___Chapter 55___
~~~NOTE- Musical inspiration on this chapter- "For Nancy ('cos it already is)", by Pete Yorn. ~~~
She soared gently above the mountains, face quiet while taking in the scenery. The air was fresh and cool, one of those beautiful summer's breezes that makes your soul feel a bit lighter than usual, perfect blue sky all around her.
On a whim, her aura flared up, and she went rocketing through the sky at an astounding speed, literally bursting through the clouds. The wind whipped back her antennae, ruffled her clothing and tickled her nose, causing her to giggle, or maybe it was just the pure joy flying brings when it's done for no reason in particular, with no set destination or care in the world, it's just..... freedom.
Oboe-chan burst out with laughter, ripping through the clear sky like a hawk, or a child. It'd been a long time since she'd done this....
"Hey!" cried out a voice from below, and her ears perked when she recognized the voice, and glanced down to see the caped figure soaring further below her.
"Piccolo-san!" she smiled, waving to him and glided down to bring herself closer. About twenty feet away, they leveled off, and with a smile, Oboe asked "What brings you to these parts?"
"Just passing through." he remarked, a half-smile playing on his lips. When she didn't say anything, he glanced forward and finished "Took a while to find you, you weren't where you usually wait."
"Well, I got tired, and went flying. Sorry, Piccolo-san."
He just blinked. "Flying where?"
"Just flying." Oboe hugged her arms happily around herself and added "Sometimes I just like flying, for fun."
".... huh?"
"*laughs* Silly! You don't know much about fun, do you?"
"...."
"You've gotta learn sometime, especially if we're going to be hanging out more often. *taps his nose, smiling* "
Piccolo was quiet for a long period of time after that, just staring forward before glancing back at her. "So.... how does that go again?"
She grinned. "Don't think about where you're going or what you're doing, just..... fly." And with that, she took his hand and shot off, straight up into the sky.
At first he only yelled out of the suddenness of it all, but the more he saw her just smile that smile of hers and encourage him, the easier it got to just let the world go, and....... let loose.
Oboe's eyes sparkled with pure joy for that hour, a rare moment of pure freedom in her life, only made better by the fact that, well, HE was there too. And... happy. Oboe giggled, and wheeled around, chasing after his chi, and upon seeing a moving white shape, swung her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulderpads, staring up at a near-full smile on his face.
Piccolo opened his mouth to speak- but the words never came out. Suddenly she was back on the sanctuary again, and her lover's bleeding, broken body, though still at the young age they'd first just flew, slumped in her arms, dead eyes wide.
And she jostled out of her trance, screaming.
---
Vegeta just stared at her, still laying flat on his ass five feet away, where he'd literally jumped when she'd awoken.
"GODDAMNIT WOMAN, TRYNA GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK!" he shrieked in shock, the end of his mouth twitching.
Oboe just stared at him, shaking, and buried her head in her hands to weep. But Vegeta, as thick to people's emotions as usual, just cursed her out, until someone backhanded him soundly, knocking him out.
Gohan brushed off his hands, glaring at the unconscious sayian prince before going over to the woman and wrapping his arms around her comfortingly. "It's OK Oboe-san, we'll get him back, please don't cry......"
When she'd finally collected herself enough to speak, she just muttered "Piccolo-san....."
The halfling sighed, tilted her head up so he could see her eyes, and said firmly "He's coming back. If I've got to search to the ends of the earth, I'm going to get my sensei back. Ok? Please don't cry Oboe-san, I don't thin- no, I know he wouldn't want you to cry over him. Please don't cry."
Oboe nodded weakly, and hugged him tight, murmuring "Arigato, Gohan-chan." before pulling herself up off the ground and walking quietly to the capsule house. Gohan followed suit, and shut the door behind him.
The rain continued in silence, darkening the sky like night, and sliding down the bare scalp of a, by now, soggy sayian-jin prince who'd put his foot in his mouth one too many times.
---
The sun boiled down on those at the Tenkai once again, and in the middle of it all, a woman with short black hair slumped down under the last palm standing, sipping a pina collada.
The first thing that wandered into her mind was Gohan. He'd been gone for a while now... She sighed, playing with the salt on the side of the glass nonchalantly with a long-since chipped fingernail.
Videl's attention was suddenly drawn to that, and pouted her lips slightly. It's been a long time since her hands hadn't been callused, or she'd been able to do her hair up nice, or she'd worn a dress... But this was the life she'd chose, and she'd known the consequences when she'd chosen it. Still...
Maybe when Gohan got home, she'd wear a dress for him, the long black one with the marbling effect down the skirt, and the magenta trim.....
Yeah, he'd like that. But in the meantime.... Videl dropped her empty glass off at the makeshift kitchen area, and slugged her bag over her shoulder again. Back to work...
---
"Goku, hey, get back here, I can't hold this by myself!!" Krillan yelled out, glaring at the shape squatted on the ground, staring at something.
