Chapter 7! CHA CHA CHA! Chapter 7! CHA CHA CHA! Why am I so happy? CHA CHA CHA! Because I'm also done with Chapter 8/interlude 2! CHA CHA CHA! And I won an E-bay auction for a Trigun action figure! CHA CHA HOTCHA!!!

I'd really like to thank everyone for suffering through this story. It was meant to be a one shot (or a two part-er), but due to the comments, I decided to expand it. Now I'm also doing fan art for my story. Heck, even I'M curious to see what Meece will look like (though I'll probably end up drawing a chibi so cute and sugary it will put us all into pancreatic shock).

And to Super-saiyan-monkey. Based on the anime (at least, what I watched), Marron and Bra are really close in age. I'm not sure how much older Trunks and Goten are at least seven years older that the girls, so if Bra is 13 in my story that would make Trunks and Goten at the VERY least 21. Pan is the one who's age I screwed up… she'd be, like, 8 right now…besides… it's my story and I can screw up the ages as much as I want.

And just to answer any unanswered question, no, I do NOT have your pants. Thank you for the reviews! WAH! The INTERLUDE IS NEXT AFTER THIS CHAPTER!

5/6/02

Touch Tones

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From dolls and butterflies to video games and makeup, all children grow up. All children, except for Meece that is.

"Paaaapaaa!" Meece shouted, running over the tiled surface of Dende's Lookout. It was, by all account, her home. The young girl who was once Piccolo's very shadow was now turning 13. And while most children that reached their early teen years would push certain things aside to make room for more 'grown up' things, Meece did not. Every thing she had ever collected stayed in its place, would still be used, and was treated like it was new. While the child had never played with dolls she did still have her old books and puzzles, and the gi colors Piccolo gave her so long ago were still part of her attire. 'Salami Squirrel and the Whammie Kablamie', now considered 'geeky (thank you Dende), still had it's place on the cabinet (much to Piccolo's distaste). And of course, nothing could ever replace her friendship with Bra, no matter how much they got punished for their pranks, (of course, Piccolo's punishments for Meece were never harsh, but he had a feeling it was like a joke for her to do it, if only to irritate him).

A rare sight was going on in one of the rooms of the home of God above the earth. Piccolo was cooking. Or attempting to cook. Only so much can be said for a cook who actually doesn't need to eat. And right now he was trying to heat a can of soup with his chi, wearing Mr. Popo's blue apron. Meece pushed open the door, and spotted Piccolo deep in meditation and decided to remain quiet.

*Ok, now watch the soup carefully. When it explodes, you've heated it too much.* Kami carefully guided Piccolo through directions they had though to be 'idiot-proof'.

*Of course, Dende's way involves always making better idiots.* Nail sighed.

'Shut up, or I'll rip off your astral antenna!' Piccolo growled, lifting his lips in a snarl. Meece smiled broadly, her eyes darting over Piccolo's features. She could tell he was having a 'nice' little chat with the two nameks in his head. To her knowledge, it was like reasoning with kindergartners on pixie sticks.

Finally, Meece could wait no longer. She had to interrupt Piccolo's attempts to cook. "Papa?" She cleared her throat. Piccolo nearly dropped a frying pan on his foot. Yes, he WAS trying to fry soup. He must have taken cooking lessons from Bulma, who couldn't even boil water without burning it. "Meece just wanted to tell you that she is going to Uncle Goku's house for dinner today, so you don't have to bother." She smiled sheepishly, her green hair covering her eyes like a veil. It still had yet to be cut, and her bangs were now nearly to her nose. According to Dende, she looked like a very fluffy Old English Sheepdog. To Kami, she needed a haircut, and Nail just thought she looked cute.

Frustration set it. "Well, you could have told me." Piccolo rumbled, his voice grating along the lower tones.

