Here's where I'm supposed to put the disclaimer. I still don't own Dragon Ball Z. We all know that Akira Toriyama, however, does. By now all know that I wish I owned Piccolo, but sadly, I don't *sniffles* Oh well, you can read the chapter now. The disclaimers over now, so go read this chapter! By the way, I'm sorry for the wait with updating, I've been sick, but I'm better now. I tried to compensate by making this chapter longer. Enjoy!

Chapter Five

Foxglove tensed at the amount of ki that was rushing toward them. It was frightfully amazing! Suddenly, as if without warning, they were here! She attempted to hide behind Piccolo, but somehow found her way next to Dende. He grabbed a hold of her hand and gave it a tender squeeze. She looked up at him and noticed that he was smiling. She was a little confused.

'What is he doing?' she thought frantically, snatching her hand free.

As in response to her mental anguish, Piccolo growled softly at the younger Namek. Dende just looked at him calmly; but released her and quickly removed the smile from off his face.

As the group approached, the first of the congregation bounced up to Piccolo. He reluctantly turned from what he wanted to do to the younger Namek, and stepped forward to receive a hug from a young man with midnight black hair.

"Mr. Piccolo, it's good to see you again! How have you been, hmm?" the young man asked. Piccolo calmly nodded at him in return, his onyx eyes betraying but the barest hint of warmth.

"It is good to see you again, kid. I have been all right. Are you still training, or has your mother finally found a way to keep you chained to the study books?" he questioned. The young man laughed heartily.

"Why, Mr. Piccolo, was that a joke I heard?" he quipped. Piccolo just crossed his arms and frowned. It was then that Gohan saw Dende standing off to the side of Piccolo.

"Dende!" he cried, hugging the young Namek.

"Gohan!" he replied.

It was then that he spied Foxglove, who was standing slightly to the left of the two. He looked at her curiously, thinking, "I wonder whom does this belong to? Definitely not Piccolo. But, Dende??…hmm. I know he doesn't get out much. NOT Piccolo?!? Can't be….'

"Hey, Dende, who's that? She and you are not…" he asked. Dende gently took hold of Foxglove's hand and brought her forward.

Piccolo immediately stepped between them. He grabbed a hold of Foxglove and without thinking, pushed Dende aside.

"This, Gohan, is Foxglove. She has been having some trouble and I had to…well….save her from some bad people. Foxglove, I would like to introduce you to Gohan." He said. Gohan looked at the kitsune and smiled.

"Hi, Foxglove." He said warmly, smiling at her. Foxglove looked towards Piccolo and he nodded. She gingerly stepped forward and shook his hand slowly.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Gohan." She said, her voice melodic and even, like water tricking down over sandy pebbles. Gohan smiled at her, and for a moment, Piccolo was amazed at how much his former pupil looked just as moronic as his father did. He gave a slight smirk at the thought of Goku's idiocy. Apparently, the look ran in the family

"So, Piccolo saved you, huh?" He asked. Foxglove nodded, but before she could say anything, she was cut off by the sounds of more people approaching. She turned towards the sounds and gasped. A large group of people was heading towards her and Piccolo. They were mostly males, but Foxglove spotted at least three women in the group. She relaxed a bit. Knowing that she wasn't the only female made her feel a little more at ease.

"Hey, Foxglove!" he said warmly. I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Videl. Videl, this is Foxglove." He pushed the two closer together.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Videl says calmly, extending her hand. "I see Piccolo's got you something to wear. Which is good, I was going to bring you something, but didn't. We were rushing and all and then had to stop at his dad's and-" she was cut off by Yamcha coming up behind her.

Foxglove looked at the female Gohan had called Videl. She was very pretty, with short black hair and piercing blue eyes. She started to smile at this "Videl", but felt a hand on her back. It was Piccolo's; he was ushering her close to him, but he wasn't looking at her at all. Foxglove turned her attention to see what he was looking at.

