Hi everybody! Thanks to everybody who reviewed last chapter -- it's so cool having fans! Yippee! *Clears throat* Um, anyhow . . . the disclaimer. Akira Toriyama owns DBZ, Katsuko owns Kat and the plot. And on to the fic!
Katsuko's Story Chapter 6
By Katsuko
"...Goodbye, my children," Goku said as gently and lovingly as possible given the circumstances. He smiled at Gohan and Katsuko then focused his attention on Cell. He put a hand on Cell's bulging body. He was about to self-destruct, so Goku had to act quickly. Goku raised his two fingers up on his forehead.
"Wh-what are you doing?!" Cell screamed at the saiyan.
Katsuko realized what he was about to do. She ran toward her father, reached out to grab his gi, but she was too late. All she caught was air, and she fell to the ground, letting out a muffled cry of pain. She was already hurting from when Cell had thrown her into a giant wall of rock.
Goku and Cell disappeared. The only evidence that Cell had finally self-destructed was a tiny pinpoint of light in the sky. The Z Warriors stood there, dumbstruck.
"DADDY!" Gohan screamed, sending his voice way out into the distance. He broke down and started to cry. "Dad..." he whispered.
Krillan walked over to Gohan first and put his hand on the demi-saiyan's shaking shoulders. "Let it out, little buddy. Let it out."
Katsuko was silent, save for a couple of muffled cries. She was still on the ground, staring at the brown earth. Her breaths came in shuddering gasps. Tears stung her eyes, but she forced them back angrily. She wouldn't cry...no, she mustn't. But why did it have to be so hard? Why did those tears feel so much stronger than she was? She remembered what Vegeta said that one day a few years ago when she had taken a pretty bad fall and started to cry. "Crying is for weaklings. Your tears shame the entire Saiyan race. I guess this shows how much of a weakling you are." Since then, Katsuko made it her goal to never cry...ever. She wanted to show Vegeta that she was proud to be a mighty Saiyan. But now . . . it was so hard. She didn't speak; if she did that lump in her throat would surface and the tears would fall.
"Go ahead, Katsuko." Katsuko's head snapped up and her eyes met Piccolo's. "You know that we won't think less of you." She looked into his black eyes. They were filled with concern and a deep sense of loss. She shook her head violently from side to side. Getting up, she gathered enough strength to speak.
"NO! I will NOT cry! I won't! Tears aren't enough! When Cell killed all of those innocent people, I was sad, but I could take it. When he hurt all of my friends, I was pushed even further. But, when he kills my father, and makes my brother cry . . . that . . . that I can't take!" She bit her lip. She could feel the tears coming again.
Krillin walked up to her, hand outstretched. "C'mon, Kat...Settle down..."
Katsuko swung her hand in front of her just missing Krillin's hand. Krillin backed away. "No...NO! I will NOT settle down! Go away and leave me alone!"
She backed up a few steps then shot into the air, but just as her feet left the ground she felt a hard grip on her upper arm. She let out a cry of pain as she was forced back on the ground. She was jerked around to face Vegeta. "Stop this right now, Katsuko!" She tried hard to get out of his grip, but the more she struggled, the harder he squeezed.
"Let me go, Vegeta!"
"You're not making matters better! You're only making things worse for yourself and the rest of us! Your father is dead! Face it!"
"NO! Let me GO!"
"If you keep on acting like this, I'm going to have to--"
"NO! I don't want to! NO!"
That was it . . . he wasn't going to put up with this insolence any longer. He took his right hand off her arm and then slapped her sharply across the face, jerking her face to the left. She immediately quieted and stopped her struggles. The shock had knocked the wind out of her. The blow made her feel as if she had been stabbed with a knife. Nobody had ever hit Katsuko in that way before. Once Chichi had smacked Katsuko's hand to keep her from stealing food, but...nothing like this.
She stared up at Vegeta. The pain of the blow itself had gone down, but her left cheek throbbed and stung badly. Then, she realized how she had just acted. Her eyes blurred and the tears fell. There was no stopping them now; once they came she couldn't stop them.
She failed Vegeta and the Z Warriors. And, even worse . . . her father. If he had seen what she had just done, breaking down like this and making a scene during battle, he would have been so disappointed. She couldn't do anything about it; just stand there and let the cool tears fall down her hot cheeks.
