Hi everybody! *Waves* Thanks a lot to everybody who's reviewed so far -- you guys are the greatest! Here's the new chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. Kat owns Katsuko. Well, duh.
Chapter 4: Old family and new additions; the second wish.
Everyone watched Dende as he summoned the Eternal Dragon. They were camped out on Capsule Corp's front lawn, as the immense dragon would simply be written off as another odd experiment by any passersby. A bright light surrounded the Dragonballs, then a shaft of light shot out into the unnaturally dark sky. The shape of a gigantic dragon emerged from the light.
"STATE YOUR FIRST WISH," the dragon boomed. Dende turned back to look at the Z-fighters. "Are you sure you want to wish Katsuko back?" Everyone nodded. Vegeta sulked, and Dende shrugged. He would miss the girl hanging around the lookout. "Alright. I'll tell him now." He turned back to the dragon, spread out his hands, and shouted a string of Namekian at the dragon. A pinpoint of reddish light appeared at head height. The pinpoint widened into a minature sun, shooting out beams until people averted their eyes. Vegeta stared directly into the light, arms crossed impatiently. When the others looked back,the glow had faded. Standing there, with a grin on her face, was a tall girl. Son Katsuko was back, a girl they hadn't seen in seven years. Piccolo, which hadn't looked away either, smirked. *The troublemaker's back. I wonder if she can beat Gohan yet . . . *
Katsuko scanned the crowd for a moment. Then, breaking the silence, she yelled, "Mom!" Kat ran over to Chi-Chi, who immediately embraced her and burst into tears.
"My baby girl! Oh, I've missed you so much, honey! Have you been eating all right? How's your father doing?"
"Of course I have, mom! Dad eats even more, he's doing fine." Katsuko's grin softened. "I've missed you too." She let go of her mother and walked up to Krillen. "Hey, Uncle Krillen! How's it going?" She smiled at him, then paused. "Krillen. You have HAIR! Ooooh, is it real?" She took a strand experimentally in her fingers and tugged. Krillen flinched.
"Ow! Hey, what's the big idea?" Everyone burst out laughing, and even Vegeta and Piccolo smiled.
"Yep, it's real. Oh, I'm sorry! It's just that you looked a whole lot cooler when you were bald. Not that you don't look good now or anything." Kat paused for a breath, and Krillen smiled. "You haven't changed much, still the chatterbox. Thanks, I think. It took a while for everyone else to adjust to my hair, too. Hey, you want to meet my family? This is my daughter Marron, and my wife 18."
Katsuko smiled at Marron. "Well, aren't you a cutie!"
Marron beamed. "Thank you bunches, lady!"
18 walked over and shook hands with Kat. "Nice to meet you."
"Wow. 18! This is so cool! I'm actually shaking hands with an android!" Just then she saw Goten nearby looking up at her. "Gohan? Shouldn't you have grown by now?"
Goten smiled, a real Son grin. "I'm not Gohan, Kat-sister! I'm Goten!"
"Kat*sister*?! Wow . . . " Kat smiled in return and knelt down to give him a hug. "Nice to meet ya, little bro! Hey, where is my twin anyway? It can't be that tall guy over there can it?"
Gohan rubbed the back of his neck in embarrasment. He sniffed, a little overcome by finally having his twin back. "Yeah, it's me alright!" Katsuko walked over and they hugged.
"Does Mom still make you study?"
"Uh-huh. You'll have to start up again, probably." Kat made a face, then grinned. Even the threat of studying couldn't make this day bad.
"Now, where's little Trunks at?" He walked up from behind his father.
"I'm not little anymore, see?" He solemly held out his hand to shake, and Kat took it. "Do you really remember me?"
"How could I forget that purple hair of yours? You look real strong, too. Bulma, you've got a pretty cool kid here." Trunks beamed.
"Thank you, but you haven't seen him in action yet," Bulma said. "He can be a handful. I bet you'd like to said hi to Vegeta. RIGHT, VEGETA?"
Vegeta grunted. Kat walked up to him, ready to shake hands. "Hello Vegeta. Nice to see you again." She grinned, still holding our her hand. Suddenly Vegeta threw a punch at her face. Startled, Kat crossed her arms to block the blow just in time.
"Vegeta! Behave!" Bulma yelled.
He pulled back his fist and nodded, as if some important test had just been passed. "She's Kakarott's brat, alright. Hasn't slacked off, either." He sent a pointed look at Gohan, who decided to ignore it. Katsuko relaxed.
"I'm doing great, thanks for asking." She smiled as she put her hands on her hips, "Gee Veggiehead, what'd you do that for?"
