{{{{I don't own DBZ, DBZ owns me!! Oh, lord, how true. Anyway, here's
chapter 5 finally. And sadly, I don't own Merkiori. My aniki, Matt does.
Yes, he invented him, but I refined him, waha. He started out as a skinny
silver Australian guy. Yay, lookit him now. BTW, I have Matt's full
permission to use him. (don't sue me, Yamateo-san!!)
T_T Don't expect me to be updating all that quickly if I'm not getting any reviews!!!! Hey, I read everyone else's fics, why won't they read mine???}}}}
***if you're getting impatient with Vegeta's childhood reminiscences, first remember that patience is a virtue. Second, bang your head against your desk and curse Vegeta. HE'S the one doing the reminiscing!!! I swear I have nothing to do with it!!! ***
Author: *whacks Vegeta upside the head* you're boring me. Get to the fighting parts.
Veggieness: Itai! What the fuck is up with you?? I'd be skipping some vital parts of my life story! Don't you even care??
A: *frumps* yeah, ok, nevermind, go on with your long, annoying, totally uninteresting story.
V: You lie. You like my story and you know it. Plus you're mean. *sticks tongue out at her*
A: *tackles Veggie-head in a frivolous schoolgirl glomp* WOW!! VEGETA!! What a compliment!! And coming from YOU of all people-!!
V: ITAI!!! KOJUMA!!! CONTAIN YOURSELF!!! *squeaks* And don't you ever grab me there again.T_T* hentai no baka ...
A: ^_^;; anyway, on with the story!
V: remind me to asphyxiate you later.
-Chapter 5-
Training
It was a few days before I decided to finally visit my sister. She was lying in the little glass cradle chamber, taking intense interest in her newfound toes. Radditz, who had accompanied me, laughed as she sucked on one of her tiny feet.
"Doro kii!!! Karasa-ju mai ko leme` Vegeta!!1" Radditz said, snickering
I gave him an uneasy side glance, thinking surely he had finally lost his mind.
"Durai wa?2"
He failed horribly in containing his rising giggles, finally stifling his mirth enough to reach the punchline.
"Rendo mai kua Karasa-ju doko same`-xa!!!3" and dissolved into hysterics.
I just had to shake my head with pity of the poor, simple-minded sheoken. He was dropped as an infant, I thought. Surely. Several times, in fact. On purpose.
Nappa swung back and cracked Radditz with a slap to the back of the head, sending him sprawling to the metal floor.
"Deio shoi Kudo-hai keizha nuen.4" he said, frowning sternly down at the dazed Radditz.
I decided henceforth that Nappa was my friend. He was entertaining. If only I could get him to smack Radditz around more often.
Shiromi was little aware of else but my sister. She cooed and touched the glass separating her from the nursery.
"'Geta-duja, come look."
I stepped to the glass, looking down at the small writhing being. So small, so fragile, like she would break, or like she would surely wither and die if removed from her little glass shell. She whimpered softly, then turned her huge eyes to me.
I gasped.
She had Xansha's eyes.
Those selfsame emerald crystal pools of mystery and intrigue, empathy and strength... and yet, Karasahi's eyes were filled with sorrow, also. Loneliness, helplessness, and the innocence in those eyes astounded me. Unmarred and pure. How could I ever abandon her if I knew those innocent eyes would haunt me for eternity in hell?
"How long does she have to stay in there?" I asked no one in particular. I was too entranced by her eyes to look away.
"I think four more months. Until she starts eating solid food, or was it walking? I'm not sure." Shiromi said, swishing her tail in thought.
Radditz stretched and yawned exaggeratedly. "Dui shoduuu..ko denya wei.5" he said in an almost whining tone.
I heard Karasahi giggle as Shiromi made a silly face at her. "Chodu doro keera lorua-ne?6" she sang as she grinned stupidly at the baby. I had to laugh. She always seemed to cheer up downtrodden attitudes.
"Keera.7" I repeated, thinking. "Kara..keera...."
"Cho?" Radditz said sleepily, regarding me with half-mast-lidded eyes.
"We'll call her Keera for short."
Shiromi clapped with glee. "Keera! Demwa!!8"
Nappa blinked confusedly.
