Due to the amount of comment I got, my own interest in this story, and the incredible amount of pandas I have in my closet, I decided to add another chapter to this story! (What do pandas in my closet have to do with this?…well…. they ARE evil pandas….)

So this is chapter two of Mr. Lean, Green, and grouchy (I refrain from mean, cause…well…he's not!). And I'd really like to thank all those people who wanted more. I've now been inspired to write at least another chapter. (See what happens when you nag!) So now, Chapter 2! (and possibly chapter three in the future!) And remember, I don't own Dragonball! Cause if I didn't I'd be finding all seven balls and wishing I had a giant donut…wait…no…that's not it. I'd be making money. Yeah, but I don't own it.

Now let's start this story before I'm pelted with fruit salad! And remember, my Kami can beat up your Kami! ~Kit

Touch Tones

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'Piccolo-san!' Meece called mentally, searching for her sensei. He had been bringing her back into the woods to study her words. It was more for his sake than hers, he couldn't stand to be inside the city any longer than he had to. Meece came over the hill in front of the waterfall carrying a large textbook. She scanned the area for him and Piccolo smirked. She looked so much like Gohan, carrying that giant book like that and wearing the same colors he did on her gi.

Within a few short days Piccolo had begun to teach her chi manipulation, teaching the child to detect chi and power herself up with it. The few weeks she had been with him proved that she was always willing to learn. She was a very adept student, using the chi to her full advantage. Her energy became her 'ears' and super powered eyes. Meece could now sense Piccolo from a long distance away. She could tell when someone was speaking verbally by the way chi patterns fluctuated, and was already learning basic fighting stances. But that giant book she toted around probably held the greatest of her accomplishments.

Meece looked up, spotting Piccolo floating just above the waterfall. 'Piccolo-san! Meece learn new words!' The girl grinned, running closer to him. She had almost learned to speak in complete sentences, but always referred to herself in third-person. It would be, 'Meece found some flowers!' or 'Piccolo-san tuck Meece in?' Personal pronouns seemed lost on the child, but Gohan wasn't giving up. Meece had also developed her telepathy enough to be able to speak in other's minds, so her lessons went much easier for the demi-saiya-jin.

Lowering himself slowing to the ground, Piccolo towered over the girl as she ran up to him. "What did you learn?" He asked verbally. Meece watched his lips move intently, trying her hardest to understand without using her telepathy. Finally after a moment she decoded what he said and flipped open the book.

'Meece learned these! Cat, dog, bird, fish, monkey! Animals!' The girl pointed, reading the names, or perhaps pictures, off in her mind. Then she opened her mouth. "Caaat. Daog. Bahd. Fish. Mankah. Animars." She said, sounding them out as best as she could. Gohan had declared it amazing. Most deaf people who had lost their hearing after birth were never able to speak that clearly, and those who were born without hearing would never be able to speak verbally. But the girl's innate telepathic skills allowed her to be corrected and learn faster.

Piccolo felt something akin to fatherly pride. During the day Meece would learn to meditate and proper fighting stances and at night she could learn to speak and read. After all her lessons were done, she would always curl up by his side asking questions about his life. She'd learned a great deal about him, as he had about her. They discovered she lived in a small mountain village not too far from where she was found. She wasn't quite abandoned, and she didn't really run away, but it was painfully obvious her birth parents didn't want a child who would never be able to understand others. Meece desperately wanted to show off to her mother and father what she was becoming, and Piccolo wanted to beat them silly. But even though the girl wished to show off, she showed no intention of ever wanting to return there, and for that Piccolo was relieved.

The child sat on the ground beside him, leaning against his leg as she named the pictures. A flash of a memory came back where Gohan was doing exactly the same, reading the names of bugs to him. He could remember at the moment it pissed the hell out of him, but now he would give anything to do that again.

*And now you are, and you didn't have to give anything up.* Kami uttered. *Don't waste this chance too.* Instead of telling Kami to shut up or growling, Piccolo sighed and tipped his head to look down at the green-haired child. Meece felt Piccolo's eye upon her and turned her smiling face up to him. And in return she was rewarded with a small smile. One of his large hands fell over her head, calming her wild hair down. Meece's smile, if possible, grew wider, and she shifted to lean her upper back against him and read the book better.

