Here's another chapter of CaM. What else can I say? Umm... Go read and
review!(Not that I need to tell you that...) ^_^
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SSJ4 Goku: Yeah, I guess it's just something about 'first times'. How they make you nervous and all, you know what I mean? But because of many good people in the world, the fear slowly diminishes and is replaced with confidence. Reviews are a helpful thing as well as an ego booster. ^_^ Yeah, and it seems the pace I'm going at is working just fine for me. And writing is getting somewhat easier, too. I'm glad I'm not too slow. I'm glad it's getting a little exciting for you. ^_^ I'm returning the favor for the excellent fics you wrote. I find suspenseful fics really fun to read!
kristy: Hey, thanx! ^_^ I hope the cliffhanger wasn't that bad... O.o
Masquerade: It was THAT bad? O.o Now, I've heard everything. Thanx, I like to visualize what I read so... yeah. You know. ^_^ I'll try and you can call me PAC or Koneko. Either one works fine. ^_^ I guess it is kind of a fad... I got it from SSJ4 Goku.
SSJSkaterTrunks: Eee... I told you I'm becoming evil. But I gotta be quick to change back. Otherwise, I might become lazy and slack off on the updates! O.o Thanx! And just ignore Cell. You can say whatever you want however many times you want. It's a free country. ^_^
Pen Dragon: Just sit, wait, and hang on from that cliff 'cause the next chapter's here!
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Disclaimer: Oh, geez, I nearly forgot about this. DBZ's not mine and Sekai and her parents and new people are. Okay? That about covered it. Yep...
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Cat and Mouse: Chapter Eight
Blurred images passed through her mind.
A day of bright sunshine...
... Smiling faces of her mother and father...
... A game of tag...
... A sudden flash of light...
... Cold rain pouring down...
... An already open door...
... splatters of a deep red color...
... screaming...
... more red color...
... "Mom! Dad!" She heard herself calling...
***
The pain never came. Sekai suspected that her death would certainly not be painless. Something must have happened.
Wind wildly blew about her and, strangely, she felt as if she was floating. Carefully, she opened her eyes and stared straight ahead. Clear blue sky came to her view along with puffy, white clouds. Not only that, but a familiar face greeted her none too kindly.
"Good, you're alive," came a gruff statement that didn't sound all that relieved.
Almost immediately, the events of the past few minutes came back to Sekai. The rush of information made her head hurt, and she shut her eyes painfully. She groaned and went to put her hand to her forehead, but the slight movement in her right arm made it scream in protest and burn. She figured it was broken. She cried out softly. The man holding her held something in front of her. It looked to be a bean of some sort. She looked up at him in a daze.
"Eat it." He commanded. She did as she was told without knowing why. She just felt the need to obey him. Taking the bean into her mouth, she slowly chewed and swallowed the hard food. Her body began to feel strange and with a burst, she felt great energy returning to her. It was as if she had been magically healed! Sekai stared at him with her mouth open and knew she had been fully and magically healed.
Suddenly, her eyes flew open at the remembrance of Cell. Where was he?! Panic rose inside of her and she struggled to get away from who she figured was her rescuer.
"Hey, Piccolo, be careful! She's getting a little hysterical," An unfamiliar voice sounded. The grip on Sekai tightened and held her more firmly.
"Don't worry about me. Just make sure Cell doesn't get away," Piccolo responded. Sekai turned to the new voice and was surprised at what she saw. It looked to be a regular human, but he was very short and bald. He also had no visible nose. By the six dots on his forehead, she could tell that he was a monk. But what Piccolo had said made her freak out.
'Cell is here?! Where is his? Wasn't he just about to make shish kabab out of me?!' Her mind whirled in a frenzy. She just wanted to get away from it all, but from the way Piccolo was holding her, she couldn't even breathe. As soon as she found her voice, she yelled out loudly.
"Let me go!"
Piccolo nearly dropped her from the loudness of her voice coming into his sensitive ears. She was also sure that Cell had heard her as well for he called out to Piccolo right then.
"Piccolo, give me back my lunch! She is mine to deal with!" Cell growled. Piccolo ignored him and, instead, turned his attention to Tien.