Meece clasped one hand to her mouth. "Meece sorry, Papa!" She said apologetically. Frowning, Piccolo ripped the apron off and crossed his arms stiffly. Meece gave several attempts to invite him with before giving up. The little human girl just couldn't convince him to sit there while the saiya-jins ate. It made him ill to watch.

But despite the fact he wouldn't go to the Son house to dinner, he did follow her to the edge of the platform. "Dinner shouldn't take long, Meece will be back in an hour or two!" She said, giving Piccolo a smile she saved only for him. Floating into the air a little, she kissed her surrogate father's cheek before heading down.

Nail cooed. *Awwwwww.*

'Get over it, you coot.' Piccolo snorted.

*I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Nail on this one. That was about the cutest thing I've seen in a long time.* Kami smiled. Piccolo merely growled.

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"OK! WHO JUST ATE THE PILE OF EGG ROLLS I JUST MADE?!?" Chichi screamed, her voice waking any neighbors if they had any. Goku, Goten, and Pan all winced. Goten was now a college-aged student, back for a bit to do laundry and eat. No one could tell which was larger, the pile of laundry Goten brought home or the food Chichi was cooking for him. Pan, just 12 years old, was visiting her grandparents, since she had an extended weekend break from school.

"It wasn't me mom! I was studying!" Goten protested, waving his Chemistry test book like a flag, or a shield.

"It wasn't me, Grandma! I just got here!" Pan stepped back. She had heard stories of her Grandmother's cooking related wrath. Chichi turned her scowl to Goku, who remained cluelessly confused.

Scratching the back of his head, Goku shrugged. "Anou, but Chichi, wasn't the food for eating? So why shouldn't I have eaten it?" Goten took a step back and Pan winced. In this household, 'thems fightin' words'.

Chichi's frying pan swatted Goku on the head, leaving a nice saiya-jin shaped dent. "Meece is coming over for dinner! If you eat all the food now, she won't get any!" She screeched, waving the steel pan around. The smack upside the head didn't hurt Goku, in fact it hardly phased him, but her harsh screaming voice made him cringe more.

"Gomen Chichi! I didn't know!" Goku held his hands up in surrender. "I'll go catch some fish for dinner if you want."

Chichi sighed, lowering the pan. "Well, at least you can be thoughtful some times, Goku. Hurry up though, Meece will be here soon." Goku nodded, his Son smile still plastered to his face, and flew out the window. "But for Dende's sake, USE THE DOOR!" She shouted. "Saiya-jins… always using the windows…" She sighed.

The youngest Son boy was sitting at the table, tapping his fingers on the wood. It had been nearly a year since he had seen his 'younger sister'. Meece was part of their family, just like she had managed to become part of Piccolo. Goten's dark eyes glanced over the mantel, spotting a few of the newer pictures. One of the newest ones was a picture of Pan and Meece, both wrapped so tight in a blanket that all you could see was their heads and Goku grinning madly while holding each 'bundle' under an arm. Most of the other pictures were ones Chichi or Bulma had taken, catching them off guard.

For example, there was the one where Goku and Goten each had one end of a very long sausage in their teeth and were having a strange version of tug-of-war. Another captured a shot of Chichi looking rather chagrined as Goku flailed about, having just eaten a giant wad of wasabi. And one of the pictures even had Piccolo in it. Piccolo had Meece, Bra, Marron, and Pan clinging to him, each of the girls smiling brightly while he looked rather irritated. Goten chuckled softly. It wasn't everyday that Piccolo-san was caught on film, since he usually chose to blow the cameras up.

A tickle of chi caught Goten's attention, heading from the east. "Meece is almost here." He said aloud, mostly for the benefit of his mom.

"Wheeee! Meece is coming!" Pan cheered.

"Really?" Chichi paused in her cooking. "It's been months since I've seen her. I hope she's been studying."

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The trip to Goku's house was rather fast if you could fly, but it still took a good hour to get too. But for the whole trip, Meece was swelling with pride. Traveling alone meant Piccolo trusted that she could take care of herself if something happened. He no longer saw her as a helpless little girl.

