Author's Note: Who can name the singer(my fave, btw ^_^) that does the song that appears in my fic? Read, guess and enjoy!
Silent One
Chapter 7
"OK, are you ready?" Yasmine asked, holding a twig over the fire until the tip ignited.
With an indignant snort, Piccolo replied, "Yeah, I'm ready. Knock yourself out."
Yasmine straightened, seeming little more then a shadow because of her dark complexion, and walked closer to Piccolo with the burning twig in her hand. "OK. Watch the flame and nothing else."
Piccolo fixed his eyes onto the flame, following it with his eyes when she moved it slowly from side to side. He hardly even realized she was moving it, and pretty soon he seemed to zone out as everything but the tiny flicker of light darkened around him. It was like he was looking down a tunnel of tinted glass to see the little flame.
Moving the flame gradually closer to Piccolo's face, Yasmine whispered, "Your eyes should feel heavy now, and your mind is becoming drowsy…" She moved the flame a little closer, but still not close enough for it's light to reach his face. "When the flame is near your face, you will fall into a deep sleep."
Still watching the flame, Piccolo could feel his eyes growing heavier. Yasmine's voice started to sound far off in the distance as his mind started to wind down. The closer the flame got, the more sleepy he felt, and with remarkable quickness, his head suddenly slumped forward when the flame was a mere three inches from his face. The large collar on his shoulderpads prevented his head from falling too far, but as Yasmine had said, the trick had worked. The Namekian was sound asleep, his face relaxing to the way it had been the last time he was seen asleep as the light from the burning twig cast it's glow onto his sharp features.
The hypnosis was complete.
"Can you hear me?" Yasmine whispered, smiling gently.
Piccolo answered her in a low voice, "Yes."
"Until I wake you, you can't tell me any lies. So tell me now, what made you so cold to the world? Why are you so hateful?"
"A man named Goku killed my father. Before he died, he regurgitated my egg and I was born to get revenge…alone…" His voice was barely a whisper. "Killing him was all I knew…then I ended up allying with him to fight a common enemy. The alliance lasted longer then we thought and now Goku's whereabouts are unknown." His voice lowered even further. "I…have lost my purpose…"
"Did anyone ever care for you when you were born?" Yasmine, slightly startled by Piccolo's previous reply, settled down in front of him, keeping the burning twig near his face so she could see any signs that he was coming out of the trance by his own will.
The Namekian nodded his head slowly, "Once."
"What happened to them?" She asked.
"I…" His voice faded, then returned, "…killed them…"
Blinking, Yasmine shifted the twig to her other hand and wiped some dirt off her leg as she adjusted her sitting position slightly. "Why? Take yourself there in your memory and tell me…"
"I don't know…" There was a pause, then he continued when the memory came clear to his mind as a movie on a screen. Blood, blood everywhere. "Someone had gotten hurt, and I could smell their blood." A tiny green shape let out a shriek as it started tearing objects in a house apart and flinging them at people with incredible strength. "It just drove me into an insanity, and…it didn't stop until I thought I was the only living thing in the house." Images of flames passed his mind, "Then I destroyed the house…there was a baby still alive in there. It was crying and I watched it…this innocent child was dying in front of me and I…" Very suddenly, glistening tears formed in the corners of Piccolo's eyes, welling up near the cracks of his closed lids before sliding effortlessly down his emerald cheeks. His voice, however, didn't change or crack, "I watched it burn, and my innocence along with it. The villagers saw me there and started to call me a demon…so I ran. Ran and stayed alone…alone to know only the rage and hate."
Tears had welled up in Yasmine's eyes as well. He was born to know only hate? How could anyone want that? She glanced at Tategoto when he turned over, wondering silently, How could one so full of this anger have a child so pure?
"What do you really want, Piccolo? Out of life?" Yasmine knew she would get a straight answer this time, because while Piccolo was in the trance, he would speak the truths about himself that even he himself refused to believe.
Piccolo's simple answer took a long time to come, "An end…"
"To what?" She urged him to continue, amazed at how easily the shell of hatred had been peeled away from his heart for this short time.
Another tear escaped his eye, "…the loneliness…"
Yasmine reached her hand out and cupped his face with her palm, using her thumb to gently wipe away his tears. Even though she knew she would have to prevent him from remembering this before she woke him up, she whispered, "It will end. I promise it will." Just as she had the first time, she passed her fingertips over his soft lips, then moved her hand away and said, "When I blow the flame out, you'll wake up feeling refreshed and with no memory of what we talked about. If you do remember any of it, it is a dream to you and nothing more." With that, Yasmine turned her head and blew on the twig until the flame went out and left a thin line of smoke as the only clue it had been there.
As soon as the flame was extinguished, Piccolo's eyes opened and darted to either side before glancing to Tategoto and finally to Yasmine.
"How do you feel?" Yasmine asked quietly as Piccolo straightened and stretched slightly.
"It…worked…" He blinked, then frowned and cocked his head at her, "I was dreaming strangely, and I never dream when I sleep… What did you do to me?"
"It's too complicated to explain." She chuckled. "But you slept soundly for exactly…" glancing at her watch, she continued, "ten minutes. You owe me." Her face lit up as another brief laugh escaped her lips, "Do you dance?"
Piccolo scratched the spot between his brow ridges and frowned. "Dance!?" He growled, "what are you trying to pull?"
Yasmine straightened, tapped her boom box with her toe and it started to play music, "I'm not pulling anything. Except maybe you." She laughed and grabbed his arm, trying to yank him to his feet, and only succeeded in falling down next to him to get a very close up look at one of his more intimidating facial expressions.