"Tien, come and take this girl away from here. And this time, don't let her get away from you!" Piccolo said. At hearing the name 'Tien', Sekai tried even harder to get away.
"Uh-uh! No way am I gonna deal with him again! Put me down this instant!" She yelled. She attempted to kick Piccolo in the face to make him let go, but with the daze she had been in just previously, her entire coordination was off and she missed.
"Don't be so difficult!" Piccolo was getting very annoyed with her poor cooperation.
"Please, miss, we're just trying to help you and want to take you to a safe place away from here," Another new person tried to reason. He was a very well-built man with lavender hair. "It's too dangerous to be here."
"Didn't I tell you to keep away from Cell before?!" Obviously, Piccolo shouted, angered. He almost had the urge to drop her on her head to knock some sense into her. Yet the part of him that was Kami tried to calm him.
She'd had enough of this. All these men didn't know how far she'd gotten and survived, and they probably didn't care either. They were just going to baby her until she was driven mad by it all. "Well, everything was going just fine before you butted in!" she lied. She wasn't going to say just how bad things had gotten before they had arrived.
"It wasn't looking that way when we came here and I had to save you from being absorbed by Cell," Piccolo pointed out. "In fact, you looked ready to die."
Sekai bared her teeth and fought to keep her embarrassment from showing. Piccolo just knew how to push her buttons, and it wasn't helping her confidence in the least.
"Well, at least I tried and fought for all those who died because of him," She defended. "And I will continue to do so even if I do have to die."
"You're really insane, aren't you?!" Tien yelled at her. "You're digging yourself a grave by wanting to fight Cell!"
The two new men snapped to attention. "She wants to fight Cell?!" they cried in unison.
"Uh, listen, miss, but you really shouldn't get involved in this. Do you know just who Cell is?" The purple-haired man, once again, warned her.
"She doesn't get anything, Trunks," Tien, still a little annoyed with Sekai, said. "She doesn't know when to run, even when she knows she doesn't stand a chance against Cell."
"Hey, I managed to get away from you, didn't I?" she remarked slyly.
"I'm not Cell!" he yelled.
"Would you all just keep quiet for a moment?!" Piccolo silenced them all. "In case you have forgotten, Cell is still here and has been listening to all of you bicker." He had been watching Cell the whole time, while speaking in the little conversation between the girl and Z-senshi.
They all turned to the sound of Cell's laughing, raspy voice. "Thank you, Piccolo. I must admit, I was getting a little annoyed with their nonsense as well."
"Nonsense?!" Sekai growled. "I'll show you nonsense!" She went to lunge for Cell, but Piccolo continued to restrain her. "Hey, let me go!"
"Man, she's feisty!" The short, bald man exclaimed.
"Do you want to get your butt kicked?" Tien asked.
She growled and glared at him, hard enough to shatter glass. Once she stopped struggling, Piccolo loosened his grip on her. Cell chuckled again.
"Shut up, you freak!" She was angry and embarrassed to be held down like an toddler, and having Cell see that made it even worse.
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there will be no fight at this moment. You see, I have a meeting with a couple of androids." He flew into the air. "But here's a little parting gift for you all." He put his hands to the sides of his face, palms facing towards him.
"Solar Flare!" A bright light shown over Sekai and the Z-senshi. The light was intensified by the sun and no one had enough time to shield their eyes from the brightness of it all.
"Ah! Cell!" Sekai yelled out, covering her eyes from the light. After some moments, the bright light finally faded to a normal intensity. Everyone slowly removed their hands from their faces and blinked their eyes into focus.
"Argh, Cell, you coward! Get back here!" Piccolo called out to the empty air above. He growled in frustration.
"Argh! He thinks he's such a big shot!" Sekai complained and wished that she could fly after him. Yet she knew she couldn't, whether she was being held back or not.
"You get out of here for the last time. You've gotten in enough trouble already," Piccolo tried to stay calm at her. He couldn't let his anger get to his head. After all, she was just a kid. He floated to the ground and put her down.
"ME?! Why should I listen to you? You're not my parent." She was losing her cool again and beginning to boil.
"You should listen to me because you know it's futile to face Cell. We both know that you stand no chance against him."
"And you and I both know that I have more potential than you think. You just aren't willing to accept that fact."
