Kihann poked her head from around the corner of the hallway, her eyes wide
with curiosity; it had been only her third day up on this strange place
called the Lookout, but she had already explored most of her room, a couple
of the other rooms next to hers and now she was curious as to just where
the rest of the hallway went off to. She of course knew that Piccolo would
be a little upset that she'd gone off wandering on her own, but Kihann just
couldn't sit still any longer. She'd slept for gods only knew how long, now
she wanted to go explore her world; even if it was a small world for the
moment.
She turned the corner and saw natural light, so that had to be the exit; she thought. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go out and take a peek and see if this world has changed much. If anything just the idea of getting fresh air and feeling sunlight appealed greatly, and that quickly became her way to overcome her fear of Piccolo's wrath. She knew he wouldn't be back for some time, since he claimed he'd had somewhere to go, but wouldn't tell her where.
Not that he'd harm me, she thought with a slight superior smirk. He's completely thrown off by me, and has no clue how to handle my presence. I find it amusing the way he'll try to restrain me yet keep his hands off of me. It's as if he's never come across a female before. Of course I was a bit thrown off by him as well, never in a hundred years had I thought there would be another Namek like me on this world. But this could be a good thing; it could be an opportunity to find out what happened to our home world, if the elders have managed to restore balance, and if any of my sisters and brothers survived.
Padding barefooted towards the exit, she shivered slightly. The air was kind of chill, wherever she was at. The light clothing Piccolo and the stranger she had yet to meet called Dende had provided her with was suited for warmer climates. The loose fitting pants that seemed to be cut just for her shape fit snugly around her waist, then flared out a bit, only to taper off to fit once again snugly around her ankles. Her shirt was long sleeved, but made of some light fabric, the cuffs had an exotic look to them, it fit around her wrists, but kind of had an extra long cut with the fabric tapering off down past her hands, something she'd consider formal, the neck of the blouse was set just below her collar bone, and a tear shaped hole was set just above her breasts accentuating her curves. All in all, the outfit was something she loved, it suited her just fine and the coloring was just right to where it didn't clash with her own skin tone. When she'd looked in the mirror she had grinned, somehow Piccolo had found the outfit in the exact same color as her eyes. She privately considered this her favorite outfit out of all the outfits he'd shown up with.
She laughed to herself as she walked along thinking about how flustered the poor brute had been when he'd shown up with a pile of clothing, recalling the incident with more than a little amusement.
"Here, these were brought up for you. I got them from an acquaintance of mine on Earth." Piccolos face was darker than usual, and the scent of sweat tickled Kihann's nostrils.
"Oh, is that so?" She sat up in her bed, not bothering to cover herself up, much to her personal amusement, and Piccolos dismay. "Tell your ak- kwaintince I say thank you the next time you speak with them."
Piccolo nodded and looked away. "You've gotten used to the language; I'm pleased to see that we can at least talk now without trying to decipher what the other is saying. I assume that Dende has helped with that?"
Kihann shrugged her slender shoulders as she slid out of bed, this time taking the sheet with her so to spare Piccolo anymore discomfort; heading to the pile of clothing he'd set down for her and setting to work on pairing them off into outfits. "Mmm. Yes, well this language isn't that difficult to pick up once you get the general idea of it. There are a few words I still cannot comprehend or decipher a definition to, it's a simple language, and yes, Dende has helped me with learning the language."
"Good, it will be easier to ask questions. Please get dressed and I'll be back with something for you to eat and drink." With that Piccolo exited the room, the door closing softly behind him.
Kihann turned the final corner as the came out of the memory and inhaled the wonderful scent of outside. It was a beautiful day, the sun just warm enough to be comfortable, to counter the coolness of the breeze. She focused on what was ahead of her and gasped at the sight.
Endless sky; nothing but endless blue sky, that gradually darkened to the deep indigo color of night curving downwards. If there was one thing that got her into trouble, it was her endless curiosity; and now that curiosity kicked into full force. She laughed softly and headed out into the sun, amazed at the décor of the place. The palm trees lining the main entrance and various potted plants dotted the area attracted her attention first and she spent a long time looking each one over, inhaling the scent of wet dirt, the flowery smell of the various budding plants, and just reveling in the texture of the trunks of the trees.
