Another chappie to read!(Man, that's getting old...) Have fun and review,
too, with all that other junk. ^_^
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SSJ4 Goku: It is something to think about, huh? And I guess you're psychic or something if you thought I wouldn't get flamed for this... So far. ^_^() Aw, thanx. And then I pray for those who may flame in the future; they'd better beware your wrath! ^_~ And your reviews especially keep me going. You may not have known, but your answers to my reviews in your stories are what really inspired me to write and post this. That's why your support means so much to me. ^_^ Suspenseful? Cool, I try to go for that. And they are excellent! So keep writing! I'm trying for drama, too, sort of... ^_^()
Masquerade: Psst! Just between you and me... I don't know either. ^_^() I'm just doing spur-of-the-moment things so... yeah. It's just as surprising to all of you as it is to me then, I guess. ^_^ And sleep if you want! Sleep is good... You know I like to sleep. ^_^() And I will keep writing! Unless my fingers magically become paralyzed... O.o Don't want that!
lilmissgoten: Yep, a girl needs her privacy, you know. And if she does, well... She'll have to do something, certainly! "Hopefully" is the keyword... And I wonder, too... O.o Thanx, I will! ^_^
SSJSkaterTrunks: Yep, she did. Guess she likes to play with fire a bit... Thanx. And, once again, ignore Cell. He's just jealous 'cause he's not getting any thumbs ups. ^_~ And I appreciate those, too, so I hope they stay up!
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Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything related to it. Just Sekai and her parents... So far... I'm just going with the flow of it so... maybe more new characters, maybe not. ^_^
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Cat and Mouse: Chapter Nine
It had gotten dark.
A low grumble filled the air.
Sekai frowned at her stomach's cry for a nice meal. She had reached a deserted forest with low vegetation, and now she was driving around on her air bike looking for a morsel of edible food. So far, there had been no lakes or rivers to be found so fish was automatically ruled out. Strangely, the animals seemed to be missing or in hiding.
'Guess they're scared of Cell, too,' she thought. 'But I've got to find something to eat!' Her stomach, once again, growled in protest for something to be put into it. She sighed and shook her head of any thoughts of food. It was hard to concentrate on driving.
As she drove about, weaving through the thick trees, she spotted a blackberry bush. Immediately, she jumped off her air bike and leaving it on, dove for the bush. Unfortunately, at closer inspection, she realized that nearly none of the berries were mature enough to be edible. Almost stubborn to eat them anyway, Sekai kept telling herself that she didn't want to get sick from berry poisoning. With another sigh, she got back onto her bike and continued on.
"Grr... I can't believe there's nothing in this huge forest to eat. Where the hell are all the animals?!" Without knowing it, Sekai's angered voice brought about some rustling in the trees up above. Yet with what was on her mind, she didn't catch the sound.
"Man, I just wish that something would jump out so I can kill it and eat it," At this point, she was simply rambling now, her body and mind exhausted. More rustling stirred, and, this time, she didn't miss it.
"Huh? What's that?" She looked up into the large trees through the darkness. It was as if they were whipping about wildly now, but there wasn't even a gentle breeze blowing.
Suddenly, a thick tree branch crashed to the ground right in front of her. Putting the brake on, she screeched her bike to a halt just before it made contact with the branch. Taking in a breath quickly, she looked all about her yet saw no one. Was it simply an act of nature?
'I don't like this...'
After a moment and completely forgetting about her hunger, Sekai thought she saw something zoom somewhere out of the corner of her eye. Not making any sudden movements, she lowered the gears to the bike so that it rested on the forest floor and then turned off the ignition. No sounds came from the direction she saw the movement. It was difficult to sense, with the ki being so low and all.
'Is it Cell? Is it him just hiding his ki?' She squinted her eyes through the darkness to try to make out the shape of whatever was there. A pair of cat eyes glinted in the bushes just ahead of her. Her eyes widened slightly and she gulped down a lump in her throat. More rustling confirmed the location of the creature.
'Oh, god... Please don't let it be him... Please don't let it be him,' she kept repeating to herself but feeling that it was futile.
Slowly and quietly, Sekai stepped down from the bike and, cautiously, circled it until it was between her and whatever was in the bushes. Breathing silently, she waited for the creature, whom she suspected was Cell, to come out. The rustling continued and a low grumble came from behind the brush. A few twigs snapped from where the thing was along with the occasional movement of leaves from the trees above.
