Sotto wo Onna
Chapter 4: Return
Tien's been acting weird ever since the whole bathroom episode, shifting uncomfortably and not making eye contact. But at least he was more relaxed while we talked about when we were still teens during breakfast. Then, at least, he would look at me.
Some dopey, teenage waitress wouldn't leave us alone. She wasn't attractive./woman-wise/, but I flirted with her a bit anyway to get rid of her. Well, at least /then/ I wouldn't have to leave a larger tip.
He was restless once we got back into the car. I couldn't take it anymore!
"Listen, Tien," I began, catching his attention. "It wasn't that big of a deal. It wasn't like you /meant/ to see me!"
He blushed again. "Yeah, sorry."
I kept my eyes on the road, looking for some place to park. We'd fly the rest of the way. I spotted a fishing port. /There/ was fine.no one was there to see us take off. I parked, and we got out of the car. He still wouldn't look at me.
I wanna beat the crap out of him!
I flew high enough so that I was above him. I kick him down into the water, yelling the most random thing I could thing of: "Kisama hiraishin!!"
~*~
I gasp for air after coming out of the water, hearing him call me a "lightning rod".. The fight escalates when I yell: "Sashimete yarou!" (A/N: "You cold, raw fish without rice!")
He laughs. The distraction is enough for me to get the upper hand. He's quickly caught in a headlock. "Shimatta!" he calls out, struggling in my grasp. I think he tried to punch me in the stomach. Well, if he /did/ try, he missed.
When I finally release him, I'm convinced that I've never seen a more miserable face.
"I despise you," he tells me without any emphasis. He smiles.
I punch him good-naturedly on the arm. "You can redeem yourself by winning a race to Muten-Roshi's place."
Without warning, he kicks off my body and races over the water. "Hey!" I shout. (Yeah, like he's going to stop for /that/.)
I catch up pretty quickly. Something makes me think he's holding back. .Maybe it's the quirky smile I see out of the corner of my eye.
"/ROUGA-FU-FU-KEN/!"
He blasts off even faster than before. /Damn that technique/! "You cheater!" I cry.
He looks back at me and sticks out his tongue. "Hey! Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet-engines!"
Well. He has a point..
~*~
"/TAIYO-KEN/!" (A/N: "Fist of the Sun" or "Solar Flare" in Americanized version.)
"Kuso!" I bellow, blinded by the technique I failed to learn. "Tien, you bastard!" I can hear him laugh as he flies past me. /That ass-hole/.
It takes a couple of seconds before I can see again, but when I open my eyes, Tien is nowhere to be seen. /Dammit/!
Within about forty seconds, I catch up with him, and Kame-sennin's place isn't too far away. He looks at me from over his shoulder. "You've slowed down," he claims, still smiling.
"Hardly!" /So close/.
Close enough to grab a hold of his feet and toss him back behind me. "HAH!" I exclaim, but the exclamation is cut short by a bundle of blue fur smacked directly into my face.
"Yamucha!"
"Puar!" I cry, hugging the friend that I've missed so much.
"I win! I win!" Tien called up as he touched down on the island. Chiaotzu exits the house and jumps into Tien's arms. I smile as I attempt to ignore Puar's shouts of joy and watch the two of them. I'd bet the life of Shen Long that there would never be a happier set of people.
After landing, I punch the ass. "Jerk,"
He laughs.
Both Muten-Roshi and Kuririn leave the (ugly) pink house, Kuririn holding his daughter. She' so adorable! And the high forehead she owns is definitely inherited from her father.
"Hey, guys," Kuririn says in that nasally voice of his.
"How are you doing, boys?" Kame-sennin asks as he looks pointedly at me for a moment before Marron squirms out of Kuririn's grasp.
Tien shifts Chiaotzu to one arm and bows to Muten-Roshi. "We are doing very well. Thank you," he says, taking the pressure off of me. I'm grateful.
Marron pulls on my hand, making me look down at her and smile. "I count to six!" she tells me, pointing to Kuririn. "Look!"
Kuririn sighs and bends his knees so that he reaches his daughter's height. "She's been doing this for /weeks/," he confides to e.
Marron pokes the top left dot on his forehead, and continues from left to right: "Ichi, ni, san, yon, go, roku!"
Kuririn smiles nervously while the rest of the audience struggles not to guffaw. "Yes, sweetie, very good. Now, go inside and-"
She counts again. "Ichi, ni, san, yon, go, roku!" she repeats proudly.
Muten-Roshi races inside and returns with a doll of some sort. .At least, that's what I /think/ it is. ...It's missing a limb, and its face is covered in red lipstick. Marron stops counting at yon", and hugs the doll, racing inside. "Thanks," says Kuririn to Muten-Roshi, glaring daggers at the rest of us, daring us to laugh.
I'm /trying/ to hold it in. /Really/, I am, but his head is all red now because she pressed so hard. The rest of us see it too, and, within seconds, Kuririn's face matches his scarlet forehead.