Her eyes came into contact with a guy who somewhat looked like the one called "Gohan". He was about his height, but a little taller. His hair was shorter, but straggly. He had two scars on his face, one was over his right eye and the other was on his left cheek. It looked like a cross. He was muscular, and his jeans were fitting tightly around his bottom muscles. He had a smirk on his face that told her he liked was his eyes were gazing upon.

"I'm Yamcha. The one with all the chicks….I mean, I'm known. It's my honor to meet such a lovely face as yours. It won't be soon forgotten." – he had managed to get passed Piccolo, and grabbed her right hand, giving it a tender peck.

Almost immediately Piccolo stepped in between them, with a low growl in this throat. Foxglove daintily twitched her tail.

'He's jealous? I haven't given him a reason to be so. Why would he be jealous over me?' – she contemplated thoughtfully.

She looked up into Piccolo's face, and his mien was different. He appeared to be in a defensive mood. She looked once more at "Yamcha". He didn't appear to be an obstacle. He seemed harmless.

'He's harmless. His power is nowhere near Piccolo's. And he smells good. I wonder how he makes himself smell like that.' – she was thinking, as she came from behind Piccolo's cape and walked up to Yamucha. He smiled, showing off pearly, white teeth.

"Hello there, beautiful. Did it hurt?" He looked into her golden eyes steadily. Foxglove was confused.

"Did what hurt? I'm fine now, arigatou. Dende healed my ankle. See?" She said. She stuck her small ankle out to demonstrate it health, smiling at his concern. Piccolo growled softly. He didn't like the glint in Yamcha's eye. Yamcha smiled at Foxglove.

"No, sweetheart, I meant did it hurt when you fell off of your cloud? Because, you just have to be an angel." He declared. Piccolo almost facefaulted. Growling, he strode over to Foxglove. Yamcha smiled at Foxglove, totally oblivious to Piccolo's facial expressions.

"I'll take you to meet Bulma now, Foxglove." He said, gritting his teeth. Though Piccolo was still standing somewhat distant from them, he could hear his groan clearly. Foxglove looked from him to Yamcha, feeling the tension.

"Why? What's wrong? I thought you wanted me to talk to people. Did I do something wrong?" she asked, turning her attention to Piccolo. Her face showed deep concern for his feelings as well as confusion. Piccolo looked at her and frowned.

'What is this? Doesn't she know what Yamcha is trying to do? I want her to meet everyone. Everyone…except this lusting idiot. Why does he continue with this? He knows goddamn well I hate him and he has absolutely no right to put his hand on my…on Foxglove. He had better cool it or I'll have to show him how just angry I can get!' Piccolo was thinking.

"I would be honored, if not pleased, for you to sit beside me at the meal soon to be. Do you mind?" He asked her. He began to ignore Piccolo all together. He also took her reluctance to leave and her flashing her ankle as a sign that she liked him. Smiling, he bowed before her, showing her he was harmless (and hopefully Piccolo was wrong about him); and took Foxglove's hand again. Foxglove looked at Piccolo helplessly. Piccolo glared at her in return.

"Hey, if you want to be with him, be my guest. You seem to want to. And I'm not your 'daddy', so you can do whatever pleases you." Then under his breath, "At least I don't have to put up with you anymore." He snarled, walking off towards the young man, Gohan. They both, along with Videl, began to walk towards the others who were beginning to convene at the table for dinner.

She looked over at Piccolo as if she needed his approval. For some reason she was interested in this "Yamcha" because she wondered how he made himself smell like that. And she was also confused over Piccolo's actions. She was about to follow him, when she felt a hand on her arm. Turning, she saw that Yamucha was staring at her, with an odd glint in his eyes.

Swiftly walking her over to the others, he somehow managed to get passed Piccolo, Gohan and Videl, and made his way over to the crowd. Looking at Piccolo helplessly, Foxglove's face gave the hint of fear and confusion. Piccolo glared at her. He looked once again at Videl and Gohan, and over at her. His glare slowly disappeared….and gave way to a minute hint of regret. He really didn't mean any of what he said. He just wanted to smash Yamcha's face in.

"Come on, Foxglove, let's go and get something to eat. All of the others are eating now. Besides, you look so thirsty. As hot as you are, you've just got to be dehydrated. I'm getting dehydrated just from looking at you!" He said, popping her up to the drinks.

