Kuroi held a self-satisfied smirk when she stepped off the 'plane'. Glancing behind her to make certain her newfound friend was still there, she continued onward. She hated being cooped up in that contraption, and until she spotted their destination outside the window, she feared she'd be stuck in there forever. Once she had neatly inserted a fair distance between her and that flying metal bug, she paused and took a deep breath.
"I talked to one of the Oni, and they told me that my group is in that direction." Kuroi glanced down at the blob she now envisioned as her friend.
"Wait a minute. We can't go there yet, I gotta find my family first!"
The mass fluctuated a moment, as if in irritation. "You aren't the only one who wants to see loved ones."
Kuroi twitched in irritation herself, trying to pretend Shiroi was there to calm her before she lost her temper again. "Maybe, but I haven't seen my entire family, except my twin, ever since I was little!"
Silence followed, which Kuroi interpreted as thinking. "Okay, but try not to take too long." The blob plopped down on the ground, as if sitting, and became motionless. "I'll wait for you here."
Kuroi blinked a few times. Slowly, a smile curled her lips. "Arigatou gozaimasu!" Turning on her heel, she ran in the direction the Oni had pointed her. About a hundred feet and a moment later, Kuroi paused. The spirit once again found her pale features in front of its own.
"Yes?"
Fidgeting a bit, she spoke. "Uhm... Could you tell me how I might be able to recognize my family when I see them? Won't they be nothing but floating spirit balls?"
A slight laughter could be heard echoing through the port. "Easy. You'll know when you find them. If you wanted, you could relate it to that mind-talk thingamajig you were talking about earlier. When you get close, you'll know." Kuroi stood, nodding.
"Uhm. Okay. Thanks!" Turning once again, she headed in the opposite direction. This blob thing is really weird, but at least I get to learn a neat trick from it. Might as well do what it says 'til then. Determination marking her features, she set off to find her family.
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Shiroi raised an eyebrow at the ruins of a large I-shaped building. The top portion leaned heavily to the right and rested its weary load on a pillar that looked to be hastily created. She glanced at her guide.
"This is your 'Red Ribbon Base'? A run down old tower?" She snorted.
"What were you expecting? Did you think we'd work from a big, obvious, skyscraper with neon lights? Why not just scream from the roof 'come and get us'." He threw back, defensive. He then remembered to whom he was talking to when she narrowed her eyes at him. He transferred his glare to his headquarters, hoping that he wouldn't get into too much trouble for showing a civilian their hideout.
Shiroi threw an uncaring hand into the air and began walking towards the building. "Whatever. Just as long as the Dragon Ball Radar is in there."
The soldier remained planted to the ground in amazement. Only a moment before he was sure he wasn't going to come out of this adventure with his body intact, but here he was, unharmed, if a little pushed about. He'd made it through the storm that was the white haired warrior.
Hey, what was he, a bag of bricks? The soldier grew angered at his treatment, and planted fists on his hips, a look of anger crossing his features. The no good lousy vixen. How dare she treat her superiors that way!
The soldier took a moment to recollect his pride and in a dark mood at the high-handedness of the female, he stormed back to the tavern to check up on his commander.
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Being in the land of the dead gave Kuroi a feeling akin to seasickness. Everywhere she looked there were spirits. Large ones, small ones, bright ones, dim ones, those that hovered, those that appeared to be sitting on the ground. The worst were those that swirled around in psychedelic patterns, as if they were performing some sort of dance. If Kuroi's face could get any paler than it naturally was, it did. After mistaking a stranger for an Oni guide, she had discovered that there were, in fact, others like her who had kept their body in the afterlife. Apparently it was a privilege, which gave her an odd feeling of apprehension. She didn't look forward to when Shiroi would join her and have her body ripped from her again. She wasn't meant to be among those entitled.
Kuroi looked up, and found an appealing landscape before her. This reminds me of home, she mused. Ducking her head under a low branch of a nearby tree, she blinked as she found a solitary spirit sitting next to a lake. The Oni guide said my family would be somewhere around here. Maybe this.. blob knows where they are. At this, she started picking her way closer. Halfway through a particularly thick cover of bush, an alien thought flew through her.
