___Chapter 68___
~~NOTE- back again- SERIOUS thanks to everyone who's been reviewing me (the sudden explosion threw me for a loop- over 200 in all?), it truly is one of, if not the, greatest inspirations and spirit-lifters of all //.^ Musical inspiration- "Aqueous transmission" and "Are you in?", Incubus
-
Remember back in C29? Well, if you haven't guessed, this chapter begins with another flashback- so except when she's being spoken to, the younger Oboe will be referred to as 'Chibi' ~~
Bright laughter permeated every inch, every corner, every side of the sunlight clearing, startling birds in a nearby tree into flight. Azure feathers flew everywhere, some swirling about and being carried off by the wind, but most of them simply spinning a few moments before flitting softly to the long grass, their hues blending together so well as to make them indistinguishable from one another. But before the silence could be restored, another shout broke it-
"SWIFTU!!!!!!!!!"
The indignant nameckian girl glared in the sort of half-hearted fury which only a child can seem to pull off without coming off as immature, hands on her hips, a furious blush on her emerald cheeks. "How DARE you scare me like that, jumping out of nowhere! Don't you have anything to say for yourself??"
She wasn't granted with her answer (well not directly anyways) because brother-in-question was still too busy perching on a tree limb laughing his ass off.
"You should have seen your FACE!!!"
"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!"
"Well, maybe not over there, but from where I'm standing it was."
"Ooh... If only I could...."
"What? Comeon Oboe-chan, you couldn't surprise me if you tried. Heh, I'd like to see anyone-" The cocky expression vanished from his face in a yelp as someone grabbed onto his foot, tossing him haphazardly into the ground.
Swift glared so hard his eyes crossed, and he only got to half shout a protest before the unavoidable reply came- "What were you saying, Swiftu? 'See anyone YAAH'?"
The nameckian stood back up, dusting off his long blue-black vest, pointedly ignoring the broad grin on the face next to him. He knew there was no point in arguing with Bolt- in semantics, his black-indigo eyed friend almost always won. Swift settled for a shorter resignation.
"Very funny, you jackass. Can we get going or what?"
Bolt just grinned in his usual lopsided manner for a few seconds before nodding, treading off ahead of them in their predestined direction. As Swift moved to catch up with his friend, he became aware that his aecha (to use Ragnoroc's term) had fallen into step beside him, her little legs working like hell to keep up with his longer strides. The sight brought a smile to his face, almost making him feel bad about startling her earlier...
Chibi hadn't been focusing on anything but her aching feet when she felt a pair of arms sweep her up into the air, the bright blues of the forest foliage passing by her in a blur before she found herself planted firmly- but still moving. She was quite befuddled for a few moments at this before glancing down to see the back of her aeco's head.
Laughter rose again from the older nameckian as he heard her squeak of surprise. Suddenly he found himself in the mood for competition again- flaring up his chi, he blasted ahead of Bolt, flipping him off as he shot by, Chibi giggling madly on his shoulders.
It wasn't five seconds later before Swift had to kick it up a notch- he'd gotten the expected rise out of the other, and now it was time to get his ass moving or get it beat.
The forest flew by the three of them, all the scenery and the sounds and smells and the heat of their competitor's chis fuzzing together into a seemingly non-ending crazy blur. Everything was one, was together, was right, was good, there seemed to be no sadness or pain, as if that all was just a memory of some fading dream, and if only for a few minutes, it was the purest of joys, the joy of life itself.
They barely even noticed their destination upon reaching it- the 'house' had never been much to look at- simple nameckian design, big enough for two\three small rooms at most, and very obviously put together by amateur hands. But it was their place, and they'd know it anywhere, thus stopping short to avoid running into it.
Swift and Bolt stood in silence for a moment, admiring their handiwork of a few years past. Most of the time they were training with the others and being taught by their sensei, but each year they were given time off for personal meditation, or at least that's what it was suppose to be for. Only Frost seemed to actually meditate- everyone else just wandered off on their own with one or two others. After they'd gotten pounded by a days-long rainstorm one year, The two had decided to do something about it- thus the thing that stood before them.