Kihann then noticed the edge of the Lookout and once again the insatiable curiosity overwhelmed her. She crept to the edge slowly, sensing that the Lookout was far up. She peered over the edge, staring down into great whiteness of clouds, and a faint peek at the Earth below.
Suddenly her vision blurred, and she had a severe bout of dizziness with a hint of nausea; Kihann's arms pin-wheeled as another wave of vertigo struck her, she found herself falling; screaming loudly she tried desperately to grasp for the edge as she tumbled, but was too slow.
I'm going to die, she thought. I'm going to fall forever and die from the fear.
The air whistled around her, filling her ears with a high pitched whine, ripping the breath from her lungs, not even allowing for her to scream. Squeezing her eyes shut, Kihann felt nothing but fear and self pity for doing something so stupid, for allowing her own curiosity to get the better of her.
Just when she thought it was impossible to fall for any longer, that surely she must have hit the ground and gone straight through, she felt two very warm and welcoming arms wrap around her, felt the broad chest against her back.
"Hold on, I've got you." The deep baritone voice of Piccolo nearly shouted above the wind.
They were still descending, but at no where near the rapid, reckless fall that Kihann had experienced. This was more a controlled fall, one that kept them both from being bashed about by the high screaming cold winds of such a high altitude.
Kihann fell limp against the body and sobbed in relief, turning to wrap rubbery feeling arms around Piccolos neck and hold on for dear life. She had honestly thought she was going to die, and so soon after waking up out of what had felt like an eternal slumber. She whispered over and over" ~Tanri Masia.~
Piccolo glanced down at the female as she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck in a death grip. He smirked faintly as he slowed the decent even further, at a height now that it'd be tolerable to speak, and not either freeze to death, or suffer from oxygen deprivation. Coming to a stop some several hundred feet above the ground he leaned back a bit and smirked at her tear streaked face. "I suppose next time you'll listen to mine and Dende's warnings about staying away from the edge of the Lookout? We warned you for a reason Kihann; the winds up there can literally suck you off the edge, and if you're not used to looking from that height, you can experience severe vertigo. That's what happened, am I correct?"
She nodded weakly and swallowed her voice hoarse from crying. "I was just curious, that's all. I didn't think it'd hurt to just look over! But all of a sudden I felt dizzy, sick and like the entire world was swimming."
Piccolo frowned, he was angry with her but amused at the same time. He'd just been waiting for her to do something like this, and he thought they both knew just how damn lucky she was. "You can't fly can you." That was more of a statement than a question.
Kihann shook her head and flushed. "Why should I have learned? I had no reason to do so at home, everything within walking distance, and even then I had people to go and fetch stuff for me."
"Fetch stuff." Piccolo raised a brow ridge, his expression nonplussed.
"Yes." Kihann drug out the answer as if unsure if she should answer or not; she figured she may as well it certainly couldn't hurt anything. "At home, I had people to do things for me. That was before everything got ugly, and things started dying. Then I got sent here."
Piccolo rolled his eyes heavenward. Great, I have a prima- Donna princess on my damn hands. "I see. Here you're going to have to learn to fly if you're going to see anything or get anywhere. I'm not catering to you, or anyone else."
Kihann's eyes narrowed, and she icily replied; "I didn't ask you to cater to me Piccolo. If anything you wouldn't be worthy of catering to me. So don't take that tone with me you. you. whatever."
Piccolo's jaw clenched and he growled softly, "You're going to have to learn to take care of yourself. How about we start with the first lesson; flying." He quick phased out of her grasp and hovered in the air a foot or two away from her.
Kihann shrieked and madly clawed at him to grab onto as she started to fall, eyes wide and pupils retracted in fear. She managed to hook one of Piccolos ankles and dangled by one hand, the grip so tight on the other namek's leg that Piccolo winced as he felt bones protest, and muscles pull in directions they weren't supposed to go.
~Yasaen! Yasaen!~ She dug her nails into his ankle and tried desperately to drag herself up. "Help! Help! Please!"