Several minutes passed and no more sounds were coming from the bushes. Sekai concluded that she was just being paranoid and that she would have been able to sense Cell easily, even if he did hide his ki a bit. She straightened her back and turned to go back around to search for a possible meal on foot. She immediately stopped in her tracks and gasped.
A huge wildcat yowled and lunged at her. She held her arms out to keep the beast from biting her head off and pushed it against its throat. It screeched and lashed out with its foreleg, striking her cheek with its razor sharp claws. Its eyes glinted and she realized that it was the same creature from the brush. With some amount of strength, Sekai pushed it away and backflipped to the other side of the bike. She wiped her cheek clear of any blood.
'Guess it wasn't Cell after all,' she thought, somewhat relieved.
She prepared herself for its next attack and smiled, a little amused. "Well, it looks like I will be having some dinner tonight after all," she said. The cat hissed, as if offended, showing four white, pointy fangs. They looked to be about two to three inches in length. It growled low in its throat and ran its tongue over its mouth. It almost looked like it was smirking.
Sekai frowned then. 'Well, it's certainly reminding me of Cell. It's doing a very accurate impression of him.' The beast jumped at her again, but she anticipated it this time and flipped it clear over her head, causing it to land on its side. Shaking its head and regaining some equilibrium, the animal hissed and went to claw her again. Tired of and bored with the little match, Sekai brought her fists together down hard on the wildcat's skull, causing its head to snap down far enough to break its neck and kill it. With a final thud, it fell to the ground, motionless.
Sighing, Sekai turned to the fallen corpse and clapping her hands together once, bowed to it. As much as she didn't regret killing it, she always gave her respects and blessings to the deceased. It was just the way her mother and father taught her to be, and it was the way she accepted.
'If it weren't for this creature coming across my path, then I'd probably starve to death,' she thought. Content with her find, she walked around and picked up some twigs and branches to build a fire with. Also, she capsulized her bike and got out some camping gear. She would rest here tonight.
After she got the fire started, Sekai took a pocketknife from the back pocket of her ripped jeans and began to cut the fur from the animal. Then she cleaned the blood off with some bottled water and started to cook the meat over the fire. She began to eat.
As she ate, her mind started to wander off again. She thought about Cell and where he could be now. He's probably looking for more victims to stab to death. 'Although with it being so dark, he might not find anyone,' she considered. 'But I bet he can see things clear as day no matter how dark it is with those freaky eyes of his.' She shuddered at the remembrance of those pink, slitted eyes. His eyes had actually been the first thing to strike fear into her heart; she hadn't even noticed his tail-- what she now believed to be his most lethal feature-- until she did a full inspection of his features at their first encounter. Taking a last bite of her meal, she stood up and went to put up a tent.
She put up the tent and rolling out a sleeping bag, crawled into the tent with her capsules. The remains of the wildcat still lay by the burning fire. An uncomfortable feeling crept through her bones, making her shiver slightly.
'What if Cell comes through these woods while I'm sleeping?' she worried. It was definitely something to consider. She knew how quietly Cell could creep around, and wanted to be prepared for anything. She thought about staying up all night and keeping watch, but knew that she'd be too exhausted to function properly the next day. Besides, she'd probably fall asleep anyways, considering how tired she was now.
All she could think of was to keep some sort of weapon around just in case Cell did show up. Reaching for her emergency kit, she took out a silver dagger her father had given to her. Gazing at it thoughtfully, she remembered how she had come to possess such a beautiful object...
***
"Sekai! Come here for a minute, dear!" Yoru yelled from outside.
Young Sekai bounded from inside the house and came running, gleefully. "Yes, Daddy?" Giggling, she jumped up into her father's arms and hugged him tightly. Yoru hugged her back and gently set her to the ground. He kneeled down until he was at eye level with Sekai and smiled at her. From his robes, he revealed a shining, silver dagger with a blood red ruby in the center of the hilt.
"Here, Sekai-chan, I want you to have this," he said.
Sekai looked at the object with wide eyes. "Oooh, what is it? It's so pretty and shiny."
"It's a dagger that my father gave to me. It has been passed down in our family for many generations. A very special heirloom, it is." He paused to look Sekai in the face. "Before you were born, I had planned to give this dagger to my future son. Instead, having been blessed with a beautiful and wonderful daughter, I pass this on to you." He held the object out to her.
"Oh, but I don't deserve it, Daddy! It's too beautiful," she objected.
Yoru took Sekai's small hands into his large ones. He placed the dagger into hers and spoke to her softly. "You do deserve this, sweetheart. You have a great power sleeping within you. You, in fact, deserve so much more than this."