"Comeon Goku, I'm getting crushed here!"
"Goku....... GOKU!!!!!"
The sayian finally glanced up, and glanced over to the little man, holding a wall they were reconstructing, but which had tilted, up. His eyes went wide, and he yelled "Krillan! What are you doing there, all by yourself?"
"WAITING FOR YOU!!!"
"Oh.... *walks over, pushes it back into place easily* Why didn't you just ask?"
Krillan just stared, sweatdropping. "You've got to be kidding...."
"About what?"
"..... just forget it."
---
Soft sunlight fell through a window, outlining the shadow of an apple and falling further until it struck an angular face, highlighting spots usually hidden by frown lines. The light played tricks over the visage, bathing some in it's rays. But Piccolo's head tilted into the pillow, hiding his face in shadow subconsciously.
Kami-sama watched gravely. He wasn't improving. If only there were something he could do... but he knew there was not. This was Piccolo's battle..... if he had the strength to pull through it....
---
He had finally slipped into meditation when he heard it- a bloodcurdling scream, emanating through the white expanse.
Neru jerked up immediately, trying to latch onto the source of the sound, and once he had a direction, he shot off, full speed. No way in hell he was gonna sit on his ass this whole time, he was gonna DO something, and whatever'd make Piccolo scream HAD to be SOMETHING...
---
Oboe's eyes twitched slightly underneath their lids, and upon sliding them open slowly, she glanced to her side on reflex, and sighed. Still no Piccolo.
Instead, she realized as she glanced into her arms, there was Lute, snoring peacefully on her lap. Oboe's smile returned upon the sight of the child, and she patted his head softly, mentally thanking him for getting her to rest again.
She laid him down on Gohan's lap on the other side of the room, and stepped outside, eyes closed. Still smelled like her old Nameksei. The air felt the same too. Oboe opened her eyes, a slightly disturbed look to her face. The resemblance was eerie...
She didn't have much more time to think right then, though, because a fistful of mud was hurtled at her, slamming her neatly in the back of the head. She squeaked in alarm, and jerked around to a most pathetic sight.
It'd really rained last night, and Veggie'd gotten the worst of it. He was a soaking, muddy mess. Oboe was so surprised by the sight that before she could stop herself, she burst out with giggles. Vegeta shot her a death-glare, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything- now that he'd thought about it, he'd really acted like an ass last night.....
"Ok, ok" he finally was able to spit out, "I'll be back in ten minutes, after I go wash off....", and stomped off where he smelled a large quantity of water.
~~~NOTE- Musical inspiration on this chapter- "For Nancy ('cos it already is)", by Pete Yorn. ~~~
She soared gently above the mountains, face quiet while taking in the scenery. The air was fresh and cool, one of those beautiful summer's breezes that makes your soul feel a bit lighter than usual, perfect blue sky all around her.
On a whim, her aura flared up, and she went rocketing through the sky at an astounding speed, literally bursting through the clouds. The wind whipped back her antennae, ruffled her clothing and tickled her nose, causing her to giggle, or maybe it was just the pure joy flying brings when it's done for no reason in particular, with no set destination or care in the world, it's just..... freedom.
Oboe-chan burst out with laughter, ripping through the clear sky like a hawk, or a child. It'd been a long time since she'd done this....
"Hey!" cried out a voice from below, and her ears perked when she recognized the voice, and glanced down to see the caped figure soaring further below her.
"Piccolo-san!" she smiled, waving to him and glided down to bring herself closer. About twenty feet away, they leveled off, and with a smile, Oboe asked "What brings you to these parts?"
"Just passing through." he remarked, a half-smile playing on his lips. When she didn't say anything, he glanced forward and finished "Took a while to find you, you weren't where you usually wait."
"Well, I got tired, and went flying. Sorry, Piccolo-san."
He just blinked. "Flying where?"
"Just flying." Oboe hugged her arms happily around herself and added "Sometimes I just like flying, for fun."
".... huh?"
"*laughs* Silly! You don't know much about fun, do you?"
"...."
"You've gotta learn sometime, especially if we're going to be hanging out more often. *taps his nose, smiling* "
Piccolo was quiet for a long period of time after that, just staring forward before glancing back at her. "So.... how does that go again?"
She grinned. "Don't think about where you're going or what you're doing, just..... fly." And with that, she took his hand and shot off, straight up into the sky.
At first he only yelled out of the suddenness of it all, but the more he saw her just smile that smile of hers and encourage him, the easier it got to just let the world go, and....... let loose.
Oboe's eyes sparkled with pure joy for that hour, a rare moment of pure freedom in her life, only made better by the fact that, well, HE was there too. And... happy. Oboe giggled, and wheeled around, chasing after his chi, and upon seeing a moving white shape, swung her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulderpads, staring up at a near-full smile on his face.
Piccolo opened his mouth to speak- but the words never came out. Suddenly she was back on the sanctuary again, and her lover's bleeding, broken body, though still at the young age they'd first just flew, slumped in her arms, dead eyes wide.