"Ah, so that's what Yasaen means." Piccolo half bent over to look at the thrashing dangling female off his leg. "Yasaen means help. Got any thing else for me to learn?"
Kihann glared up at Piccolo, and he got the distinct impression that if she could have, she'd have torn his leg off, not that he didn't think she was already trying. ~Pfu ne! Chadou mo kichi m'ka!"
Piccolo couldn't help it, he grinned a bit, "Something tells me that I don't want a translation."
He leaned over and grasped both her wrists, hauling her up so that she dangled by her arms. "Now, I think we need to come to an understanding. This isn't the Planet Namek you remember. I'm not your average Namek; I was born here and grew up here. It's a long story and I don't feel like getting into it right now. But, let's get one thing straight; I'm not here for your entertainment, enjoyment, or to follow your orders. I don't know what kind of life you had before, who you were or exactly why you're here; but I'm not going to be treated like some personal doormat; do you understand me or do I need to get Dende to translate that into something you would understand?"
The whole time she glared at him, teeth bared, eyes narrowed. "Fine; I understand. I'm not stupid or anything."
"Now, why don't we go back up to the Lookout and you can tell me what exactly you're used to, and just why you ended up here on Earth; I have a few other questions you may find personal, but you'll have to deal with it. Then, you can ask me all the questions you want. Does that sound fair?" Piccolo pulled her close to him once more, holding her around the waist, letting Kihann get the circulation back into her arms again. She nodded and he grunted in satisfaction. "Good, I know a place we can go without interruption from Popo and Dende. Or do you want Dende there?"
"No, what I have to say would be between you and me. Perhaps when he's older and if I'm still around I'll tell him." Kihann murmured softly, a bit calmer and complacent. "Why are you so cruel to me?"
Piccolo chuckled faintly as he ascended slowly back to the lookout. "You sound like a former student of mine. He always wondered why I was so mean to him as well. But he soon learned that although it seemed like cruelty at the time, it did eventually teach a valuable lesson, and a lesson that saved his life and others' lives a few times; my own included."
Kihann rested her head against the others chest and frowned a bit in thought. "Hardly seems like a lesson would be learned by dropping someone because you're mad at them."
"I wasn't mad at you, I was frustrated, yes. But not mad. You have a lot to learn Kihann about this place, and I don't think falling off the lookout and going off on your own is the best way to do so." Piccolo made it to the halfway point, quietly noting that Korin and Yajirobi were no where to be seen. He continued on towards the Lookout.
"That was still mean of you to just drop me like that. What if you hadn't caught me? I would have been splattered all over the ground." Kihann mumbled irritably.
Piccolo snorted softly. "Do you trust me that little?"
"What are you talking about? I hardly know you!"
"Good point."
Coming to a stop on the top of the Lookout Piccolo set Kihann down letting her gain her balance back before letting her go fully. "I'll have Popo cut up some fruit for you, and bring water to the library. Follow me, and I'll show you where it's at."
Kihann padded after the taller namek not wanting to argue any more, she was too tired to argue, so instead she asked him a question; "Who was this student you were talking about earlier? The one you said I reminded you of."
Kihann noticed Piccolo kind of winced a little at the question, but was pleased when she heard him inhale to answer. "I met Gohan probably around fifteen, almost twenty years ago. He was probably five when I took him away from his father."
"You took a kid from his father?!" Kihann's mouth dropped in shock at the idea. "Children are sacred to our kind! How could you!"
"Oh don't get all indignant on me Kihann," Piccolo snapped irritably, "You wanted to know, remember? There's more to the story, it mostly involves the saiyajins, an attack on the Earth. I took him to train him, knowing his father would be too soft on the boy, knowing that if someone didn't train him properly that the world could potentially be destroyed. By that time I had gotten comfortable on this planet, and I sure as hell wasn't letting what I thought at the time, some low level primate's piss around with a planet I had wanted for myself. And stop staring at me like I just grew a head out of my back."
