Chapter 36
Falling
4 1/2 months into training in the ROSAT
"That is what is going to make your Kamehameha nothing but a flashy light show." Ichigo said as she started to laugh.
'Flashy light show my left foot! Just cause she stopped it once doesn't mean she can do it again.' Roshi thought instantly as his anger built. Then just as quickly he realized her attack might be beneficial. "Well I'll be..." Roshi started to say but stopped suddenly.
Ichigo had still been laughing when her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell out of the air.
'What the? I can't feel her ki' Roshi thought as he quickly dove and caught her before she fell all the way to the floor of the ROSAT.
Upon landing, Roshi set her down and patted her on the cheek. Her skin was cold.
"Ichigo, wake up this isn't funny." Roshi said not really thinking about what he was really saying.
Fearing that she might actually be dead or something, he placed a finger on her neck and waited for a pulse.
*beat*................................*beat*
Slow and ever so faint her blood still pulsed.
Roshi closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could. "She has no ki. None at all... This is not good." He realized with a start before he scooped her up and rushed back to find Dende.
* * *
Dende slowly shook his head as he stood up and looked at Roshi. "I can't help her, she isn't injured."
"What do you mean she isn't injured? She has no ki, she is hardly breathing, her heart is barely beating, and she is unconscious. How can she not be injured?"
"Because she isn't. I can't give a person energy. I can only repair their injuries. I don't know why she is unconscious but it is not from an injury."
"Roshi, could you please calm down and tell us what happened?" Goshu said as he walked up to Ichigo's bed.
Roshi turned to watch as Goshu walked up and placed two fingers directly on Ichigo's sternum above her heart and two fingers in the center of her forehead.
"What are you doing?"
Goshu stepped back and said a few words to Dende and then Dende spoke up.
"Roshi, ki is the energy of life. It is the connection between the Mind, the Soul, and the Body. The heart is the center of the body, and the brain the center of the mind, Goshu was just trying to find her ki."
"And?" Roshi asked rather perturbed that he hadn't thought of that.
"And she has ki, all living things do, it is just almost completely surprised for some reason." Goshu said. "Now would you tell us what happened?"
Roshi took a deep breath and told them what he could.
* * *
Four days later in the Room of Spirit and Time.
Roshi sat and watched, and listened.
Only the ever so slow rise and fall of her chest and murmur of breathing indicated she was still alive. Even now, four days after the fact, Ichigo was only producing the ki of say, an ant.
"You're falling for her aren't you." Slip said as she walked up behind Roshi and scared him right out of his chair.
He quickly jumped up and looked at Slip. "Damn it don't do that, you scared the heck out of me!"
Slip cocked an eyebrow at him and stifled a laugh. "You really are falling for her!"
"I am NOT!" Roshi snapped back. 'Falling for HER?!?! Ludicrous!'
"Oh really? Then why were you so deep in thought that a heavy metal band could have snuck up on you?" Slip said, grinning like a shark.
"I'm just worried. I mean, the Senzu bean didn't even work. I don't like mysteries overly much and this whole thing just bugs me." Roshi replied.
"Well, moping about it isn't going to help any anyways, so why don't you come spar with me for a while. It will get your mind off of her."
Roshi looked over at Slip like he was seeing things. "Wait, wait, wait, did I just here you ask to spar with me?"
"Yes, what… you think you're to good to spar with the likes of lowly little me?" Slip replied faking a hurt look in her eyes.
"No, it's just that you've always found an excuse to get out of actually training with me all the times my dad has tried to get you to fight me." Roshi said, looking rather smug.
"Err, well, um, you see, Boxers and Tee are working on the fusion dance and I really don't like working with your father. He has a way of making me feel like an idiot just by being near him."
Roshi laughed, "he does that to you too? I thought I was the only one with an inferiority complex called Goshu."
Slip shook her head. "You know what I hate the most about her?" Slip said while pointing at Ichigo.
"What, other than the fact she outsmarts you every time you get into a name calling contest, or the fact that Tee and Boxers practically drool on her foot prints, or is it the fact that she isn't sorry about blowing up your lab, oh wait, I know, it's that she makes you feel guilty for even thinking about being morally corrupt and doing all kinds..."
"ROSHI!!! Would you stop already?!? Sheesh! Here I was going to say the thing I hate most about her was that since you have been spending so much time training with her I've missed hanging out and goofing off with you, but I guess that was just something I ate giving my crazy notions!"
"Yeah, must be something you ate, Tee did the cooking this noon and I don't... Wait a minute!" Roshi looked at her incredulously, "you were going to say you missed hanging with me? Since when did the high and mighty Slip need to hang out with me?"
"Roshi! Please don't pull that bull with me. You know as well as I do that outside my lab, I have no life. I mean, with my parents always being so busy I practically grew up at your place. I mean, really, other than you and Boxers, and Tee I really don't have any real friends unlike you. Of course I miss hanging out and stuff."
"What do you mean, unlike me? You have friends."
"Not like real friends. I mean, sure I hang with people, but we never really do anything. You go camping and do stuff with Kit, Carge, Niko, and Mariah. Anyway, and now you are spending all your time training and arguing, and fighting with her that you don't even seem to be paying any of the rest of us any mind. When was the last time you actually sparred with even Tee or Boxers?" Slip said while Jabbing him in the ribs.
"Hey now! That tickles none of that!" Roshi said while quickly slapping her hand away. "I don't know, it's been at least a week since I did stuff with either of them."
"Like I said, you are just a bit too occupied with sleeping beauty over here." Slip winked, "I don't know about you, but she seems a bit more feisty then what I would have pictured you with."
Roshi shook his head looked from Ichigo to Slip and then grabbed Slip and hauled her out the door. "For the last time I am NOT falling for her. It would never work in a million years and she is too whatever for me! Besides, as soon as we get out of here I am going to patch things up with Mariah cause I should be on a date with her RIGHT now in the real world so just drop this cause it isn't funny in the least!"
"Ok! Sheesh, break my arm would you!" Slip whined indignantly while rubbing her arm. "I was only teasing."
"Well it wasn't funny." Roshi said back. 'And it wasn't. I'm not falling for her. I'm not. Ichigo is too prideful and too recluse and too arrogant. I'm just worried. I don't know what is wrong and the fact that she was acting so strangely that morning is really bugging me. She was acting nice and she hasn't acted nice since the night after Banana showed up and she had like stress amnesia or something... And she isn't Mariah. Mariah is so care free and happy and composed and kind and sweet and innocent.'
"ROSHI IF YOU DON'T STOP DAYDREAMING I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A WEDGIE!!!!" Slip suddenly screamed into his ear.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about Mariah." Roshi replied quickly.
"BULL CRAP don't even try to lie to me Roshi. You were comparing Mariah to Ichigo!! HA... you're questioning yourself which means you ARE falling for her! I told..." Slip trailed off when she saw the look on Roshi's face. "Um I mean to say um so you were thinking about Mariah, I hear you had a really nice date um I guess it would be last Friday now um, care to tell?"
Roshi rolled his eyes. "We had a date... look I'm not good with this sort of thing and I really don't need you going all gooie on me so can we just spar now?"