~*~
Kame-sennin invites us in, giving me a towel in the process. (I'm still wet from being tossed into the water.) Chiaotzu sits in my lap after I am seated on the couch. Yamucha sits next to me, Puar smiling and hovering around his head. Kame-sennin requests for Kuririn to allow us to talk in private, which he obliges to, Marron causing trouble elsewhere. He sits across from us, sipping on green tea.
"So," he begins after a prolonged silence, "you took your life into your own hands," he says, regarding Yamucha carefully. Yamucha stiffens. "Don't even try to deny the truth, or attempt to conceal it from me." He taps his temple. "I may be old, but I see beyond what is hidden." He smiles impetuously. "And I can read the events of your past straight from your mind."
Yamucha sighs and rolls up his sleeves, revealing a twin pair of fresh scars. I give the smallest of shudders that only Chiaotzu notices. His eyes search mine for an explanation. I open my mind to him, giving him a telepathic view of Yamucha lying drenched in blood.crimson covering him, seemingly everywhere. He latches tighter to me.
"It's true," Yamucha says. Puar gasps and (I'm pretty sure) faints, landing on the couch. Yamucha puts her in a more comfortable position as he continues.
~*~
"I didn't want to live," I whisper, my cheeks burning slightly in anger. "But I'm okay now," I claim, wanting everyone off my case. "I don't want anyone worrying about me."
Muten-Roshi shakes his head. "I can't do that, my boy," he asserts. "I /do/ worry.it gives me something to do in my old age." He sighs. "And one just doesn't recover from an experience like that in a single day. So, I have reason to be concerned."
"Please, don't." I don't want this conversation to go any further.I'm sure that I'd end up being rude and offending someone.possibly getting my ass kicked. "I'm fine now. Besides," I jerk my head in Tien's general direction, "/he's/ making sure I don't do anything dumb."
The old man leans back into the couch, grinning. "Well, I know that /I/ couldn't have asked for a better guardian." We both look at Tien, who's trying not to blush with pride and embarrassment.
"That's right!" Chiaotzu pipes up. "Tien's the best!" Everyone smiles.
"Very well," Muten-Roshi says. "I won't worry. But I expect to hear from you soon." He snickers, nearly spilling his green tea in the process. "I can't have a fellow bachelor leaving me with no competition!" Had he taken off his glasses, I'm sure he would have been winking.
It's decided that both Chiaotzu and Puar will stay a while longer with Kame- Sennin. We stay the rest of the day, enjoying the company of Kuririn's family thoroughly, Marron still showing off her counting ability. And, somehow, we manage to convince Puar that the conversation was just a dream, and had never occurred. I was fine.
I was fine.
I return home with Tien in tow, the term "bachelor" branded cruelly into my brain.
Chapter 4: Return
Tien's been acting weird ever since the whole bathroom episode, shifting uncomfortably and not making eye contact. But at least he was more relaxed while we talked about when we were still teens during breakfast. Then, at least, he would look at me.
Some dopey, teenage waitress wouldn't leave us alone. She wasn't attractive./woman-wise/, but I flirted with her a bit anyway to get rid of her. Well, at least /then/ I wouldn't have to leave a larger tip.
He was restless once we got back into the car. I couldn't take it anymore!
"Listen, Tien," I began, catching his attention. "It wasn't that big of a deal. It wasn't like you /meant/ to see me!"
He blushed again. "Yeah, sorry."
I kept my eyes on the road, looking for some place to park. We'd fly the rest of the way. I spotted a fishing port. /There/ was fine.no one was there to see us take off. I parked, and we got out of the car. He still wouldn't look at me.
I wanna beat the crap out of him!
I flew high enough so that I was above him. I kick him down into the water, yelling the most random thing I could thing of: "Kisama hiraishin!!"
~*~
I gasp for air after coming out of the water, hearing him call me a "lightning rod".. The fight escalates when I yell: "Sashimete yarou!" (A/N: "You cold, raw fish without rice!")
He laughs. The distraction is enough for me to get the upper hand. He's quickly caught in a headlock. "Shimatta!" he calls out, struggling in my grasp. I think he tried to punch me in the stomach. Well, if he /did/ try, he missed.
When I finally release him, I'm convinced that I've never seen a more miserable face.
"I despise you," he tells me without any emphasis. He smiles.
I punch him good-naturedly on the arm. "You can redeem yourself by winning a race to Muten-Roshi's place."
Without warning, he kicks off my body and races over the water. "Hey!" I shout. (Yeah, like he's going to stop for /that/.)
I catch up pretty quickly. Something makes me think he's holding back. .Maybe it's the quirky smile I see out of the corner of my eye.
"/ROUGA-FU-FU-KEN/!"
He blasts off even faster than before. /Damn that technique/! "You cheater!" I cry.
He looks back at me and sticks out his tongue. "Hey! Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet-engines!"
Well. He has a point..
~*~
"/TAIYO-KEN/!" (A/N: "Fist of the Sun" or "Solar Flare" in Americanized version.)
"Kuso!" I bellow, blinded by the technique I failed to learn. "Tien, you bastard!" I can hear him laugh as he flies past me. /That ass-hole/.
It takes a couple of seconds before I can see again, but when I open my eyes, Tien is nowhere to be seen. /Dammit/!