Kihann flushed slightly, he hadn't even looked back to see her expression and he already knew. She cleared her throat and waited for him to continue, and eventually he did. "So, I trained him. First I dumped him in the middle of the desert and told him that if he could survive a year and make it home, that I'd train him if he wanted me to, and oddly enough the little brat actually survived. I had a feeling he would, and I knew he had potential that no one else could see. It was so deeply locked with in him that it could only take seeing people he loved hurt to unlock it. I'd seen it before, and knew that with a bit of time and some well placed patience I could get him to that level again. So, he got back home, within yards of his own home when I stopped him and asked if he still wanted to train with me. You know what he said?" Piccolo glanced over his shoulder now.
"What did he say?"
"He said yes. He was literally yards from his home, his family, warm food and the safety of his parents, and he walked away from that. I don't know what he was thinking then. Maybe he was thinking it'd be another adventure, maybe it was his fascination with me that made him go at first. Gods knew he was scared pissless of me the first time I had taken him. Back then he was just a sniveling little brat. A kid who cried at the drop of a lead ball and was worse when you actually hit him, I blamed his mother for that. She was constantly coddling the kid, and desperately tried to hide his saiyajin heritage from the kid like it was a dirty secret. Or, maybe she was trying to hide it from herself. I can't say, Chichi is the last person in the world I'd want to psychoanalyze let alone talk to. But to make a long story short in that chapter, I trained Gohan; and it was odd, I found myself actually liking the kid. I'd even sacrificed my own life for him, taking a hit from another saiyajin that was at least ten times more powerful than Gohan, and nearly four times more powerful than me. So, I died. Then a new threat came. Frieza, I'll explain him sometime when I'm bored enough to regale the tale, I was dead at that point and was training with a smartass god, a monkey, a cricket, two humans, a tri-clops and a clown. Then learned of the planet Namek coming under threat; so I ended up wished back there, it was the first time I'd seen Namek, and I wasn't that impressed. Long story short again, we defeated the bad guy with Goku's help and ended up back here on earth, and here I've stayed since." Piccolo turned the last corner and entered the library, waiting for Kihann to enter before shutting the door.
"There's more to this little story than you're telling me, I know it, I can see it in your eyes, in your body posture, and in the way you avert your eyes from me. What happened to our planet? Why didn't you go back?" Kihann's rapid fire of questions was expected and Piccolo was prepared.
"Because I didn't want to go back, I was born here, and I had no desire to be with people I'd never known, nor did I particularly want to know. They were too different from me, in the way they thought and the way they felt about fighting. We may have been the same species, but the other namek's and I couldn't have been farther from each other in every other aspect; I had no idea what I was until one of the saiyajins had told me during a battle. Besides, I still had work here to do, I knew that Goku wouldn't always be around and Gohan still needed training, and at the time I refused to admit to myself, but I was close to Gohan, and like I said, his father would have handled him with kid gloves. I was one of the few that knew of his hidden potential; even he hadn't realized it till a few years later." Piccolo motioned to the large window indicating that's where he wanted her to sit.
Kihann headed straight for the big plate glass window, finding a sunny spot to get comfortable in; eyes locked onto Piccolo as he took a seat across from her. "So you stayed here because you couldn't relate to your own kind? I suppose that would make sense for someone who'd never known what he was. Again I sense that there's more to this story than you're letting on, but I won't ask." She smiled as Popo soon entered and quietly set down a large plate of various fruits cut and peeled for her, a large decanter of water and two mugs. He smiled happily back at her and departed.
Leaning against the glass Piccolo shrugged his broad shoulders. "Basically, yes. Like I said, I've lived here all my life and to be honest, I plan on dying here. Whether it's from old age, or from a battle, I'm not going to be picky. And whether or not you are accurate in sensing that there is more to this story, I'll let you just hang on that. I've told you all I'm going to for now, right now I want to hear your story. And, I respect your privacy if you feel there's something you can't or don't want to tell me."
"Fair enough, but before we start, can I ask you one question that's been bothering me since I woke up here?"
Piccolo blinked and nodded, "Sure, what is it?"
Kihann glanced to the door to make sure it was clear. "That Mr. Popo, does he ever blink?!"
