I can't help but giggle hysterically and dance around when I get reviews! What a loser I am. (shakes head sadly) Anyway, on to Piccolo's training session! He's a cutie for a big green guy! Gotta love him! Have fun reading!
Kaoru…the Saiyan??
Chapter 5: Piccolo Goes To Work
Kaoru sighed unhappily for the umpteenth time as she pushed her rice around absent-mindedly. She still felt a bit rejected by Vegeta, even though Goku tried to reassure her.
"Kaoru, don't worry about Vegeta. If I know my husband, he'll be fine once your training has gone farther. He just feels such a strong responsibility toward the Saiyan race, being the prince and all that. He'll come around." Bulma placed a friendly hand on top of Kaoru's and squeezed it.
"Thank you, Bulma. It still hurts a little. I mean, I hardly know him. But, he is my brother and I have a true family again and I'm so afraid of losing that." Kaoru bowed her head, ashamed of how weak she sounded.
Piccolo felt a slight tug at his heart. This girl was so unlike Vegeta in a lot of ways, but still had the fiery spirit and determination he admired in the Saiyan prince. Fortunately, she lacked the seemingly cold nature and had the innocence and pure heart of someone like Goku. He was quite fond of her and hated to see her upset. "Kaoru, I promise after tomorrow's training, he'll have to look at you with newfound respect."
Kaoru's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Piccolo." She stood and looked at Kenshin and Yahiko. "I think I'll turn in now. Have to be up before dawn!" She flashed them both a brilliant smile and headed for her room.
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Kaoru groaned as a strange voice filled her head. "Kaoru, it's time to go now." Kaoru sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. Seeing no one in her room, she began to worry a little.
"Wh-who's there?"
"It's me, Piccolo. We're communicating telepathically. Come on. It's time to start training."
Still in awe, Kaoru rose and readied for the day. She stepped outside and saw Piccolo leaning against the wall. "Let's go, Piccolo."
They flew off towards the forest to begin for the day.
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Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Goten, and chibi Trunks woke up before everyone else and left to go train in the mountains for the day. Future Trunks had made plans to see Tokyo with Misao. He nervously walked the kitchen while his mother and Chichi cooked up breakfast.
"Trunks, you're making me nervous. Will you please stop pacing?"
"Sorry, Mom. I'm just worried about today. What if she doesn't have any fun?"
Bulma made her son sit and sat across from him. She placed a hand on top of one of his. "Trunks, I know you like Misao, but you need to realize that once this is over we won't ever see them again. I don't know about Kaoru, yet. If she decides to come home with us then we'll see her more often, but if she decides to remain here, like I believe she will, then we won't see her again either. Misao has no need to leave though. Nothing ties her to our world. I'm sorry, sweetie, but this is the only time you'll have with her. Try not to get too attached, okay?" She smiled sadly at her son's pensive expression.
"Mom, I know you speak the truth, but it's hard to make yourself feel a certain way. I just want to enjoy the time I'll have with her. She's a remarkable person." He stood up and began to pace again, eyes trained on the floor, hands clasped behind his back.
Misao bounded into the kitchen around 8:00 and plopped down for breakfast. She caught sight of Trunks, her eyes widened, and then she wordlessly flew back to her room. Aoshi was behind her and thought the reaction strange, but let it pass. This was Misao after all.
Misao returned 20 minutes later in a lavender kimono with pink flowers embroidered along the hem and the edges of the sleeves. Her hair was down from the usual braid with half pulled back into a bun, the rest flowing freely down her back to her mid-thigh. Trunks's eyes caught sight of her feet padding back into the room and he allowed them to travel slowly up, taking in the full sight of her. "Misao, you look amazing." He blushed when he realized he said that aloud and quickly looked away.
"Thank you, Trunks."
Aoshi was mesmerized by Misao's change in appearance and turned jealous when he noticed her affections didn't lie with him anymore, but with the strange boy from another world. He made sure his face remained impassive as a war of emotions churned within him.
"If you're ready, we can leave now." Misao gestured to the door for Trunks to follow.
Aoshi's mind began to race. Leave? Where does she think she's going with him? We barely know these people.
She began to walk to the dojo gate, but Trunks's voice stopped her. "Actually, Misao? Would you allow me to show you something? We could see Tokyo my way."
Misao blinked in confusion. "Your way?"
"Climb on my back."
"Huh? What do you mean climb on your back? That's hardly proper in a kimono."
Trunks thought for a second. "Well then." He walked over and placed one arm around her shoulders and the other under her knees. "I guess we'll have to go this way. Hang on tight."