Using her newly learned skills as a Guardian, Meece sought out Goku and Goten, finding them in different places. Goku was at the fishing pond close to his house while Goten was inside near Pan's life force. She gave a squeal of happiness when she detected Pan, for she hadn't seen younger friend for almost a week. Meece wasn't using her chi skills to track them, but practicing her Kami Eyes.

'Dende was right, Meece can't use Kami Eyes very well.' She thought, sighing. She simply couldn't see everything that was going on, but she could feel it. For a moment, she wished she knew Goku's Instantaneous Transmission technique, because he seemed to know about everything with a large chi and where it was going. But common sense told her that all the technique did was send him from place to place, it was his constant use of sensing chi that strengthened the ability.

'Hup! There's the house!' Meece smiled, spotting the white pod house's roof and then the slanted roof of their living quarters. It had been far too long since she had seen the Son family. She sorely missed Goten's good natured goofing, and Goku's smiles, Pan's games, and Chichi's meals. She even missed Gohan's teaching sessions. In a very small way, she was jealous of Goten and Gohan because they always had a family from the very beginning and she didn't. But the jealousy she felt was far to small to measure, because no one--no matter how wonderful they could cook or how funny they were--could every replace Piccolo to her.

"Aunt Chichi!" Meece shouted happily, landing on the ground with one foot stretched out for the touchdown. The window was pushed open and light streamed into the darkened yard. Chichi's hair was done up in the usual bun, her silhouette instantly giving her away. Meece gave a high pitched squeal and dove in through the window, throwing herself at Chichi for a hug.

Now Chichi wasn't the strongest human woman on the planet for nothing. She managed to snatch Meece out of the air and pull her into a tight hug. "There you are! Oh my goodness! Look how much you've grown! And your hair!" Chichi's hands went to tug Meece's long bangs out of her eyes. At the table, Goten looked on in amusement, until Meece noticed him and decided he needed his daily glomp.

"Go-niisan!" She cheeped. Instead of her diving at him, Goten vanished with a flash of speed and grabbed her up in a hug.

"Imouto! I gotcha! It's been so long, shrimp!" He applied his knuckles to the top of Meece's head, scruffing her hair up. Meece hummed in affirmation, unable to nod while he gave her noogies. The two of them began roughhousing, Meece putting Goten in an armlock but unable to escape from his headlock. Pan could only sit idly for a moment before the two girls charged each other, shouting their hello's like they were both deaf or on opposite sides of the room (which they weren't). Chichi sighed and smiled, letting the two of them goof-off for a minute. Then she sent all three of them to wash their hands.

Actually, a better description would be, attempted to send them to wash their hands, because at that moment Goku came in. The three children (for everyone knows that Goten is still a child at heart) dropped what they were doing and dove at him, screaming both 'dad', 'grandpa' and 'uncle Goku'. One very large fish that resembled Kaio-sama was dropped on the floor and flopped about.

After a few minutes, Chichi managed to herd all three of them to the bathroom to wash up while she finished cooking. Continuous laughing came from the bathroom as Goten did his impression of a water fountain, soaking his own shirt. Pan laughed so hard that tears began to stream down his cheeks and Meece lost her grip on the soap, sending it flying. Goku dropped the towel on Meece's head and dropped to his knees laughing. Seconds later, the soap and water combined to make a bubbly mess on the floor, making standing near impossible when laughing like a bunch of hyenas. So, of course, when Chichi came in there was more screaming at the mess.

Meece sat at the table as Chichi began to serve them dinner. Out of politeness, Goku, Goten, and Pan waited until Meece and Chichi took all they though they could eat before beginning. But for some strange reason, Meece's stomach was beginning to hurt. It wasn't like she had eaten too much, and it wasn't because she was too hungry. It felt like she had been punched in the stomach sort of, lower than her stomach, about the middle of her abdomen. The pain began to kill her appetite, but not only that. Meece could feel her chi level alternating madly.