Vegeta clenched his fists. Why did she persist with that . . . that *name* after seven years! "Oh, I don't know, Kitten!" Her face darkened at the hated nickname and he smirked.
"Fine, we're even. But remember, Dad is the only one who gets away with calling me that." She turned and headed towards Piccolo and Yamcha. Yamcha chuckled.
"Kat, I can't believe you guys are still going at it. At least you should have matured a little."
"Yeah, well." She shrugged. "I'm glad to see you guys again. Hey, Piccolo, could you do some weight training with me later?"
"I think we can arrange that."
"Cool."
Piccolo begrudged a rare smile at the demi-saiyan girl. He had never been as close to her as he was to Gohan -- Katsuko had gone home with her mother that crucial first night of Piccolo's training. She had wanted to come along and protect her brother, but Chi-chi had kept the child at home. Despite her efforts, Kat had trained with her mother instead of her twin. She and Gohan had been fairly inseperable during peacetimes, though, and Piccolo accepted the girl without question.
As everybody caught up, Vegeta saw something he had forgotten about. Her tail! Kat still had one, long and twirling around her ankles. *I can't believe it!* Vegeta thought *I thought she would have gotten rid of it by now. It isn't an issue, though. She's bound to lose it sometime.*
Nobody else seemed surprised by the tail. They remembered her with it before, so they didn't expect anything else. Goten, jealous, couldn't stop staring at the furry appendage.
Dende waited patiently until things had settled down somewhat. Then he spoke. "Guys, what's your second wish?"
Everyone froze. "A second wish? I had forgotten all about that!" Yamcha said excitedly. Then people started trying to decide on another wish. Goten and Trunks were jumping up and down screaming out wishes, each more extravagent than the last. Amid all the talk, Marron pushed through the crowd unnoticed and toddled up to the Eternal Dragon. Katsuko looked over, then followed her and lifted Marron onto her shoulders in front of the huge dragon.
"Tell him what you want, sweetie."
Marron looked up at the Eternal Dragon and grinned prettily. "Um, Mr. Dragon? I wanted to know it you could stay a little and have a tea party with me? It'll be really fun!"
The Dragon was silent for a moment, then spoke in a booming voice. "YOUR SECOND WISH WILL BE GRANTED."
Krillen looked up from his argument with Yamcha. "Second wish? Huh?"
*POOF!* A child-sized table piled high with petit fours and a pink tea service appeared before the confused group. Four teddy bear guests were already seated around the table. Then Marron and the Eternal Dragon sat down to tea.
When they saw this, everybody had different reactions. The women, Gohan and Dende thought it was hilarious, while the rest sulked and considered their wishes. Vegeta, well . . . it was all he could do to keep himself from blasting Marron. He looked down at his hands, weighing out the options. "Eternal life . . . tea party. Eternal life, tea party, Eternal life . . . "
Trunks and Goten scowled for a while, but seeing the delicate layered cakes on the table, they dashed over. "Uh, Marron?" Trunks said. "Can we . . . well, it was Goten's idea . . . sorta . . . canwejoinyourteaparty?"
Marron thought for a moment and said, "Sure! Mr. Dragon, can we please have some more food for our guests?" The Dragon was in a fairly good mood, so he zapped up some more cakes for the two.
"Thanks!" They said in unison, then chowed down.
Vegeta didn't like the look of this at all. "My son will not attend tea parties with pigtailed girls! He's a Saiyan warrior, not some weakling!"
Bulma giggled helplessly. "You know he's not doing it for the company. He's there for the food. How more Saiyan can you get?"
Katsuko overheard the two and cracked up. "Yeah, Vegeta, cut him a break!"
The rest of the group finally stopped thinking about other wishes and saw the humor in Marron's wish. She was only a child, after all -- they couldn't be too mad. Besides, the sight of the Eternal Dragon holding a tiny, pink flowered teacup in one giant claw, pinky claw politely outstretched as Marron lectured Goten on good manners was worth a wish.
After the tea party was over Marron gave the dragon a hug, or at least all she could reach. "Thank you, Mr. Eternal Dragon."
"Yeah, thanks!" Trunks and Goten added.
The Dragon smiled (well, it looked like a smile, anyway.) "MY PLEASURE. YOU ARE MUCH MORE POLITE THAN YOUR CONTINUALLY-DYING FAMILIES." He shot up into the sky and disappeared. The Dragonballs flew in all different directions with a blur of light. The children waved as they watched the Eternal Dragon disappear.
Dende turned to Katsuko and said, "I have to go now." He turned to everyone else and waved. "See you later! Good luck, Katsuko."
She gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for everything, Dende." Dende nodded and smiled, then disappeared.