She wrapped her arms around his neck, too stunned to protest. She gave a shriek as he lifted into the air, planning on flying her around Tokyo. "Trunks, this is amazing." She could see everyone else just a few feet below them. "Bye, everyone! We'll be back later!"
She gave a wave as Trunks rose higher into the sky. Bulma called out to them. "You
two be careful!"
They all went back inside and didn't notice Aoshi let out a low growl as he stared at the spot where Trunks had dared to be so bold with Misao.
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Piccolo watched as Kaoru meditated. They had been meditating for four hours now, controlling their energy. Raising it up as high as possible and slowly letting it drop back down. He had to admit he was quite impressed. Kaoru had found out how to power up very quickly and then had set into her training whole-heartedly. "Kaoru, your mind and body must be one to be the victor in a battle. Not only must you be strong, but you must also be smart. Strategy and a clear mind are just as important as physical prowess, maybe even more so."
Kaoru let her eyes flutter open and she looked over to Piccolo. "I appreciate all of this. I feel a lot stronger already!"
"You're not ready for anything big yet. We still have a long way to go before you could even come close to defeating Nakago. You will have to succeed where the rest of us have failed. And on top of that, we have trained vigorously our entire lives, where you only have one year to get to our level and then surpass us. A lofty goal, but if you really train hard enough we may be able to get you there." He crossed his legs and folded his arms, rising back up into the air for more meditation. "You still have reserves of energy you haven't tapped into. Try again."
Kaoru closed her eyes and took the same position as Piccolo floating up next to him. She tried to focus on her energy level and began to build it up again. She quickly lost enthusiasm and cracked one eye open to see Piccolo frowning at her. "You are not concentrating, Kaoru."
She allowed the other eye to open and sighed. "I'm sorry, Piccolo. I'm just not used to meditation at this level. The meditation we use for my school is only about 5 minutes worth and it's just deep breathing. Is there something else we could do to train, but take a break from this?"
"Let's return to your dojo for a moment. I think we'll need to stay in the forest for a few weeks to really complete your training with me."
Kaoru opened her mouth to protest but Piccolo spoke before she could. "Trunks can handle training your apprentice. He knows how to use a sword. If you'd rather he not, then you can give your student a few weeks off from training."
Kaoru seemed to mull things over and then her eyes lit up as she got an idea. "There's an alternative to both of those. I just need to talk to Kenshin."
She flew off towards the dojo and Piccolo followed after her. I wonder if she realizes just how much faster she's going.
Kaoru was indeed flying at a much higher speed. Where her hair would calmly breeze about her before, it was laying straight out now, parallel to her back since her speed wouldn't allow it to fall any other direction. They reached the dojo and Kaoru landed softly in front of Kenshin.
He was sitting in front of his laundry bucket, hands in the soapy water with a surprised look on his face. "Kenshin, what's with the expression? You know I can fly now."
"Sessha is not used to it, Kaoru-dono. It just startled me, that's all."
Kaoru waved it aside. "Actually Kenshin, I came home for two reasons. One, is that Piccolo and I will be staying in the forest for a few weeks to train. Two, is I need someone to train Yahiko."
He opened his mouth in objection, but Kaoru put up a hand to silence him. "I know you have no desire to teach Hiten Mitsurugi and I wouldn't ask you to do something you're uncomfortable with. All I ask is that you teach him how to be as fast as you. Surely that won't hurt anything." She smiled sweetly at him and he melted.
"All right, Kaoru-dono. I will teach Yahiko how to utilize the speed, but nothing else. If he has mastered that by the time you get back, I will have nothing else to teach him."
"I understand Kenshin. Thank you so much!"
She rushed inside to let Yahiko know what was going on. Kenshin had turned back to his washing and nearly fell over when a loud, "SUGOI!" reached his ears. Yahiko came rushing out ready to train while Kaoru and Piccolo headed back for the forest. Kaoru giggled and Piccolo smirked as they watched the poor rurouni try to fight off a hyped up Yahiko.
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Misao and Trunks returned later that night and Aoshi was sitting on the porch waiting. "Aoshi-sama? What are you doing up?"
Aoshi wasn't angry with her, but he was jealous as hell and wanted to make Trunks uncomfortable so he would leave Misao alone. "Well, Misao. I'm up waiting for a girl with morals to come back BEFORE dawn the next day." He let his voice rise only slightly with his agitation and Misao felt her eyes mist up.