Who dares tread here!
The intensity and strangeness of it all took her completely by surprise, resulting in a non-ceremonious introduction to the ground on Kuroi's part. No one had ever spoken in her mind, save for Shiroi! Raising her head, sticks and leaves sticking out of her hair, she peered over the bush. And found a dangerously glowing spirit hovering in her face. Kuroi's mouth flapped, no sound coming out. She had never met an angry spirit before either! Slowly, the glow faded, and it backed up a few paces, as if confused. Kuroi blinked, her senses beginning to reform.
"I was just going to ask you a question!" she sputtered. "No need to be so rude!" Kuroi scowled fiercely, surmising that this spirit was decidedly male in their lifetime.
"Is that really you, Kuroi?" Kuroi blinked again. The voice was feminine. Familiar. And not from the spirit in front of her. Tilting her head, she looked around her attacker, and found the one she spotted earlier still by the lake, hovering slightly. "You're too young to be dead!"
Realization started dawning upon her as her eyes moved to her attacker. "Teddy?"
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Though the Red Ribbon Base was run down, it was still large, and incredibly well kept (for abandoned building) once you reached the inside. Ducking into a fourth room, Shiroi pulled out the drawers to a desk sitting proudly in the middle of an otherwise empty room, shifting the contents about in a half-hearted search for the Dragon Ball Radar. Coming up empty she peered under the desk, and then scoured the room for other such places to hide things. Namely, a place to put Dragon Ball Radars.
Shiroi had rummaged through twenty desks, and a least twenty-eight different rooms, all of them lacking the Radar, by the time she felt her patience begin to wane. Maybe she should have dragged the male in with her.
What did a Dragon Ball Radar look like, anyway?
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Kuroi's eyes started shining as emotion overcame them and she lunged forward; and landed flat on her face. She sat up, rubbing her nose, wondering how she got there instead of in her father's arms. A glance behind her told her why. So overcome with happiness at finding the parents she hadn't seen in years, she had forgotten they no longer had bodies.
The blob she lunged for tsked and made a chastising movement. "Ku-chan, Ku-chan, Ku-chan. I'm gone for only a few years and you've already lost all sense of balance. That's twice you've fallen on your face in less than five minutes. I certainly hope your training hasn't suffered similarly." The spirit hovered closer and seemed to be inspecting her. "Heheh. You certainly have turned into quite a looker. If you weren't my daughter-"
SMACK!
Kuroi blinked as her father's spirit went tumbling into the bush she recently vacated. Turning her head, she could see her mother dangerously glowing near her. "Kuma." Her voice held a familiar warning tone that Kuroi never knew she would miss of her mother.
"O-...okaa-san!" Liquid eyes regarded her mother. "I've missed you both so much! Oh, it was so horrible after the fire! Shi-chan and I couldn't do anything for days, and then burying your ashes...!" Kuroi lost all conformity in that moment. Kuma lumbered back to the pair, grumbling under his breath.
"Did you really hafta hit me so hard?! I was only looking!" A sizable spot near the top of the spirit had a faint red color to it, and Kuroi guessed it had to be where Tsurara had smacked him. "Besides," he sidled up a bit too close to her. "You're the only one for me."
This elicited a less violent, yet still notable whack from Tsurara. "You're supposed to say 'I was only kidding'!" Kuroi blinked at the exchange, a smile tugging at her lips. They hadn't changed. After all this time, they were still her parents; the ones she remembered.
"Anou, okaa-san?" Her parents' bickering paused as Tsurara turned her attentions to her daughter. "How come you can do that?"
"Do what?"
Kuroi pointed. "That. When I accidentally touched one of the spirits, my arm just passed through them."
"Only spirits and those who work in the afterworld can touch a person's soul."
Kuroi's face made a motion of recognition despite the fact that she didn't understand a word her mother just said. Kuma was quick to pick up on Kuroi's mindset. "She means you can't touch a spirit with a body, and since you have one, you can't touch one."
Her eyes lit up at the understanding and nodded slightly. "OH! I see." She faintly mourned that fact, since she truly wanted to hug her family. Soon, she reminded herself. After Shi-chan joins us, our whole family can be together again.