Goku took notice immediately, probably when her chi started to fluctuate. "Meece, hun? Are you alright?" Meece's attention snapped up to the table, and she noticed now everyone was staring at her. She nodded quickly, but found the muscles in her back were feeling rather stiff.

'Chichi, Meece is feeling sick. Maybe she should go back home and let Dende heal her.' She stood up, wiping the back of her hand against her brow. She was sweating. Pan became concerned, but there wasn't anything she could do to help her friend.

"I can go with you, Meece." Goten stood up, looking down at her with concern. But Meece shook her head and headed for the door. Chichi walked with her, handing her a package of snacks she had prepared beforehand.

"You better be careful and take care of yourself." And with a small pause she added, "And if you need to talk about… woman things… you can come and talk to me." Chichi smiled motherly and pushed Meece out the door. The girl was confused. 'Woman things'? What on earth was that? But she didn't have time to think about it, because her stomach started to hurt again. Whatever this sickness thing was, it seemed to be picking up in intensity. So Meece began to funnel all her strength into getting home in a hurry.

'Owww, it hurts. It hurrrrts!' She thought, drawing in a fresh breath. Meece found if she would control her breathing to small shorter breaths, the pain would fade.

'Meece!' Piccolo's mental voice called out to her. 'Hang on, I'll be right there!' Meece bit down on her lip, realizing she'd just sent that message out telepathically. She didn't want him to think she was weak. Meece struggled to keep her speed up and headed towards Dende's Tower. She could feel the concern of others; Piccolo, Dende, Goku, Chichi, Pan, Goten, and even Gohan and Vegeta had managed to sense her message. Great, was there no one who didn't hear that?

Before Meece could concentrate again, she found Piccolo ahead of her. The pain had become so intense she had nearly curled up while flying. Perhaps, and just this once, she would need help. "Pa…pa. It hurts." She whimpered. Piccolo wasted no time in gathering her up and quickly heading back to the lookout.

Once there, Meece claimed it was just the flu and wanted to use the bathroom. So Piccolo put her down and went to find Dende. Worry flooded through him, infecting both Kami and Nail as well. Meece was rarely sick, and never to the point where she was in pain. What if it were serious? What if it were killing her?!

'I couldn't live if she died. I won't let it happen.' Piccolo thought fiercely.

*I don't think it's that serious, Piccolo.* Kami said, obviously he knew something. *I have a few guesses what it could be, but I'm not positive.*

Nail was being uncharacteristically quiet. Over the years, Meece treated him just like family. In fact, from time to time she would call him 'uncle Nail'. If she did die, Nail thought it would be possible for him to die of sorrow. All of her friends throughout the entire world would suffer from grief if ANYTHING happened to the girl.

"Piccolo?" Dende's soothing voice came from his left. The young guardian stepped inside from observing the world below. "I detected something was wrong with Meece's chi. Do you know wha~" But before Dende could finish, a shrill scream came from the bathroom. It was a scream of pure terror.

All of Piccolo's battle honed reflexes kicked in and he was beside the bathroom door in a second. "Meece! Meece what's wrong?! Open the door!" He rattled the handle, but found the door locked. Of course, not flimsy door could hold back the great Demon King. One single punch and the door ripped off the hinges and fell in. Stepping into the room, Piccolo spotted Meece curled up along the wall, trembling.

"Meece, can you hear me?" Piccolo carefully picked her up, cradling her in his arms. She was now tall enough it took both arms to hold her. Meece's only response was the tears sliding down her cheeks. "Talk to me here, what's wrong?" He lifted her head up to his shoulder and began to rub her back to stop the tears. Then, as a last minute thought, he rested one of his palms on her forehead in the same gesture of comfort that started back on the day he met her. Meece's trembling began to subside, but her tears damped his hand.