Sekai stared at her father, trying to process it all into her young mind.
He smiled. "I know you may not understand this all now, but you have something great inside of you. Your mother and I have felt it. When you cry with such emotion, when you laugh so heartedly, when you yell in a fit of anger. You reveal more of that power each time and one day, hopefully, you will come to realize it so that we may teach you how to use and master it."
Sekai kept staring at her father, this time with her mouth hanging open. Although she had missed some of the points he made, she got the basic concept.
She had a great power within her.
'But how can I? I'm just a kid,' she thought.
"It's okay, Sekai-chan, if you don't get this right now. I know it's a lot for you to take in. Just take this dagger," He tightened his grasp on her slightly, making the cool metal be felt in her warm hands,"And remember what I've said so that one day you may come to understand it. Promise me that you will remember what I have told you."
Sekai slowly nodded her head. "I promise, Daddy." She took the dagger and hugged it to her chest as her father warmly smiled...
***
She squeezed her eyes shut and grasped the hilt of the dagger tightly. Opening her eyes and blinking back tears, she took in a deep breath and lay down in her sleeping bag. She turned on her side and placed the dagger under her pillow, keeping her hand there in preparation.
'It might not even affect him, but it's better than nothing... Mom, Dad... I miss you. I wish you were here to stay by my side. I wish you were here so you could explain to me and teach me of this power I'm just barely beginning to recognize. I'm so scared and confused. Cell is just so frightening and strong. What will I do?' That was the final thought she had before drifting off into her dream world.
Out in the trees, another creature watched the tent closely and waited.
'So she decides to sleep, eh? Well, that is a big mistake she is making, she'll soon discover.' Cell had been watching the entire events since the wildcat showed up. He was impressed with the hunting skills she used on the lowly animal. What had especially intrigued him was when she bowed down to the dead animal...
'Perhaps she does hold some true honor for all living things... But it's not important right now. She had better be wary of me as the game progresses...' He dropped the subject for the moment and waited until he was sure Sekai was asleep. It would be then that he would make his move...
Ooooh... What move is he planning to make? I don't know so don't bother asking me. ^_^() I'm just as surprised with the way things are going as you are. I'm just going with the flow... Yep...
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SSJ4 Goku: It is something to think about, huh? And I guess you're psychic or something if you thought I wouldn't get flamed for this... So far. ^_^() Aw, thanx. And then I pray for those who may flame in the future; they'd better beware your wrath! ^_~ And your reviews especially keep me going. You may not have known, but your answers to my reviews in your stories are what really inspired me to write and post this. That's why your support means so much to me. ^_^ Suspenseful? Cool, I try to go for that. And they are excellent! So keep writing! I'm trying for drama, too, sort of... ^_^()
Masquerade: Psst! Just between you and me... I don't know either. ^_^() I'm just doing spur-of-the-moment things so... yeah. It's just as surprising to all of you as it is to me then, I guess. ^_^ And sleep if you want! Sleep is good... You know I like to sleep. ^_^() And I will keep writing! Unless my fingers magically become paralyzed... O.o Don't want that!
lilmissgoten: Yep, a girl needs her privacy, you know. And if she does, well... She'll have to do something, certainly! "Hopefully" is the keyword... And I wonder, too... O.o Thanx, I will! ^_^
SSJSkaterTrunks: Yep, she did. Guess she likes to play with fire a bit... Thanx. And, once again, ignore Cell. He's just jealous 'cause he's not getting any thumbs ups. ^_~ And I appreciate those, too, so I hope they stay up!
************
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything related to it. Just Sekai and her parents... So far... I'm just going with the flow of it so... maybe more new characters, maybe not. ^_^
************
Cat and Mouse: Chapter Nine
It had gotten dark.
A low grumble filled the air.
Sekai frowned at her stomach's cry for a nice meal. She had reached a deserted forest with low vegetation, and now she was driving around on her air bike looking for a morsel of edible food. So far, there had been no lakes or rivers to be found so fish was automatically ruled out. Strangely, the animals seemed to be missing or in hiding.
'Guess they're scared of Cell, too,' she thought. 'But I've got to find something to eat!' Her stomach, once again, growled in protest for something to be put into it. She sighed and shook her head of any thoughts of food. It was hard to concentrate on driving.