"Ohhh all gooie? I just have to hear, now. So start at the start, you guys went out to eat right? Where did you go?"
"Ack Slip, not now!"
"Now, now or when we get out of here I will go to the tabloids with that picture I have of you and Mariah in the park."
Roshi's jaw dropped. "You were spying on me? Why?"
"Actually no, I wasn't but this camera guy came up to me and started pestering me about you and the Mystery girl when I was in the Mall on Saturday. So I lead him to a private location and paid him a huge excessive amount of money for his film."
"Too bad you didn't break his leg too. The media have been hounding Kit and Mariah and probably Carge since after the fight with those creeps and then my scene in the Mall with Ima only made it worse."
"I know, but anyway no deflecting the conversation, you were just going to tell me about your date." Slip said as she leaned against his shoulder and gazed up into his eyes with her "sweet little girl" look.
"Gah, don't do that!" Roshi said as he pushed her away. "Ok, you win, I'll tell now just stop being a pest."
"Me? Stop being a pest?" Slip shook her head. "I'd have to be in there like her for that to happen." She said with a smirk.
"Tell me about it."
"HEY!!! WHY YOU... wait, that almost worked... No more stalling out with the date story."
Roshi could be heard muttering "shucks" under his breath before he lead Slip into the dinner hall to talk. "Ok, what do you want to know?"
Slip got this far away look in her eyes. "Everything. I want to know every little detail."
"Women... Ok, we were celebrating the fact that Mariah's mother had sold a good portion of her better art and Mariah felt she needed to spend some money, so she was paying. Since she wouldn't hear of even the slightest notion of me helping to pay, I suggested we go eat at the Range."
"Oh, Friday night, how many steaks did you end up eating?"
Roshi rolled his eyes, The Range was an all you can eat Steak house. It also had a really large buffet and was a regular place for Roshi and the gang to go eat when Roshi didn't want to have reporters all over him. "I only ate like twenty or so."
"Only, you only ate twenty or so. You know if we didn't supply that place with beef at such a huge discount we would have eaten them out of business ages ago." Slip laughed, "So you guys ate at The Range, then what? And did you do anything romantic?"
More rolling of eyes, "Mariah and I shared a cheesecake cause she didn't want to eat the whole thing."
"Ahhh that's soooo sweet. So what movie did you guys go to?" Slip pried once again giving the "sweet little girl" look.
"Niko and Mariah picked it out. It was called... um... One simple Kiss or something."
"OOOOOHHHHHHH A Simple Kiss!!! I love that movie it is so sweet! How did you like the part where Hanz finally admitted to Janelle that he loved her? Oh that was one of the sweetest kisses I have ever seen in my life."
'What is with women and romance movies? Ok ok, it was good, but I would rather be kissing Mariah or someone rather then watching two actors kiss... Why do girls get so mushy over SEEING other people make out? It's sick!' Roshi looked at Slip, "Ah yeah it was um... nice."
"Nice? Nice? Roshi you have got to be the most clueless person I have ever met! How could you have watched that movie and just say it was nice?"
"Ah, cause I'm a GUY!"
"Oh, yeah, that's right, for a moment there I had forgotten that it is un-masculine to show emotion. You know if you would just admit your feelings you could turn Mariah into a pile of goo at your feet?"
Roshi gave Slip one of those looks... "What's with the sudden shift in attack? So you dropped the Ichigo thing and now you are trying to hook me up with Mariah?"
"Well, since I can't pester you about Princess bitchy, I might as well pester you about Mariah. Besides you two are so cute together. You should see those pictures of the two of you in the park!"
"Yes, those pictures, I would like to see them, I would also like to see them not in your possession, but I doubt that will ever happen."
"Nope!" Slip laughed, "so then tell me about the park. The pics have times on them and you two were there for four hours! What where you doing?"
"Talking. We were just talking. Mariah told me things and I told her things. Hindsight being what it is I should have told her more things, but as the camera guy shows that wasn't as private as I would have liked to have been."
"Oh, come on what kinds of things?"
"Nope, not getting any more from me. If you want it you have to beat me in a spar. Since that WAS what you wanted to do in the first place."
"A spar? But I don't... Oh alright let's go. Just don't go to hard on me I'm not very good." Slip acquiesced.
As most fights with Slip would be, this one was rather dull and Roshi mostly blocked every thing she sent at him.
After about twenty minutes of blocking, Roshi twisted away from one of Slip's punches and kicked her in the right hip.
"Ouch! That hurt! You can't fight like that with me! I'm not Princess Butch!"
Roshi smirked, "I know, that kick wouldn't have even gotten close to Ichigo. Tell you what, I think it is time we turn it up a notch."
Slip's eyes got about as big as saucers. "I don't think so. If you want your punching bag you can go pick on Tee and Boxers."
"Nah, I think you need some work. KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!!!" Roshi charged a tiny Kamehameha and sent it out to chase after Slip.
"AHHHH ROSHI IS TRYING TO KILL ME AHHHH!" Slip yelled as she flailed about in the air and ended up knocking the underpowered Kamehameha away.
"See that's not so hard. Do it again!" Roshi laughed as he sent several more ki blasts at Slip.
"Roshi this isn't funny I don't wanna fight anymore!!!"
"What was that? Make my attacks bigger? Ok!" Roshi said as he started charging a Masenko.
"ROSHI!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Slip made it halfway back to the Dome houses before the Masenko smacked her and sent her crashing into the ground.
"Roshi you are just mean. You are cruel and you are a jerk, and you suck." Slip said when Roshi landed nearby to help her up.
"I know, but you need to actually start training for real now. Yoshi and my dad have taught you sparring well, and you're stronger than either Tee or Boxers were when we started, but you really need to learn how to fight." Roshi replied while he dusted off the back of her charred but not damaged gi.
"Right, well right now all I need is a good nap. At least She won't be making noise to keep me awake."
Roshi looked at Slip curiosity peaking. "What do you mean by she won't be making noise to keep you awake?"
"Oh, nothing." Slip said, quickly turning away and heading towards the house she shared with Ichigo.
"Oh nothing, my rear end, now spill it." Roshi said as he shot ahead of her and blocked her way.
Slip shrugged and then gave in. "Ichigo has nightmares. Please don't tell her I told you I think she'll kill me. You know how she reacts to anything that makes her seem weak." Slip pleaded.
"Hold it, what do you mean by nightmares, and yes I know first hand what her temper can be like she rather disliked my pointing out she has weak defense on her left side, but I think I've cured some of that by now. If she ever wakes from that trance she's in." Roshi said getting a far away look in his eyes.
Slip waved her hand in front of Roshi's face. "Roshi to the real world. You there?"
"Huh, yeah, sorry, now what's this about her having nightmares?"
"I shouldn't be saying anything, but she has nightmares. Almost every night. She talks in her sleep but I really haven't been able to tell what it is she is saying. Mostly I just get the impression that she is haunted by the fear of failure, but at the same time, more than that. I don't know. It is hard to explain."
Roshi looked at her incredulously. "Ichigo's been having nightmares for the four and a half months we've been in here and you haven't told ANYONE?"
"Well I... No."
"Slip..."