Piccolo stared at her for a moment then cracked up laughing, the sound echoing in the library. He shook his head, and after a moment answered, "In all the years I've known him? No."
Kihann giggled faintly and reached over to grab a slice of mango, shaking her head slightly, after a moment of amicable silence, she began.
She turned the corner and saw natural light, so that had to be the exit; she thought. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go out and take a peek and see if this world has changed much. If anything just the idea of getting fresh air and feeling sunlight appealed greatly, and that quickly became her way to overcome her fear of Piccolo's wrath. She knew he wouldn't be back for some time, since he claimed he'd had somewhere to go, but wouldn't tell her where.
Not that he'd harm me, she thought with a slight superior smirk. He's completely thrown off by me, and has no clue how to handle my presence. I find it amusing the way he'll try to restrain me yet keep his hands off of me. It's as if he's never come across a female before. Of course I was a bit thrown off by him as well, never in a hundred years had I thought there would be another Namek like me on this world. But this could be a good thing; it could be an opportunity to find out what happened to our home world, if the elders have managed to restore balance, and if any of my sisters and brothers survived.
Padding barefooted towards the exit, she shivered slightly. The air was kind of chill, wherever she was at. The light clothing Piccolo and the stranger she had yet to meet called Dende had provided her with was suited for warmer climates. The loose fitting pants that seemed to be cut just for her shape fit snugly around her waist, then flared out a bit, only to taper off to fit once again snugly around her ankles. Her shirt was long sleeved, but made of some light fabric, the cuffs had an exotic look to them, it fit around her wrists, but kind of had an extra long cut with the fabric tapering off down past her hands, something she'd consider formal, the neck of the blouse was set just below her collar bone, and a tear shaped hole was set just above her breasts accentuating her curves. All in all, the outfit was something she loved, it suited her just fine and the coloring was just right to where it didn't clash with her own skin tone. When she'd looked in the mirror she had grinned, somehow Piccolo had found the outfit in the exact same color as her eyes. She privately considered this her favorite outfit out of all the outfits he'd shown up with.
She laughed to herself as she walked along thinking about how flustered the poor brute had been when he'd shown up with a pile of clothing, recalling the incident with more than a little amusement.
"Here, these were brought up for you. I got them from an acquaintance of mine on Earth." Piccolos face was darker than usual, and the scent of sweat tickled Kihann's nostrils.
"Oh, is that so?" She sat up in her bed, not bothering to cover herself up, much to her personal amusement, and Piccolos dismay. "Tell your ak- kwaintince I say thank you the next time you speak with them."
Piccolo nodded and looked away. "You've gotten used to the language; I'm pleased to see that we can at least talk now without trying to decipher what the other is saying. I assume that Dende has helped with that?"
Kihann shrugged her slender shoulders as she slid out of bed, this time taking the sheet with her so to spare Piccolo anymore discomfort; heading to the pile of clothing he'd set down for her and setting to work on pairing them off into outfits. "Mmm. Yes, well this language isn't that difficult to pick up once you get the general idea of it. There are a few words I still cannot comprehend or decipher a definition to, it's a simple language, and yes, Dende has helped me with learning the language."
"Good, it will be easier to ask questions. Please get dressed and I'll be back with something for you to eat and drink." With that Piccolo exited the room, the door closing softly behind him.
Kihann turned the final corner as the came out of the memory and inhaled the wonderful scent of outside. It was a beautiful day, the sun just warm enough to be comfortable, to counter the coolness of the breeze. She focused on what was ahead of her and gasped at the sight.
Endless sky; nothing but endless blue sky, that gradually darkened to the deep indigo color of night curving downwards. If there was one thing that got her into trouble, it was her endless curiosity; and now that curiosity kicked into full force. She laughed softly and headed out into the sun, amazed at the décor of the place. The palm trees lining the main entrance and various potted plants dotted the area attracted her attention first and she spent a long time looking each one over, inhaling the scent of wet dirt, the flowery smell of the various budding plants, and just reveling in the texture of the trunks of the trees.