Piccolo's eyes narrowed and he growled, baring his sharp fangs. Sekai wasn't fazed at all. Her eyes dared him to challenge her.
Yet, in the end, Piccolo turned away from her regally as if fighting her would be a waste of his time. Her eyes widened slightly and her cheeks took on a pinkish hue at being turned away so easily. A part of her wanted to go out and lash at him, just to show him who was boss.
"Go. Now." His tone was different and unfamiliar to her. There was no anger, frustration, or anything in it. In fact, it sounded monotonous. It clearly showed that he was not to be messed with. Sekai blinked. Should she heed his silent warning or not?
"And if I don't? What will you do?" She knew she was treading on thin ice, but she really wanted to know. His response would tell her all she wanted to know about his threats; if they were empty or not.
Piccolo remained silent for a moment. "Then I will have no choice but to take you with us to the Kame house where you will be closely watched and be ensured that you won't get into any trouble. I suggest you get away from Cell once and for all if you don't want to lose that freedom."
She stared at his back. His tone was dead serious and not to be tampered with. The others were watching her, she knew, but she paid no mind to them. Piccolo's response made her think. She would have to consider it. After all, she couldn't just run away from Cell suddenly now, no matter what anyone said. Should she lie? It seemed to be the only way. She decided to make it look like a compromise.
"Look, I make no guarantees that I won't make any encounters with Cell in the future. But I will try to stay away from him. I mean, I can't help it if Cell comes after me when I'm not even going after him. You can't blame me for that, can you?" She didn't wait for an answer. "And, in any case, if I do happen to meet up with him and he wants to fight me, then I will have no choice but to defend myself. I'll just stall until you guys come to 'save' me. How's that for a deal?" She waited for Piccolo's verdict.
He was silent for a long time. Finally, he turned his head toward her and said,"Fine. Just as long as you don't go looking for him. I'm going to be taking your word for this. From a warrior to a warrior."
The last statement took everyone aback, especially Sekai. She hadn't expected Piccolo to be the kind of person with a pure honor. He may not have known it, but that one statement made her respect him so much. She said the one thing that she felt he truly deserved at the moment.
"Thank you."
"It's fine. Just remember the deal." With that, he started to float into the air.
"Hey, Piccolo, we're just gonna leave her here?!" The bald man, once again, called out. The others called out their objections as well.
"She'll be fine, Krillin. She knows what she has to do now," Piccolo reassured. Yet he wasn't sure himself whether to believe that or not. He continued to fly off. Sekai simply stood there and watched.
"Where are we going now?" Tien asked.
"We're going to try to track down Cell. Hopefully, by now, he hasn't caused too much damage," Piccolo told. The three nodded and together, they flew off in the direction they hoped Cell had gone.
Sekai continued to stand there and take in all that had happened. She thought hard about what to do. 'Now I feel horrible about lying to Piccolo like that. He seemed to truly believe what I said.' She thought again of why she lied in the first place. 'But it was something I had to do. I shouldn't be blaming myself for something that just had to be done.'
Still not completely satisfied with her argument, she sighed and turned to head out of the city. Pulling a capsule out of her pocket, she opened up her air bike. Getting on and starting it, she began driving out of the city of Ginger Town.
'In a way, a part of me still doesn't want to run into Cell, especially after the fight I just got into with him. If it weren't for Piccolo and his friends arriving at that moment, I wouldn't even be here right now. And I'm so scared of Cell...'
Sekai gulped and tried to keep her mind on driving. The worst way she could die now was by getting in a car crash. Yet her mind refused to obey her. The image of Cell's tail came into her mind once again. She shook her head slightly to clear the picture. She'd just had too close an encounter with that thing.
'And I don't even want to think about how it would feel if that spike actually made contact with its target. But the people who died did make contact it, and they most likely went through unimaginable pain. I can't let that monster get away with his crimes if I can help it.'
She continued to drive until the city was out of her sight. Her last thought as she drove to the forest was, 'I will fight on... but my fear holds me back so... I'm just so confused.'