"Lovely. Ko denya wei?" Radditz repeated, looking around blankly for someone to second the motion.
Shiromi made a sound of aggravation, very close to a growl at Radditz's numbness to reality.
"I'll go." Nappa said, almost nervous he might upset me. I smirked, touching the cool glass once more before voicing my decision.
"We're taking her with us then."
"Qete`?9 Shiromi?" Radditz inquired.
"Dei," I pointed to the glass.
This caused Radditz to groan and Nappa to become even more confused.
"Delko HURE'!!!! Tue` pautaaan!! Oret wei cho maique`??10" Radditz whined and as if he were as old as I was.
}~*~{
Shiromi set the carrier down with over-cautious carefulness and straightened little Keera's bedclothes. Radditz had already begun to stretch out and Nappa was practicing a few punches at air. I remembered Gabio telling me how he'd set my cradle where I could watch him train, thence imprinting the correct fighting style in my sensile infant mind.
This is what we were hoping to accomplish with the new sovereign. However, I wouldn't describe Radditz's fighting style as anywhere near correct, (nor mine own for that matter) but who else was going to show her? Well, there were some other soldiers training in the unit at the moment, maybe we could ALL learn from them..
I noticed the forest-green gemplates of our almost-tolerable Ise, the reptilian tail coiling tightly around a struggling opponent's neck. Certainly not him. In fact, we decided to keep out of his sight, lest he decide to order us around.
There also fought the nuisance Jeice (he wasn't a member of the Ginyu force yet, for, you see, Ginyu was not yet with us) shouting in his over- loud and annoying voice as he attacked a padded opponent robot. No, too flashy. We all assumed he was always more bark than bite.
And then my gaze settled on a new face, surprisingly one whose eyes were gazing back at me. The being was bright silver all over, his armor bearing a slightly more copper hue. He looked to have hair, spiky, like wires, I thought. And his pupiless eyes were locked with mine. A cold shiver pricked up my spine.
To our horror, he walked toward us, and stopped a couple feet away, placing a fist on his hip. He regarded us with a skeptical stare before "hmf" ing softly in amusement.
"Wanna spar?" the thin form uttered in an accent somewhat akin to Jeice's.
Radditz backed away, Shiromi suddenly found an interesting spot in the ceiling to look at, and Nappa just shook his head, eyes large and mouth pursed. Keera giggled obliviously.
Well, I wasn't about to back down, but I wasn't looking forward to getting pummeled this early in the day, but I decided I had no choice. To save face, I had to accept.
"Sure, I guess." I scratched the back of my head casually, trying with all my sanity to remain calm. "But why me?" I had to ask. I was four feet tall, for the love of Christ.
The silver being smirked, his high-boned cheeks glistened slightly with the movement. "I've always wanted to spar with a saiyan. And I hear you're the last ones left. I don't intend to wait till you grow up, you know. You should put up at least a little bit of a challenge, correct?"
I tried not to gulp audibly, but I felt suddenly ill.
"Yeah, sure, I guess.." I squeaked. I just hoped they had an empty re- juve tank at the medical ward.
The soldier laughed, his voice sounding strangely metallic. "You guess? You need to be surer of yourself, young man." He stooped down on one knee, offering his hand. "My name's Merkiori. Semi-elite, Delta rank."
I took his hand and shook it slightly, still getting over my shock. "Kudohai Vegeta, second-class juvenile division."
I turned to introduce my friends, but found them suddenly absent. Keera alone was left, kicking slightly in her little carrier, gurgling blissfully. "...and my sister Arahai Karasahi. She's still in training."
Merkiori chuckled again. "So I see. Now about that spar.."
My stomach turned. "You were serious..?"
"Of course I was! You show me what you know and ill teach you a bit of what I know. A friendly spar."
"O-ooh," I said, obviously relived, "well, as long as it's friendly!" I rubbed the back of my head and giggled nervously.
}~*~{
I was trying to get the metallic flavor of Merkiori's fist out of my mouth. In my hesitation, he punched again. Radditz guffawed loudly, clapping. You see, they came back to watch me get pummeled.
"Come on, then. Get up. Don't let your guard down like that." Merkiori said in an encouraging tone.