"Ari…arigatou Yamcha." She said, giggling nervously. To the left of them, under a canopy, was an enormous table laden with food. She stood over by the table, while waiting for Yamcha to bring her a drink. While she waited, she looked around avidly.

She had never seen such interesting people. She had never been around many humans. They all looked pleasant, except for one. He stood near a woman with blue hair, and just glared at everyone. His demeanor bespoke of his love for violence. Foxglove shivered; she preferred to stay away from those who had a strong lust for killing. Suddenly, the man looked at her! She tried to look away, but saw that out of the corner of her eyes, he was walking towards her. She backed herself against the wall, the fine hairs on the back of her neck standing erect. Her ears were plastered to her skull, and her tail was down, no longer waiving. The man grinned at her. It was not a nice grin, but one filled with malice. He walked right up to her, face to face.

"Hey!" he said gruffly. "Your name?"

"Foxglove. And you?" She said softly, but with a hint of fear in her voice.

"I'm Vegeta, Prince of the Saiya-Jins. No need for you to shiver. I'm not as badass as I look. So who the hell do you belong to? NOT the NAMEK!?!" His voice was that of thunder before a typhoon. Foxglove jumped slightly. She didn't know what to do. She looked once again into his eyes. Then she began to dart her eyes back and forth in the room. Immediately she was looking for…

'Piccolo?!? I'm needing Piccolo? How? Why? HIM?!?!' For some reason she wanted to be by Piccolo's side. Right at this minute. Right NOW! Where is he?!' Suddenly, she heard a voice beside her.

"I had to rescue her earlier. And YES….she IS with me! That poses to be a problem for you, Vegeta?" It was Piccolo. Foxglove let out a breath of relief at the sound of his voice. Piccolo came to stand next to her. It was then that she became aware of his scent. It was far different from Yamcha's. It was cleaner and reminded her of… home. She stood there for a moment, remembering. She was jolted out of her reverie by Vegeta's voice; she looked at the pair. They were glaring at each other with their arms crossed in a similar manner. The woman with the blue hair ran up and touched the man named Vegeta on the arm. Surprisingly, he paid attention. He looked at her, annoyance apparent on his face.

"What do you want onna? He demanded. She put her hands on her hips and glared back at him, her expression every bit as fierce as his.

"Onna? Onna! I'm your wife Vegeta! Call me Bulma, dammit!" Vegeta smiled evilly.

"As you wish, Bulma-dammit." And with that, he walked off, leaving Bulma sputtering behind him. He turned around once, and looked Foxglove in the eye.

"We will talk later." He said somberly, and strode away. The woman called Bulma went tearing after him, raging about men. Suddenly, Foxglove was left alone near Piccolo. He looked at her for a moment. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he directed her towards the table full of people.

"I know you've already eaten, and I don't need food, but would you like to meet the rest? They aren't like Vegeta. Just stay away from Yamcha." He warned, leading her towards the rest. They sat down on a bench. She found herself seated between Piccolo and Gohan. Unfortunately, directly across from her, was Vegeta. Everyone was chatting idly about everything and nothing, when suddenly Vegeta looked at Foxglove and grinned. She tensed under his stare, and Piccolo felt her nervousness. Suddenly, he began to speak. His voice grabbed everyone's attention immediately.

"So, Foxglove." He began, "What were you doing, that the Namek had to "save" you?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. Everyone waited for her response. Piccolo growled softly and she instinctively moved slightly closer to him. Vegeta noticed and growled. "Answer me onna! What were you doing?! I am the prince of the Sayajins, and you will answer me!" Foxglove laid her ears back and replied, her voice cold, but tinged with fear. She seemed to go into a trance. Piccolo looked at her, his face stony, but inside he felt worried.