You know, these chapters are getting longer and longer, aren't they? Weird... I guess I had a lot to write about in this chapter then... Oh, well! The more, the better, ne? Yeah... Next chapter should be out within a day or two! Later! ^_^
************
SSJ4 Goku: Yeah, I guess it's just something about 'first times'. How they make you nervous and all, you know what I mean? But because of many good people in the world, the fear slowly diminishes and is replaced with confidence. Reviews are a helpful thing as well as an ego booster. ^_^ Yeah, and it seems the pace I'm going at is working just fine for me. And writing is getting somewhat easier, too. I'm glad I'm not too slow. I'm glad it's getting a little exciting for you. ^_^ I'm returning the favor for the excellent fics you wrote. I find suspenseful fics really fun to read!
kristy: Hey, thanx! ^_^ I hope the cliffhanger wasn't that bad... O.o
Masquerade: It was THAT bad? O.o Now, I've heard everything. Thanx, I like to visualize what I read so... yeah. You know. ^_^ I'll try and you can call me PAC or Koneko. Either one works fine. ^_^ I guess it is kind of a fad... I got it from SSJ4 Goku.
SSJSkaterTrunks: Eee... I told you I'm becoming evil. But I gotta be quick to change back. Otherwise, I might become lazy and slack off on the updates! O.o Thanx! And just ignore Cell. You can say whatever you want however many times you want. It's a free country. ^_^
Pen Dragon: Just sit, wait, and hang on from that cliff 'cause the next chapter's here!
************
Disclaimer: Oh, geez, I nearly forgot about this. DBZ's not mine and Sekai and her parents and new people are. Okay? That about covered it. Yep...
************
Cat and Mouse: Chapter Eight
Blurred images passed through her mind.
A day of bright sunshine...
... Smiling faces of her mother and father...
... A game of tag...
... A sudden flash of light...
... Cold rain pouring down...
... An already open door...
... splatters of a deep red color...
... screaming...
... more red color...
... "Mom! Dad!" She heard herself calling...
***
The pain never came. Sekai suspected that her death would certainly not be painless. Something must have happened.
Wind wildly blew about her and, strangely, she felt as if she was floating. Carefully, she opened her eyes and stared straight ahead. Clear blue sky came to her view along with puffy, white clouds. Not only that, but a familiar face greeted her none too kindly.
"Good, you're alive," came a gruff statement that didn't sound all that relieved.
Almost immediately, the events of the past few minutes came back to Sekai. The rush of information made her head hurt, and she shut her eyes painfully. She groaned and went to put her hand to her forehead, but the slight movement in her right arm made it scream in protest and burn. She figured it was broken. She cried out softly. The man holding her held something in front of her. It looked to be a bean of some sort. She looked up at him in a daze.
"Eat it." He commanded. She did as she was told without knowing why. She just felt the need to obey him. Taking the bean into her mouth, she slowly chewed and swallowed the hard food. Her body began to feel strange and with a burst, she felt great energy returning to her. It was as if she had been magically healed! Sekai stared at him with her mouth open and knew she had been fully and magically healed.
Suddenly, her eyes flew open at the remembrance of Cell. Where was he?! Panic rose inside of her and she struggled to get away from who she figured was her rescuer.
"Hey, Piccolo, be careful! She's getting a little hysterical," An unfamiliar voice sounded. The grip on Sekai tightened and held her more firmly.
"Don't worry about me. Just make sure Cell doesn't get away," Piccolo responded. Sekai turned to the new voice and was surprised at what she saw. It looked to be a regular human, but he was very short and bald. He also had no visible nose. By the six dots on his forehead, she could tell that he was a monk. But what Piccolo had said made her freak out.
'Cell is here?! Where is his? Wasn't he just about to make shish kabab out of me?!' Her mind whirled in a frenzy. She just wanted to get away from it all, but from the way Piccolo was holding her, she couldn't even breathe. As soon as she found her voice, she yelled out loudly.
"Let me go!"
Piccolo nearly dropped her from the loudness of her voice coming into his sensitive ears. She was also sure that Cell had heard her as well for he called out to Piccolo right then.
"Piccolo, give me back my lunch! She is mine to deal with!" Cell growled. Piccolo ignored him and, instead, turned his attention to Tien.
"Tien, come and take this girl away from here. And this time, don't let her get away from you!" Piccolo said. At hearing the name 'Tien', Sekai tried even harder to get away.