Well, that's it for now. Remember the little button below -- REVIEW, people! Next chapter: Kat gets used to family life and begins school.
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. Kat owns Katsuko. Well, duh.
Chapter 4: Old family and new additions; the second wish.
Everyone watched Dende as he summoned the Eternal Dragon. They were camped out on Capsule Corp's front lawn, as the immense dragon would simply be written off as another odd experiment by any passersby. A bright light surrounded the Dragonballs, then a shaft of light shot out into the unnaturally dark sky. The shape of a gigantic dragon emerged from the light.
"STATE YOUR FIRST WISH," the dragon boomed. Dende turned back to look at the Z-fighters. "Are you sure you want to wish Katsuko back?" Everyone nodded. Vegeta sulked, and Dende shrugged. He would miss the girl hanging around the lookout. "Alright. I'll tell him now." He turned back to the dragon, spread out his hands, and shouted a string of Namekian at the dragon. A pinpoint of reddish light appeared at head height. The pinpoint widened into a minature sun, shooting out beams until people averted their eyes. Vegeta stared directly into the light, arms crossed impatiently. When the others looked back,the glow had faded. Standing there, with a grin on her face, was a tall girl. Son Katsuko was back, a girl they hadn't seen in seven years. Piccolo, which hadn't looked away either, smirked. *The troublemaker's back. I wonder if she can beat Gohan yet . . . *
Katsuko scanned the crowd for a moment. Then, breaking the silence, she yelled, "Mom!" Kat ran over to Chi-Chi, who immediately embraced her and burst into tears.
"My baby girl! Oh, I've missed you so much, honey! Have you been eating all right? How's your father doing?"
"Of course I have, mom! Dad eats even more, he's doing fine." Katsuko's grin softened. "I've missed you too." She let go of her mother and walked up to Krillen. "Hey, Uncle Krillen! How's it going?" She smiled at him, then paused. "Krillen. You have HAIR! Ooooh, is it real?" She took a strand experimentally in her fingers and tugged. Krillen flinched.
"Ow! Hey, what's the big idea?" Everyone burst out laughing, and even Vegeta and Piccolo smiled.
"Yep, it's real. Oh, I'm sorry! It's just that you looked a whole lot cooler when you were bald. Not that you don't look good now or anything." Kat paused for a breath, and Krillen smiled. "You haven't changed much, still the chatterbox. Thanks, I think. It took a while for everyone else to adjust to my hair, too. Hey, you want to meet my family? This is my daughter Marron, and my wife 18."
Katsuko smiled at Marron. "Well, aren't you a cutie!"
Marron beamed. "Thank you bunches, lady!"
18 walked over and shook hands with Kat. "Nice to meet you."
"Wow. 18! This is so cool! I'm actually shaking hands with an android!" Just then she saw Goten nearby looking up at her. "Gohan? Shouldn't you have grown by now?"
Goten smiled, a real Son grin. "I'm not Gohan, Kat-sister! I'm Goten!"
"Kat*sister*?! Wow . . . " Kat smiled in return and knelt down to give him a hug. "Nice to meet ya, little bro! Hey, where is my twin anyway? It can't be that tall guy over there can it?"
Gohan rubbed the back of his neck in embarrasment. He sniffed, a little overcome by finally having his twin back. "Yeah, it's me alright!" Katsuko walked over and they hugged.
"Does Mom still make you study?"
"Uh-huh. You'll have to start up again, probably." Kat made a face, then grinned. Even the threat of studying couldn't make this day bad.
"Now, where's little Trunks at?" He walked up from behind his father.
"I'm not little anymore, see?" He solemly held out his hand to shake, and Kat took it. "Do you really remember me?"
"How could I forget that purple hair of yours? You look real strong, too. Bulma, you've got a pretty cool kid here." Trunks beamed.
"Thank you, but you haven't seen him in action yet," Bulma said. "He can be a handful. I bet you'd like to said hi to Vegeta. RIGHT, VEGETA?"
Vegeta grunted. Kat walked up to him, ready to shake hands. "Hello Vegeta. Nice to see you again." She grinned, still holding our her hand. Suddenly Vegeta threw a punch at her face. Startled, Kat crossed her arms to block the blow just in time.
"Vegeta! Behave!" Bulma yelled.
He pulled back his fist and nodded, as if some important test had just been passed. "She's Kakarott's brat, alright. Hasn't slacked off, either." He sent a pointed look at Gohan, who decided to ignore it. Katsuko relaxed.
"I'm doing great, thanks for asking." She smiled as she put her hands on her hips, "Gee Veggiehead, what'd you do that for?"
Vegeta clenched his fists. Why did she persist with that . . . that *name* after seven years! "Oh, I don't know, Kitten!" Her face darkened at the hated nickname and he smirked.
