that had been scattered across the room, he left take a quick shower. Once dressed, he went out to meditate. As he strode out onto the gleaming tile, he glanced over at the huge hourglasses framing the door. The tops were still about three-fourths full, so he figured that they had only been here for about three months. He settled down in a lotus position, closing his eyes. He wouldn't mention it to Kyrie, he decided. It was easier if she had no frame of reference in regards to time while in here.
He sorted through the new techniques he had recently been given, going over them in his mind. One was remarkably similar to Goku's Shukan Idou with the added bonus that it didn't need the finger to the forehead gesture. That would come in handy if ever pinned. The second of the techniques was a speed enhancing method that looked useful until he realized that when the effect wore off, the user was left immobile. That would be good only as a last resort. The Soul Cage, however, was of especial interest to him. It was a way of containing an opponent within a sphere of pure energy drawn from the user's own soul. It was risky, for if maintained too long it could cause the user's death, but whatever was inside the sphere could not escape until the Cage was released. He would need to think long and hard whether or not he would teach Kyrie this technique. He didn't want her to have to risk her life any more than necessary.
*******
Kyrie rolled over in the huge bed, her arm finding nothing but mattress. Rousing, she blinked heavy eyes at the white sheets, wondering where Piccolo had gone. She focused on his ki and sensed him outside. His mind was calm and tranquil, so she guessed that he was meditating.
"I need a shower," she decided, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Her body protested as she stood, aching muscles making themselves known. Hissing slightly between clenched teeth, she headed for the bathroom and the shower.
She shivered when she entered the bathroom. Why was it that they were always so cold?? she wondered, reaching for the taps and starting the water running. Clouds of steam billowed up around her as she stepped in and closed the door. The hot water felt wonderful as it ran down her body. Closing her eyes, she put her arms against the wall and braced herself there, letting the spray pound down on her back. A small smile pulled at her lips as she thought back on last night. It had been much more than she had hoped for. Piccolo had been nothing but considerate and careful with her. There had been a little pain, but she had known that was going to happen. She reached for the soap and a wash cloth and began to wash up, running the soft cloth up and down her legs. She moved up, inhaling sharply as she scrubbed her torso. It seemed some areas were still sensitive. It felt pretty good. She couldn't help but smile again as memories of last night surfaced. She rinsed out the cloth and hung it on the bar provided there, turning her face up to the water to rinse the soap from her eyes.
She let out a sharp scream when the door was wrenched open without warning. Blinking water and soap residue from her burning eyes, she had her fists up in a defensive position, ready to take on whoever was attacking. She squinted and was able to make out the person standing there. "Piccolo?!?" she sputtered as she relaxed her stance, wiping the water from her eyes.
"Do you mind?" he asked gruffly, trying not to look below her neck. "I'm out there trying to train and you're in here reminiscing. And broadcasting it too!"
"Sorry," she muttered. "I didn't realize…"
He shook his head, tossing her the large towel on the shelf next to him. "You need to make your shields so instinctive that it requires no effort. Hurry up and dry off. I want you outside, dressed, in five minutes." His cape snapped behind him as he strode out of the humid room.
She stared after him, slightly hurt, then her practical nature reasserted itself. When Piccolo was training he allowed no distractions. Not even from her. A cunning grin curved her lips as she dried off. However, that wouldn't stop her from having a bit of fun while they worked.
*******
She made it outside with ten seconds to spare. Her hair, which had gotten longer, was pulled back at the nape of her neck in a stubby ponytail. She was dressed in a black t-shirt and a pair of cut-off denim shorts and as usual, her feet were bare. Keeping her eyes carefully averted from the white vista beyond the terrace, she joined Piccolo. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and jerked his head toward the pillars. She followed silently, figuring they were going to meditate for a while, when a blinding pain shot through her head. She collapsed to her knees, clutching at her head, as unbidden tears fell from her eyes.
"You weren't shielding properly," Piccolo said sternly, his voice seeming to come from far away. "I wouldn't have been able to do that if you had your shields in place. Get it together." She tried to concentrate past the pain induced haze in her mind, working on reinforcing her mental protection. As the barriers became stronger, the pain receded until it was just a dull ache. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and clambered to her feet.
Piccolo towered over her, arms crossed, looking disappointed. "I don't like to waste my time, you know that. Don't think that just because we slept together, I'm going to go easier on you." His insinuation sparked her temper and her eyes turned to glacial ice as she glared up at him. A small smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Now, let's spar, and you'd better keep your shields up, because I'm going to be attacking you mentally as well as physically."