"HURE` SHEI`OO-OO" Radditz taunted, dancing around like an idiot. Nappa smacked him to the ground, reprimanding him softly.
I caught the next punch, swinging my small foot around, grazing his chest. If only I wasn't so damn small... Before I could finish my thought, he had thrown my thin form to the ground and pinned me to the mat with a foot to my neck. He folded his arms and grinned.
I gave him a flat glare. "I won't say it."
He pressed his foot harder. "Oh, yes you will."
"Never." I rasped.
"You've said it once, you'll say it again."
I frowned, reluctant. "Fine, FINE!........... mercy."
"I'm so sorry, I didn't catch that."
"Mercy, damnit! MERCY! You happy?? Shei`o.."
He let me up, but shook a warning finger at me. "No fair using your monkey-talk to insult me. One of these days I'll know what you're saying and you'll be getting it from me. That's a promise."
Radditz and Shiromi laughed and called out: "SHEOKEN AUDO!!!11" in unison then hid behind Nappa as Merkiori threw a moderate ki ball at both of them. This of course caused Nappa to lose his balance, falling on both of them, creating an untidy pile of saiyans. (A/N- it's a strike! Ten points for Merkiori!)
It had been only three hours and I felt like I had known this stranger for three years. He seemed to have taught fighting form before, I thought. Maybe that's what he did before Freeza...
He dusted his hands and sighed, smiling. "Well, let's call it a day. And remember to put some ice on that knee..."
I limped a little, nodding in acknowledgement.
".....and tomorrow, we'll all learn how to throw a decent ki ball. Maybe by next week you'll be able to control specific moves."
We all brightened up at this. Finally, someone who could show us how to REALLY fight. I'd waited too long, I believed. And it was almost like.... like...
He said his goodbye, walking away. Shiromi picked up Keera and followed Radditz and Nappa out the door we had come through.
Almost .... Like...
Gabio... like having him back... I forced myself not to cry. Forced my face straight. Never get too attatched, never. Not to anyone. They all die someday, that's what I'd learned when Xansha...
I couldn't stop the solitary tear sliding coolly down my cheek. Stop it, damn you. Stop crying. A sob escaped my throat. Damnit, too late. I ran out of the unit, hastily drying my face as I caught up with my friends, smiling as if nothing had happened.
T_T Don't expect me to be updating all that quickly if I'm not getting any reviews!!!! Hey, I read everyone else's fics, why won't they read mine???}}}}
***if you're getting impatient with Vegeta's childhood reminiscences, first remember that patience is a virtue. Second, bang your head against your desk and curse Vegeta. HE'S the one doing the reminiscing!!! I swear I have nothing to do with it!!! ***
Author: *whacks Vegeta upside the head* you're boring me. Get to the fighting parts.
Veggieness: Itai! What the fuck is up with you?? I'd be skipping some vital parts of my life story! Don't you even care??
A: *frumps* yeah, ok, nevermind, go on with your long, annoying, totally uninteresting story.
V: You lie. You like my story and you know it. Plus you're mean. *sticks tongue out at her*
A: *tackles Veggie-head in a frivolous schoolgirl glomp* WOW!! VEGETA!! What a compliment!! And coming from YOU of all people-!!
V: ITAI!!! KOJUMA!!! CONTAIN YOURSELF!!! *squeaks* And don't you ever grab me there again.T_T* hentai no baka ...
A: ^_^;; anyway, on with the story!
V: remind me to asphyxiate you later.
-Chapter 5-
Training
It was a few days before I decided to finally visit my sister. She was lying in the little glass cradle chamber, taking intense interest in her newfound toes. Radditz, who had accompanied me, laughed as she sucked on one of her tiny feet.
"Doro kii!!! Karasa-ju mai ko leme` Vegeta!!1" Radditz said, snickering
I gave him an uneasy side glance, thinking surely he had finally lost his mind.
"Durai wa?2"
He failed horribly in containing his rising giggles, finally stifling his mirth enough to reach the punchline.
"Rendo mai kua Karasa-ju doko same`-xa!!!3" and dissolved into hysterics.
I just had to shake my head with pity of the poor, simple-minded sheoken. He was dropped as an infant, I thought. Surely. Several times, in fact. On purpose.