"I KNOW, ok! I messed up again. Look, at first I was glad she had them cause it meant she wasn't as perfect as everyone else seemed to think she is, but now... I don't know. I hate to say it but I think if anything, she is more confused and scared than any of us have any clue as to guess at."
Roshi just looked at Slip for about half a minute. "Your mother is a genius."
"What does my mother have to... oh! Well you can stop right there. I don't need her as a friend. Besides, she's going home once we save the Earth from the Changeling she's leading to us."
"Slip, were you or were you not just complaining about not having any friends? Maybe you should try to make some. And Dende knows you could be more civil towards Ichigo."
"Look I'll try ok? Right now, I just want a shower and a nap. Is that ok with you?"
Roshi shrugged. "I'm not the boss of you."
"Ha ha very funny! Try and remember that comment now and then." Slip said before slamming the door to the Capsule house in Roshi's face.
* * *
The next day
Roshi was in the middle of his morning katas when Boxers and Tee walked up.
"Hey Roshi, you want to have a real fight?" Tee said while grinning like a, well, like he would normally when found grin in a candy store.
Roshi looked from Tee to Boxers and saw that he too was grinning like a child with a new toy. "You know the last time someone came to me grinning like the two of you are, she ended up comatose."
Both Tee and Boxers sobered dramatically. "Man you take all the fun out of life!"
"Sorry, just wanted to point out that you shouldn't be so confident. Besides even if the two of you have mastered Fusion I'll still beat you."
Boxers looked over to Tee, "I think we need to beat some of that confidence out of him."
"Oh, I totally agree." Tee replied, smirking at Roshi.
"Ok, fine, one thing first," Roshi said as he stretched out a calf muscle. "Put the sword down. If that sword is as strong as its legend says, I don't want to find myself on the wrong end of it."
Boxers laughed, but tossed the sword over towards one of the capsule houses. "No problem man, to be honest I don't like fighting with the thing anyway, I keep worrying that I might ding it or something."
They all laughed and then Roshi waited for them to complete the Fusion dance, which went off flawlessly. The two fused and a blonde and lavender skunk headed teen soon appeared. The fusion gave off a brilliant turquoise aura that forced Roshi to back up a step.
"Hey Roshi, I'm Boxee and I'm going to kick your ass!" The fusion declared.
'Hmmm, I would estimate that he is right about 1,250,000 now. Kaioken times 5 aught to be enough to handle him,' Roshi thought, "Don't get too cocky! Kaaaaiiooooo-Keeennnnn timessssss Fiiivvveeee!" Roshi yelled as he crossed his arms in front of his head and then whipped them to his sides. A brilliant red aura flashed over the turquoise one and forced it back.
The two fighters stared at each other for a few moments, letting the energy between their auras dance and play. Small bolts of lightning and fire shot off from them to sputter and die in the distance.
* * *
Over, near where they had been sparring, Goshu and Yoshi stopped to watch. "This is going to be interesting." Goshu said as he floated up to get a better view.
"Yeah, does Roshi know that those two can pull off the Kaio-ken while fused?" Yoshi asked.
"I doubt it. Which is why this is going to be very interesting. None of us can push Roshi alone, I wonder how strong he's gotten." Goshu said as he turned to see Slip, Piccolo, Dende, and Nail fly up.
"Kami," Goshu said as Dende flew up. "You think this is a good time to let the randomness of the room start?"
Dende smiled, "Always like you to see a good way to make your student's lives more interesting. It is done." Dende replied.
Slip looked over at them. "What's he talking about?"
Goshu smiled. "Dende can control the randomness of the room to some degree. He has been keeping the gravity constant and the temperatures regulated with day and night at my request. Now however, I think it is time we allow the room to be completely random. Neither Roshi nor Boxee will expect it and it should add something to this fight.
Slip cocked an eyebrow at Goshu, "You are just cruel. I like it!"
* * *
"Well, you wanted to fight, come and get me if you think you can." Roshi said as he waved Boxee in to attack.
"You asked for it." Boxee said as he charged zigging left and then zagging right several times before finally closing in to punch.
Roshi caught Boxee's right hand in his left and blocked Boxee's left handed jab before he delivered an uppercut to Boxee's jaw.
Boxee staggered back a bit before he swept Roshi's feet and kicked him in the small of the back.
Roshi flipped, and caught Boxee in the stomach with his knee while he boxed Boxee's ears slapping them both before he finally head butted him and jumped away.
"Damn it Roshi, that wasn't fair! Since when do you fight so dirty?"
"Sorry, boxing your ears may have been a bit excessive, but Ichigo always tends to get one nasty jab like that in, every time we spar to remind me that the Changelings are not likely to fight fair. I guess I just got used to it."
"You have got to be kidding me! She's the first one to bitch when we do something dishonorable! And now you tell me she is the most dishonorable?!" Boxee exclaimed while he blocked several of Roshi's attacks and then returned them.
"Actually no, to be honest my dad told her to do that anytime she thought I was forgetting how important this training was. I guess she seems to think I have a bad memory." Roshi replied while the two of them locked hands and attempted to kick each other mercilessly.
Boxee finally broke the hold and wrenched Roshi's right arm around, almost dislocating his elbow before Roshi pulled himself free.
"You're better than I thought. I think I need to start getting serious." Roshi replied before he started to charge a Kamehameha.
"Pish Posh, that isn't going to do much!" Boxee yelled as he started charging a Garlic Gun.
Roshi's massive blue beam struck Boxee's slightly smaller purple beam. As the energy rolled and formed a boiling sphere in the epicenter of the two beams, Roshi's beam slowly but surely pushed Boxee's beam back.
* * *
"Holy SHIT!" Slip yelled as she watched the two of them fight while wearing her scouter for which she had gone back to the Dome house to retrieve. "Roshi just peaked at 1,500,000 again and Boxee's strength while it was dropping is climbing again. It's over 1,300,000 now!"
"What an apt comment." Dende replied. "I am surprised at the choice of attacks Boxee has chosen however. Even Vegeta admitted that the Garlic Gun wasn't as useful as the Kamehameha. He never used it again after being defeated by Goku. As I recall the only thing it was better for was that it could be sustained longer, but that was probably more of a problem with the Kaioken than with the Kamehameha."
Yoshi turned and gave Dende an odd look. "I thought you weren't Kami until right before Gohan kicked Cell's butt."
"I wasn't, but I have the memories of all the Kamis who have come before me, so I remember that fight."
"Oh" Yoshi replied followed by, "If you have the memories of all those fights then what else can you tell us about these various attacks."
Dende smiled, "Oh, not so much as you would like I am afraid. I am a healer, so even watching and knowing what I know about the forgotten attacks I do not understand them. I can help with the Fusion dance only because it is not really an attack but more along the lines of a, well, the spiritual."
"What do you mean forgotten attacks?" Goshu asked suddenly more interested in the conversation than his son's fight.
"Well, there are several. Mostly those attacks that Trunks brought back with him from the Mirai universe and then those things that Tien never taught anyone else. Anyhow, no matter, those attacks that did survive will do well enough." Dende said before pointing to Boxee and Roshi.