Vegeta loosened his grip on her other arm. He glared at her. *She's crying. Just what I need after dealing with this. But . . . Don't get used to this, brat.* Vegeta rolled his eyes, opened his arms and looked away. Katsuko wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his stomach. She was sobbing openly now. Despite the fact that she was ashamed of herself, crying felt so good! It felt so great to be able to let go and cry. But, it still showed weakness. Letting go was too easy. "I'm so sorry, Vegeta . . . I'm so sorry that I have shamed the Saiyan race." Vegeta looked at the Z Warrior's faces, expecting smiles. But, their faces were serious, and their eyes were on Katsuko. *Good. They don't think I'm soft. They probably assumed that she hugged me instead of me letting her. As long as it made her shut up...*
Katsuko let go of Vegeta and turned around. She was still crying, but she managed to force a smile. "I'm really sorry, you guys. What I did just now...that was wrong. That was not needed."
Krillan walked up to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Kat, don't worry about it. You held in your hate for Cell too long. At least you got some of it out."
Gohan rushed over to her. He had stopped crying by now, and was more interested in his sister than anything else. "Kat, it'll be okay. Just don't do that again, all right? I was really worried about you."
Katsuko embraced him. "Okay, Onita(brother), I won't. I'm really sorry, Gohan."
He smiled. "It's okay, little sister." Gohan always had referred to her as 'little sister,' because he was oldest by a full five minutes. It had always been a point of contention between the two. Katsuko looked over Gohan's shoulder and saw Mirai Trunks standing about ten feet away, his face full of concern. She winced. *He saw me cry! Oh, Kami! Why did he have to see me cry, him of all people? He probably thinks I'm a little baby...*
Just then she sensed a strong amount of ki. She looked up at the sky. "Cell?"
Gohan looked puzzled. "Huh?" Everyone looked at the sky. Vegeta and Piccolo had sensed it, too.
"He's back," Piccolo muttered.
Katsuko sensed a powerful force, and it was growing bigger. *A ki blast?* Her eyes grew wide as she realized what was happening. The energy was headed toward Mirai Trunks! *How dare you, Cell? First you hurt my family, and now Trunks? No, Cell, you won't succeed...* She screamed, and flew right in front of him, the ki blast going right through her stomach. The world faded as . . .
Katsuko jolted up from her bed, clutching her stomach. Sweat covered her entire body. She lifted her shirt and looked at her stomach. She gave a shuddering sigh of relief. There was no hole. In the pale light she saw Gohan and Goten sleeping nearby, their blankets going up and down to the rhythm of their breathing. She flopped back down on her pillow and held up the round pendant on her neck. The colored swirls had turned a blood red and black.
Freaky flashback, hm? Next chapter: Kat starts out at school. Oh boy. ^_~
Katsuko's Story Chapter 6
By Katsuko
"...Goodbye, my children," Goku said as gently and lovingly as possible given the circumstances. He smiled at Gohan and Katsuko then focused his attention on Cell. He put a hand on Cell's bulging body. He was about to self-destruct, so Goku had to act quickly. Goku raised his two fingers up on his forehead.
"Wh-what are you doing?!" Cell screamed at the saiyan.
Katsuko realized what he was about to do. She ran toward her father, reached out to grab his gi, but she was too late. All she caught was air, and she fell to the ground, letting out a muffled cry of pain. She was already hurting from when Cell had thrown her into a giant wall of rock.
Goku and Cell disappeared. The only evidence that Cell had finally self-destructed was a tiny pinpoint of light in the sky. The Z Warriors stood there, dumbstruck.
"DADDY!" Gohan screamed, sending his voice way out into the distance. He broke down and started to cry. "Dad..." he whispered.
Krillan walked over to Gohan first and put his hand on the demi-saiyan's shaking shoulders. "Let it out, little buddy. Let it out."
Katsuko was silent, save for a couple of muffled cries. She was still on the ground, staring at the brown earth. Her breaths came in shuddering gasps. Tears stung her eyes, but she forced them back angrily. She wouldn't cry...no, she mustn't. But why did it have to be so hard? Why did those tears feel so much stronger than she was? She remembered what Vegeta said that one day a few years ago when she had taken a pretty bad fall and started to cry. "Crying is for weaklings. Your tears shame the entire Saiyan race. I guess this shows how much of a weakling you are." Since then, Katsuko made it her goal to never cry...ever. She wanted to show Vegeta that she was proud to be a mighty Saiyan. But now . . . it was so hard. She didn't speak; if she did that lump in her throat would surface and the tears would fall.
"Go ahead, Katsuko." Katsuko's head snapped up and her eyes met Piccolo's. "You know that we won't think less of you." She looked into his black eyes. They were filled with concern and a deep sense of loss. She shook her head violently from side to side. Getting up, she gathered enough strength to speak.