This was Chibi's first retreat- Damaiou had decided to go home, but she'd been too curious to. Besides, she'd made it a point to sneak off and play with Palidor-chan whenever possible, and she was always able to see her father- him being the Great Elder and all. Swift had invited her to come along with Bolt to their place, so she'd accepted heartily.
Now the sun was falling, night was coming, and everyone felt drained- but as usual, the second cot was missing (It'd gotten used as target practice by accident years ago, and noone had bothered to replace it), so they were all on one- the two friends curled up like the Pisces- one's feet to the other's head, little Chibi snuggled in-between.
Though it had only taken her aeco and Bolt-san about five minutes to drift off into soft sleep-breathing, Chibi felt too excited to rest... instead she just laid back, feeling the comfort of their warmth-giving forms, knowing they'd chase the dreams away if anything could.....
~~~~~~~
Oboe's eyes flitted open quickly, blue sapphires quivering- the vision had come so suddenly, felt so real...
Stepping away from the doorway, she turned back to the now-empty, now-silent room. They were dead, both of them. No need to be haunted by spirits...
---
"Rain, rain, go to hell....."
"Bulma- do us all a favor and SHUT UP."
"SON-KUN????"
All heads shot around at that- all three of them staring at the wet-headed sayia-jin. It had been raining the whole day, puddles and mist and gloom were the prevailing feelings, everyone wet and miserable, Son's 100x gravity-resistant hair was even sagging- but his mood? It sounded impossible, but had all that wet gotten to even the cheeriest of souls and left it sapped?
Yen was the first to speak afterwards- "Hey, people! Let's stop catching flies and keep moving? We dropped off the thing, let go get the next one."
Noone moved. Chautzu sweatdropped. Son just stared at then glumly, his locks drooping so low into his face that they nearly hid his eyes. Bulma didn't look like much of anything except freezing in her tank-top and jean-shorts. Yen, wanting desperately to break the awkward silence and get her ass back into the nice dry kitchen for a margarita, glanced Juuhachigou approaching, and waved franticly to her.
At the sound the android looked up in mid-stride, cocked her head to the side and was about to speak when she put the raised foot down- and promptly disappeared from view with a 'crash'.
THAT got everyone's attention.
They snapped out of their collective stupor and raced over, calling out her name. Stopping short of falling in the freshly-formed pit, four pairs (plus Yen's third) of eyes peered into the blackness. Always eager to charge forward blindly, Son leapt down amid the trickles and echoes of raindrops into the.... cavern... silent save forming puddles and his footfalls.
18 was nowhere to be found.
---
A dismal feeling seemed to be everywhere across the worlds this day- even though the weather was far more beautiful than on Western Chiukusei, Hayai was certainly feeling his own pressure on Nameksei.
Nothing. No sign of Osu anywhere....
"Damnit, can't I even keep track of my own charges?" he cursed aloud, sulfur vest fluttering long behind him, his eyes skimming the surface of the planet below. But he couldn't stop worrying about the child or his possible actions to keep a frantic stream of thought from flowing constantly back and forth in his mind.
{{I mean, Muuri and Takusan trusted me to take watch over the boy and his brother... I'm suppose to be their brother, their teacher, and I can't even keep good enough track of him to find his chi? He can't be suppressing it.. he doesn't yet know how.. does he? Damn, I don't even know... *lets out a low moan* I know that -I- was always ignoring anoco, following the other warriors around, trying to copy them.... nearly getting myself killed more than once.... Must all children be so.... so stupid? Gods, wasn't I enough fool for all of them, just enough to spare one from this......}}
He probably would have kept it going, but something caught his ears- glancing down, his eyes narrowed, focusing on the village below. It was the hottest part of the day, one of two places- inside asleep if they were elders or healers or children, or training out in the wastes if they were dedicated warrior-types, but almost all the adults and elders were outside....
It took him only a few seconds to land and stride up to the village elder's hut- where most of the commotion was centered- and pull someone aside to ask what all this was about. The other nameckian, barely out of his hatchling stage, cried out the answer in a mixture of shock and anger-
"The dragonball was stolen!"