* * *
The temperature in the room was getting very hot. Not only was it getting hot, it was getting hot very fast. The air burned in his lungs as Roshi fought to find the stamina to keep his Kamehameha going. Finally, he had to give up and jump clear as Boxee's Garlic Gun consumed his Kamehameha and then shot past where he had been standing.
"Where the heck did you learn that attack?" Roshi asked while he pealed off the outer layer of his gi.
"We saw a video of the fight between Vegeta and Goku once, and besides, that attack is almost instinctive." Boxee replied while he as well striped down to a vest.
"Hey Roshi, have you ever seen the movie The Princess Bride?" Boxee asked while both he and Roshi stretched out some.
"Yeah, what of it?"
"You know that scene where the two guys are on top of that cliff sword fighting and the one tells the other that he isn't actually left handed?"
"Yeah, what are you getting at?" Roshi asked while feeling a deep seated dread fill him. 'If he tells me that he wasn't fighting at full power I'm going to kick both their asses when they are done with this."
"I hate to say this but I have a surprise for you. KAIOKEN!!!"
Roshi felt his jaw drop as the turquoise aura turned violet then red. 'Thank Dende, only basic Kaioken. He's only a bit below 2 million now using a scouter, I'm still stronger.'
"Try this attack on for size! TWIN VIPER!!!" Boxee yelled as he stuck brought his arms out and back before arcing them forward hands held at shoulder level with his pointer and middle finger on each hand, curved like a snake's teeth.
As Boxee brought his arms forward, a great sweeping arc of green ki scythed through the air at Roshi.
"OH CRA..." Roshi screamed as he leapt into the air only to have Boxee sweep his arms up. The two energy snakes caught Roshi and quickly coiled around him.
"GHAHH AHHHH HEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHH"
Boxee laughed at Roshi's struggles. "Fight it all you want Roshi. It's and adaptation of the Galactic Donuts and the Energy Rings. The more you fight the tighter they will get!"
"GAAAAHHHH You know, Anaconda is a far more fitting name than Viper for this! Vipers don't constrict their prey!!" Roshi yelled as he flopped around on the floor while trying to twist his way out of the coiling ki.
"Oh please, just cause you're losing you think you need to make fun of me."
"Who said anything about losing? KAIOKEN TIMES SEEEEVVVENNNNNNN!!!" Roshi yelled as a red wave of energy burst between the coils and seemed to eat away at them. Roshi broke the coils and shot towards Boxee.
"TIMES TWOOO!!!" Boxee screamed before he blocked Roshi's punch and then landed a solid hit to the center of Roshi's chest, which staggered him.
Roshi was thrown backwards and tumbled through the air as the fire they had been fighting in suddenly turned to ice. Roshi crashed through an ice shard and landed on a sheet of ice. He lost his balance and slid for several tens of meters before he came to a stop.
"That was cold." Roshi mumbled to himself before he had to roll to the side to prevent Boxee's foot from compacting his rib cage.
Roshi scissored around and caught Boxee in the back of the knees which knocked him down.
Roshi quickly tried to kick him in the side while he was down but Boxee blocked and sent the two of them sliding across the icy floor.
* * *
Piccolo snorted and shook his head. "They play. They aren't even trying."
"Oh, no I would say that they are trying quite hard." Dende replied. "At least Roshi is."
"Are you certain? Seems to me he is using the same strategy he did against Nail and I. He is delaying and waiting for the Fusion to run out."
"Well this is only training Piccolo. And whether you are right or not, it appears as though we have a fairly good gauge of how far Roshi can push himself right now." Goshu replied.
"Do we? I think he is holding back... No, I know he is holding back. He isn't pushing himself. Think about how he normally fights. Even when outclassed or out numbered, Roshi is always on the offensive. He tries to control the fight. With the exception of being the first to try a beam attack everything he has done today has been defensive or retaliation." Piccolo replied.
* * *
Even as Piccolo was stating the same, the dualistic mind of Boxee came to the conclusion that Roshi wasn't fighting to form.
"Hey look! She's awake!" He said as he pointed off towards where everyone was watching.
"Huh?" Roshi said as he spun around to look.
'This is almost too easy.' Boxee thought as he pounded Roshi hard over the kidneys.
Roshi fell to his knees and Boxee kicked him in the rear sending him trough some more rapidly melting ice spires. By the time Roshi got back up, the ice was gone and the water was starting to evaporate as the room once again warmed.
Boxee then unceremoniously landed on his own rear as the gravity suddenly shifted while he was laughing at Roshi.
"You are really bad. I can't believe you fell for that!" Boxee laughed as he got up and flew towards Roshi, who was now glaring in a tense stance.
"Guess I'm just too trusting." Roshi replied not breaking his glare.
"That and you really have fallen for her like Slip says!"
Had Boxee any sense of self preservation he would have noticed the look in Roshi's eyes. As it was, he missed all the warning signs.
"For the last time I am not falling for Ichigo. I love Mariah." Roshi replied in a deadly calm manner.
"Right!! DENIAL!!" Boxee laughed.
Then Roshi's right hook slammed into Boxee's jaw, followed by a left hook and another right. Then a roundhouse kick to the head and an upper cut to the stomach.
Roshi then took the time to bend over and grab Boxee by the front of his tank top and overhand toss him into the air.
Roshi shook his head as the unconscious Boxee landed on his head. "I did warn you."
* * *
"Um, that was quick." Slip said as she pulled the smoking scouter from her face.
"I would say. How high did it get before the thing broke?" Yoshi asked.
"Um, it broke just under three million." Slip replied.
"Well, Piccolo, seems you were right. I wonder what was said to piss him off so fast." Goshu said.
Piccolo glanced towards the Capsule houses and then at Roshi who was patting the unconscious Boxee on the face trying to wake him.
Dende placed his hand on Piccolo's shoulder. "You will have to ask them."
Piccolo looked at his father and then looked over at Goshu, "yes, I heard some of what was said but it makes no sense so I may not have heard correctly."
Goshu looked from Dende to Piccolo to Nail. "If you say so"
* * *
Later that day
Roshi was busy cooking for the evening meal when Ichigo finally woke. She stumbled into the kitchen and stopped in her tracks when she saw Roshi.
"What happened? I'm so hungry I think I could eat an entire Sartan by myself."
"What's the last thing you remember?" Roshi asked after he closed the oven door. His roasts were cooking nicely and he had time to talk to Ichigo now.
"We were fighting, this morning I guess, and my Stopper beam worked! Your Kamehameha didn't do anything." Ichigo smiled and then looked up. "And then the next thing is I woke up in my bed all stiff like I had been there for days."
'Well she doesn't have any memory loss. Here comes the tirade though.' Roshi thought before taking a deep breath. "You had been there for days."
Ichigo dropped the carrot she had started to devour. "What do you mean I had been there for days? Why don't I remember anything after my Stopper beam?"
Roshi shrugged. "Um, because there is nothing after your stopper beam. You passed out and were in some sort of coma. Dende couldn't even heal you."
Ichigo's face reddened with anger for a few seconds before she walked over and glared into Roshi's face. "You are singularly incapable of telling lies. Now look me in the eyes and tell me how long I have been unconscious!"