"Why are you here? What about Shiroi?" Tsurara asked, startling Kuroi out of her thoughts.
"Oh, some misfit male attacked me on my blind side and had the nerve to use a weapon when I was unarmed." She slightly bent the truth with that statement. She did have a knife, but it wasn't in her hands. Kuroi mentally growled at herself. She had been taken by surprise, despite the fact that she had heard them coming. She never imagined she would die in such an unhonorable way and hoped the yarou was the first in line for hell. "Shi-chan had just come back from the village, when it happened. She's the one who gave that kisama what he deserved."
"So she's still alive." Kuroi nodded. "We don't have to look for her yet."
"On my way here, I met a blob that said they would teach me how to do something called the 'Fusion Tango', so I gotta go. I'll be back soon, though." Kuroi's eyes looked around at the surrounding landscape. "Where's Aka-chan? I wanted to say hi to him too before I left."
Kuma's spirit fluctuated, while Tsurara's seemed to harden. It was Kuma who spoke. "We haven't found him yet. The Oni guides haven't been much help, either. All they told us was that it was common for spirits to get lost, and for Aka-chan, being such a young spirit, it was much more likely for him to lose his way than most."
Kuroi's brow furrowed. "I'll be sure to look for him."
Kuma's spirit visibly relaxed. "Come back soon, Ku-chan. We have too much to catch up on." She smiled at her father, and despite the fact that her mother hadn't said anything, she knew she too was curious about the years lost between them.
"I will, Teddy." Raising a hand in farewell, a pang rising in her heart again because of her inability to hug her parents, she began her trek back to where her alien friend was waiting.
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Shaku pounded a curled fist on the arm of his throne and cursed violently. His eyes were riveted to the monitors of the large security machine in front of him, sitting silently against the wall. Cameras one through six and eight through ten showed nothing, but camera seven showed the movement of a figure viewed from above rummaging through one of his high-ranking officer's desk.
He'd watched her progression farther into his lair with a suspicious intensity. Was this girl here to steal is Dragon Ball Radar? Everyone wanted his precious treasure, and he wasn't going to give it to anyone; it was his and his alone! Shaku glowered at the figure as she proceeded to walk off of camera seven's screen and onto camera eight's. A thought occurred to him. If she was here for his Dragon Ball Radar, then she knew how it worked.
Shaku hastily pulled an eye-patch out of his pocket, fit it over his head, and jumped down from his throne. A wicked smile graced his face as he dashed forward and out of the door, his black boots clacking loudly on the concrete floor. First the threat was a predator and now the nosy white-haired figure was the prey.
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"Took long enough," the blob grumbled as Kuroi appeared.
"I didn't know where to find them!" Kuroi shot back in defense. "Besides, I didn't even get to talk to my entire family, just my parents." Kuroi's mood had been sour because of this. She missed her parents, true, but she missed her brother more. He was always fun to tease, no matter how much trouble she would get into.
"Well, let's just get going. We're more behind than I though we would be." Twitching, the spirit rose from the ground and hovered away, expecting Kuroi to follow. After a moment, she did so, mouth slightly curved in a scowl. She was not in a good mood, and if anyone approached her, she was likely to explode at them. She hated being talked down to, especially by a near stranger, but this spirit held a secret she wanted to know. Biting down on her pride, she followed, once again wishing Shiroi were there to keep her temper in check.
Hoping to distract herself, she turned her gaze outward, watching the horizon. If Akai was anywhere near, he would recognize her and come flying. She grinned at the thought, imagining an Akai spirit glomming onto her leg. She had to keep an eye out for any blobs acting out of the norm. She promised her parents to look for him, and planned to keep that promise.
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Shiroi whirled around as a noise caught her attention. She lowered her body into a cautious fighting stance as the sound persisted and grew louder. Hopefully whoever was coming her way would know something more than her guide and point her in the right direction of the Dragon Ball Radar.
The racing steps slowed and halted before the door, just out of view and Shiroi waited patiently.
Eventually a young, man with slicked back red hair an eye-patch covering his right eye stepped into the room, and stood regally before Shiroi, gazing down his nose at her, his uncovered eye glaring daggers.