"…Pa…pa." Her voice broke, hitting a different pitch as she sniffled. Her rust-colored eyes were dim and lost their luster, and she smelt of fear. Wait… and blood? Was she hurt?! "Meece…," Her voice cracked again, and she buried her head into his collar to speak the rest. "Meece is dying! Meece… is bleeding and can't stop it!" She bawled. Not to long ago, Piccolo taught her about first aid, and how to treat it. Not to mention the fact that blood scared her badly.

Dende's antenna quirked and he quickly stepped forward to pat Meece's head. "Meece? Were you bleeding…uhh… 'down there'?" A purple flush covered the Guardian's cheeks as he questioned her. The green-haired girl lifted her head, trying to wipe the tears out of her eyes, and then nodded.

Now Dende blushed all the way to his antenna. *Well, THAT would explain it.* Kami's voice spoke. Dende could only nod.

"What is going on?! Is she hurt or not?!" Piccolo roared, keeping Meece tucked into his arm.

The Guardian of Earth seemed a bit speechless. "Err, not exactly. This is normal. In fact, it happens almost monthly for female humans." It wasn't really possible for Dende to blush anymore. The normally green namek was now a very nice shade of purple.

"Bleeding monthly is normal for humans?! It doesn't kill them?" Piccolo was aghast. "Then why do they do it?!"

*Yeah! What's wrong with his little girl!* Nail fired his own question into the mix.

Kami cleared his throat, and spoke to all of them in one message. *Congratulations, Piccolo. You're little girl is now growing up.* There was no way to describe the silence that filled Dende's tower, it was unearthly. Piccolo's face was stuck between shock and ranting. Meece was in horror about the blood still. Nail's brain was trying to process this information. And Kami and Dende had their ears (or astral ears) covered.

"NAAANI!?!" Yeah, that's why they had their ears covered.

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Little Meece was sent to Chichi to explain the rest, as the Nameks were all too flustered. "This is so stupid. We are all asexual, and none of us at the guts to explain 'it' to her?" Piccolo growled, sitting in meditation position. He looked like he was pouting more than contemplating the existence of the world.

Dende was still a mottled shade of purple from embarrassment. "Hey, you are her father. It's up to you to tell her … um…tell her… you know-," Dende purpled again. "About the 'birds and the bees'." The God of Earth had never been so embarrassed before!

"What the hell do bugs and feathered things have to do with what is happening to her?" Piccolo frowned.

*Oh, Kami-sama… don't tell me…-* Nail said, in shock.

*…He doesn't know.* Kami finished.

"Know what?" Piccolo growled.

Dende was now hunched over on the ground, either giggling or in shock. So Mr. Popo helped fill Piccolo in. "His Godship means, you don't know where babies come from." Piccolo paused, noting that Kami and Nail both knew. So if they knew, all he had to do was tap their knowledge banks to find the answer.

Kami knew what Piccolo was trying to do, *You may not like the answer.* He warned. But Piccolo plowed on ahead, locating a section of Kami's memories on 'humans' and beginning to browse through.

………….

"NAAAANNIIII?!?!?!" Piccolo roared.

*Uh-oh. I'm detecting 'protective father' phase just turned on.* Nail said.

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Meece was spending the next few days at Muten Roshi's Island with Marron and Juuhachi-gou. The reason was because Marron was already going through the same 'phase' and Dende thought the girls could share knowledge about 'that time of the month'. Besides, Muten Roshi and Krillin were off the island at the moment on a short trip leaving the girls on the island.

Marron placed a glass of lemonade on the table while Meece fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "It's really not that bad Meece. Just think of it like this… if you are ever not feeling good in school, all you have to say is 'it's girl problems' and you'll always be excused." Juuhachi-gou was brushing Meece's hair, attempting to calm the girl.

"But… it hurts!" Meece cried out, rubbing her stomach in remembrance of the pain.