Roshi looked down into her eyes and had to think about what she had actually said. 'I really hate that look in her eyes. They remind me of nasty thunderstorms when she is mad.' Roshi though before responding, "ah, you were out about five days."
"Why are you trying to look away? Are you lying?"
"No, he's just nervous because of all the grief we've given him for watching over you as you slept the last few days." Slip said from the door.
Ichigo got very red in the face very fast and grabbed Roshi by the throat. "WHAT?! You watched me sleep?!"
"You were in a coma, I was worried!"
"Pervert!" Ichigo yelled before she practically fainted, which caused her to stumble and fall into Roshi.
Roshi caught her and helped her to a chair.
Ichigo however didn't like being helped and shoved him away. "Don't touch me, I don't need your help!" She scolded before collapsing in the chair. She leaned forward and started rubbing her temples. "I need food."
Roshi quickly grabbed as much rice as he could grab from the never ending supply the ROSAT had and deposited it with some left over noodles, vegetables, and meat from the noon meal.
"Thank you." Ichigo managed to say before she dug in and devoured the entire bushel's worth of rice in a matter of seconds.
By this time everyone else had sensed Ichigo was awake and were arriving.
"Good, you're eating, Roshi was starting to get worried we would have to IV you if you didn't wake up." Goshu said as he walked around to sit across the table from where Ichigo was.
"I wasn't the only one!" Roshi said quickly as Ichigo whipped her head around to glare at him.
Dende walked up and stood near Goshu. "Dear child, could you please tell us about your attack that rendered Roshi's Kamehameha useless?"
Ichigo glared at him. "Old man how many times do I have to tell you not to call me child? And the only person who has ever called me dear anything is my mother. She's dead."
"All the more reason why someone should call you dear. Now Ichigo, dear child, would you please tell us about that attack, it may help us to figure out what happened to you and why you were unconscious for so long."
Ichigo glared at him. "I don't know why you think my attack had anything to do with it. It doesn't even use that much energy."
"It sure stopped a fairly large Kamehameha in its tracks though." Roshi said from the stove's were he was busy making the gravy for the potatoes he had cooking.
Ichigo made a face at Roshi's back and turned to look at Goshu and Dende. "Alright, to be fair I got the idea from Roshi."
"That's funny, I don't recall devising any attack that can disrupt a Kamehameha!" Roshi said from the stove.
"You didn't but you still gave me the idea you jerk!"
"That's it, everyone out so you stop pestering the poor girl." Goshu said.
Ichigo glared at Goshu but said nothing.
"Ah man!" Tee whined as Boxers pulled him out the door.
"I have to cook or the food will burn." Roshi said.
"Fine, then shut up, be silent and let her talk." Goshu said before looking back at Ichigo. "Alright, how did Roshi give you this idea?"
"Well, I got it from his Thunderflash attack. You see, he gathers negative and positively charged energy and slams it together really fast so it blows up. Well I got to thinking that something like that only used as a counter to a beam would be really effective."
"Yes, but the Kamehameha isn't charged with electrons or protons. It is just pure energy." Goshu stated.
"Yes I know, but all ki functions on a set pattern. Roshi feels different than you and you feel different than Dende, but you all have more or less the same exact energy."
"Dear child, are you saying that you tried to make something that was opposite to the energy in the Kamehameha?" Dende interjected suddenly.
"Yes, I would have thought that was obvious." Ichigo replied smugly. "And it worked."
"And you are very lucky to be alive." Dende shot back.
"Why do you say that? It just took a lot of concentration and practice. It's not like I had to throw everything I had into it."
"Ichigo, dear child, I am amazed that you could even accomplish what you have obviously accomplished. The strength of will it took is impressive. However, I fear if you ever tried to do so again it very well might kill you. You see, ki is the energy of life. It is the energy created by the bindings between Mind, Soul, and Body."
"Some races are weak of mind, or body or soul and have no knowledge of ki at all. Saiyans are blessed with strength in all three and as such have strong ki. By the power of our minds we who know of ki can manipulate our ki and use it to do a great number of things. However to manipulate ki in such a manner as you described is extraordinary, and dangerous because ki is life itself. As you said all life functions on a set level, so while you can manipulate energy with it, manipulating the ki itself is manipulating your own life energy. You, my dear, forced your ki into being the opposite of what it would normally be. The polar opposite of normal life. That you didn't break the bindings between Body and Soul only tells us how incredibly strong, or lucky, you are."
"Please don't call it luck. Luck doesn't exist." Ichigo said before she chewed on her lip and rubbed her head for a while. "So to go with the analogy of energy types that I started with. While it is easy to use ki to say make a electrically charged attack, what I did was making um... anti-ki or something?"
"I couldn't put it in better terms."
"So why didn't I pass out when I was performing the attack? Why did it happen afterwards?"
"Shock." Goshu said. "Like cold shock in animals. You said it took a lot of concentration to do the attack. Once it worked I am willing to bet you stopped concentrating and your ki tried to snap back to normal but couldn't."
"I have an idea if you would care to listen to me." Roshi said quietly from over by the stove.
"I guess as long as I'm getting told how stupid I was you might as well add your thoughts to the pile." Ichigo replied before looking up at him expectantly.
"Um, well since we were using my Thunderflash attack as an example. The second time I tried that attack when I was working I didn't control it right and the electricity arced through me. It used me as a circuit and gave me quite the jolt. Anyway, I was thinking given what Dende and my father said and how they said that it was the links between the mind the body and the soul that made ki, that you could have shorted yourself out. I mean, you were and are obviously alive, but right afterwards your ki was almost non-existent. As if something was blocking it, like a short." Roshi said.
Ichigo absentmindedly thought of the last time she had tried to short herself out in the catacomb run with normal electricity, and cringed. "I get the picture. I guess it wasn't such a good idea. Can we please eat now, that food is smelling really good and I am famished."
'Hm, almost dying seems to have made her more civil again. I wonder how long this nice streak will last.' Roshi thought as he went to call the rest of the group in to eat.
* * *
They were just finishing eating when a short squat blue man with little round black sunglasses on, walked into the dining room followed by Dende.
"Eating? I should have known, Goku almost ate me out of house and home while he stayed with me. I barely got to eat a thing!"
Ichigo looked at the new stranger. "From the looks of it, your diet didn't hurt you. Might have even helped."
Dende, Piccolo, and Nail all sweat dropped while the Saiyans looked on at the blue man who was starting to turn purple.
Suddenly the man snorted and started laughing. "No respect. I get no respect from any of you. Goku blew up my planet, and you think he ever comes and visits? No. But that's ok. I like your sense of humor. Training you will be fun."
"Training me?" Ichigo looked around. "What about them?"
"They haven't made me laugh yet." The blue man smiled and then laughed some more. "Um since you people can't seem to guess, I am King Kai. I invented the Kaioken and even though Roshi might know how to do it he obviously can't teach worth a rice ball's chance on your table."
"HEY that's..." Roshi started to say before Goshu clamped his hand over Roshi's mouth.
"King Kai? I thought we had to die to go train in heaven with you. You honor us with your presence." Goshu said reverently.
King Kai snorted, "Well I wouldn't have, but if Kaioshin can come down to Earth then I guess I can too, besides, you need me. I haven't been needed in a long time." He finished more to himself than to anyone in the room.