Nappa swung back and cracked Radditz with a slap to the back of the head, sending him sprawling to the metal floor.
"Deio shoi Kudo-hai keizha nuen.4" he said, frowning sternly down at the dazed Radditz.
I decided henceforth that Nappa was my friend. He was entertaining. If only I could get him to smack Radditz around more often.
Shiromi was little aware of else but my sister. She cooed and touched the glass separating her from the nursery.
"'Geta-duja, come look."
I stepped to the glass, looking down at the small writhing being. So small, so fragile, like she would break, or like she would surely wither and die if removed from her little glass shell. She whimpered softly, then turned her huge eyes to me.
I gasped.
She had Xansha's eyes.
Those selfsame emerald crystal pools of mystery and intrigue, empathy and strength... and yet, Karasahi's eyes were filled with sorrow, also. Loneliness, helplessness, and the innocence in those eyes astounded me. Unmarred and pure. How could I ever abandon her if I knew those innocent eyes would haunt me for eternity in hell?
"How long does she have to stay in there?" I asked no one in particular. I was too entranced by her eyes to look away.
"I think four more months. Until she starts eating solid food, or was it walking? I'm not sure." Shiromi said, swishing her tail in thought.
Radditz stretched and yawned exaggeratedly. "Dui shoduuu..ko denya wei.5" he said in an almost whining tone.
I heard Karasahi giggle as Shiromi made a silly face at her. "Chodu doro keera lorua-ne?6" she sang as she grinned stupidly at the baby. I had to laugh. She always seemed to cheer up downtrodden attitudes.
"Keera.7" I repeated, thinking. "Kara..keera...."
"Cho?" Radditz said sleepily, regarding me with half-mast-lidded eyes.
"We'll call her Keera for short."
Shiromi clapped with glee. "Keera! Demwa!!8"
Nappa blinked confusedly.
"Lovely. Ko denya wei?" Radditz repeated, looking around blankly for someone to second the motion.
Shiromi made a sound of aggravation, very close to a growl at Radditz's numbness to reality.
"I'll go." Nappa said, almost nervous he might upset me. I smirked, touching the cool glass once more before voicing my decision.
"We're taking her with us then."
"Qete`?9 Shiromi?" Radditz inquired.
"Dei," I pointed to the glass.
This caused Radditz to groan and Nappa to become even more confused.
"Delko HURE'!!!! Tue` pautaaan!! Oret wei cho maique`??10" Radditz whined and as if he were as old as I was.
}~*~{
Shiromi set the carrier down with over-cautious carefulness and straightened little Keera's bedclothes. Radditz had already begun to stretch out and Nappa was practicing a few punches at air. I remembered Gabio telling me how he'd set my cradle where I could watch him train, thence imprinting the correct fighting style in my sensile infant mind.
This is what we were hoping to accomplish with the new sovereign. However, I wouldn't describe Radditz's fighting style as anywhere near correct, (nor mine own for that matter) but who else was going to show her? Well, there were some other soldiers training in the unit at the moment, maybe we could ALL learn from them..
I noticed the forest-green gemplates of our almost-tolerable Ise, the reptilian tail coiling tightly around a struggling opponent's neck. Certainly not him. In fact, we decided to keep out of his sight, lest he decide to order us around.
There also fought the nuisance Jeice (he wasn't a member of the Ginyu force yet, for, you see, Ginyu was not yet with us) shouting in his over- loud and annoying voice as he attacked a padded opponent robot. No, too flashy. We all assumed he was always more bark than bite.
And then my gaze settled on a new face, surprisingly one whose eyes were gazing back at me. The being was bright silver all over, his armor bearing a slightly more copper hue. He looked to have hair, spiky, like wires, I thought. And his pupiless eyes were locked with mine. A cold shiver pricked up my spine.
To our horror, he walked toward us, and stopped a couple feet away, placing a fist on his hip. He regarded us with a skeptical stare before "hmf" ing softly in amusement.
"Wanna spar?" the thin form uttered in an accent somewhat akin to Jeice's.
Radditz backed away, Shiromi suddenly found an interesting spot in the ceiling to look at, and Nappa just shook his head, eyes large and mouth pursed. Keera giggled obliviously.