"It's ok. It makes you stronger." Juuhachi-gou said, "And besides, humans have made quite a few medicines for it." Meece curled up along the android's side, tugging on a small braid along her temple. The two blonde girls did their best to explain as much as possible to Meece, and what Marron was too embarrassed to explain, Juuhachi-gou wasn't. After all, artificial humans have very little care if they embarrass someone else.

As lunchtime rolled around, Juuhachi-gou went inside to make something for the two young girls. Meece continued to stare out at the ocean with a rather blank expression. Marron felt bad, Meece had been raised entirely too innocent, and Piccolo didn't have a clue about human physiology. Everything she learned about humans probably came from Chichi or the TV, sadly.

Then Marron finally thought of something comforting to say, but as she opened her mouth Meece asked her own question. "Marron… so boys' really don't have cooties?"

Marron cleared her throat. "Err… no, not exactly." She said, a blush rising.

"I don't understand boys at all then." Meece sighed, settling back on the sand.

"You and me both. They are a bunch of monkeys." Marron copied Meece's pose and threw her hands behind her head.

One of Meece's brown eyes twitched for a moment as she received a thought, "Hey…what about Lenchi though?" She asked. Marron twitched spastically at Meece's question. Lenchi was Tien's son, and seemed wise past his years. The girls had been introduced to him a few years ago and he became part of the group without much effort.

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**Flashback**

Marron and Bra had been sparring, each fairly equal, and Meece watched them. This was how it always was, the two of them fighting while Meece tried to guess their next attacks…with her eyes closed. It was practice for being a Guardian, and both of her friends were happy to oblige her.

"From above!" Meece shouted to Bra, telling the demi-saiya-jin of Marron's next attack before it came. Bra blocked the attack and went to make her own. "High powered, chi-enhanced kick from the side!" Meece yelled again, giving Marron time to react.

"Dang it! She's too good!" Marron panted. "I think I liked better it when she couldn't what are next attacks would be with her eyes closed."

Bra's knuckles grazed over Marron's arm. "I'm getting tired!" The two fighters flopped over on the ground to catch their breath.

"From above! Falling quickly!" Meece called out. Marron's eyes widened as she looked over at Bra. Neither of them were moving. But neither of them were going to doubt Meece's prediction and flung themselves to the side. As soon as they had moved from Meece's foreseen area someone crashed into the ground from above. They were pretty sure it was a 'someone' and not a 'something' because it was cussing up a storm.

Meece was the first one on her feet over to the fallen person, probably because she had been expecting it. "Hey! Are you alright there…umm… mister?" She asked carefully. Meece had nearly gotten over her fear of speaking to strangers, but her desire to help overwhelmed any shyness she had.

The stranger lifted his head, a wild mane of sun bleached hair tumbling over his shoulders. He didn't appear much older than them, and clearly wasn't a namek or saiya-jin. The youth was obviously one of the few humans of earth who had learned chi manipulation. Clad in a green fighting gi top and a pair of loose pants, Marron thought the outfit looked familiar. Like she had seen it on an older, larger person.

"Yeah, Ah'm fine, but it's not like ya did anythin' to help break mah fall." He drawled in a rather thick accent. He looked up, hair hanging in front of his face just like Meece's did. But his vibrant green eyes were visible through a thick hank of blond hair. Meece stood frozen in place as he stood up and brushed his clothes off. "Thrice damned winds. Shit. Ya'd think Ah'd be able to fly straight after all mah years of practice." He ran a hand through his hair, pulling it out of his eyes. All three of them.

………..

"You know… you have an extra eye on your head, right?" Bra asked, hiding behind Meece slightly. The youth gave Bra a kind of glare, and then held his hand over his extra eye which was place right in the center of his forehead.

"No, really? Ah thought it was a bad case of acne." He sneered, voice thick with irony. "Yer so smart."