"Tell me how to use the Dragon Ball Radar," the man demanded as Shiroi decided that he was used to using his mouth instead of his fists. His outfit was nicely kept, had nary a wrinkle anywhere, and was made of expensive-looking material as was the cape that fell elegantly to the floor from the clasps on the shoulder of his shirt. No real fighter wore a cape. It became a weapon the second the warrior began a fight. Shiroi straightened slowly, her face carefully schooled.
"Give me the Dragon Ball Radar," Shiroi demanded with the same amount of command that the male in front of her used. The man narrowed his eyes and reassessed Shiroi.
"I see," the man announced, his voice deepening to the point of strain. Shiroi raised an eyebrow.
"Do you?" Crossing her arms, she stared into the man's uncovered eye.
Shaku frowned heavily and remained still for a moment, measuring his choices.
Sighing dramatically Shaku reached into the chest of his outfit and pulled out an enlarged pocket watch with a flourish. With a trembling lip Shaku handed the contraption to Shiroi and then looked pleadingly up at her, his left eye misting. "I do. You are a much better ma- woman than I am. I have no choice but to give you my treasure."
Shiroi smirked. This fink was up to something. Hardly a minute passed when a male wasn't up to something. Keeping her eyes locked on her enemy, waiting for a motion to give him away, she reached out a tanned hand and curled her fingers around as much of the Radar as she could. Finally, Kuroi would return to her and everything would be all right again.
Shiroi turned on her heel and waved to the red-haired man. "Thanks. I'll be going now."
Shaku's misty eye flashed in triumph and leaping a foot backwards he brandished a large gun from the depths of his cape. Training the barrel on Shiroi's frozen back Shaku smirked. "Not so fast. That Radar is mine no matter who holds it. You show me how to use it and I might feel generous enough to give you your life as the reward. If not, then I'll just have to find someone else more willing with the information."
Shiroi slowly lowered her arm and left it limp at her side. She could outfight men, but bullets were another matter altogether. Turning to face the gun (if she did end up picking a fight with the gun, she was not going to be shot in the back like a coward), Shiroi blinked slowly, her face not giving away the thoughts rushing through her head.
"I don't know how the Dragon Ball Radar works," she confessed. "What would be the point of killing me for information that I don't have."
"Liar! You came for the Dragon Ball Radar; you know! You're just trying to mess with my mind!"
Shiroi's body straightened her eyes cold. "I don't lie."
Suddenly Shaku yanked his gun to point behind him as a tall man wearing orange and blue walked aimlessly into the room.
"Hi. Did I come at a bad time?"
Shaku gasped, his gun faltering as his single eye lit up in recognition. "YOU!"
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When still alive, Kuroi didn't know whether or not to believe in aliens. When she had died, she still hadn't been sure, but now, looking around her, was solid proof of their existence. At least in the afterworld. Her blob friend told her that its species was relatively peaceful, yet they were still a warrior race. Many retained their bodies, she noticed, as there seemed to be hundreds, possibly more of the aliens swarming around her. When she first saw one, and before her friend could tell her otherwise, she thought it was a stray monster from hell.
Not knowing how to react to these beings, she remained silent, not particularly favoring a conversation with the overly tall aliens. It was more than their height that intimidated her. Intimidated her! They seemed to have no gender about them. Every one of them looked the same, not fitting into any stereotype Kuroi could think of. Genderless, perhaps? How do they have kids? Not only that, but they weren't the prettiest aliens this side of the galaxy, either. I'm glad I'm human, Kuroi thought, lip twitching as one nearly brushed her shoulder. Please tell me I don't have to touch any of them to learn this 'Fusion Tango'!
Blinking as she remembered, she turned to her blob friend. She found it happily carrying on a rather animated conversation with another of its kind. "Oi."
Jumping as if poked by a scalding iron, the blob turned its attention to Kuroi. "Don't scare me like that! Can't you see I was in the middle of a conversation? Didn't your parents ever teach you to not interrupt people?"
Kuroi blinked at him blankly. "No. They taught me how to fight."
"..." The blob twitched in irritation. "Nevermind. What do you want?"