Well, I wasn't about to back down, but I wasn't looking forward to getting pummeled this early in the day, but I decided I had no choice. To save face, I had to accept.
"Sure, I guess." I scratched the back of my head casually, trying with all my sanity to remain calm. "But why me?" I had to ask. I was four feet tall, for the love of Christ.
The silver being smirked, his high-boned cheeks glistened slightly with the movement. "I've always wanted to spar with a saiyan. And I hear you're the last ones left. I don't intend to wait till you grow up, you know. You should put up at least a little bit of a challenge, correct?"
I tried not to gulp audibly, but I felt suddenly ill.
"Yeah, sure, I guess.." I squeaked. I just hoped they had an empty re- juve tank at the medical ward.
The soldier laughed, his voice sounding strangely metallic. "You guess? You need to be surer of yourself, young man." He stooped down on one knee, offering his hand. "My name's Merkiori. Semi-elite, Delta rank."
I took his hand and shook it slightly, still getting over my shock. "Kudohai Vegeta, second-class juvenile division."
I turned to introduce my friends, but found them suddenly absent. Keera alone was left, kicking slightly in her little carrier, gurgling blissfully. "...and my sister Arahai Karasahi. She's still in training."
Merkiori chuckled again. "So I see. Now about that spar.."
My stomach turned. "You were serious..?"
"Of course I was! You show me what you know and ill teach you a bit of what I know. A friendly spar."
"O-ooh," I said, obviously relived, "well, as long as it's friendly!" I rubbed the back of my head and giggled nervously.
}~*~{
I was trying to get the metallic flavor of Merkiori's fist out of my mouth. In my hesitation, he punched again. Radditz guffawed loudly, clapping. You see, they came back to watch me get pummeled.
"Come on, then. Get up. Don't let your guard down like that." Merkiori said in an encouraging tone.
"HURE` SHEI`OO-OO" Radditz taunted, dancing around like an idiot. Nappa smacked him to the ground, reprimanding him softly.
I caught the next punch, swinging my small foot around, grazing his chest. If only I wasn't so damn small... Before I could finish my thought, he had thrown my thin form to the ground and pinned me to the mat with a foot to my neck. He folded his arms and grinned.
I gave him a flat glare. "I won't say it."
He pressed his foot harder. "Oh, yes you will."
"Never." I rasped.
"You've said it once, you'll say it again."
I frowned, reluctant. "Fine, FINE!........... mercy."
"I'm so sorry, I didn't catch that."
"Mercy, damnit! MERCY! You happy?? Shei`o.."
He let me up, but shook a warning finger at me. "No fair using your monkey-talk to insult me. One of these days I'll know what you're saying and you'll be getting it from me. That's a promise."
Radditz and Shiromi laughed and called out: "SHEOKEN AUDO!!!11" in unison then hid behind Nappa as Merkiori threw a moderate ki ball at both of them. This of course caused Nappa to lose his balance, falling on both of them, creating an untidy pile of saiyans. (A/N- it's a strike! Ten points for Merkiori!)
It had been only three hours and I felt like I had known this stranger for three years. He seemed to have taught fighting form before, I thought. Maybe that's what he did before Freeza...
He dusted his hands and sighed, smiling. "Well, let's call it a day. And remember to put some ice on that knee..."
I limped a little, nodding in acknowledgement.
".....and tomorrow, we'll all learn how to throw a decent ki ball. Maybe by next week you'll be able to control specific moves."
We all brightened up at this. Finally, someone who could show us how to REALLY fight. I'd waited too long, I believed. And it was almost like.... like...
He said his goodbye, walking away. Shiromi picked up Keera and followed Radditz and Nappa out the door we had come through.
Almost .... Like...
Gabio... like having him back... I forced myself not to cry. Forced my face straight. Never get too attatched, never. Not to anyone. They all die someday, that's what I'd learned when Xansha...
I couldn't stop the solitary tear sliding coolly down my cheek. Stop it, damn you. Stop crying. A sob escaped my throat. Damnit, too late. I ran out of the unit, hastily drying my face as I caught up with my friends, smiling as if nothing had happened.