"So you invented the Kaioken?" Tee asked between mouthfuls of potatoes.
"Kaio Ken, I am Kaiosama or King Kai, no one disputes that the Kame master Roshi created the Kame Hame Ha." King Kai said after snorting and shaking his head. "Youth these days, they just don't understand history."
Several people laughed at the perplexed look on Tee's face.
"Anyway, I'm in charge now, so no more eating. Time to make me laugh!" King Kai said as he picked up the table and started heading for the door.
The Saiyans in the room all looked at each other and then at Dende. Dende just shrugged. "To use her words, the diet might even do you some good."
"Boxers looked at Tee and Roshi. "I say we get him first and then teach the Kaio that it doesn't matter who you are, you don't take food from a Saiyan!"
Ichigo almost fell out of her chair laughing. "I couldn't have said it better. Nobody takes food from me!"
* * *
Ironically Tee took the longest to make King Kai laugh. Once all of them had succeeded in that task however, the training for the Kaioken was surprisingly straight up. In a matter of a few weeks of intensive meditation everyone except Ichigo had mastered it to some degree.
Dende, Goshu, and King Kai all determined that some residual effect from her coma was preventing her from focusing. Not only was she unable to master the Kaioken, but she couldn't reach nearly the power level she had previous to the coma.
So as it was Ichigo who spent a better portion of the next few months training specifically with King Kai while Roshi and the others trained with each other.
And while they all trained, in the moments of rest or calm, Roshi watched. Everyone but him, it seemed noticed his tendency to glance, or watch or simply gaze off towards where Ichigo tried valiantly to regain her lost skills.
They all knew what was happening, but given Roshi's past reactions, no one said a word.
* * *
Seven months into training in the Room of Spirit and time.
Ichigo finally mastered the Kaioken. Roshi was glad, today would be the first day he would get to spar with her since that fateful day she put herself into a coma.
'Well I know she found her stamina back. She can push Kaioken times ten easily. This could be an interesting fight. She has gained power really fast now that she has healed from whatever it was she did to herself.' Roshi thought as Ichigo smirked across at him.
"Well, you ready to have some fun?" She asked.
"Yeah I guess."
"Ok, how about we not mess with the low power stuff and just go right into the thick of things?"
'So, you're in a rush to get beaten? Your impatience will cost you.' Roshi thought, "yeah let's"
The two of them both powered up at the same time red ki flared, growing out and upwards.
* * *
Elsewhere in the Room of Spirit and Time, the three fusions of Boxee, Naiccolo, and Goshi paused to look in the direction of the energy flares.
"Both are around three million, that could be an interesting fight." Boxee said, jealous of the fact that he needed to fuse to even approach power of such level.
"Yeah, and Roshi is holding back again, like usual." Naiccolo replied.
Goshi grabbed Boxee and threw him into Naiccolo. "Nobody called time out. Let them fight, we gain nothing by just watching them fight while we are fused."
The other two agreed and the ROSAT rumbled with the energy spent by the two separate fights going on within.
* * *
The flames in the room curled and wisped around them as they fought. Neither Roshi, nor Ichigo claimed the upper ground for very long as they traded blow for blow, beam for beam, block for block.
"You're holding back again! I hate it when you hold back you jerk!" Ichigo screamed as she landed a knee to Roshi's gut.
"Not so much as you may think." Roshi said back.
"Not like it would matter much," Ichigo replied as she blocked a punch and caught Roshi's left foot with her ankle, flipping him around in the air. "I'm still faster than you."
"You want to bet? I'm wearing weights again." Roshi said as he kicked his boots off and then took off his wrist guards. "There, now I'll be a lot faster."
Ichigo just looked at him. "Ok you are an idiot." She said as she reached back and untangled two large ball shaped things from her hair. She then kicked off her own boots, and wrist guards. "I'm faster now too. Ready to dance?"
"Bring it on."
Roshi blocked two roundhouse punches before Ichigo kicked him in the ribs and forced him back. 'This is going to suck, she really is faster than me. Time to bump it up a notch or two.'
Roshi pushed himself to Kaioken times fifteen. It was the most he had ever done and it was the most his body could take. It was however, significantly more than Ichigo could hope to match. Over the next few seconds while the fire turned to ice, Roshi struck from all sides and Ichigo finally was forced to land and call for break.
"Shouldn't ask for what you can't handle." Roshi said as he landed near her and sat on an ice chunk.
"Don't get too comfortable. I would hate to see you tense up and not be able to continue once I catch my breath. Besides, you just caught me by surprise."
"Right." Roshi scoffed. He leaned back on his ice chunk and fell to the floor as it suddenly boiled away as the room once again burst into flames. "Ouch, that was a quick cold spell."
"Too bad, this heat is suffocating." Ichigo replied. "It is hard to fight in it."
Roshi bent down to grab the tear in his pants at his knee and ripped the bottom half off. He then repeated the process with the other leg and then stripped out of his shirts. "Nah, it's not too bad."
"Oh that is so unfair."
"Not my problem, besides, you could strip down some, not like I would care."
Ichigo's cheeks flushed. "You would get too much enjoyment out of it. Pervert."
"Gah, Ichigo look at yourself. I can see your abs already, your gi is so shredded all that is left of it are tattered rags. Besides, not like I haven't seen you in less before."
"You are disgusting." Ichigo replied.
"Hey, I'm just stating the facts. Nothing to get upset about."
"They wipe that ridiculous smirk of your ugly face!" Ichigo yelled as she jumped at Roshi.
Roshi summer-salted out of the way and kicked her in the butt as she passed.
"Thought you were supposed to be faster then me." He taunted.
Ichigo jumped at him and he slid out of the way while he tried to put her into a head lock. All he managed to do was rip the rest of her tattered gi top off of her.
"Opps."
"Opps? What the heck were you trying to do you sick perverted jerk!" Ichigo yelled at him.
"Um here want it back?" Roshi replied as he held the gi out to her.
Ichigo grabbed it and threw it aside before she straightened out her now midriff length gray undershirt. "You think this is all terribly funny don't you?"
"Um, well um, to be honest, ah, yes. You are really self conscious for someone who grew up in the public eye."
"Oh and you aren't? You developed lies based on lies to protect you style of life. I just don't like hormonal perverts looking at me."
"For the last time I'm not a pervert! You want the honest truth? You're certainly not unkind on the eyes to look at, but you are so not my type so could you just drop this whole pervert crap and just fight, or would you rather bicker like an old hag all day long?"
"I'm not bickering!"
"Are too"
"Am NOT!"
"No comment!"
"PERVERT!"
* * *
Some forty minutes later.
The room was still boiling hot with flames sizzling and crackling around the two fighters. The two were in the middle of a stare off. Their argument had broken down to glaring and then the occasional few minutes of hectic sparing. It was now a moment of calm as they locked eyes and glared.
'How long is this going to take? Fight and glare, bitch and bicker and fight and glare.' Roshi thought as he watched Ichigo intently. A small bead of sweat rolled down her forehead past her temple and down her left cheek. It caught his attention and he started watching it. It rolled down her cheek and then past her jaw to her slim neck. From there it pooled with some more sweat near the hollow of her neck formed where the collar bones come together. Ichigo twitched and the pooled sweat dribbled down her skin over her sternum to flow into the valley that was the start of her cleavage before it ran into the top of her black bra and soaked in.