'Piccolo-san? What this word?' She pointed to the book. There was a picture of several humans throwing colorful pieces of paper into the air and 'saying' all sorts of happy words. They were cheering, drinking from fancy cups, and dress in formal clothes.

Piccolo sighed before sending the response. 'It is a party. Human ritual where you get all dressed up, and act like morons. Lots of noise.' Piccolo suddenly wished he could take back that last word, 'noise'. Meece didn't understand what noise was, even though Gohan had been trying to teach her.

But Meece had the habit of ignoring words she didn't understand and continued to talk. 'Piccolo-san been to a 'party' before?'

Piccolo nodded, remembering Gohan's birthday, and the party they had for when Goku returned. He could count the number of human functions, excluding fighting tournaments, he had been to on one hand. Each time he went he found his control waning as the annoyance continued. He wanted to leave early every time, but Gohan wanted him to say and he always did.

"Par-tee." Meece spoke the word out, practicing. 'We have party? We invite Gohan-san and Videl-san and Pan-chan and Chichi-san and Goku-san and,' The child continued, listing off most of the Son family. Piccolo had taken her with while he sparring with Goku, and Chichi attached herself to the young girl. She said that she had always wanted a daughter, and would cook specialty foods just for Meece. The woman managed to teach Piccolo a few things about children he didn't know, and was always thrilled to see the little girl clinging to Piccolo's side when he would come to spar with Goku or Goten. Meece seemed to like Chichi's babying, and was equally interested in cooking foods (or attempting to.)

Just that morning Chichi had put Meece's hair into the many little pigtails it was in now. She had also given the child a dress, not that disgusting pink color that most humans dressed young children in, but a more practical one. Meece had to take it off before she trained, but it was a Chinese style dress made out of two shades of blue, and yellow trim. The skirt part was short, coming only up to her legs about midway and Meece wore a dark blue pair of pants under it. It faintly reminded Piccolo of a female version of Goten's clothes when he was younger. The girl was ecstatic about it, showing it to anyone and everyone she saw and doing a little dance. Chichi doted on the girl almost as much as she did on her sons.

'Perhaps.' Piccolo halted her rambling. 'If you want one, ask Videl or Chichi.' Meece gave a humming noise. It was still her method of a happy, verbal, affirmation. 'But it is time for your training now.' He stood up, causing Meece to nearly fall over when her backrest vanished. The child jumped to her feet quickly, her green hair bouncing in the breeze, held in many small hair ties. She seemed to love learning martial arts more than new words.

With a few brief mental commands, Piccolo began to instruct her to throw a punch properly. The girl's hand flew at him and collided with his palm. She pulled it back with soft humming noise of pain, rubbing her sore knuckles. But then Meece tried again, and again, and again and again. Finally she seemed to catch on and began to throw small kicks at him too. Since most of her attacks came no higher than knee level, Piccolo would often set her on a tall rock or stump so he didn't have to bend over to block her feeble hits. He assumed if he had let her go at it without blocking her, at the end of the day he wouldn't even have a bruise and her arms and legs would probably be black and blue from trying.

He was more careful with Meece than he had been with Gohan, both for the purpose she was human and a girl. She would always fail at the impossible tasks he put before her, such as actually scoring a hit past his blocks or firing chi blasts. He expected none of the 'amazing feats' that the demi-saiya-jins had been able to accomplish from her, but would assign them to her anyway. So until she managed to do one of those things, the training would continue.

The second part of training was the deaf girl had to keep up with him as they went through drills. Piccolo would run through the woods, making Meece follow. One of his normal steps were equal to about three of hers, and the first few times he would only walk slowly and make trail behind him. Now he was to the point where he was running at a brisk trot and letting Meece run behind him.

'Meece thirsty.' Meece's voice came into his mind while she trailed far behind him.

'Then drink something from your waterskin. But remember, that is all your have for the entire training session today. If you drink it all you must find your own.' He said firmly, slowing slightly to look back at her. Every day he would give her a full canteen and if she ran out she'd be forced to search for her own water, teaching her both how to survive off the land and not wasting the water. Piccolo had been careful since then, training her in the woods until she learned either how to keep up or to use chi to regulate her body. Meece's baby fat was slowly vanishing, and soon she would hit another human growth spurt. He thought he was getting too soft.