"You said you'd teach me the 'Fusion Tango'."
The blob stared at her for a moment before beginning to laugh. Kuroi shifted quietly, wondering if the blob was going to keep its word. Just as she was beginning to feel the last shred of her dignity and patience fade away, it spoke. "'Fusion DANCE'. I've never heard of anyone refer to it as a 'tango' before."
Kuroi twitched at her mistake, willing all her strength into keeping her mouth shut. I will not yell at it, I will not yell at it. If you do, you will never get to learn this technique. After a calming breath Kuroi had seen Shiroi do before, she spoke, her voice strained, and obviously holding something back. "You said you would teach it to me."
If a spirit could grin, it was doing so now. "Yes, I did, didn't I?" Again, Kuroi wondered if it would keep its word. "Follow me." An illy disguised sigh of relief passed her lips as she turned to follow it, and if one listened closely, you could hear muttering coming from her direction.
It led her to an open area; an ideal place for training, Kuroi noted. In the middle, she noticed a gathering of several aliens, all of which had bodies. An involuntary shudder traveled down her spine. I'm gunna hafta touch these guys won't I?! The group's conversation quieted down as the pair approached, and they turned to address the newcomers.
"Is that you, Lavu?!" one of the aliens asked. Kuroi looked down to the blob next to her. Lavu? What kind of name is that?! "I was wondering when you'd pop up here!"
"Heheh. I like to keep you surprised." The blob moved closer, the others chiming in their own greetings. Kuroi cleared her throat, reminding everyone of her presence. "Oh! This here is Kuroi. She comes from a place called Chikyuu." A timid hand rose in a slight wave. "I brought her here since she wants to learn the 'Fusion Dance'."
A surprised noise came from one of the larger aliens. "Oh?! We had someone else pass through here from Chikyuu. Teaching him the 'Fusion Dance' was easy, so I don't see any problem with taking a new student."
Kuroi's lips curled upward into a smirk. She had been disappointed to not find any evidence of her brother around, and now she could take out her frustrations. Okay, not only do I get to learn a new technique which promises to make me stronger, I get to beat someone up! I think I can handle touching these guys after all.
Her blob friend moved, distancing himself slightly from the group. "Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I have some family to find. I'll be back soon." The group nodded and shooed him off, throwing farewells at his disappearing form before turning their attentions to their newly acquired student.
A heavy feeling started bearing down on Kuroi as she looked up into the faces of these excruciatingly tall aliens. My, it's suddenly getting stuffy around here... At this, her lessons began.
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Gokuu blinked and made small noise of confusion. "Me?"
Shaku shook violently, his finger tightening on the trigger. "Yes, you! You're the bakayaro who defeated my father the esteemed former-leader of the Red Ribbon Army."
Gokuu considered this for a while. "Who?"
"My father the Red Sousui! Red hair," He pulled at his own slicked back hair, "eye patch," Shaku yanked at the patch obscuring his right eye. "Remember?"
Gokuu didn't remember. "Who?"
"My father explained that you were a little slow," Shaku told himself, looking unimpressed by the spike-haired warrior in front of him. So far all he'd proven to be is a complete idiot for not remembering a man like his father. "But, I won't underestimate you." Shaku paced in front of Shiroi and Gokuu, waving his gun in the air.
Shiroi rolled her eyes and began a thorough investigation of the Dragon Ball Radar. Gokuu bent over to look as well. Shiroi made a small noise and scowled at him, pulling the Radar closer to her chest. Gokuu blinked at her, confused. Shiroi stood straighter and clutched the Radar until her knuckles were white out of sight behind her thigh. Gokuu shrugged, hooked his thumbs in his belt and watched Shaku pace for a while.
Shaku continued, oblivious to them. "No, I won't be as stupid as that. Son Gokuu's been able to defeat everyone that we've thrown at him: the capable whatshisface... that large guy with the spiky hair... numerous cyborgs..." Shaku smirked and stared at the wall, his arms crossing. "Although I wasn't surprised that Dr. Gero failed..."
Gokuu's face lit up. "Oh, yeah, Dr. Gero!"