~~~NOTE- euh.... late again... but as I said before, I'm not stopping writing. As long as I can still breathe, I'll keep writing this story, I swear it to myself and all of you. *nods quietly* I'm hoping to get the next part as soon as I can mix together everything I want to do with the little time I have free.... ciao till then. ~~~
~~NOTE- back again- SERIOUS thanks to everyone who's been reviewing me (the sudden explosion threw me for a loop- over 200 in all?), it truly is one of, if not the, greatest inspirations and spirit-lifters of all //.^ Musical inspiration- "Aqueous transmission" and "Are you in?", Incubus
-
Remember back in C29? Well, if you haven't guessed, this chapter begins with another flashback- so except when she's being spoken to, the younger Oboe will be referred to as 'Chibi' ~~
Bright laughter permeated every inch, every corner, every side of the sunlight clearing, startling birds in a nearby tree into flight. Azure feathers flew everywhere, some swirling about and being carried off by the wind, but most of them simply spinning a few moments before flitting softly to the long grass, their hues blending together so well as to make them indistinguishable from one another. But before the silence could be restored, another shout broke it-
"SWIFTU!!!!!!!!!"
The indignant nameckian girl glared in the sort of half-hearted fury which only a child can seem to pull off without coming off as immature, hands on her hips, a furious blush on her emerald cheeks. "How DARE you scare me like that, jumping out of nowhere! Don't you have anything to say for yourself??"
She wasn't granted with her answer (well not directly anyways) because brother-in-question was still too busy perching on a tree limb laughing his ass off.
"You should have seen your FACE!!!"
"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!"
"Well, maybe not over there, but from where I'm standing it was."
"Ooh... If only I could...."
"What? Comeon Oboe-chan, you couldn't surprise me if you tried. Heh, I'd like to see anyone-" The cocky expression vanished from his face in a yelp as someone grabbed onto his foot, tossing him haphazardly into the ground.
Swift glared so hard his eyes crossed, and he only got to half shout a protest before the unavoidable reply came- "What were you saying, Swiftu? 'See anyone YAAH'?"
The nameckian stood back up, dusting off his long blue-black vest, pointedly ignoring the broad grin on the face next to him. He knew there was no point in arguing with Bolt- in semantics, his black-indigo eyed friend almost always won. Swift settled for a shorter resignation.
"Very funny, you jackass. Can we get going or what?"
Bolt just grinned in his usual lopsided manner for a few seconds before nodding, treading off ahead of them in their predestined direction. As Swift moved to catch up with his friend, he became aware that his aecha (to use Ragnoroc's term) had fallen into step beside him, her little legs working like hell to keep up with his longer strides. The sight brought a smile to his face, almost making him feel bad about startling her earlier...
Chibi hadn't been focusing on anything but her aching feet when she felt a pair of arms sweep her up into the air, the bright blues of the forest foliage passing by her in a blur before she found herself planted firmly- but still moving. She was quite befuddled for a few moments at this before glancing down to see the back of her aeco's head.
Laughter rose again from the older nameckian as he heard her squeak of surprise. Suddenly he found himself in the mood for competition again- flaring up his chi, he blasted ahead of Bolt, flipping him off as he shot by, Chibi giggling madly on his shoulders.
It wasn't five seconds later before Swift had to kick it up a notch- he'd gotten the expected rise out of the other, and now it was time to get his ass moving or get it beat.
The forest flew by the three of them, all the scenery and the sounds and smells and the heat of their competitor's chis fuzzing together into a seemingly non-ending crazy blur. Everything was one, was together, was right, was good, there seemed to be no sadness or pain, as if that all was just a memory of some fading dream, and if only for a few minutes, it was the purest of joys, the joy of life itself.
They barely even noticed their destination upon reaching it- the 'house' had never been much to look at- simple nameckian design, big enough for two\three small rooms at most, and very obviously put together by amateur hands. But it was their place, and they'd know it anywhere, thus stopping short to avoid running into it.
Swift and Bolt stood in silence for a moment, admiring their handiwork of a few years past. Most of the time they were training with the others and being taught by their sensei, but each year they were given time off for personal meditation, or at least that's what it was suppose to be for. Only Frost seemed to actually meditate- everyone else just wandered off on their own with one or two others. After they'd gotten pounded by a days-long rainstorm one year, The two had decided to do something about it- thus the thing that stood before them.
This was Chibi's first retreat- Damaiou had decided to go home, but she'd been too curious to. Besides, she'd made it a point to sneak off and play with Palidor-chan whenever possible, and she was always able to see her father- him being the Great Elder and all. Swift had invited her to come along with Bolt to their place, so she'd accepted heartily.