And she jostled out of her trance, screaming.
---
Vegeta just stared at her, still laying flat on his ass five feet away, where he'd literally jumped when she'd awoken.
"GODDAMNIT WOMAN, TRYNA GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK!" he shrieked in shock, the end of his mouth twitching.
Oboe just stared at him, shaking, and buried her head in her hands to weep. But Vegeta, as thick to people's emotions as usual, just cursed her out, until someone backhanded him soundly, knocking him out.
Gohan brushed off his hands, glaring at the unconscious sayian prince before going over to the woman and wrapping his arms around her comfortingly. "It's OK Oboe-san, we'll get him back, please don't cry......"
When she'd finally collected herself enough to speak, she just muttered "Piccolo-san....."
The halfling sighed, tilted her head up so he could see her eyes, and said firmly "He's coming back. If I've got to search to the ends of the earth, I'm going to get my sensei back. Ok? Please don't cry Oboe-san, I don't thin- no, I know he wouldn't want you to cry over him. Please don't cry."
Oboe nodded weakly, and hugged him tight, murmuring "Arigato, Gohan-chan." before pulling herself up off the ground and walking quietly to the capsule house. Gohan followed suit, and shut the door behind him.
The rain continued in silence, darkening the sky like night, and sliding down the bare scalp of a, by now, soggy sayian-jin prince who'd put his foot in his mouth one too many times.
---
The sun boiled down on those at the Tenkai once again, and in the middle of it all, a woman with short black hair slumped down under the last palm standing, sipping a pina collada.
The first thing that wandered into her mind was Gohan. He'd been gone for a while now... She sighed, playing with the salt on the side of the glass nonchalantly with a long-since chipped fingernail.
Videl's attention was suddenly drawn to that, and pouted her lips slightly. It's been a long time since her hands hadn't been callused, or she'd been able to do her hair up nice, or she'd worn a dress... But this was the life she'd chose, and she'd known the consequences when she'd chosen it. Still...
Maybe when Gohan got home, she'd wear a dress for him, the long black one with the marbling effect down the skirt, and the magenta trim.....
Yeah, he'd like that. But in the meantime.... Videl dropped her empty glass off at the makeshift kitchen area, and slugged her bag over her shoulder again. Back to work...
---
"Goku, hey, get back here, I can't hold this by myself!!" Krillan yelled out, glaring at the shape squatted on the ground, staring at something.
"Comeon Goku, I'm getting crushed here!"
"Goku....... GOKU!!!!!"
The sayian finally glanced up, and glanced over to the little man, holding a wall they were reconstructing, but which had tilted, up. His eyes went wide, and he yelled "Krillan! What are you doing there, all by yourself?"
"WAITING FOR YOU!!!"
"Oh.... *walks over, pushes it back into place easily* Why didn't you just ask?"
Krillan just stared, sweatdropping. "You've got to be kidding...."
"About what?"
"..... just forget it."
---
Soft sunlight fell through a window, outlining the shadow of an apple and falling further until it struck an angular face, highlighting spots usually hidden by frown lines. The light played tricks over the visage, bathing some in it's rays. But Piccolo's head tilted into the pillow, hiding his face in shadow subconsciously.
Kami-sama watched gravely. He wasn't improving. If only there were something he could do... but he knew there was not. This was Piccolo's battle..... if he had the strength to pull through it....
---
He had finally slipped into meditation when he heard it- a bloodcurdling scream, emanating through the white expanse.
Neru jerked up immediately, trying to latch onto the source of the sound, and once he had a direction, he shot off, full speed. No way in hell he was gonna sit on his ass this whole time, he was gonna DO something, and whatever'd make Piccolo scream HAD to be SOMETHING...
---
Oboe's eyes twitched slightly underneath their lids, and upon sliding them open slowly, she glanced to her side on reflex, and sighed. Still no Piccolo.
Instead, she realized as she glanced into her arms, there was Lute, snoring peacefully on her lap. Oboe's smile returned upon the sight of the child, and she patted his head softly, mentally thanking him for getting her to rest again.
She laid him down on Gohan's lap on the other side of the room, and stepped outside, eyes closed. Still smelled like her old Nameksei. The air felt the same too. Oboe opened her eyes, a slightly disturbed look to her face. The resemblance was eerie...
She didn't have much more time to think right then, though, because a fistful of mud was hurtled at her, slamming her neatly in the back of the head. She squeaked in alarm, and jerked around to a most pathetic sight.
It'd really rained last night, and Veggie'd gotten the worst of it. He was a soaking, muddy mess. Oboe was so surprised by the sight that before she could stop herself, she burst out with giggles. Vegeta shot her a death-glare, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything- now that he'd thought about it, he'd really acted like an ass last night.....
"Ok, ok" he finally was able to spit out, "I'll be back in ten minutes, after I go wash off....", and stomped off where he smelled a large quantity of water.