*No, if you were too soft you wouldn't even be teaching her to fight in case she got hurt.* Nail said. *Instead you are training her, and therefore she might get hurt.*

*I think it's wonderful,* Kami said, *You are treating her almost as if she were your own daughter. She's now able to live like normal humans would.* Piccolo stopped all together. Meece caught up quickly, looking up into his face.

'That's right, I was just teaching her this so she could go back to the human world.' Piccolo recalled mentally. 'I have been getting too familiar with her. It's time for her to go home.'

*What?! No! That's not what I meant!* Kami protested, but Piccolo had shut off his attention. He looked down at Meece, who was awaiting his next order. Order. She was turning out just like Gohan, and look how far teacher and student had drifted apart. He didn't want that to happen again.

'Piccolo-san? Meece done with training?' She asked, preparing herself for more sparing or push-ups or some other form of training.

The namek looked down at the child. 'Come, we are going back to the city.' He said firmly, holding one hand out. Meece nodded and grabbed on, pulling herself into his arms for the flight back. Her gi was slightly smudged with dirt at the knees, and torn around the pant leg. For the few weeks she had been with him she had taken amazingly good care of the gi, even with daily training it nearly came through clean and intact. The flight back to the city was very fast, but not without it's situation problem.

Meece was probing at Piccolo's mind, trying to detect what he was thinking exactly. But the young girl was thwarted when he threw up a mental barrier, keeping her out. Still, she had already picked up on his stubbornness and didn't give up. Using her own telepathy, she began a quick meditation to try harder. Piccolo was internally amazed, she shouldn't have mental abilities that strong. But no five year old was going to beat him at his own game, after all, he had been doing this his whole life.

After a few minutes he landed in front of Gohan's house, and Meece brightened. A pang of guilt hit him, but Piccolo carefully kept his mental barrier up. Without putting her down, he barged straight into the house. Gohan and Videl were sitting at the table, Pan was slumped on the sofa in the other room. Without so much as a 'hello', Piccolo thrust the young girl into Gohan's arms.

"Send her to the proper authorities. Get her a home again." He said, speaking so Meece would have a hard time figuring it out.

*Coward! You are getting rid of her?! Don't you even have the guts to tell the kid?!* Nail yelled.

'Shut up! I saw the truth. The kid has a chance at living with a family again. She deserves it.' Piccolo thought.

*But you are going to be alone again. And so will Meece.* Kami said. *Sometimes being with your own kind doesn't ensure you won't be lonely.* But Piccolo turned, cape flaring, and left. He was in the air before Gohan could even move. His sensitive ears caught Meece cry, but it was quickly muted as he put even more distance between them. Once again that incessant poke at his mind began, Meece trying to reach him. Allowing the barrier to lower slightly, he listened to what she was trying say.

'Piccolo-papa? Where you going?' Piccolo froze at her words. 'papa'? The girl… thought of him as a father?! 'Piccolo-papa be back for dinner?' Just this morning he was 'Piccolo-san'! He felt something twist inside of him, like he was going to be ill.

'No, Meece. I will not.' He sent back, sounded irritated. 'Humans belong with humans. Not with nameks.' Silence. Did he just pass out of her range? Piccolo stopped, waiting for any sort of response.

'No come home? What about Meece?' The child asked, her spirit voice sounded like it was about to burst into tears.

The sick feeling in Piccolo's gut increased. 'Meece is going away. Leave me alone.' And then he slammed the barrier back down. Then he left for the desert as fast as possible, wanting to train alone in the wasteland. Anything to take his mind off of this.

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Three long days had passed since Piccolo left Meece behind. Never had the hours dragged on so much. Gohan had come out to find him once, trying to convince him to come back and telling him Meece wasn't eating. But Piccolo ordered him to return and find Meece a home as soon as possible. Kami and Nail were yelling at him for hours afterwards. He could no longer feel the press of Meece's mind trying to reach his own. He found meditation impossible, and sparring with his duplicate self brought him no reprieve.

"Dende! Dammit! I need a real sparring partner!" Piccolo snarled as he blew several large trees away. The sun wasn't quite to it's highest point, so that meant Goku had yet to eat lunch and probably would still be available to train. Cramming the two yelling nameks back into the farther reaches of his head, Piccolo began to head to the Son household.