Kihann then noticed the edge of the Lookout and once again the insatiable curiosity overwhelmed her. She crept to the edge slowly, sensing that the Lookout was far up. She peered over the edge, staring down into great whiteness of clouds, and a faint peek at the Earth below.
Suddenly her vision blurred, and she had a severe bout of dizziness with a hint of nausea; Kihann's arms pin-wheeled as another wave of vertigo struck her, she found herself falling; screaming loudly she tried desperately to grasp for the edge as she tumbled, but was too slow.
I'm going to die, she thought. I'm going to fall forever and die from the fear.
The air whistled around her, filling her ears with a high pitched whine, ripping the breath from her lungs, not even allowing for her to scream. Squeezing her eyes shut, Kihann felt nothing but fear and self pity for doing something so stupid, for allowing her own curiosity to get the better of her.
Just when she thought it was impossible to fall for any longer, that surely she must have hit the ground and gone straight through, she felt two very warm and welcoming arms wrap around her, felt the broad chest against her back.
"Hold on, I've got you." The deep baritone voice of Piccolo nearly shouted above the wind.
They were still descending, but at no where near the rapid, reckless fall that Kihann had experienced. This was more a controlled fall, one that kept them both from being bashed about by the high screaming cold winds of such a high altitude.
Kihann fell limp against the body and sobbed in relief, turning to wrap rubbery feeling arms around Piccolos neck and hold on for dear life. She had honestly thought she was going to die, and so soon after waking up out of what had felt like an eternal slumber. She whispered over and over" ~Tanri Masia.~
Piccolo glanced down at the female as she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck in a death grip. He smirked faintly as he slowed the decent even further, at a height now that it'd be tolerable to speak, and not either freeze to death, or suffer from oxygen deprivation. Coming to a stop some several hundred feet above the ground he leaned back a bit and smirked at her tear streaked face. "I suppose next time you'll listen to mine and Dende's warnings about staying away from the edge of the Lookout? We warned you for a reason Kihann; the winds up there can literally suck you off the edge, and if you're not used to looking from that height, you can experience severe vertigo. That's what happened, am I correct?"
She nodded weakly and swallowed her voice hoarse from crying. "I was just curious, that's all. I didn't think it'd hurt to just look over! But all of a sudden I felt dizzy, sick and like the entire world was swimming."
Piccolo frowned, he was angry with her but amused at the same time. He'd just been waiting for her to do something like this, and he thought they both knew just how damn lucky she was. "You can't fly can you." That was more of a statement than a question.
Kihann shook her head and flushed. "Why should I have learned? I had no reason to do so at home, everything within walking distance, and even then I had people to go and fetch stuff for me."
"Fetch stuff." Piccolo raised a brow ridge, his expression nonplussed.
"Yes." Kihann drug out the answer as if unsure if she should answer or not; she figured she may as well it certainly couldn't hurt anything. "At home, I had people to do things for me. That was before everything got ugly, and things started dying. Then I got sent here."
Piccolo rolled his eyes heavenward. Great, I have a prima- Donna princess on my damn hands. "I see. Here you're going to have to learn to fly if you're going to see anything or get anywhere. I'm not catering to you, or anyone else."
Kihann's eyes narrowed, and she icily replied; "I didn't ask you to cater to me Piccolo. If anything you wouldn't be worthy of catering to me. So don't take that tone with me you. you. whatever."
Piccolo's jaw clenched and he growled softly, "You're going to have to learn to take care of yourself. How about we start with the first lesson; flying." He quick phased out of her grasp and hovered in the air a foot or two away from her.
Kihann shrieked and madly clawed at him to grab onto as she started to fall, eyes wide and pupils retracted in fear. She managed to hook one of Piccolos ankles and dangled by one hand, the grip so tight on the other namek's leg that Piccolo winced as he felt bones protest, and muscles pull in directions they weren't supposed to go.
~Yasaen! Yasaen!~ She dug her nails into his ankle and tried desperately to drag herself up. "Help! Help! Please!"
"Ah, so that's what Yasaen means." Piccolo half bent over to look at the thrashing dangling female off his leg. "Yasaen means help. Got any thing else for me to learn?"