"How can you say that? You've never cared before what happens to me so why care now when I actually have a nice young man who WANTS to spend time with me!" Her words stung Aoshi, but she continued on. "Our relationship is you as a ninja, and I as your leader. I didn't want to use my title against you, Aoshi-sa…Aoshi." It was hard to let the honorific slip, but she was trying to establish her dominance at the moment. "But, you leave me no choice. Just stay out of my personal business. It is absolutely NO concern of yours. Goodnight, Aoshi." She turned and walked inside. Trunks started to walk forward into the dojo when Aoshi stood before him.
"If you hurt her, I swear on my life, I will kill you." Trunks had heard about Aoshi from Misao today and knew about their past.
"It's not my place to say, Aoshi. But, if you wish to kill anyone who hurts Misao you should have taken your own life long ago." With that said, he brushed past the tall ninja and into the dojo, proud of his and Misao's little victory.
"Psst. Psst. Trunks. Come over here." He turned to see Misao motioning for him to come over to the doorway of the room she was staying in. "Did he seem upset?"
Trunks allowed himself a small smile. "He threatened to kill me."
Misao muffled her giggles into her hand. "This is so much fun! I hope it works. Thank you so much for helping me." She gave him a quick hug and headed back into her room.
Trunks laid on his futon pondering the day's events. It had started out as him having a crush on Misao, but over the course of the day, he had started to take his mother's advice to heart. She wouldn't wish to return to his world with him. Not only was it another planet, but it would be a different time frame. She would be completely lost there. As it was anyway, she was in love with a man on this planet…Aoshi. She told Trunks all about him as they sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was then he decided that although he wished more than anything that she would want to be with him, he would help her catch Aoshi. If he couldn't have her, he at least wanted her to be happy. They had stayed on the cliff till long after the sun had set working out the details of their plan. It was actually quite simple. Make Aoshi jealous. That was it. They had devised all sorts of scenarios and tonight was just the first of many. He fell asleep, happy to make Misao happy, whatever it took. She would get her 'Aoshi-sama.'
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Kaoru panted hard after her last power up. Piccolo had switched from the slow meditation power ups to quick ones. It was much harder to do, but necessary in battles. Kaoru rested her hands on her knees and Piccolo took up his floating lotus position. "Hey, are you going to meditate NOW of all times?! I'm trying to get the hang of this and you're going to ignore me?!" Kaoru's eyes began to flash when Piccolo didn't respond and then he smirked when he felt what he needed to feel. "What are you smiling about?!" She flailed her fists about trying to convey her displeasure with him.
"Your ki. It rises when you're angry. Most people tend to release energy when they're angry. Get mad, focus on where your energy is, and draw that out. That's how you need to power up."
Kaoru seemed puzzled and then her face relaxed as she figured out what he was saying. "Here goes." She remembered all the stupid smirks of Saitou's, the way Sano and Yahiko insulted her cooking, the way Megumi flirted with Kenshin. There it went, a huge burst of power that surprised even Piccolo.
"Where did that come from, Kaoru? That was massive for someone in the early stages of training."
Kaoru was angry now and had an overwhelming urge to fly to the dojo to make sure Megumi was far away from Kenshin. She fought it back as Piccolo approached for more meditation. She groaned as they took to the air once more to focus on their energy levels.
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It had been three weeks and Kaoru was ecstatic to be going home. I'm going straight to the bathhouse, then change into a kimono so Kenshin can wash my training clothes, and then eat some wonderful dinner that Kenshin cooked up. She never knew she could miss home this much. Those three weeks felt like years.
Kenshin was excited to see Piccolo come through the door, but his eyes turned dangerous when he didn't see Kaoru. "Where's Kaoru-dono?"
"In the bathhouse. She said she wouldn't be long."
Kenshin relaxed and went back to making dinner. Piccolo went off to find Goku and found him in the living room with the rest of the people from his world. "Goku, I need to have a word with you."
"Hey, Piccolo! How did training go?"
"She's stronger than you and Vegeta. Much stronger. During a power up training session she let loose a burst of power that was just below that of a Super Saiyan. We need to figure out how to help her harness that."
Goku's brows were furrowed. "I'll train her next and see if we can bring her closer. Once we find out what gets her reiled up, we can use it to her advantage."
At that moment Kaoru came in the house and ran straight for the kitchen. "Kenshin!"
"Kaoru-dono! I'm glad you're home!"
She ran up and gave him a hug, but quickly pulled away blushing. "Sorry. I just missed everyone. Those three weeks seemed like an eternity." She started to help him chop vegetables, the only thing she was permitted to do, and started to talk to him about anything and everything, avoiding the subject of training.