As she drove about, weaving through the thick trees, she spotted a blackberry bush. Immediately, she jumped off her air bike and leaving it on, dove for the bush. Unfortunately, at closer inspection, she realized that nearly none of the berries were mature enough to be edible. Almost stubborn to eat them anyway, Sekai kept telling herself that she didn't want to get sick from berry poisoning. With another sigh, she got back onto her bike and continued on.
"Grr... I can't believe there's nothing in this huge forest to eat. Where the hell are all the animals?!" Without knowing it, Sekai's angered voice brought about some rustling in the trees up above. Yet with what was on her mind, she didn't catch the sound.
"Man, I just wish that something would jump out so I can kill it and eat it," At this point, she was simply rambling now, her body and mind exhausted. More rustling stirred, and, this time, she didn't miss it.
"Huh? What's that?" She looked up into the large trees through the darkness. It was as if they were whipping about wildly now, but there wasn't even a gentle breeze blowing.
Suddenly, a thick tree branch crashed to the ground right in front of her. Putting the brake on, she screeched her bike to a halt just before it made contact with the branch. Taking in a breath quickly, she looked all about her yet saw no one. Was it simply an act of nature?
'I don't like this...'
After a moment and completely forgetting about her hunger, Sekai thought she saw something zoom somewhere out of the corner of her eye. Not making any sudden movements, she lowered the gears to the bike so that it rested on the forest floor and then turned off the ignition. No sounds came from the direction she saw the movement. It was difficult to sense, with the ki being so low and all.
'Is it Cell? Is it him just hiding his ki?' She squinted her eyes through the darkness to try to make out the shape of whatever was there. A pair of cat eyes glinted in the bushes just ahead of her. Her eyes widened slightly and she gulped down a lump in her throat. More rustling confirmed the location of the creature.
'Oh, god... Please don't let it be him... Please don't let it be him,' she kept repeating to herself but feeling that it was futile.
Slowly and quietly, Sekai stepped down from the bike and, cautiously, circled it until it was between her and whatever was in the bushes. Breathing silently, she waited for the creature, whom she suspected was Cell, to come out. The rustling continued and a low grumble came from behind the brush. A few twigs snapped from where the thing was along with the occasional movement of leaves from the trees above.
Several minutes passed and no more sounds were coming from the bushes. Sekai concluded that she was just being paranoid and that she would have been able to sense Cell easily, even if he did hide his ki a bit. She straightened her back and turned to go back around to search for a possible meal on foot. She immediately stopped in her tracks and gasped.
A huge wildcat yowled and lunged at her. She held her arms out to keep the beast from biting her head off and pushed it against its throat. It screeched and lashed out with its foreleg, striking her cheek with its razor sharp claws. Its eyes glinted and she realized that it was the same creature from the brush. With some amount of strength, Sekai pushed it away and backflipped to the other side of the bike. She wiped her cheek clear of any blood.
'Guess it wasn't Cell after all,' she thought, somewhat relieved.
She prepared herself for its next attack and smiled, a little amused. "Well, it looks like I will be having some dinner tonight after all," she said. The cat hissed, as if offended, showing four white, pointy fangs. They looked to be about two to three inches in length. It growled low in its throat and ran its tongue over its mouth. It almost looked like it was smirking.
Sekai frowned then. 'Well, it's certainly reminding me of Cell. It's doing a very accurate impression of him.' The beast jumped at her again, but she anticipated it this time and flipped it clear over her head, causing it to land on its side. Shaking its head and regaining some equilibrium, the animal hissed and went to claw her again. Tired of and bored with the little match, Sekai brought her fists together down hard on the wildcat's skull, causing its head to snap down far enough to break its neck and kill it. With a final thud, it fell to the ground, motionless.
Sighing, Sekai turned to the fallen corpse and clapping her hands together once, bowed to it. As much as she didn't regret killing it, she always gave her respects and blessings to the deceased. It was just the way her mother and father taught her to be, and it was the way she accepted.
'If it weren't for this creature coming across my path, then I'd probably starve to death,' she thought. Content with her find, she walked around and picked up some twigs and branches to build a fire with. Also, she capsulized her bike and got out some camping gear. She would rest here tonight.
After she got the fire started, Sekai took a pocketknife from the back pocket of her ripped jeans and began to cut the fur from the animal. Then she cleaned the blood off with some bottled water and started to cook the meat over the fire. She began to eat.