"Uh-uh! No way am I gonna deal with him again! Put me down this instant!" She yelled. She attempted to kick Piccolo in the face to make him let go, but with the daze she had been in just previously, her entire coordination was off and she missed.
"Don't be so difficult!" Piccolo was getting very annoyed with her poor cooperation.
"Please, miss, we're just trying to help you and want to take you to a safe place away from here," Another new person tried to reason. He was a very well-built man with lavender hair. "It's too dangerous to be here."
"Didn't I tell you to keep away from Cell before?!" Obviously, Piccolo shouted, angered. He almost had the urge to drop her on her head to knock some sense into her. Yet the part of him that was Kami tried to calm him.
She'd had enough of this. All these men didn't know how far she'd gotten and survived, and they probably didn't care either. They were just going to baby her until she was driven mad by it all. "Well, everything was going just fine before you butted in!" she lied. She wasn't going to say just how bad things had gotten before they had arrived.
"It wasn't looking that way when we came here and I had to save you from being absorbed by Cell," Piccolo pointed out. "In fact, you looked ready to die."
Sekai bared her teeth and fought to keep her embarrassment from showing. Piccolo just knew how to push her buttons, and it wasn't helping her confidence in the least.
"Well, at least I tried and fought for all those who died because of him," She defended. "And I will continue to do so even if I do have to die."
"You're really insane, aren't you?!" Tien yelled at her. "You're digging yourself a grave by wanting to fight Cell!"
The two new men snapped to attention. "She wants to fight Cell?!" they cried in unison.
"Uh, listen, miss, but you really shouldn't get involved in this. Do you know just who Cell is?" The purple-haired man, once again, warned her.
"She doesn't get anything, Trunks," Tien, still a little annoyed with Sekai, said. "She doesn't know when to run, even when she knows she doesn't stand a chance against Cell."
"Hey, I managed to get away from you, didn't I?" she remarked slyly.
"I'm not Cell!" he yelled.
"Would you all just keep quiet for a moment?!" Piccolo silenced them all. "In case you have forgotten, Cell is still here and has been listening to all of you bicker." He had been watching Cell the whole time, while speaking in the little conversation between the girl and Z-senshi.
They all turned to the sound of Cell's laughing, raspy voice. "Thank you, Piccolo. I must admit, I was getting a little annoyed with their nonsense as well."
"Nonsense?!" Sekai growled. "I'll show you nonsense!" She went to lunge for Cell, but Piccolo continued to restrain her. "Hey, let me go!"
"Man, she's feisty!" The short, bald man exclaimed.
"Do you want to get your butt kicked?" Tien asked.
She growled and glared at him, hard enough to shatter glass. Once she stopped struggling, Piccolo loosened his grip on her. Cell chuckled again.
"Shut up, you freak!" She was angry and embarrassed to be held down like an toddler, and having Cell see that made it even worse.
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there will be no fight at this moment. You see, I have a meeting with a couple of androids." He flew into the air. "But here's a little parting gift for you all." He put his hands to the sides of his face, palms facing towards him.
"Solar Flare!" A bright light shown over Sekai and the Z-senshi. The light was intensified by the sun and no one had enough time to shield their eyes from the brightness of it all.
"Ah! Cell!" Sekai yelled out, covering her eyes from the light. After some moments, the bright light finally faded to a normal intensity. Everyone slowly removed their hands from their faces and blinked their eyes into focus.
"Argh, Cell, you coward! Get back here!" Piccolo called out to the empty air above. He growled in frustration.
"Argh! He thinks he's such a big shot!" Sekai complained and wished that she could fly after him. Yet she knew she couldn't, whether she was being held back or not.
"You get out of here for the last time. You've gotten in enough trouble already," Piccolo tried to stay calm at her. He couldn't let his anger get to his head. After all, she was just a kid. He floated to the ground and put her down.
"ME?! Why should I listen to you? You're not my parent." She was losing her cool again and beginning to boil.
"You should listen to me because you know it's futile to face Cell. We both know that you stand no chance against him."
"And you and I both know that I have more potential than you think. You just aren't willing to accept that fact."
