Mind Games – Part Seven

A Dragonball Z fanfic

By Hana Noir

The funny thing about meditation was the passage of time. Hours passed in what seemed seconds, while at other times, seconds dragged on for eternity. It was all up to the mind of the person involved. Piccolo and Kyrie spent a lot of time in meditation, preparing themselves mentally for the challenge of the Soul Cage technique. Piccolo knew that he could do it; it was teaching Kyrie that would be difficult. She had no idea how to harness the unique energy of the soul. Learning to do so was not only difficult but dangerous. And he felt annoyingly nervous at the idea of endangering her.

He withdrew from meditation at the touch of a hand on his face. Kyrie was on her knees in front of him, her fingers lightly stroking his cheek. "I've been trying to get your attention for a while now," she said softly, a cheeky grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. "I was about to see if a naked lap dance would work." He was able to keep a straight face, and the baggy material of his trousers insured that she wouldn't notice the effect of the mental image conjured by her words.

"Did you have a specific reason for disturbing me?" he asked snidely, one eyebrow ridge quirking upward.

"Actually, yes," she replied, sitting back on her heels and tossing her lengthening ponytail over her shoulder. "Are we going to get started anytime soon? We're running a bit low on time now." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the hourglasses and Piccolo stared at them in astonishment. He hadn't realized how low the sands were truly becoming. They probably had less than two months left. He shouldn't have spent so much time on meditation lately, he chided himself. He didn't know if they had enough time left for her to master the technique. But they would try.

"You're right," he said, pulling her to her feet as he rose. "I need to get you started right away. Follow me." He led her to the very edge of the terrace, as far away from the tiles as possible. "The first thing, before we start on the actual technique, is for you to learn how to tap into your soul force. I'm going to help you the first few times, after that you'll be on your own." He paused, his black eyes boring into hers. "I'm not going to lie to you. Learning to harness the energy of your soul is painful at first. After all, you're pulling at the very essence of your being when you do this."

She swallowed, hoping to moisten her suddenly dry throat, and nodded in understanding. He placed his hands on her shoulder, turning her to face outward. "Hold out your hands, palms up," he instructed, watching as she complied, cupping her hands together. Leaving his hands on her shoulders, he closed his eyes. "Feel for your ki," he continued, sensing the rise of her energies through the physical connection. "Now, go deeper. Ki is the power your body produces, but beyond that is the energy that gives your body life." Beads of sweat were beginning to show on her forehead as she reached for the energy he was describing. "There!" he exclaimed, his voice a bare whisper. "Take hold of it."

The sweat began to run down her face as she struggled. "It burns," she whimpered.

Piccolo's hands tightened slightly on her shoulders. "Don't think about that," he advised. "Concentrate on the energy. Call it to your hand."

Kyrie was breathing in shallow gasps now, sweating profusely. "It hurts!!" she moaned, sagging against his hands. She would have fallen if not for his support.

"It's going to hurt at first," he said coolly, determined to not to be swayed by her pain. "After all, you're drawing on your very life. Focus."

She gave a short, sharp scream, her knees buckling. Piccolo braced her against his body, a tiny smile gracing his lips. "Look," he whispered in her ear. Blinking stinging eyes, she obeyed. In her hands was a tiny glowing light, about the size of a marble. It burned bluely, never flickering.

"Is that—?" she asked, looking at him over her shoulder. He nodded, an unmistakably proud expression on his face. "What do I do with it now?" she asked, her voice slightly hoarse.

"Absorb it back in," he said.

When she had done so, she straightened, giving him a sour look. "All that fuss to get the darn thing and I have to put it back where I got it from."

Piccolo smirked. "And now you're going to do it all over again." He held up a hand at her protests. "Once you get to the point where it isn't painful anymore, you'll be ready to try the Soul Cage." His grin turned wicked then. "Until then, you can be a good girl and be my guinea pig so I can practice the technique myself."

"Hey!"

He had no idea how long he drove her. He only relented when she finally collapsed, her body refusing to go any further. He carried her into the bathroom, holding her as the warm water in the shower washed them both. She barely opened her eyes when he deposited her in the bed. "Rest," he advised, standing over her. "It's back to work when you wake up."

*******

While Kyrie slept, exhausted, Piccolo meditated. He was angry with himself for wasting time in techniques they had long since mastered. Now he would have to push Kyrie even harder than he had planned if he was to have her in top form when their time was up. And if there was one thing he knew, it was haste was not a good thing when the stakes were so high. Perhaps he should just wait and teach her the technique another time. Tien already knew how to tap into his soul force; perhaps he should wait and teach the triclops the Soul Cage.

He sighed then. If he did that, it would be like slapping Kyrie in the face. She had worked hard the entire time they had been here. She deserved the chance to try. He opened his eyes, looking toward the room where she was sleeping. As hard as it was for him to admit, he would do anything to protect her. But there was a fine line between protection and smothering. He didn't want to be like ChiChi, not in any fashion. Kyrie had the right to make her own choices. She had more than earned that right, paid for it in pain and suffering. Even if he didn't like her decisions, he would try to abide by them. He just hoped that she would never make a decision that he couldn't live with.