As she ate, her mind started to wander off again. She thought about Cell and where he could be now. He's probably looking for more victims to stab to death. 'Although with it being so dark, he might not find anyone,' she considered. 'But I bet he can see things clear as day no matter how dark it is with those freaky eyes of his.' She shuddered at the remembrance of those pink, slitted eyes. His eyes had actually been the first thing to strike fear into her heart; she hadn't even noticed his tail-- what she now believed to be his most lethal feature-- until she did a full inspection of his features at their first encounter. Taking a last bite of her meal, she stood up and went to put up a tent.
She put up the tent and rolling out a sleeping bag, crawled into the tent with her capsules. The remains of the wildcat still lay by the burning fire. An uncomfortable feeling crept through her bones, making her shiver slightly.
'What if Cell comes through these woods while I'm sleeping?' she worried. It was definitely something to consider. She knew how quietly Cell could creep around, and wanted to be prepared for anything. She thought about staying up all night and keeping watch, but knew that she'd be too exhausted to function properly the next day. Besides, she'd probably fall asleep anyways, considering how tired she was now.
All she could think of was to keep some sort of weapon around just in case Cell did show up. Reaching for her emergency kit, she took out a silver dagger her father had given to her. Gazing at it thoughtfully, she remembered how she had come to possess such a beautiful object...
***
"Sekai! Come here for a minute, dear!" Yoru yelled from outside.
Young Sekai bounded from inside the house and came running, gleefully. "Yes, Daddy?" Giggling, she jumped up into her father's arms and hugged him tightly. Yoru hugged her back and gently set her to the ground. He kneeled down until he was at eye level with Sekai and smiled at her. From his robes, he revealed a shining, silver dagger with a blood red ruby in the center of the hilt.
"Here, Sekai-chan, I want you to have this," he said.
Sekai looked at the object with wide eyes. "Oooh, what is it? It's so pretty and shiny."
"It's a dagger that my father gave to me. It has been passed down in our family for many generations. A very special heirloom, it is." He paused to look Sekai in the face. "Before you were born, I had planned to give this dagger to my future son. Instead, having been blessed with a beautiful and wonderful daughter, I pass this on to you." He held the object out to her.
"Oh, but I don't deserve it, Daddy! It's too beautiful," she objected.
Yoru took Sekai's small hands into his large ones. He placed the dagger into hers and spoke to her softly. "You do deserve this, sweetheart. You have a great power sleeping within you. You, in fact, deserve so much more than this."
Sekai stared at her father, trying to process it all into her young mind.
He smiled. "I know you may not understand this all now, but you have something great inside of you. Your mother and I have felt it. When you cry with such emotion, when you laugh so heartedly, when you yell in a fit of anger. You reveal more of that power each time and one day, hopefully, you will come to realize it so that we may teach you how to use and master it."
Sekai kept staring at her father, this time with her mouth hanging open. Although she had missed some of the points he made, she got the basic concept.
She had a great power within her.
'But how can I? I'm just a kid,' she thought.
"It's okay, Sekai-chan, if you don't get this right now. I know it's a lot for you to take in. Just take this dagger," He tightened his grasp on her slightly, making the cool metal be felt in her warm hands,"And remember what I've said so that one day you may come to understand it. Promise me that you will remember what I have told you."
Sekai slowly nodded her head. "I promise, Daddy." She took the dagger and hugged it to her chest as her father warmly smiled...
***
She squeezed her eyes shut and grasped the hilt of the dagger tightly. Opening her eyes and blinking back tears, she took in a deep breath and lay down in her sleeping bag. She turned on her side and placed the dagger under her pillow, keeping her hand there in preparation.
'It might not even affect him, but it's better than nothing... Mom, Dad... I miss you. I wish you were here to stay by my side. I wish you were here so you could explain to me and teach me of this power I'm just barely beginning to recognize. I'm so scared and confused. Cell is just so frightening and strong. What will I do?' That was the final thought she had before drifting off into her dream world.
Out in the trees, another creature watched the tent closely and waited.
'So she decides to sleep, eh? Well, that is a big mistake she is making, she'll soon discover.' Cell had been watching the entire events since the wildcat showed up. He was impressed with the hunting skills she used on the lowly animal. What had especially intrigued him was when she bowed down to the dead animal...
'Perhaps she does hold some true honor for all living things... But it's not important right now. She had better be wary of me as the game progresses...' He dropped the subject for the moment and waited until he was sure Sekai was asleep. It would be then that he would make his move...
Ooooh... What move is he planning to make? I don't know so don't bother asking me. ^_^() I'm just as surprised with the way things are going as you are. I'm just going with the flow... Yep...