Kihann glared up at Piccolo, and he got the distinct impression that if she could have, she'd have torn his leg off, not that he didn't think she was already trying. ~Pfu ne! Chadou mo kichi m'ka!"
Piccolo couldn't help it, he grinned a bit, "Something tells me that I don't want a translation."
He leaned over and grasped both her wrists, hauling her up so that she dangled by her arms. "Now, I think we need to come to an understanding. This isn't the Planet Namek you remember. I'm not your average Namek; I was born here and grew up here. It's a long story and I don't feel like getting into it right now. But, let's get one thing straight; I'm not here for your entertainment, enjoyment, or to follow your orders. I don't know what kind of life you had before, who you were or exactly why you're here; but I'm not going to be treated like some personal doormat; do you understand me or do I need to get Dende to translate that into something you would understand?"
The whole time she glared at him, teeth bared, eyes narrowed. "Fine; I understand. I'm not stupid or anything."
"Now, why don't we go back up to the Lookout and you can tell me what exactly you're used to, and just why you ended up here on Earth; I have a few other questions you may find personal, but you'll have to deal with it. Then, you can ask me all the questions you want. Does that sound fair?" Piccolo pulled her close to him once more, holding her around the waist, letting Kihann get the circulation back into her arms again. She nodded and he grunted in satisfaction. "Good, I know a place we can go without interruption from Popo and Dende. Or do you want Dende there?"
"No, what I have to say would be between you and me. Perhaps when he's older and if I'm still around I'll tell him." Kihann murmured softly, a bit calmer and complacent. "Why are you so cruel to me?"
Piccolo chuckled faintly as he ascended slowly back to the lookout. "You sound like a former student of mine. He always wondered why I was so mean to him as well. But he soon learned that although it seemed like cruelty at the time, it did eventually teach a valuable lesson, and a lesson that saved his life and others' lives a few times; my own included."
Kihann rested her head against the others chest and frowned a bit in thought. "Hardly seems like a lesson would be learned by dropping someone because you're mad at them."
"I wasn't mad at you, I was frustrated, yes. But not mad. You have a lot to learn Kihann about this place, and I don't think falling off the lookout and going off on your own is the best way to do so." Piccolo made it to the halfway point, quietly noting that Korin and Yajirobi were no where to be seen. He continued on towards the Lookout.
"That was still mean of you to just drop me like that. What if you hadn't caught me? I would have been splattered all over the ground." Kihann mumbled irritably.
Piccolo snorted softly. "Do you trust me that little?"
"What are you talking about? I hardly know you!"
"Good point."
Coming to a stop on the top of the Lookout Piccolo set Kihann down letting her gain her balance back before letting her go fully. "I'll have Popo cut up some fruit for you, and bring water to the library. Follow me, and I'll show you where it's at."
Kihann padded after the taller namek not wanting to argue any more, she was too tired to argue, so instead she asked him a question; "Who was this student you were talking about earlier? The one you said I reminded you of."
Kihann noticed Piccolo kind of winced a little at the question, but was pleased when she heard him inhale to answer. "I met Gohan probably around fifteen, almost twenty years ago. He was probably five when I took him away from his father."
"You took a kid from his father?!" Kihann's mouth dropped in shock at the idea. "Children are sacred to our kind! How could you!"
"Oh don't get all indignant on me Kihann," Piccolo snapped irritably, "You wanted to know, remember? There's more to the story, it mostly involves the saiyajins, an attack on the Earth. I took him to train him, knowing his father would be too soft on the boy, knowing that if someone didn't train him properly that the world could potentially be destroyed. By that time I had gotten comfortable on this planet, and I sure as hell wasn't letting what I thought at the time, some low level primate's piss around with a planet I had wanted for myself. And stop staring at me like I just grew a head out of my back."
Kihann flushed slightly, he hadn't even looked back to see her expression and he already knew. She cleared her throat and waited for him to continue, and eventually he did. "So, I trained him. First I dumped him in the middle of the desert and told him that if he could survive a year and make it home, that I'd train him if he wanted me to, and oddly enough the little brat actually survived. I had a feeling he would, and I knew he had potential that no one else could see. It was so deeply locked with in him that it could only take seeing people he loved hurt to unlock it. I'd seen it before, and knew that with a bit of time and some well placed patience I could get him to that level again. So, he got back home, within yards of his own home when I stopped him and asked if he still wanted to train with me. You know what he said?" Piccolo glanced over his shoulder now.