Unperturbed by his sarcasm, Meece took another step forward and leaned up on her tiptoes. The boy seemed a little put off by her close presence and leaned back. "You have very pretty colored eyes." She remarked innocently, thinking how his eye color was similar to her hair color and Piccolo.

And for some strange reason-- unknown to Meece--, he began to blush. "Err… really?" He turned partially away from her, his blond hair hanging down in front of his face. Bra and Marron's eyebrows raised up as Meece smiled. But a small tendril of his hair dropped down in front of his nose and tickled it.

"Ahhh… AHHH.. AAHH-CHOOOO!!"

…….!!!…..

"You're hair turned blue!" Marron exclaimed. Indeed, the strange boy's hair turned a dark blue, boarding on almost blackish.

"Oh! Was I fighting again? Was I rude to you? I'm so sorry!" He apologized, a deep blush running over his cheeks. "I wish I knew what my other self does." He clasped his hands together and hung his head. Bra's mouth was hanging open at the drastic change in his demeanor.

But Marron seemed to know what was going on. "Hey! You're Lunch's son, right? And the third eye; Tien has three eyes so you must be their son!" She pointed a finger at him.

'Don't point, Marron-chan, it's not polite.' Meece reminded her friend telepathcially.

"Yeah, don't point. My good-Mother says it's not nice. But angry-Mother would probably break someone's hand for pointing." He raised his head up, looking straight at Meece. The green-haired girl's mouth was hanging open.

'Can…can you understand what Meece is saying? Meece didn't send that message to you!' The message wasn't sent to anyone in particular, just kind of put out into space.

'Of course. I get it from my dad's side.' He grinned modestly.

"My name is Meece." She extended her hand in a greeting like she had seen most humans do.

The boy took her hand gently and shook it. "Lenchi. Obviously your friend knows my parents, so no need to introduce them." He smiled sheepishly. Lenchi greeted Bra and Marron too, and apologized again for any rude comments he may have said. The four of them spent most of the day sparring, allowing Meece to practice her Guardian skills. They found that Lenchi had telepathy, stronger than even a skilled human's abilities, but still below Meece's level. Like his father, the third eye allowed him to peer into people's minds.

To Meece, it was like finding another of her 'kind'. "Nee ne, Lenchi-kun! Do you want to spar again some time?" Meece turned her dark eyes to Lenchi's bright green ones.

"Meece, I would love taa…aah…AAhhh…," His eyes began to scrunch up and his hand flew up to his face. The girls knew what was coming and took cover. "AH-CHOO!! Whoa! That was a damn big sneeze!" Blond-Lenchi said. "Hey, where are the chicks?"

'We are over here, Lenchi-kun.' Meece's voice came from behind a rock. 'Marron-chan said your mother would often pull out guns and shoot everything when she changed, and Meece is not bullet proof.' Meece peeked around a large boulder.

"Ahh, ya girls don't have ta worry about that!" He dropped down to one knee to look Meece in the eye. "Ah only shoot peoples Ah don't like." He smirked, gently tapping Meece on the nose. And for some unexplained reason, Meece also blushed.

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"Lenchi…. Which Lenchi? Blond-Lenchi or Blue-Lenchi?" Marron asked.

"Both." Meece felt her cheeks heating up.

Marron's faint smile turned into a full-blown smirk. "Weeell… it IS cute. And you have to admit, Blond-Lenchi is suppose to be just as gun happy as his mother…," Marron began to chuckle, "…so I think he likes you."

Pause. "NAAAANI!?!" Meece was now turning a very nice shade of red. "He does not! Meece and Lenchi are just friends!" She sputtered. Her response made Marron laugh.

"Sure. I bet." Marron stood up, stretching. The sun had already made its long trip across the sky and was staining the heavens a crimson color. "I guess you're say here is over. Piccolo probably misses you."