The Namekian emitted an angry hiss through clenched teeth as he yanked his arm away from Yasmine's grasp. "That's a good way to get yourself killed!" He glanced at Tategoto to see if any of this had disturbed him. The child was still sound asleep, and looking at him was enough to make Piccolo forget his anger for a moment.
"Being like that is the reason you're so alone." Yasmine said suddenly in response to his angry comment. "And you've been alone too long."
"Why do you care!?" Piccolo spat, standing up and sneering at her so forcefully that the entire bridge of his pointed nose disappeared into shadows cast by his brow ridges. He walked a few steps away from her and re-crossed his arms, keeping his back to her as the words to the song that was playing on the boom box started filtering into the air.
Just when I believed I couldn't ever want for more
This ever changing world pushes me through another door
"Because!" Yasmine shouted back, then swallowed quickly when she realized that yelling at Piccolo could get him to do something worse then just plain yelling. The last part of her statement went unsaid, even though the words were burning fiercely in her throat. Instead, her voice lowered as she said, "I just do. Ever since last night, I've come to realize how much I do care about you."
I saw you smile
And my mind could not erase the beauty of you face
Piccolo stiffened, bristling and clenching his teeth silently as her words reached his ears. He tried to push away each word, yet embraced them at the same time. "Quit playing mindgames with me, Yasmine." He growled softly.
Just for awhile
Won't you let me shelter you
Yasmine risked walking closer to the angry Namekian and laid her hand lightly on the back of the collar of his shoulderpads. The material of his cape felt light and cool, almost like the material of a bedsheet feels, and yet it didn't seem as flimsy. She also felt Piccolo stiffen at the touch, but continued on and walked around in front of him. "I'm not playing any games with you Piccolo." She looked him directly in the eye, it being easy to get face to face since the top of her reached just below his eyes.
Hold on to the nights
Hold on to the memories
I wish that I could give you something more
That I could be yours
"Grr!" Piccolo growled, then pressed his lips together tight to keep from cursing her out or flinging a ki blast from his mouth at her.
"Shhh…" She reached up and hushed him by placing her finger on his lips, catching him by surprise again with her gentleness. "Please, trust me." With that, Yasmine placed her other hand on the back of his neck, pulled him close and let her arms slide around him as she gave him the first hug he had ever gotten in his life.
How do we explain something that took us by surprise
Promises in vain, love that is real but in disguise
Piccolo didn't know what to do, because the moment Yasmine's arms slipped around him, his emotions all seemed to collide at once. At first, he was absolutely ticked off that she would even dare to touch him, then he was momentarily afraid that he might hurt her, and finally that feeling with no name to it rose up among the others. So many emotions were moving at such speeds that not even Piccolo couldn't make sense of them all. While in the middle of this emotional swirl, he realized that he didn't want her to let go, even though he himself wasn't reacting to the embrace.
What happens now
Do we break another rule
Let our lovers play the fool
While she hugged him, Yasmine turned her head slightly and inhaled the scent of salt and dust that came from living outdoors. She could feel her heart beating swiftly in her chest, and could also feel his as it hammered wildly. It led her to wonder if he could feel hers as well. She could also feel him trembling slightly, but whether it was from fear or rage, she couldn't tell.
I don't know how
To stop feeling this way
Before he realized what he was doing, Piccolo slowly bent his arms and grasped Yasmine's shoulders as he tried desperately to decide whether to hold her there or push her away. At the touch, Yasmine turned her head further to look at him and they found themselves face to face. Piccolo wanted so badly to turn away, and yet something, a hidden force from within, prevented that. Everything else seemed to go totally still for that moment, save for the sound from the small boom box and their soft breathing.
Hold on to the nights
Hold on to the memories
I wish that I could give you something more
That I could be yours
Yasmine saw her chance, closed her eyes and inhaled. Then she carefully started to bring her face closer to Piccolo's, her lips parting slightly. Piccolo started to move his face closer to hers, his eyes started to close and their lips were about a centimeter apart when he suddenly became aware of what was happening. What am I doing!?
Well, I think that I've been true to everybody else but me
And the way I feel about you makes my heart long to be free
Piccolo suddenly turned his head to the side. "Don't." He shrugged her arms away from his neck and backed out of the embrace, keeping his hands on her shoulders until he had moved her an arm's length away. Then he turned his back to her, his cape rustling as it settled against his back. He had this strange feeling like he wanted to cry, yet no tears fell. "What the hell is the matter with me?" The Namekian man asked himself under his breath.
Every time I look into your eyes, I'm helplessly aware
That the someone I've been searching for is right there
Yasmine was slightly confused by Piccolo's reaction to what had almost happened, but not too surprised. She brushed her hair back and sighed, saying something she probably wouldn't have the courage to say again if she didn't say it now. "Piccolo…" Her courage started to falter, but her voice did not. "…I love you."
Hold on to the nights
Hold on to the memories
I wish that I could give you something more
That I could be yours
As soon as the words reached his ears, Piccolo felt his mind grind to a halt. Did she just say what I thought she said? He was silent for a long time, too angry with his emotional swirl to think straight and too lost in his thoughts to notice Yasmine had placed her hand on his until he saw her in front of him again.
Jerking his hand away from hers, Piccolo said, "You're wasting your time, Yasmine. Find someone who can love you back." With that, he backed up a few steps, jumped up and flew away from the area as fast as possible, leaving Yasmine there alone with Tategoto.
Hold on to the nights.
To be continued…