Shaku's eyes narrowed. He could remember that moronic mad scientist and forget his father!? "He's a disgrace to the Red Ribbon Army!" Shaku announced, throwing his arms into the air, his face livid. "None of his cyborgs worked although he insisted that 'this one will do the trick'. There were more duds that blew up during the testing phase than there were serviceable ones! And then he'd snivel and mumble big words at my face and smirk behind my back - I could feel him do it!" Shaku punched a finger in Gokuu direction for emphasis. " 'I'm sorry, but the blablabla is blablablaing the blabla.' Yeah, well, I'll blablabla your blabla you worthless wretch!" Shaku told the invisible Gero whom only he could see.
Shiroi, tired of the wired redhead, walked calmly towards the door, intent on figuring out the contraption in her hands outside and away from these males. Shaku spotted her and leveled the nozzle of the gun at her chest. "Not so fast." Shiroi skidded to a stop, her hands above her shoulders in surrender though her face remained expressionless. "Where do you think you are going with my treasure?"
"Outside." She informed him, sliding her gaze up and down his frame, disinterested. "The air in here is stifling."
Shaku gestured towards Gokuu with his gun. Shiroi returned to stand beside the curious male who was more or less watching her with interest instead of Shaku who held a gun trained on the both of them.
"Is that all you do?" She asked peevishly. She slowly raised an eyebrow as she realized he was watching her with consideration. Gokuu blinked and the innocent with no thoughts returned.
"What?"
"Stand around and stare and agitate the short-fused red head? Is that all you do? You could have done something when his attention was on me."
Gokuu shrugged it off as unimportant. Shiroi bit down on her own agitation and turned to find Shaku inches from her.
Smoothly, Shaku plucked the Dragon Ball Radar out of Shiroi's hand and took off and out of the door.
"H....HEY!" Shiroi shouted after a moment of shock. She whirled around to growl at the useless male beside her. "Why didn't you warn me?!"
"You were too busy yelling at me."
Shiroi was already racing after Shaku and her Dragon Ball Radar.
"You wouldn't have listened. Chichi never does."
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Kuroi wasn't too fond of being left alone with a group of aliens. At least with the blob around, she knew someone. Granted she'd only known the irritating thing for a short while, but it was something familiar to latch onto. Not even the scenery was what Kuroi was used to. The sky still had the same golden glow as everywhere else in heaven, but the landscape took on a new character. Giant trees, if you could call them trees, stared down at her, even from hundreds of feet away. An odd, squishy moss took the place of grass, and held an odd shade of purple. Kuroi most definitely did not want to see what these aliens' home planet looked like.
"So your name is Kuroi?" one of the beings asked her. She nodded mutely. "And you come from Chikyuu?" Another silent nod. "I've heard great things about that planet. The man who was here before told us the greatest stories. A great fighter he was."
Kuroi's interest was perked. Great fighter? A male? "Was he, now? Surely he couldn't be that strong. He's male, after all."
One of the aliens laughed, pricking at her pride. What was with this race and laughing at her?! "Oh, he was strong, indeed. Near as I can recall, not many people from Chikyuu keep their bodies in the afterlife. Only the very strongest are given that privilege, which means he was among the strongest of all your race."
Kuroi's eyes narrowed slightly in thought. Strongest, eh? "Where is this man, then? He'd be a great sparring partner." Oh, she planned to show these dolts what strong was all about.
A slight murmur traveled through the group. Almost hesitantly, one of them spoke up. "We don't know. He was a fighting genius, the most powerful warrior we had ever met. He was very interested in our way of fighting, and we did manage to teach him the Fusion Dance, but he never showed up again after he left one day. No one knows where he vanished to, and some are spreading rumors that he's among the land of the living again."
Kuroi smirked, biting back a laugh. "Oh, that's a typical male for you. Won't finish anything they started."
The alien who spoke earlier regarded her. "Well, I don't know about your planet's customs, so I can't really judge. Anyway," the alien said as it approached her. "I'm guessing you'd like to go on ahead and start learning the Fusion Dance." She nodded, once again silent. "Well then, let's not waste any time!"
Kuroi smirked once again, focusing her attention solely on the alien in front of her. Learning time.