"Papa!" Meece squealed, closing her eyes and grinning. "Right, Marron-chan! Thank you so much for letting Meece stay and teaching Meece." Meece jumped up and bowed to her friend. "If Marron ever need help, don't hesitate to ask Meece." She jumped into the air, letting her chi float her up. Then, focusing her energy into one concentrated area and burst off to her home. The whole mess of the past few days was washed away. Besides, Meece's mind could no longer bear a grudge or be sad for long; it simply wasn't her style.

As Meece approached Dende's Lookout, she could detect someone looking for her. Heading in her direction too. So she did the polite thing, she paused and waited for her seeker to arrive. And it didn't take long, because within seconds she felt another chi force approaching as well from the opposite direction.

'Ok… one chi… is Papa!' Meece was able to identify his energy with nearly no effort. As she scanned the other and nearly fell out of the air when she put a name to the chi. It was Lenchi…Blue-haired-Lenchi at that. The only thing she could think of was Marron's embarrassing words too.

"Meeeee~ce!" Lenchi shouted, approaching with a white blur of chi. "Wow, I've been searching for you all day! I didn't know you lived up in Dende's Tower!" He smiled, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He was wearing a bandana covering his third eye, protecting it from the wind.

Clearing her throat, Meece twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "Meece has always lived there. With Papa."

"Your father? Hey! Would you and your father like to…to," Lenchi rubbed the back of his arm, "maybe come and visit my family some time?"

Meece could feel Piccolo's chi approaching, yet she decided to answer for him. "Um, well, Papa doesn't really like to be around people. But… Meece wouldn't mind." She clasped her hands together, her mind racing back to her thoughts of the day before.

"Really?! You…you'd like to come with?! That's…tha..th..aah…Aahhh," Lenchi's face scrunched up in preparation of a sneeze. "AH-CHOO!" And with that, blue-haired Lenchi became blond Lenchi. Meece sweatdropped at the change, perhaps she'd never get use to it.

Piccolo was nearly there, and probably able to see them now. "So, babe, is that a yes?" He smiled, or closer to the truth, smirked. Meece sweatdropped again. How could one person have two totally different personal? This was just as awkward as can be!

Coincidentally, whether by Dende's will or not, Piccolo showed up just as Lenchi was leaning in to say something. And Piccolo, still in 'protective father' mode, instant decided to assume the worst. He punched Lenchi in the gut.

"What the hell are you thinking?!" He growled, grabbing Meece with one arm and throwing her over his shoulder. "Dammit! I'm going to have to beat them off with a stick at this rate!"

*Um, Piccolo… I think you are being just a little too protective, yeah?* Nail said sheepishly.

'Like hell I am! Damn perverts all over!' Piccolo frowned, turning to head back to Dende's Lookout.

"Hey! Ow.. ya jerk! Where do ya think yer taking my Meece-chan! Kidnapper!" Lenchi was blocking Piccolo with a burst of speed. The bandana covering his third eye had flown off, and all three eyes now glittered dangerously. Piccolo was about to rip Lenchi's arms off for calling Meece 'his Meece-chan'. It looked like a fight was inevitable. That is, until he attempted to read Piccolo's mind. "Yer… Yer her father?!" He gawked, drawing backwards. Piccolo bore his teeth and growled softly. "Oh! Ya must be Piccolo! My old man talked about ya before!"

"Then did he warn you about pissing off a father too?" Piccolo snorted, loosening his grip on Meece a little. The girl turned about in his grip to give Lenchi an apologetic glance.

*Piccolo, what are you going to act like when Meece actually starts dating?* Kami asked.

"NANI?!" Piccolo's voice scared Lenchi so bad he sneezed right into Blue-haired Lenchi and Meece could feel the vibrations from his voice. "She's going to DATE?!?"

"Papa…" Meece sweatdropped. 'Gee, thanks a lot Kami-sama. Now Papa is paranoid'

*Don't worry, we can explain it to him… or sing the 'Squirrel Salami and the Whammie Kablammie' theme song until he goes insane.* Nail remarked.