Within about forty seconds, I catch up with him, and Kame-sennin's place isn't too far away. He looks at me from over his shoulder. "You've slowed down," he claims, still smiling.
"Hardly!" /So close/.
Close enough to grab a hold of his feet and toss him back behind me. "HAH!" I exclaim, but the exclamation is cut short by a bundle of blue fur smacked directly into my face.
"Yamucha!"
"Puar!" I cry, hugging the friend that I've missed so much.
"I win! I win!" Tien called up as he touched down on the island. Chiaotzu exits the house and jumps into Tien's arms. I smile as I attempt to ignore Puar's shouts of joy and watch the two of them. I'd bet the life of Shen Long that there would never be a happier set of people.
After landing, I punch the ass. "Jerk,"
He laughs.
Both Muten-Roshi and Kuririn leave the (ugly) pink house, Kuririn holding his daughter. She' so adorable! And the high forehead she owns is definitely inherited from her father.
"Hey, guys," Kuririn says in that nasally voice of his.
"How are you doing, boys?" Kame-sennin asks as he looks pointedly at me for a moment before Marron squirms out of Kuririn's grasp.
Tien shifts Chiaotzu to one arm and bows to Muten-Roshi. "We are doing very well. Thank you," he says, taking the pressure off of me. I'm grateful.
Marron pulls on my hand, making me look down at her and smile. "I count to six!" she tells me, pointing to Kuririn. "Look!"
Kuririn sighs and bends his knees so that he reaches his daughter's height. "She's been doing this for /weeks/," he confides to e.
Marron pokes the top left dot on his forehead, and continues from left to right: "Ichi, ni, san, yon, go, roku!"
Kuririn smiles nervously while the rest of the audience struggles not to guffaw. "Yes, sweetie, very good. Now, go inside and-"
She counts again. "Ichi, ni, san, yon, go, roku!" she repeats proudly.
Muten-Roshi races inside and returns with a doll of some sort. .At least, that's what I /think/ it is. ...It's missing a limb, and its face is covered in red lipstick. Marron stops counting at yon", and hugs the doll, racing inside. "Thanks," says Kuririn to Muten-Roshi, glaring daggers at the rest of us, daring us to laugh.
I'm /trying/ to hold it in. /Really/, I am, but his head is all red now because she pressed so hard. The rest of us see it too, and, within seconds, Kuririn's face matches his scarlet forehead.
~*~
Kame-sennin invites us in, giving me a towel in the process. (I'm still wet from being tossed into the water.) Chiaotzu sits in my lap after I am seated on the couch. Yamucha sits next to me, Puar smiling and hovering around his head. Kame-sennin requests for Kuririn to allow us to talk in private, which he obliges to, Marron causing trouble elsewhere. He sits across from us, sipping on green tea.
"So," he begins after a prolonged silence, "you took your life into your own hands," he says, regarding Yamucha carefully. Yamucha stiffens. "Don't even try to deny the truth, or attempt to conceal it from me." He taps his temple. "I may be old, but I see beyond what is hidden." He smiles impetuously. "And I can read the events of your past straight from your mind."
Yamucha sighs and rolls up his sleeves, revealing a twin pair of fresh scars. I give the smallest of shudders that only Chiaotzu notices. His eyes search mine for an explanation. I open my mind to him, giving him a telepathic view of Yamucha lying drenched in blood.crimson covering him, seemingly everywhere. He latches tighter to me.
"It's true," Yamucha says. Puar gasps and (I'm pretty sure) faints, landing on the couch. Yamucha puts her in a more comfortable position as he continues.
~*~
"I didn't want to live," I whisper, my cheeks burning slightly in anger. "But I'm okay now," I claim, wanting everyone off my case. "I don't want anyone worrying about me."
Muten-Roshi shakes his head. "I can't do that, my boy," he asserts. "I /do/ worry.it gives me something to do in my old age." He sighs. "And one just doesn't recover from an experience like that in a single day. So, I have reason to be concerned."
"Please, don't." I don't want this conversation to go any further.I'm sure that I'd end up being rude and offending someone.possibly getting my ass kicked. "I'm fine now. Besides," I jerk my head in Tien's general direction, "/he's/ making sure I don't do anything dumb."
The old man leans back into the couch, grinning. "Well, I know that /I/ couldn't have asked for a better guardian." We both look at Tien, who's trying not to blush with pride and embarrassment.
"That's right!" Chiaotzu pipes up. "Tien's the best!" Everyone smiles.
"Very well," Muten-Roshi says. "I won't worry. But I expect to hear from you soon." He snickers, nearly spilling his green tea in the process. "I can't have a fellow bachelor leaving me with no competition!" Had he taken off his glasses, I'm sure he would have been winking.
It's decided that both Chiaotzu and Puar will stay a while longer with Kame- Sennin. We stay the rest of the day, enjoying the company of Kuririn's family thoroughly, Marron still showing off her counting ability. And, somehow, we manage to convince Puar that the conversation was just a dream, and had never occurred. I was fine.
I was fine.
I return home with Tien in tow, the term "bachelor" branded cruelly into my brain.