From up in the air, Piccolo could make out something black and orange on the grass below. The orange was recognizable as part of the gi that Goku always wore and the black hair of the saiya-jin stood out against the grass. Releasing the chi used to fly, Piccolo quickly dropped to the ground. If Goku noticed, he didn't give any sign and his eyes were closed. Perhaps he was sleeping.

"Piccolo, are you here to spar?" Goku asked, eyes still closed. Personally, the namek was always a little put off when Goku did something like that, even if he knew that sensing chi was a very basic thing.

"What else would I be here to do? Eat?" Piccolo drawled sarcastically.

Goku sat up, brushing the grass out of his hair. "No, but I though you would be here to visit." Piccolo raised an eyeridge, staring down at Goku. Gesturing for him to follow, the saiya-jin lead Piccolo to the house and pointed in through the window. Expecting to see Goten or Gohan studying or something, Piccolo crossed his arms and looked. With a muffled grunt, he quickly backed away from the window like he had been struck.

Meece was inside with Chichi, rolling small bits of sushi in seaweed. The girl was wearing the gi that Piccolo had given her still, but now the small rips were sewn and it had been washed clean. Her hair was brushed back into half a pigtail, like when he first saw her, but only much neater. The two girls were apparently preparing part of the monstrous lunch that the saiya-jins would eat. But Meece had given no sign of hearing or detecting Piccolo behind her.

"She's been here for three days. Gohan didn't know where to put her, and Chichi loves the kid." Goku explained. "Her telepathic abilities seem to be weakening or something, because she isn't speaking in our minds as much as she was before. But Gohan is still trying to teach her." Running on hand through his crazy hair, Goku shrugged.

Chichi praised Meece for a job well done at rolling several egg rolls, and then showed her how to properly cook them. Meece smiled, but compared to the way she used to smile it was only a shadow. "I think she might feel betrayed." Gohan's voice suddenly cut in. Piccolo turned, slightly surprised that his old student could sneak up on him like that. "For the first day she didn't do anything but cry. I think she's getting better."

*You really are a monster, you know that.* Nail sneered. Piccolo's stomach felt like water.

*Now, Nail, don't be so harsh. He just doesn't know how to deal with emotions.* Kami half defended and half nagged. From the kitchen, Meece tried to call out Chichi's name, but it sounded more like 'T.T.' than anything else. The child then asked if she should tell Goku that lunch was ready. Piccolo backpedaled a few steps, wanting to leave quickly but his pride keeping him from running from a child.

Meece skipped out the door, her hands clinging to her sash of her gi. "Gahku!" She yelled verbally, trying to sound out Goku's name. She seemed to be relying much more on verbal speaking and lip reading now. Looking around the land before the house, Meece turned her head slightly and spotted the saiya-jin. But her smile faltered when she noticed Piccolo. The small child took on a morose expression.

Ah! There it was! Meece was trying, very weakly, to open a telepathic passage. Piccolo quickly dropped his mental wall, anxiously. Part of him openly admitted he missed the kid. And the other part wanted to pick her up in a hug. Piccolo cursed at those two parts named Kami and Nail. But a much softer, much smaller voice said he was very glad to see she was ok.

'Piccolo…' Meece's message was very soft, but she said nothing after his name. No 'Piccolo-san', no 'Piccolo-papa', and for some reason it hurt. It sounded like her telepathic abilities were either so weak she couldn't spend messages anymore, or she didn't want to send another word. Had his withdrawal really hurt the child that much?

*Piccolo, I swear you are as big of a moron now as when we first joined.* Nail spat.

*Indeed. Even Dende knew more about humans when he first came to earth than you do in a lifetime of being here.* Kami sighed. Ignoring the two, Piccolo glared at the two saiya-jins, telling them to leave, now. Once Gohan and Goku had gone inside, he looked back down at Meece.

'Can you still hear me?' Piccolo asked, one antenna twitching. Meece only nodded. 'What is wrong? Why won't you speak?' …to me, he added to himself. Meece wiped her sleeve against her face, brushing away the beginnings of a few tears.