Piccolo's eyes narrowed and he growled, baring his sharp fangs. Sekai wasn't fazed at all. Her eyes dared him to challenge her.
Yet, in the end, Piccolo turned away from her regally as if fighting her would be a waste of his time. Her eyes widened slightly and her cheeks took on a pinkish hue at being turned away so easily. A part of her wanted to go out and lash at him, just to show him who was boss.
"Go. Now." His tone was different and unfamiliar to her. There was no anger, frustration, or anything in it. In fact, it sounded monotonous. It clearly showed that he was not to be messed with. Sekai blinked. Should she heed his silent warning or not?
"And if I don't? What will you do?" She knew she was treading on thin ice, but she really wanted to know. His response would tell her all she wanted to know about his threats; if they were empty or not.
Piccolo remained silent for a moment. "Then I will have no choice but to take you with us to the Kame house where you will be closely watched and be ensured that you won't get into any trouble. I suggest you get away from Cell once and for all if you don't want to lose that freedom."
She stared at his back. His tone was dead serious and not to be tampered with. The others were watching her, she knew, but she paid no mind to them. Piccolo's response made her think. She would have to consider it. After all, she couldn't just run away from Cell suddenly now, no matter what anyone said. Should she lie? It seemed to be the only way. She decided to make it look like a compromise.
"Look, I make no guarantees that I won't make any encounters with Cell in the future. But I will try to stay away from him. I mean, I can't help it if Cell comes after me when I'm not even going after him. You can't blame me for that, can you?" She didn't wait for an answer. "And, in any case, if I do happen to meet up with him and he wants to fight me, then I will have no choice but to defend myself. I'll just stall until you guys come to 'save' me. How's that for a deal?" She waited for Piccolo's verdict.
He was silent for a long time. Finally, he turned his head toward her and said,"Fine. Just as long as you don't go looking for him. I'm going to be taking your word for this. From a warrior to a warrior."
The last statement took everyone aback, especially Sekai. She hadn't expected Piccolo to be the kind of person with a pure honor. He may not have known it, but that one statement made her respect him so much. She said the one thing that she felt he truly deserved at the moment.
"Thank you."
"It's fine. Just remember the deal." With that, he started to float into the air.
"Hey, Piccolo, we're just gonna leave her here?!" The bald man, once again, called out. The others called out their objections as well.
"She'll be fine, Krillin. She knows what she has to do now," Piccolo reassured. Yet he wasn't sure himself whether to believe that or not. He continued to fly off. Sekai simply stood there and watched.
"Where are we going now?" Tien asked.
"We're going to try to track down Cell. Hopefully, by now, he hasn't caused too much damage," Piccolo told. The three nodded and together, they flew off in the direction they hoped Cell had gone.
Sekai continued to stand there and take in all that had happened. She thought hard about what to do. 'Now I feel horrible about lying to Piccolo like that. He seemed to truly believe what I said.' She thought again of why she lied in the first place. 'But it was something I had to do. I shouldn't be blaming myself for something that just had to be done.'
Still not completely satisfied with her argument, she sighed and turned to head out of the city. Pulling a capsule out of her pocket, she opened up her air bike. Getting on and starting it, she began driving out of the city of Ginger Town.
'In a way, a part of me still doesn't want to run into Cell, especially after the fight I just got into with him. If it weren't for Piccolo and his friends arriving at that moment, I wouldn't even be here right now. And I'm so scared of Cell...'
Sekai gulped and tried to keep her mind on driving. The worst way she could die now was by getting in a car crash. Yet her mind refused to obey her. The image of Cell's tail came into her mind once again. She shook her head slightly to clear the picture. She'd just had too close an encounter with that thing.
'And I don't even want to think about how it would feel if that spike actually made contact with its target. But the people who died did make contact it, and they most likely went through unimaginable pain. I can't let that monster get away with his crimes if I can help it.'
She continued to drive until the city was out of her sight. Her last thought as she drove to the forest was, 'I will fight on... but my fear holds me back so... I'm just so confused.'
You know, these chapters are getting longer and longer, aren't they? Weird... I guess I had a lot to write about in this chapter then... Oh, well! The more, the better, ne? Yeah... Next chapter should be out within a day or two! Later! ^_^