The Black Dragon
Volume I
Star Fazed
Chapter Seven – White Light
As the water drummed around her feet, cascaded down her flesh, almost to the point of scorching, but she loved the way it feels. To have it hot, slithering down, washing away all feelings for it numbed her. Her hands came over her face as she covered it and breathed in the scent of soap. If there was one thing she couldn't stand…it was flirting. Personally, she didn't know how, secondly, it was in between a relationship and just playing and it always confused her. Either you like someone or you don't. Flirting just seemed to step over that boundary to; you don't have to like a person to flirt with them. Shaking her head and watched as water scattered around her, she reached over for the shampoo…
Knock, knock, knock! "Pan!" Goten banged at the door, "I need to go pee!" He hopped around and pounded on the door until the water stopped and Pan wrapped herself with a towel and dried her feet on the rug. Opening the door, he ran in while she stepped out and waited. Her arms folded over her chest, but it was a wide towel, it went up to her knees and did not show much. As the toilet flushed and the sink turned on, off, he walked back, out relieved. "Thanks." She frowned and walked back in, interruption…she hated that too. Once she opened the door, steam came flying out and Trunks remarked, "Whoa, how hot do you like your water? You're all red and look at the steam!" Pan ignored him while she stuffed her dirty clothes into a bag and tied it up and placed it in her duffle bag. Ringing out the water in her hair by twisting it into a coil, she wrung it the droplets of water over him and caused him to jump up and yelp. She flicked whatever that was left on her hands on him and watched as he cursed and ran off to dry up. Taking his seat, she sat down and grabbed the elastic around her wrist and tied her hair up. Music playing, fire still active, they just simply sat around. Pan took out her deck of cards and started shuffling it around until Trunks came back down and started doing some crazy dancing just for the sake of being hyper.
Goten joined him, together they danced in unison, the same
moves, at the same time… "Hey! This is just like when we fused!" Goten called
over to Trunks over the music. "Yea!" He said, "But much more cooler, if you
know what I mean!" He waved his hands over his head and then did some disco
move.
Bra shook her head and looked away, "So infantile!"
"Hey, you've got to give them credit…" Marron cheered them on, "To have the
courage to dance in public like that."
"They're just brain dead." Bra stated, "Slower than a snail…" She looked away,
"Let's play a card game."
"Crazy eights?" Pan suggested as she continued shuffling.
"You're on!" Pan handed out the cards and they each took their eight cards and
looked at it. Pan placed her cards in order, easier manoeuvring that way. Going
first, she placed her sevens down and changed the suit from hearts to clubs.
Going clockwise, back to her again, she took out another two cards. "She's
winning!" Bra told Marron, "try to stop her, okay?"
"I'll try." Marron said as she laid down a pick up two. Pan grunted and picked
up two cards, "Aha!" She laid down two additional pick up 2's and watched Bra's
triumphant smile fault. Picking up six cards, she placed down an 8. "I change
it to diamonds."
Marron picked up a few cards then placed down a seven of diamonds. Pan shuffled
around with her cards then pulled out a seven and changed it to spades. Three
more rounds, Pan had one more card left.
"I think she has a spade, change it to diamonds!" Bra told Marron who laid down
an 8 and changed it to diamonds. Pan grinned and dropped her last card onto the
deck, the 8 of hearts as she threw her hands back and laid down onto the sofa.
"I always win!" She cheered.
"Ugh!" Bra threw down her cards, "Let's go dance then, Marron."
"Come on, Pan!" Marron grabbed Pan by the arm and hoisted her up and pulled her
to Goten who by now, was getting awfully giddy. Pan stood amongst them as they
danced to the song, scratching her head, she folded her arms and watched them.
"Just swing your hips!" Bra called over to her while she banged her hip up
against Goten and knocked him a step away. Trunks lost in his own world, threw
his arms up and started singing to the song, flailing them around like a crazed
animal on crack. "I am the king!" He shouted and spun around as fast as he
could then collided with Goten, banging foreheads with him and causing him to
fall back. Mirai Trunks sat and watched them, laughed at Trunks when he decided
to make a fool of himself. Watched Pan stand around, obviously she was a lot
like him, she didn't dance.
As
time passed, they went up their own separate ways, Pan to her new bed, sliding
her sneakers and duffle bag underneath the bunk, she went next door to Bra to
borrow something to sleep in.
"Sorry." Bra said, "I only have this one." She pulled out a skimpy black one.
"Your Okaasan lets you buy these things?" Pan looked at the thin material.
"No." Bra laughed, "She doesn't know."
"I'll just…sleep in this, I'm not wearing that…it's just a lame excuse to be
called a dress…"
"Suit yourself." Bra said and folded it back and put it in her suitcase, "Oh
wait." Bra pulled out a large t-shirt with a teddy bear on it. "You can wear
this if you want."
"Good!" Pan snatched it almost too earnestly, she changed in her room as she
then folded her clothes for the next day. "I'll miss this place…"
"Me too…but they really should get that window fixed…" Bra motioned to the
window overlooking the back, near the creek in the east direction. "It gets
awfully chilly here at night."
"Maybe if you wore more layers, it'd be better." Pan said as she pulled the red
shirt down, "Well thanks, see you tomorrow morning."
"Wait…" Bra stopped her, "I've been wanting to ask you…about…you know…" She
made a gesture.
"Oh…what about him?" Pan pulled her hair out of the collar and untied her
ponytail, threading her fingers through her hair as she listened on. "Today…why
were you so grouchy?"
"Eh, it was nothing. I just slammed the door shut too fast, that's all." Pan
stated.