"Fine, we're even. But remember, Dad is the only one who gets away with calling me that." She turned and headed towards Piccolo and Yamcha. Yamcha chuckled.
"Kat, I can't believe you guys are still going at it. At least you should have matured a little."
"Yeah, well." She shrugged. "I'm glad to see you guys again. Hey, Piccolo, could you do some weight training with me later?"
"I think we can arrange that."
"Cool."
Piccolo begrudged a rare smile at the demi-saiyan girl. He had never been as close to her as he was to Gohan -- Katsuko had gone home with her mother that crucial first night of Piccolo's training. She had wanted to come along and protect her brother, but Chi-chi had kept the child at home. Despite her efforts, Kat had trained with her mother instead of her twin. She and Gohan had been fairly inseperable during peacetimes, though, and Piccolo accepted the girl without question.
As everybody caught up, Vegeta saw something he had forgotten about. Her tail! Kat still had one, long and twirling around her ankles. *I can't believe it!* Vegeta thought *I thought she would have gotten rid of it by now. It isn't an issue, though. She's bound to lose it sometime.*
Nobody else seemed surprised by the tail. They remembered her with it before, so they didn't expect anything else. Goten, jealous, couldn't stop staring at the furry appendage.
Dende waited patiently until things had settled down somewhat. Then he spoke. "Guys, what's your second wish?"
Everyone froze. "A second wish? I had forgotten all about that!" Yamcha said excitedly. Then people started trying to decide on another wish. Goten and Trunks were jumping up and down screaming out wishes, each more extravagent than the last. Amid all the talk, Marron pushed through the crowd unnoticed and toddled up to the Eternal Dragon. Katsuko looked over, then followed her and lifted Marron onto her shoulders in front of the huge dragon.
"Tell him what you want, sweetie."
Marron looked up at the Eternal Dragon and grinned prettily. "Um, Mr. Dragon? I wanted to know it you could stay a little and have a tea party with me? It'll be really fun!"
The Dragon was silent for a moment, then spoke in a booming voice. "YOUR SECOND WISH WILL BE GRANTED."
Krillen looked up from his argument with Yamcha. "Second wish? Huh?"
*POOF!* A child-sized table piled high with petit fours and a pink tea service appeared before the confused group. Four teddy bear guests were already seated around the table. Then Marron and the Eternal Dragon sat down to tea.
When they saw this, everybody had different reactions. The women, Gohan and Dende thought it was hilarious, while the rest sulked and considered their wishes. Vegeta, well . . . it was all he could do to keep himself from blasting Marron. He looked down at his hands, weighing out the options. "Eternal life . . . tea party. Eternal life, tea party, Eternal life . . . "
Trunks and Goten scowled for a while, but seeing the delicate layered cakes on the table, they dashed over. "Uh, Marron?" Trunks said. "Can we . . . well, it was Goten's idea . . . sorta . . . canwejoinyourteaparty?"
Marron thought for a moment and said, "Sure! Mr. Dragon, can we please have some more food for our guests?" The Dragon was in a fairly good mood, so he zapped up some more cakes for the two.
"Thanks!" They said in unison, then chowed down.
Vegeta didn't like the look of this at all. "My son will not attend tea parties with pigtailed girls! He's a Saiyan warrior, not some weakling!"
Bulma giggled helplessly. "You know he's not doing it for the company. He's there for the food. How more Saiyan can you get?"
Katsuko overheard the two and cracked up. "Yeah, Vegeta, cut him a break!"
The rest of the group finally stopped thinking about other wishes and saw the humor in Marron's wish. She was only a child, after all -- they couldn't be too mad. Besides, the sight of the Eternal Dragon holding a tiny, pink flowered teacup in one giant claw, pinky claw politely outstretched as Marron lectured Goten on good manners was worth a wish.
After the tea party was over Marron gave the dragon a hug, or at least all she could reach. "Thank you, Mr. Eternal Dragon."
"Yeah, thanks!" Trunks and Goten added.
The Dragon smiled (well, it looked like a smile, anyway.) "MY PLEASURE. YOU ARE MUCH MORE POLITE THAN YOUR CONTINUALLY-DYING FAMILIES." He shot up into the sky and disappeared. The Dragonballs flew in all different directions with a blur of light. The children waved as they watched the Eternal Dragon disappear.
Dende turned to Katsuko and said, "I have to go now." He turned to everyone else and waved. "See you later! Good luck, Katsuko."
She gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for everything, Dende." Dende nodded and smiled, then disappeared.
Well, that's it for now. Remember the little button below -- REVIEW, people! Next chapter: Kat gets used to family life and begins school.