"If you must know, I was trying to find some food. While I was out gathering, I heard a noise behind me. When I looked, there were two men looking at me. They…they wanted to hurt me. I ran, but I fell, and I hurt my ankle. They were…they were tearing at my clothes, and they were, hurting me! I tried to scream, but they hit me. Piccolo-sama saved me. He made them go away. Then he brought me here, to be healed. He saved me, brought me here. That's what I was doing for him to have to save me." She said, her voice now monotone. Everyone else was silent. The blue-haired woman whom Vegeta had addressed as "Bulma-dammit" looked sharply at Foxglove from across the table.

"Where is your family? Didn't they show you how to defend yourself? Or at least go with you, instead of letting you wander around unescorted. The very nerve of them! Why they should all be-" she was cut off by a gasp. Foxglove felt tears welling up deep inside and she stared at the woman sadly.

"My…my mother has been dead ever since I was a kit. My brother died yesterday. He was…protecting me from some people called "hunters". My mother died the same way when I was very young. My brother raised me." Bulma gasped and looked down, in shame. Everyone else bowed their heads for a moment, at a loss for words. Vegeta looked at Foxglove and snorted.

"So, where was your father? Was it just you and your brother? Where was your sire?" he asked mildly. Foxglove hung her head in shame.

"I didn't know my father. My mother said that she would tell me who he was, someday, but she was killed. I'm a bastard. All I know is that she couldn't marry him, and I don't think she wanted to. She…she got very nervous whenever I brought him up." She sighed, not daring to look at anyone. Surely they would cast her away now. No one wanted to be around a bastard. " My brother, wasn't really my brother; he was my stepbrother. My stepdad died with mom, protecting me. I…I had to bury them…I buried them all." Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore. The memories were flooding her; it was all too much for her.

"Excuse me, onegai" she said, as she ran from the table, and towards the room she had woken up in. Everyone looked at Vegeta and glared. Piccolo stood up and strode towards her room. Behind him he could here everyone yelling at Vegeta. He smiled. Normally seeing this would have made his day, but not under the given circumstances.

Arriving at Foxglove's room, he saw the door shut. He was tempted to just open it, but didn't. He softly tapped at the door, inwardly cursing his weakness. He heard the sound of muffled crying coming from the other side. Piccolo felt completely lost.

"Fox? Are you okay, Fox? I'm coming in, okay?" He got no response. He slowly pushed the door open. He was shocked at what he saw. Foxglove was on the bed, her back facing him, sobbing her heart out. Piccolo cautiously walked towards her. "Are you all right?" he asked, knowing full well, that she wasn't all right. She turned over and looked at Piccolo. Suddenly, she launched herself at him. Piccolo was again shocked. Again, she showed her preference to be around him. She showed no fear of him. He cautiously picked her up and held her, the scent of roses again assailing his nostrils.

"Why, why did they have to die?" she sobbed. Piccolo set her down on the bed and sat beside her.

"Hn. Foxglove, I hate to tell you this, but people do die. Sometimes, we can't help this, and other times we can. We could probably help your brother, but I'm not sure about your mother and stepfather. I didn't know what had happened. I'm sorry for your loss.

"Ari…arigatou gozaimasu, Piccolo-sama. You make some of the hurt go away." She sighed and lay back down on the bed. "I'm kind of tired, Piccolo-sama. May I please get some sleep?" Piccolo knew that she wasn't tired, but understood her need to be alone.

"Hai. I will stay here. Call, if you need me." His stern look reappeared on his face. "But you had better have a good reason, if you do call for me, okay?" He warned. Despite his gruffness, Foxglove giggled softly. He walked out of the room and closed the door softly, leaving Foxglove alone with her memories. He decided that he would go and talk to Gohan, before his mother came and forced him to go home and study. As he walked down the corridor, he ran across Dende and Mr. Popo in the archives room. They were both discussing something, obviously didn't want anyone to overhear. He paused for a moment, but all he heard was something about "the children of Baal being rare and powerful." Sighing he kept going, discounting it as unimportant. He had to think about something other than that crazy kitsune…

Well? What did you people think? Was it worth the wait? I hope so. Next chapter will be out soon, so please review. No flames. I don't react very well to them. Please review, because reviews are what make me keep writing. New chapter soon, tell me what you think so far.