"Are you sure?" Bra studied her friend's expression, "Well then, if you say
so…"
"Don't worry." Pan said with a wry smile, "There's nothing between me and
either one of them, nothing more than friendship." With that she exited without
any further questions, walking back into the room, found Mirai Trunks in midst
of changing. She apologized and closed the door and waited outside until he
opened the door after he was finished. She hadn't seen much, just saw him take
off his shirt… He had a pullover sweater over his boxers as he climbed onto the
top bunk. "Good night." He said as he watched her climb underneath him in the
bottom bunk. She muttered some reply and laid down. He turned off the lights
and then climbed back up, "Thanks for helping me pack." He said quietly.
"You're welcome." Pan whispered back as she closed her eyes, "Good night." She
yawned and turned onto her side. He simply laid there in the dark, knowing well
that she was beneath him…and he thought…without the wooden frame of the bed,
she would literally be beneath him… He shook his head, 'No, I should stop…' He
regretted that he hadn't looked away when he saw her the other night…but…how
could he? He moved and looked over his bed and down to her, found her fast
asleep with her hands thrown carelessly over her head to her hair and her head
tilted to the side. Moving back into his bed, he forced himself to close his
eyes and tried to enforce sleep as well…
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Triangles, circles, squares, they collapsed symmetrically at the centre line as she gazed into the kaleidoscope. Yet again that dream. The colours magnificent, she sighed as the shapes danced around in a beautiful ellipse whirl and then folded in different parts and created something completely new. As she turned the kaleidoscope to the right, the images and shapes slowly died down as new shapes came in, diamonds, hearts and ovals. Just as she felt herself getting into the shapes, a tug on her arm startled her.
Bra
crawled on the ground as she pulled on Pan's arm, hoping to wake her. "Pan!"
She hissed and then swiped her hand over the girl's face and nudged her. Mirai
Trunks stirred from the noise down below but rolled over and continued
sleeping. Pan slowly opened her eyes, "Huh?"
"I saw something outside my window…" Bra tugged at her, "It's outside…"
Pan grunted as she sat up and then followed Bra, groggy and cold, her teeth
chattered as she walked out of the room. Mirai Trunks opened his eyes just as
the door closed and last saw the tips of her red pyjamas through the door.
Throwing the blankets away and putting his sweater on, he climbed down the
ladder and followed behind, curious as to what she would be doing up late into
the night.
They reached outside, "It was right there, outside my window…" She pointed to a
small clearing. Pan yawned and looked at it, "There's nothing…" She said in
midst of a yawn while she rubbed her hands together to create some sort of
friction for warmth. Her breath turned to mist as she looked all around, "There's
n-nothing!" Pan assured her, "Just go back to bed!"
"No, I swear Pan. I saw it, it was red and it was staring at me." Bra pointed
to the east, to the creek. "Somewhere over there." Pan hesitated, "Fine, here."
She walked towards it, "I'll show you there's nothing to worry about."
Mirai Trunks descended down the stairs as he walked towards the back where the
door slid ajar and from the wind, shivered.
Pan pushed away some stray branches that hung too low and peered through the
dark with a laugh, "Helloooooo?" She turned her head towards Bra, "See?
Nothing!" Turning back, more into the darkness, closing in on the creek as she
turned her head left to right, searched for anything moving or red.
She finally turned around and walked back towards Bra, "There's nothing to
worry about." Pan threw her arms out and yawned, "There is absolutely nothing
here that you should be worried about."
Mirai Trunks pushed open the door and walked out, spotted Pan about a hundred
metres off while Bra stood uncertain by the cottage.
Pan halted when she sensed a spark behind her, the spark grew into a
magnificent source of power as a brilliant white light emitted from about a
foot behind her. Just as she slowly turned in her steps, the prowess of
blinding platinum spiralled out towards her. She stopped in her tracks, paralysed,
planted to the ground as she, at the last second, threw her arms up in front of
her head in an x position in futile defence.
"WATCH OUT!" Mirai Trunks ran and tackled Bra onto the ground just as the white
light engulfed Pan in it, the last vision he saw of her was when she lost her
balance from the impact and fell towards the ground with her head turned
towards them, her eyes a longing glance as the stream of power swallowed her in
its infinite might. He sheltered Bra down onto the ground as he sunk lower,
felt the hot magnetic surge of power stream over his back and towards the
cabin, crushing the left wing and annihilating it into debris. Destroying everything
that came to its path with its force as it seared a hole across the wooden cottage
and slowly faded into the forest in a long stream of dim light. He looked up
towards where he supposed was the source of the power to find nothing there,
nothing, as if the white light had just…generated without an owner.
Goten threw his arm over Trunks and held him down as the energy barely missed
their faces. He watched as it faded once it passed them and heard a cry, then a
noise, then Marron fell through the top level flooring and landed on the ground
in a heap of pillows and blankets.
Mirai Trunks pushed himself up and ran towards where he last saw her, his heart
beating rapidly as his eyes darted around wildly, searching. "Pan!" He cried
out into the darkness and heard his own echo reply, stood in the spot she had
last stood, the warmth of her presence, the print of her feet… "PAN!" He cried
out louder as if he could resurrect her by his voice, he walked onward as Bra
stayed planted on the ground, the scene of her best friend…no, her sister,
taking the plunge and watched as she melted into light, shook her to her core.
Momentarily after, Trunks with Marron on his back and Goten ran through the
door. "Where's Pan?" Goten asked as he looked around, he could no longer sense
her ki as he watched Mirai Trunks scream out her name at the top of his lungs
while walking onward in denial that she was still alive…when it was so clearly
seen…she was nothing more now than air particles and vanished light…