"NO! I will NOT cry! I won't! Tears aren't enough! When Cell killed all of those innocent people, I was sad, but I could take it. When he hurt all of my friends, I was pushed even further. But, when he kills my father, and makes my brother cry . . . that . . . that I can't take!" She bit her lip. She could feel the tears coming again.
Krillin walked up to her, hand outstretched. "C'mon, Kat...Settle down..."
Katsuko swung her hand in front of her just missing Krillin's hand. Krillin backed away. "No...NO! I will NOT settle down! Go away and leave me alone!"
She backed up a few steps then shot into the air, but just as her feet left the ground she felt a hard grip on her upper arm. She let out a cry of pain as she was forced back on the ground. She was jerked around to face Vegeta. "Stop this right now, Katsuko!" She tried hard to get out of his grip, but the more she struggled, the harder he squeezed.
"Let me go, Vegeta!"
"You're not making matters better! You're only making things worse for yourself and the rest of us! Your father is dead! Face it!"
"NO! Let me GO!"
"If you keep on acting like this, I'm going to have to--"
"NO! I don't want to! NO!"
That was it . . . he wasn't going to put up with this insolence any longer. He took his right hand off her arm and then slapped her sharply across the face, jerking her face to the left. She immediately quieted and stopped her struggles. The shock had knocked the wind out of her. The blow made her feel as if she had been stabbed with a knife. Nobody had ever hit Katsuko in that way before. Once Chichi had smacked Katsuko's hand to keep her from stealing food, but...nothing like this.
She stared up at Vegeta. The pain of the blow itself had gone down, but her left cheek throbbed and stung badly. Then, she realized how she had just acted. Her eyes blurred and the tears fell. There was no stopping them now; once they came she couldn't stop them.
She failed Vegeta and the Z Warriors. And, even worse . . . her father. If he had seen what she had just done, breaking down like this and making a scene during battle, he would have been so disappointed. She couldn't do anything about it; just stand there and let the cool tears fall down her hot cheeks.
Vegeta loosened his grip on her other arm. He glared at her. *She's crying. Just what I need after dealing with this. But . . . Don't get used to this, brat.* Vegeta rolled his eyes, opened his arms and looked away. Katsuko wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his stomach. She was sobbing openly now. Despite the fact that she was ashamed of herself, crying felt so good! It felt so great to be able to let go and cry. But, it still showed weakness. Letting go was too easy. "I'm so sorry, Vegeta . . . I'm so sorry that I have shamed the Saiyan race." Vegeta looked at the Z Warrior's faces, expecting smiles. But, their faces were serious, and their eyes were on Katsuko. *Good. They don't think I'm soft. They probably assumed that she hugged me instead of me letting her. As long as it made her shut up...*
Katsuko let go of Vegeta and turned around. She was still crying, but she managed to force a smile. "I'm really sorry, you guys. What I did just now...that was wrong. That was not needed."
Krillan walked up to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Kat, don't worry about it. You held in your hate for Cell too long. At least you got some of it out."
Gohan rushed over to her. He had stopped crying by now, and was more interested in his sister than anything else. "Kat, it'll be okay. Just don't do that again, all right? I was really worried about you."
Katsuko embraced him. "Okay, Onita(brother), I won't. I'm really sorry, Gohan."
He smiled. "It's okay, little sister." Gohan always had referred to her as 'little sister,' because he was oldest by a full five minutes. It had always been a point of contention between the two. Katsuko looked over Gohan's shoulder and saw Mirai Trunks standing about ten feet away, his face full of concern. She winced. *He saw me cry! Oh, Kami! Why did he have to see me cry, him of all people? He probably thinks I'm a little baby...*
Just then she sensed a strong amount of ki. She looked up at the sky. "Cell?"
Gohan looked puzzled. "Huh?" Everyone looked at the sky. Vegeta and Piccolo had sensed it, too.
"He's back," Piccolo muttered.
Katsuko sensed a powerful force, and it was growing bigger. *A ki blast?* Her eyes grew wide as she realized what was happening. The energy was headed toward Mirai Trunks! *How dare you, Cell? First you hurt my family, and now Trunks? No, Cell, you won't succeed...* She screamed, and flew right in front of him, the ki blast going right through her stomach. The world faded as . . .
Katsuko jolted up from her bed, clutching her stomach. Sweat covered her entire body. She lifted her shirt and looked at her stomach. She gave a shuddering sigh of relief. There was no hole. In the pale light she saw Gohan and Goten sleeping nearby, their blankets going up and down to the rhythm of their breathing. She flopped back down on her pillow and held up the round pendant on her neck. The colored swirls had turned a blood red and black.
Freaky flashback, hm? Next chapter: Kat starts out at school. Oh boy. ^_~