She nodded, taking a defensive stance and waiting for him to attack first. He smirked at her, then disappeared with a faint pop. She ducked instinctively when his ki appeared behind her, his leg skimming the top of her head. She tucked and rolled, tossing off a ki ball as she leapt to her feet. The dull boom of the explosion seemed to echo in her head and she stumbled, off balance. A hard elbow caught her right above the kidneys and she slammed spread-eagled into the floor. Ignoring the blood that trickled from her left nostril and the goose egg blossoming on her forehead, she rolled to the side, Piccolo's foot barely missing her shoulder. She scrambled to her feet, bringing her hands up to guard again, her head throbbing. She wasn't sure if it was hurting from crashing into the rock hard tile or from Piccolo's repeated mental attacks, but she could barely focus her eyes. Ki flared behind her and she turned to see a great yellow ball coming straight at her. She threw up a hasty ki shield, but the impact slung her back into one of the great pillars. Her body peeled out of the imprint slowly, gravity pulling it down to land painfully.
She coughed hard, blood splattering the pristine white tile beneath her. A little voice inside was telling her to quit, give up for now, but it was ignored in favor of a louder voice that declared she wasn't going down without a fight! Motion at the corner of her eye drew her attention and her arms flew to block the kick that was aimed at her ribs. The impact stung, but she rode it back, panting harshly. Managing to get to her feet, she watched Piccolo from beneath her bangs. He was moving…. There! She kicked as hard as she could, her foot burying itself in Piccolo's stomach. She grinned when she heard the air whoosh from his lungs and stumbled out of his reach.
He straightened up, eyes gleaming with battle lust, and came straight for her. She blocked furiously, occasionally managing to get in a punch or two, but he was too strong for her. Gritting her teeth, she generated two ki balls, holding them as long as she could, feeding energy into the one in her right hand. Piccolo dodged the first, smaller, ball and ran right into the second, more powerful one. He crashed into the floor, shaking his head to clear it and she sped right into him. Her left hook caught him right on the jaw, sending him back to the floor, but his foot lashed out, sweeping across her ankles. She lost her breath when she hit the floor, the back of her head smacking painfully into the tile. Stars burst across her field of vision and her head swam sickeningly. She tried to roll to the side but the motion made her head feel even worse and she vomited.
Piccolo straightened up in time to see her throw up and he lowered his ki. He'd seen this before, while training Gohan. She wouldn't be attacking again. He knelt down next to her, pulling up the lids of her eyes and examining her pupils dispassionately. Sure enough, one was larger than the other.
"Concussion," he said aloud, gathering her up into his arms. "Kyrie, look at me." She did so slowly, her movements hesitant and jerky. "Don't go to sleep. Stay awake and talk to me."
"Talk?" she said, sounding groggy. "About what?"
"Anything," he replied, carrying her into the bedroom and gently depositing her on the bed. He piled the pillows behind her head, leaving her in a semi-reclining position, then went into the bathroom and found the damp cloth that she had washed with earlier. Cleaning the blood from her face made him aware of all the bruises that were coming up on her pale skin.
"Ouch," she muttered as he ran the cloth across the livid goose egg on her forehead.
"I said talk, not complain," he growled. "I could have left you out there on the floor, you know."
"Why is it," she continued grumpily, ignoring his words, "every time we spar, I end up with an injury? Just once, I'd like to finish a session battered, bruised but unbroken." He snorted, unable to hide his amusement.
"You need to stay awake," he said, negligently tossing the washcloth over next to the door. "If you go to sleep, you might slip into a coma."
"I know, I know," she said. "I've studied first aid." A thought came to her and she squinted up at him. "Hey, do you have any idea what happened to my capsule case?"
His forehead furrowed as he stared down at her. "I forgot all about it," he said. "It's at the Tenka. I brought it back with me."
"Good," she said, smiling. "My laptop is in there. I wanted to look at the files I got from the Facility."
"Files?" he asked, frowning. She had never said anything about any files.
"Well, after I planted those explosives, I made a detour and dumped the memory on the Doctor's personal computer onto my laptop. All my files were in there, but I never had the chance to look at them. I wanted to find out what all they did to me," she explained, then completely changed the topic. "Tell me about yourself, Piccolo. How did you meet Gohan and his family. I know a little bit, from your memories, but it doesn't make much sense."
"It's a long story," he said, "but it'll pass the time." She smiled up at him and settled back against the pillows to listen.