When Roshi realized what he was looking at he jerked his eyes away, only he hadn't ever looked, his eyes had never left Ichigo's as they stared each other down. 'did I just sense that sweat drop without seeing it?' He asked himself as he tried once again to focus on a sweat drop.
A droplet of sweat flicked away from one of her eyelashes as she blinked and floated off to evaporate before it hit the ground. Roshi followed it's fall until it was no more.
Roshi realized what was happening and had to calm his heart which was racing. He blocked his thoughts of the room and the heat, and the others who were now sparring as individuals from his mind. He focused singularly and totally on Ichigo.
Following another bead of sweat he focused once again on her chest, but not On her chest but more in her chest. The beating of her heart, the expansion and contraction of her lungs. She swallowed and he sensed the saliva flow down to her stomach.
'This is incredible...' Roshi thought to himself as he suddenly felt the muscles in her right foot tense as energy flowed into it.
"KI KICK!!!" Ichigo screamed as her ki spiked and her aura flared red.
Her foot sailed through the afterimage Roshi had left as he dodged behind her.
"I'm over here." Roshi teased as he flicked her left ear.
Ichigo spun around in circles over the next few minutes as she tried in vain to hit or kick or jab or throw a ki attack at Roshi. But he was never there by the time the attack got there.
Finally out of breath and needing to water horridly badly, Ichigo gave in.
"Good spar. That was fun. We should do it again later after we've gotten some rest." Roshi replied as he caught up to Ichigo as she walked back to the houses.
"Yeah, maybe eventually I might be able to beat you." Ichigo said neutrally.
"Hey, what's this, no feeling sorry for yourself, you've missed a lot of training cause of your... coma and well it's only natural that I would be a bit better then you now. You did really good."
"Yeah, up until you decided to stop playing and then I couldn't even touch you."
'hmmm, I may have had a bit to much fun, she's really sounding down about it.' Roshi thought before he grabbed her shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, it will come."
Ichigo flinched away from Roshi's hand and walked silently back to the houses.
* * *
When they got to the cluster of houses they found Slip in a skimpy string bikini basking in the heat on a towel.
"Slip you look all too comfortable there. I think you need to come spar with me now. Roshi told her as he kneeled down beside her and poked at her belly.
"Stop that you dork! And I don't need to train with you. I'm enjoying the heat." Slip said as she rolled over to lie on her stomach.
Roshi shook his head grabbed Ichigo from the kitchen and went in search of Dende.
* * *
"Hey Slip," Roshi said as he and Ichigo walked back over to her. "Last chance, time to spar."
"Nope, I'm basking in the glorious heat."
"No you're not." Ichigo replied as she nodded at Dende and dumped the bucket of water she had on Slip the moment Dende had the room changed from hot to cold.
Slip became one big blue ice cube. A few seconds later she finally broke free of the ice and shot to her feet. "Thh.h.h.ha.a.a.at.tt.t waa.aa.sssss Not FUNNY!" Slip yelled as she warmed herself up with her own aura. "Take THIS!!! BIIIGGGGG BAAAAANNNGGGG!!!" Slip yelled as she sent a weak yellowish white beam at Roshi. Roshi didn't even flinch as it hit him square in the center of his bare chest.
"WHAT?!?!" Slip bellowed. It didn't do anything!!!"
"Well duh, Vegeta designed it to feed off the energy of a Super Saiyan's aura. It only works if you're a Super Saiyan." Roshi scoffed.
Slip closed her eyes and shook for a moment. "Then please tell me why anyone bothered to try to teach a useless attack to me. I'll never ever use it and you know damn well I'll never go Super Saiyan, maybe butch girl here might but I won't and you know it so don't even argue the point Roshi."
Ichigo coughed, "Well maybe if you took your training seriously you would be able to. As it is you'll never reach it because you seem to not want it. I feel sorry for your lack of ambition."
"My lack of ambition? What? Oh please don't tell me they didn't tell you."
"Tell me what?" Ichigo said as she followed Slip into their house.
"They didn't. Those assholes! All I've been hearing lately is Super Saiyan this and Super Saiyan that mixed in with a bunch of crap about the Kaioken. I can't believe they didn't tell you.
"Roshi what the heck is she talking about. Tell me what? What should I know?" Ichigo asked Roshi who was standing silently by the door.
"They didn't tell you that FEMALES CAN'T GO SUPER SAIYAN!"
Ichigo blinked a few times. "What do you mean females can't go Super Saiyan?"
"I mean just that, we can't go Super Saiyan. Pan was Gohan's daughter, she had a power level in the tens of millions according to the stuff I dug up from the GKSS, but she never made it to Super Saiyan, every time she got into a situation were she could have she passed out. Trust me if I know anything it's science. We can't do it. We have the wrong hormones, don't have enough testosterone."
Ichigo stuttered for a few moments grasping for words.
"Slip, I think you had better explain that because while I knew Pan had never made it to Super Saiyan they whole hormone thing is news to me." Roshi said calmly from the corner knowing full well that Ichigo could get rather unpredictable in the face of such information.
Slip rolled her eyes. "Ok ok, sit down I don't need you two jumping all over me while I try to explain." She said as she pulled on a bath robe and sat down.
"Alright. Super Saiyan for lack of a better explanation is a genetic switch that gets turned on and off in each DNA strand of each cell. When one achieves Super Saiyan for the first time it is reportedly highly stressful because it is essentially a rapid mutation."
"Ok so why can't we make the transformation then?"
Slip exhaled and then took a deep breath. "Like I said, we don't have enough testosterone. It acts like a catalyst and allows for the transformation to happen. Without it, the body can't handle the change."
"Then why did you say I might be able to just a bit ago when we were outside?"
Slip laughed, "Cause you're more butch than any girl I've ever met. I wouldn't be surprised if your hormones are messed up enough to allow it."
Ichigo sucked on her lip and popped her jaw. "I'm sure that was an insult but at the moment I don't really care. So there is a chance?"
"Well yeah, I mean I didn't do the experiments but I have heard that if you put cells from a female in a test tube with a high level of Testosterone in it we can force the change just like we can with the male cells. They blow up and we don't gain anything from the test, but they blow up just like the male cells do."
"So you're saying that with like steroids or something then I could?" Ichigo asked, deep in thought.
Slip looked up at Roshi in surprise. "Um, I guess."
"Get me the steroids."
"No." Slip and Roshi both said at the same time. Roshi gave Slip the oddest look.
"Look, I can't. I won't. You have every right to be angry over what I was tempted to do when I thought Roshi had killed you when you had first arrived here. It was immoral, unethical and down right evil. I berate myself every day over what I almost did. I can't let you do what you suggest now even if it would have the possible benefits. I won't do it. It's just wrong so please don't ask." Slip said while absentmindedly poking her index fingers together.
Ichigo bit her lip and one could hear as she ground her teeth. "You don't understand. I need this. I need to save my people. I need this and I don't care what the cost is. I don't care about if it's natural or not I need this!" Ichigo yelled into Slip's face.