Now the sun was falling, night was coming, and everyone felt drained- but as usual, the second cot was missing (It'd gotten used as target practice by accident years ago, and noone had bothered to replace it), so they were all on one- the two friends curled up like the Pisces- one's feet to the other's head, little Chibi snuggled in-between.
Though it had only taken her aeco and Bolt-san about five minutes to drift off into soft sleep-breathing, Chibi felt too excited to rest... instead she just laid back, feeling the comfort of their warmth-giving forms, knowing they'd chase the dreams away if anything could.....
~~~~~~~
Oboe's eyes flitted open quickly, blue sapphires quivering- the vision had come so suddenly, felt so real...
Stepping away from the doorway, she turned back to the now-empty, now-silent room. They were dead, both of them. No need to be haunted by spirits...
---
"Rain, rain, go to hell....."
"Bulma- do us all a favor and SHUT UP."
"SON-KUN????"
All heads shot around at that- all three of them staring at the wet-headed sayia-jin. It had been raining the whole day, puddles and mist and gloom were the prevailing feelings, everyone wet and miserable, Son's 100x gravity-resistant hair was even sagging- but his mood? It sounded impossible, but had all that wet gotten to even the cheeriest of souls and left it sapped?
Yen was the first to speak afterwards- "Hey, people! Let's stop catching flies and keep moving? We dropped off the thing, let go get the next one."
Noone moved. Chautzu sweatdropped. Son just stared at then glumly, his locks drooping so low into his face that they nearly hid his eyes. Bulma didn't look like much of anything except freezing in her tank-top and jean-shorts. Yen, wanting desperately to break the awkward silence and get her ass back into the nice dry kitchen for a margarita, glanced Juuhachigou approaching, and waved franticly to her.
At the sound the android looked up in mid-stride, cocked her head to the side and was about to speak when she put the raised foot down- and promptly disappeared from view with a 'crash'.
THAT got everyone's attention.
They snapped out of their collective stupor and raced over, calling out her name. Stopping short of falling in the freshly-formed pit, four pairs (plus Yen's third) of eyes peered into the blackness. Always eager to charge forward blindly, Son leapt down amid the trickles and echoes of raindrops into the.... cavern... silent save forming puddles and his footfalls.
18 was nowhere to be found.
---
A dismal feeling seemed to be everywhere across the worlds this day- even though the weather was far more beautiful than on Western Chiukusei, Hayai was certainly feeling his own pressure on Nameksei.
Nothing. No sign of Osu anywhere....
"Damnit, can't I even keep track of my own charges?" he cursed aloud, sulfur vest fluttering long behind him, his eyes skimming the surface of the planet below. But he couldn't stop worrying about the child or his possible actions to keep a frantic stream of thought from flowing constantly back and forth in his mind.
{{I mean, Muuri and Takusan trusted me to take watch over the boy and his brother... I'm suppose to be their brother, their teacher, and I can't even keep good enough track of him to find his chi? He can't be suppressing it.. he doesn't yet know how.. does he? Damn, I don't even know... *lets out a low moan* I know that -I- was always ignoring anoco, following the other warriors around, trying to copy them.... nearly getting myself killed more than once.... Must all children be so.... so stupid? Gods, wasn't I enough fool for all of them, just enough to spare one from this......}}
He probably would have kept it going, but something caught his ears- glancing down, his eyes narrowed, focusing on the village below. It was the hottest part of the day, one of two places- inside asleep if they were elders or healers or children, or training out in the wastes if they were dedicated warrior-types, but almost all the adults and elders were outside....
It took him only a few seconds to land and stride up to the village elder's hut- where most of the commotion was centered- and pull someone aside to ask what all this was about. The other nameckian, barely out of his hatchling stage, cried out the answer in a mixture of shock and anger-
"The dragonball was stolen!"
~~~NOTE- euh.... late again... but as I said before, I'm not stopping writing. As long as I can still breathe, I'll keep writing this story, I swear it to myself and all of you. *nods quietly* I'm hoping to get the next part as soon as I can mix together everything I want to do with the little time I have free.... ciao till then. ~~~