Without realizing it, he had made his way to her side. She was curled up on her side among a nest of blankets, hugging one of the pillows to her chest. Her long hair lay in damp tangles across the white sheet and he reached out to comb his fingers through the strands. He sat there for what felt like hours, patiently working the snarls out of her auburn locks. Strangely enough, the simple act brought him more peace of mind than his previous attempts at mediation.

*******

Kyrie struggled out of sleep, her body protesting the actions painfully. She blinked heavy eyelids, wondering how she had gotten to the bed. And where were her clothes?? What had happened? She remembered being outside with Piccolo, working on what he had called the Kikou Ha technique. It had been exhausting, but she finally managed to get off a decent blast. She had turned to say something… and that's when it all went weird. She couldn't remember a thing after that.

Shaking her head, she started to rise, then noticed something else that was odd. Her hair was loose. She kept it in a ponytail now that it had gotten longer, tying it up with a strip of a ruined shirt. She grimaced at the strands that were brushing the middle of her back. This was the longest her hair had ever been. And if she could find a pair of scissors, she would have hacked it off in a second. She rummaged around, trying to find a set of clothes that weren't too far gone. At the rate she was going, she'd end up walking out the Room naked!

Sighing, she found a yellow t-shirt that hadn't suffered too much damaged and looked for one of her sports bras. "Where the hell are all my clothes??" she fumed, opening empty drawers and slamming them loudly. She found a pair of jeans pocked with small charred holes ups and down the legs and wrenched them on.

In the bathroom was one lone sports bra and it was slung haphazardly over the shower door, still wet. "Bloody hell!" she growled, giving up. She pulled on the t-shirt and knotted it in the front, hoping that would give her some support. Stalking out onto the terrace, she found Piccolo meditating by the edge of the tiles.

He sensed her foul mood as soon as she had roused. Grimacing slightly, he listened in on her inadvertent broadcasting as she searched for her clothes. Thinking quickly, he attempted a mental thrust, only have the attack instinctively repelled. Despite himself, he grinned. She hadn't even realized that she'd done it. At least he had succeeded with that much. He looked up as she approached, noticing that she seemed severely ticked.

"Why can't I find any of the clothes I started with?" she asked, continuing without even giving him time to respond. "Why is it that I'm running out of intact articles of clothing, but YOU seem to have an endless supply of identical outfits??" She stared down at him, her hands braced on her hips, green eyes ablaze. Piccolo thought she looked rather beautiful when she was angry, but he wasn't about to let her rip him to shreds because she was in a snit.

He rose to his feet, towering over her. "What's the problem?"

"The only bra I seem to have left is soaking wet," she said, grinding her teeth. She didn't expect him to catch onto her problem, seeing as he was male.

Piccolo had notice that she had seemed a bit more… jiggly when she strode over to his side, but he didn't see why she was so pissed over it.And being a typical clueless male, he put his foot right in it. "So just don't wear one."

Kyrie threw her hands up in the air. "Oh sure!! Easy for you to say!! You're not the one who'll be sore at the end of the day. You're not the one who'll be bouncing all over the place!!" She paused for a deep breath and he blinked, watching her unbound chest with reluctant facination.

Piccolo rolled his eyes in maculine disgust. "Hold still then." She let out a shriek when he grabbed her, his hands slipping up under her shirt to cup her breasts firmly.

"WHAT THE HELL—?!?" She shouted, only to be cut off by his growl.

"Be quiet," he snarled. "And don't move." He closed his eyes, concentrating on the binding garment she usually wore beneath her clothes. She gasped when his hands were replaced by a perfect replica of the gray sports bra she usually wore. He folded his arms smugly, waiting for her to say something.

"So THAT'S why you always have clothes!" she said, lifting up her shirt and peering at the garment. "And here I thought you just had a stash somewhere!" She gave him an appraising look. "Think you could magic me up a pair of decent shorts?"

"What do I look like? A department store?" he growled at her, his hands falling to his side.

"Oh, come on," she said, giving him a charming grin, complete with dimples. "These've seen better days. You wouldn't want me to have to walk out of here naked, would you?"

He mentally conceded that he wouldn't want that. If Yajirobe or any of the others were hanging around when they came out, they'd get a good look at something he had no intention of sharing. And he'd really hate to have to kill someone in front of Kyrie and Dende. He huffed noisily and resigned himself to the inevitable. "Fine," he said, scowling down at her. "Just don't expect me to do this on a regular basis." He snapped his fingers and a loose pair of drawstring athletic shorts landed at her feet.

"Thanks!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a noisy smack on the cheek. "Let me change and we can get started!" She grabbed up the shorts and sprinted back into the building.

Women are definitely odd creatures, he thought with no small amout of confusion. It's a wonder the human race has survived this long… He couldn't quite supress the small grin that surfaced. But I kind of like it…

*******

(Author's Note: If anyone thought Piccolo seemed a bit OOC in some parts, (i. e. – the hair combing scene) let me remind you that people can act quite differently when alone ^_~ After all, we all know he would have NEVER done anything like that if she had been awake!! Thanks for reading, all. And please, review!!)