It seems Misao and Aoshi had gone back to Kyoto, but would return in about three months and stay until the fight with Nakago. Yahiko had almost mastered Hiten Mitsurugi speed and Sano had stopped by everyday to see if he could watch a training session. Saitou came by once to see if Kaoru was okay and Megumi came over once a week to make sure everyone was taking care of themselves and keeping the dojo clean.
Kaoru began to worry at the mention of Saitou. She desperately needed to talk to him. She thought back to that day in the forest with Piccolo.
**Flashback**
"Kaoru, I need to warn you. No jail can hold Nakago. He is someone who you can't just defeat. You must kill Nakago or all of this will mean nothing. It will be a waste of our time and yours. I know your style of fighting teaches not to kill, but it must be done in the case of Nakago. You need to decide what's more important. Hanging on to ideals and letting your planet die, or saving your entire planet by taking one evil man's life."
Kaoru hung her head as fear swept over her. Could she kill? She had never done so before and it scared her more than anything, to be the person responsible for taking away someone else's chance at life. She would need to talk to Saitou to find out how he handled it and what it's like. She could ask Kenshin, but she didn't want to stir up bad memories for him. He tried to distance himself from that life, while Saitou continued to embrace it. She would definitely ask Saitou and not Kenshin.
**End Flashback**
"Kaoru-dono? Kaoru-dono?" Kaoru snapped out of her thoughts and gave Kenshin a quick smile.
"Sorry, Kenshin. Just have a lot to think about." She went back to chopping vegetables while Kenshin kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
He had missed her greatly these past few weeks and had to fight the urge to run into the forest searching for her. He had made up his mind to tell her his feelings for her, but his resolve had dissipated when he saw her again. She was too pure for him. There was no way he could be selfish enough to taint her. He would keep his distance and be her friend and shoulder to cry on, but it would go no further than that.
Once dinner was over and the dishes had been cleaned Piccolo called Kaoru out into the yard. She stepped outside and he put his hand to her forehead again, changing her into her training clothes.
"What's going on, Piccolo?"
Kenshin, Sano, Yahiko and Megumi gathered on the porch to see what was going on. Vegeta, Bulma, both Trunks, Goku, Chichi, Gohan and Goten were standing on the porch as well.
"You haven't graduated from my training course yet."
"Graduated?"
"You have to beat me in a sparring match."
"WHAT?! I can't do that!"
"Power up, Kaoru or you'll lose before you attack even once."
He threw off his weighted white cape and weighted turban. Kaoru sighed and turned to Kenshin. "Don't interfere. All of you stay out of this." Even though she addressed everyone, it was mainly a warning for Kenshin. She knew he would try to 'save' her from Piccolo. Damn. I don't know if he can handle this. He's too darn worried about other peoples' safety.
She powered up slightly and Kenshin stood shocked at what he just felt. Kaoru's ki is enormous!
Piccolo gave a yell and charged Kaoru full speed. The Kenshin-gumi saw nothing along with Chichi and Bulma. But the Saiyans were watching the sky, following every move that was being made. After a few seconds, Kaoru and Piccolo were on the ground again. Kaoru had a busted lip and Piccolo had a cut on his right cheek and one half of his shirt was ripped, a long tear from the collar to just above his waist. "Not bad, Kaoru." He leapt into the air. "How about this?"
He threw an energy ball at Kaoru who barely had time to cross her arms in front of her face to defend against the attack. She stayed that way for a moment and Piccolo floated down and watched in wonder as she lowered both arms to her sides, eyes closed. He realized what she was doing and moved in to attack, but stopped short as her ki rose to the level he only felt once in the forest. Kenshin almost fell over in shock as the Saiyans' eyes widened in disbelief.
Sano noticed her right fist was glowing and pointed it out to Kenshin, Yahiko and Megumi. Kaoru slowly opened her eyes and smirked at Piccolo. She then threw her glowing fist and knocked him back into the far dojo wall. He tried to move before she got to him, but she was too fast. She kneed him in the stomach and brought her right elbow down into the small of his back. He went skidding across the dojo yard and put his hands up in surrender when she came in to attack again.
"You made me angry by throwing that energy blast." She calmed down and got her breathing under control.
Goku congratulated her with a pat on the back and the young ones jumped around her cheering. The Kenshin-gumi looked at her in amazement. Everyone started to go inside,
but she noticed one person missing. She felt his presence and looked up to see Vegeta
smirking at her, a hint of brotherly pride showing on his features.