'Piccolo left Meece. Just like parents left Meece.' She answered simply, sniffling slightly. 'Meece not wanted.' A wave of sadness hit Piccolo, part of it from Kami and Nail, but most from himself. Truly, he was no better than those who threw the child out like some kind of garbage. He could remember almost every moment he had the kid by his side. He could remember having Meece ask him to fix her hair, the flowers, training, and even the bedtime stories she'd ask for. Piccolo missed the kid's very behavior, the way she made that humming noise when agreeing, her constant 'name name' questions, and even the way she'd curl up in his lap before going to bed.

All in all, he missed her even more than he knew. Even more than his pride was worth. 'Meece, that's not true.' Piccolo said, slowly dropping down to her level. The kid gave a choked sob, rubbing her eyes more. Very carefully, one giant, green hand reached out and rested on her head. As if it were a sign, Meece flung herself into his chest, crying softly. A rush of emotions swirled about in her mind as he probed. Sorrow, relief, anger, and even happiness all mixed into one giant emotion, confusing both the child and him. Without knowing why, Meece let herself cry all her energy out.

Piccolo send another telepathic message to her, cradling the child in his arms. 'You need to be among humans though. Living alone, like I do, isn't a good way to raise children.' He winced, remembering his own childhood. His only purpose to defeat Son Goku. It was perhaps the loneliest time of his life, and he never admitted it until now.

'Stay with Meece? Stay?' She pleaded. Small, watery brown eyes turned up to look at him. 'No want to be alone.' Meece whimpered, burying her face back into his gi. Piccolo fought the urge to agree, but also disregarded the one that was telling him to just leave the kid here again. Strangely, both Kami and Nail were silent, just when he'd admit he needed help.

'I don't want to be alone either.' He thought. Then his eyes widened. Did he just say that telepathically? Meece looked up at him again, this time a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Picco-ro…papa?" She said out loud, reaching one small hand out toward his face. His mind was working into overdrive. Was he just suppose to let the kid stay with him in the middle of nowhere and continue to train? Would he actually live among humans, despite the fact they annoyed the hell out of him? Dende, didn't this kid know what she was asking? But once she said his name, adding the 'papa' to it, he knew he had already decided.

'I'll stay.' He hoisted the little girl up higher, letting her head bury into the collar of his shoulder armor. 'But only for you.' His second chance had nearly slipped away. A human kid so unlike him was now one with his own mind.

Shortly afterwards, he noticed Meece's mind had become quiet. Taking a peek down at the kid, he noticed she was sleeping. Her emotional outburst had left her as drained as a full day of sparring. Climbing back to his feet, Piccolo walked into the Son house with Meece cradled in one arm. The saiya-jins stopped eating long enough to notice Piccolo enter the room. Apparently they knew that he had come to some sort of agreement with the child, and both nodded at him. Meece's green hair brushed the underside of his chin, her face tucked into his neck as he carried her. Jeez! Was he stupid or something to leave the kid behind?

*Yes.* Nail agreed.

*Yes.* Kami seconded the motions

*Sorry, but can I vote again? HELL yes!* Nail emphasized.

Piccolo told them to do something that was impossible without a body and carried Meece upstairs to Gohan's old room. Chichi had since converted the room into a makeshift girl's room. The few personal belonging Meece had rested on a desk; her book of words, a small pile of clothes, and a ripped off square of part of his old white cape she used as a security blanket. Piccolo carried the girl over to the bed and carefully tucked her in, untangling her small fingers from his gi.

Meece's eyes fluttered open for a moment, and she made her soft humming noise again. One of her small hands quickly grabbed onto his large, green hand, clinging to the first two fingers. Pulling his hand under her chin, she curled around it like a cat and sighed before drifting off to sleep again. Well… maybe he'd just stay in her room for a few minutes before waiting outside.

He prepared himself for Nail's comment from his behavior. Five…four…three…two…*… Meece is home again.* Nail commented. Pausing for just a second, he realized that it wasn't Nail's usual mocking comment. The other namek sounded…grateful, content, happy perhaps.

*It's good to see the child happy again. Makes an old Kami glad.* The older namek said with a sigh.

Piccolo brushed her green bangs off her forehead with one finger, and then stood up and withdrew his hand. "Yes. It is good to see her happy again." He rumbled, then went to wait for Meece. The once Great Demon King of earth was now a 'dada' to a small human. Fate, it seemed, had a very strange sense of humor.