"No, I won't, now don't ask me again." Slip screamed before she knocked her chair over and ran into the bathroom.
"Ichigo, come with me, we need to talk." Roshi said as he grabbed Ichigo's arm and drug her out of the house.
He turned on her as soon as they got out of the house. "How dare you! How dare you do that to her?"
Ichigo glared at him. "You don't understand! I..."
"No, you don't understand. You can't take the moral high road when you judge others and then lower your own standards for yourself. You still, after all this time won't spend more than a few words in conversation with Slip because she had the audacity to dissect your tail like it was a simple science experiment. It was wrong and you were correct in being angry but it is about time you moved on. Now asking her to bend and do something that even you admit is wrong is along the lines of the Changelings. You keep reminding me that they won't be holding back. I know that, and I know we need every chance we can get, but how can you justify calling them monsters when you are willing to go to just about the same lengths to get your own power!"
"But I need..."
"No you don't. You need the Changelings to stop killing your people. You would like to be the one who personally saves them. I guess it would go a long way towards earning their respect if you did, but YOU don't need to be a Super Saiyan. It isn't the only way you can beat them. Besides, Slip could be wrong. Goku said that one needed a pure heart and cause to reach Super Saiyan. Who knows if Pan actually had reason or if her own doubt held her back. Chances are even if you did mess yourself up with drugs and crap your own doubt would hold you back. Now if you are going to keep training with us you had best not lower your standards and fall into the path that creates monsters!"
"But, DAMN IT!! I hate it when you're right!"
"Good, now lets go back in there and apologize to Slip ok?"
Ichigo's shoulders sagged. "Ok."
Roshi turned and opened the door, and stepped into the house to be met by a screaming Slip.
"EEEEEEEAAAAKKKK GETTT OUTTTT!!!!!!!!" Slip screamed as she tried desperately to cover herself.
Ichigo caught a glimpse and started laughing.
Slip finished changing clothes in a matter of moments and walked past Ichigo who was still laughing her head off and out the door.
Roshi for his part was banging his head into the wall. "Stupid stupid stupid."
"GET YOUR BUTT IN THERE NOW, MISTER!!!" Slip screamed into his ear.
Roshi meekly walked into the house and turned to look at the very very red faced Slip.
"I didn't see anything I looked away right away."
Slip glared from Roshi to Ichigo who was still laughing.
"What the hell is so funny?!?!"
Ichigo looked up a wiped a tear from her eyes. "Roshi is. He's either got the best timing of any pervert ever or the worst!"
Slip glared at her and then turned to look at Roshi. "AND YOU MISTER, HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF KNOCKING ON DOORS!!!!"
"I'm sorry I didn't see anything I looked away right away."
Slip shook her arms in rage. "You say you didn't see anything because you looked away meaning that you saw and realized what you saw so you looked away. WHICH MEANS YOU SAW ME TOTALLY NUDE, YOU PRICK!"
I didn't mean to and I looked away right away. I barely saw anything!"
"Roshi I'm not stupid. Your visual mental retention rate is like 99.999999999% you never forget ANYTHING you ever see. It's why you never have to study. Don't tell me you didn't see much cause I know you could describe in ten years every single pimple on my body and tell me the location if you wanted to!!!
Ichigo stopped laughing. "What did you just say?" She asked Slip while most of the color drained from her face.
"I said Roshi never forgets anything he ever sees why?"
"YOU DISGUSTING PERVERT!!!" Ichigo screamed as she got up to walk towards Roshi. "So, what this how you get your jollies or something?"
Slip cocked an eyebrow at Roshi, "So you walked in on her too?"
"Ah huh" Roshi squeaked.
"Well then, which one of us is better looking? I want an honest answer." Slip said, glaring at Roshi.
"I'm not going to answer that question!!"
"Why not?" Slip said before jabbing Roshi in the ribs.
"Because I think of you like you're my sister and that is totally horribly disgusting and I'm not going to judge Ichigo like that cause it's just wrong!" Roshi said while keeping his hands low enough to protect himself from anything Either of them might try to do.
"Not good enough. I want an opinion or you're not leaving this house. Right Ichigo. Wouldn't you just love to know what Pervert Boy here really thinks about, you?"
"Hmmm, I think that's an excellent idea."
"Fine, then you can get Carge or someone like that in here and the two of you can put on a show or something but leave me out of it. Just don't be surprised if his brain bubbles out of his nose and pools on the floor in a big bloody mess!"
Ichigo looked at Slip, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's Roshi's way of saying we are both good looking without saying that we are good looking. And that Carge is a real pervert. He's trying to claim that since he didn't get a bloody nose from looking at me he isn't a sick bastard or something."
"I'M NOT A PERVERT!!!!"
Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "He was sniffling."
"No I'm not, I'm NOT!"
"That night when he walked in on me, he was sniffling."
Slip glared at Roshi, "That true Roshi, Ichigo give you a nosebleed?"
"NO!" He wailed before having to sniffle because of just thinking about that night.
"HE'S doing it right now!" Ichigo said before looking around. "You got any of your nasty lab stuff here. I need a scalpel. Hopefully a dull one."
Roshi scooted towards the door, but Ichigo beat him to it and broke the doorknob off. "From what Slip told me about this house you wouldn't be able to beat your way out even if you were a Super Saiyan." She then looked over at Slip. "So you got scalpel?"
"Nah, I suggest just using torsion. From what I have heard, it is more painful anyway. Just twist them off. I mean they are called nuts."
"Gah! This isn't funny girls!" Roshi whined as he jumped past Ichigo's hand which had gotten dangerously close to his obi.
"No it isn't. It's justice." Ichigo said with an evil gleam in her eyes.
Roshi jumped under Slip as she dove for him and scooted to the back of the house. There, he saw his exit. The girls had forgotten to lock one of the windows. He jumped through it and flew as fast as he could towards where his father and the others were sparring.
"HELP THEY'RE AFTER ME!!!" He wailed as he landed behind his father moments before Ichigo and Slip landed.
"Let us get Roshi and nobody else will get hurt." Slip said with a smirk.
Goshu looked at the two girls and his jaw dropped. "Roshi, you got them to work together!"
"I noticed. I liked them better when they hated each other!"
"Oh for shame! Whatever you did to get them to work together, you need to do it more often." Goshu said while patting Roshi on the back and pushing him towards the girls.
"DAD!!!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
(point of explanation. In Japanese manga and anime a nose bleed is associated with dirty thoughts of a sexual nature. Hence the reason why Roshi would get a nose bleed while thinking about the night he walked in on Ichigo.)
I hope to get 37 up before the Thanksgiving holiday which is this next Thursday here in the US.
Special thanks to Josav for being online and editing this.
This chapter is dedicated to her because FF.net deleted her account for no reason THOSE B@$T@RDS!!!!
Her website is at http://www.asashey.cjb.net/ Go there. She has nice art and cool fics.
In other notes. Kitsune Maxwell is coming out of hibernation and is writing again. Go check her stuff out at http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=129268
Thank you all for reading.
Please Review. This is the longest chapter I have ever written and I really do want your feedback as a lot is happening in the story.
The Smooster