"What did he say?"
"He said yes. He was literally yards from his home, his family, warm food and the safety of his parents, and he walked away from that. I don't know what he was thinking then. Maybe he was thinking it'd be another adventure, maybe it was his fascination with me that made him go at first. Gods knew he was scared pissless of me the first time I had taken him. Back then he was just a sniveling little brat. A kid who cried at the drop of a lead ball and was worse when you actually hit him, I blamed his mother for that. She was constantly coddling the kid, and desperately tried to hide his saiyajin heritage from the kid like it was a dirty secret. Or, maybe she was trying to hide it from herself. I can't say, Chichi is the last person in the world I'd want to psychoanalyze let alone talk to. But to make a long story short in that chapter, I trained Gohan; and it was odd, I found myself actually liking the kid. I'd even sacrificed my own life for him, taking a hit from another saiyajin that was at least ten times more powerful than Gohan, and nearly four times more powerful than me. So, I died. Then a new threat came. Frieza, I'll explain him sometime when I'm bored enough to regale the tale, I was dead at that point and was training with a smartass god, a monkey, a cricket, two humans, a tri-clops and a clown. Then learned of the planet Namek coming under threat; so I ended up wished back there, it was the first time I'd seen Namek, and I wasn't that impressed. Long story short again, we defeated the bad guy with Goku's help and ended up back here on earth, and here I've stayed since." Piccolo turned the last corner and entered the library, waiting for Kihann to enter before shutting the door.
"There's more to this little story than you're telling me, I know it, I can see it in your eyes, in your body posture, and in the way you avert your eyes from me. What happened to our planet? Why didn't you go back?" Kihann's rapid fire of questions was expected and Piccolo was prepared.
"Because I didn't want to go back, I was born here, and I had no desire to be with people I'd never known, nor did I particularly want to know. They were too different from me, in the way they thought and the way they felt about fighting. We may have been the same species, but the other namek's and I couldn't have been farther from each other in every other aspect; I had no idea what I was until one of the saiyajins had told me during a battle. Besides, I still had work here to do, I knew that Goku wouldn't always be around and Gohan still needed training, and at the time I refused to admit to myself, but I was close to Gohan, and like I said, his father would have handled him with kid gloves. I was one of the few that knew of his hidden potential; even he hadn't realized it till a few years later." Piccolo motioned to the large window indicating that's where he wanted her to sit.
Kihann headed straight for the big plate glass window, finding a sunny spot to get comfortable in; eyes locked onto Piccolo as he took a seat across from her. "So you stayed here because you couldn't relate to your own kind? I suppose that would make sense for someone who'd never known what he was. Again I sense that there's more to this story than you're letting on, but I won't ask." She smiled as Popo soon entered and quietly set down a large plate of various fruits cut and peeled for her, a large decanter of water and two mugs. He smiled happily back at her and departed.
Leaning against the glass Piccolo shrugged his broad shoulders. "Basically, yes. Like I said, I've lived here all my life and to be honest, I plan on dying here. Whether it's from old age, or from a battle, I'm not going to be picky. And whether or not you are accurate in sensing that there is more to this story, I'll let you just hang on that. I've told you all I'm going to for now, right now I want to hear your story. And, I respect your privacy if you feel there's something you can't or don't want to tell me."
"Fair enough, but before we start, can I ask you one question that's been bothering me since I woke up here?"
Piccolo blinked and nodded, "Sure, what is it?"
Kihann glanced to the door to make sure it was clear. "That Mr. Popo, does he ever blink?!"
Piccolo stared at her for a moment then cracked up laughing, the sound echoing in the library. He shook his head, and after a moment answered, "In all the years I've known him? No."
Kihann giggled faintly and reached over to grab a slice of mango, shaking her head slightly, after a moment of amicable silence, she began.