CHAPTER FOUR:
Kuroi sauntered around, like a black cloud, glaring at everyone who crossed her path. Spirits and aliens alike scattered away like flies, a hapless few feeling a taste of her sour mood when they were unable, or so mindless as to not get out of her way quickly enough. Kuroi was on a mission. A sacred mission: Find somebody - and beat them to a bloody pulp. Somebody worthy; somebody female.
A shock of laughter wafted to her ears, causing her blue eyes to flit over to the source. Standing apart from the mainstream, five aliens were jovially conversing. They were relatively humanoid in body shape, only much slimmer and taller than any human Kuroi's limited resources could tell. Their clothing was apparently skin-tight, and Kuroi had to look twice to make certain it wasn't just different colored skin. She had seen a few aliens like that around. She grimaced. No need to dwell in memories like that. She had once mistaken an absolutely nude male alien for having clothes on. She shook her head discarding the incident.
Kuroi again observed the group. They still had their bodies. Moltan had mentioned something about only the strongest having the honor. Shifting, one of the aliens half-turned, providing her a full profile view. Her eyes widened slightly. Very... female. She narrowed her eyes, arms crossing, and considered them. A grin grew on her lips and her feet carried her over.
"Oooooii. Baaakaaa!"
The group of aliens turned at once, all eyes directed at a pint-sized being standing nearby. One blinked and looked down over a pair of very large breasts. "Excuse me?"
Kuroi's lip twitched. So these aliens were a little taller than her. Okay, a few feet taller, but that didn't make them any more intimidating than a rabbit! "I said 'Hey, idiot!'"
Frowning lightly, the alien turned fully. "Is there a problem?"
"Yea," Kuroi sneered as she crouched into a deep stance. "You're in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I'm not in a good mood."
"Look, human, you are human, right?, I don't want to hurt you, even if you do still have your body. I think it would be wise if you go back to where your kind are." At this, the alien turned her back on Kuroi and proceeded to ignore her.
Kuroi's lower lip pursed in a fashion very similar to a pout. Did she just turn her back on her? An amazon?! "I'm not a weakling!"
"..."
"Oooiii, I said I'm not a weakling!"
"..."
"I'm an amazon!"
"..."
Fuming, Kuroi leaned over, plucked a rock from the ground, and threw. A cocky grin fell over her features as it landed squarely on the back of the alien's head.
After a loud sigh, Kuroi was again met with the stranger's face. "Look, I've already told you that I don't want to fight you. All I want to do is sit here and talk with my friends."
"Are you insinuating that I'm not good enough to fight you?!"
"No!" Another sigh emitted from the alien's mouth. "I just don't want to spoil a perfectly good day."
"Because you think I won't put up a good fight?! Because you think I'm a weakling?!"
Turning fully around the alien addressed Kuroi. "What did I do to you? Why do you want to fight me so much?"
Snarling, Kuroi leapt into the air. "Because I'm in a really, really bad mood!" At this, Kuroi's leg flung around.
A number of feet away, the alien slowly rose to the ground, shaking her head. Taking her hand from her temple, she found red gracing her orange fingertips. "Ite..."
The other four aliens rushed over, a flurry of questions being tossed at their fallen comrade. "Are you okay?" "Do you want us to take her away?" "Do you need a bandage for that?" "What'll you do?"
A hand stopped their curiosity as she rose. "I guess I'll have to oblige her, and hope I don't hurt her too much."
Pushing her objecting friends aside, she approached the fiery human. "I'll fight you, but I hold no responsibility for any injuries you get."
Scowling again, Kuroi jumped into the air. "I'm not a weakling!"
Next thing she knew, Kuroi was on the ground, an echo in her ears. Blinking, startled, she stared at the alien hovering over her. As she scowled, she felt her face sting. Okay, so the alien wasn't half-bad. She managed to sneak a punch in there somewhere. Jumping to her feet, Kuroi again confronted the alien.
Shock slid across the alien's face much as it had Kuroi's earlier. "Oh, you're still conscious! I credit you for that."
"I told you," Kuroi yelled, irritation coursing through her. "I'm not a weakling!" Raising her fists, she charged.
"Yes, I can see that," the alien responded, nonchalantly stopping Kuroi's advance with a hand to her head. Kuroi's arms wildly swung, aiming with all her might at the alien's stomach. To her chagrin, however, the alien's arms were about as long as her body; there was no way she could reach.
Ducking, Kuroi retreated to a safe distance. Panting, she pouted at her opponent. That no fair how long her arms are! "You are a formidable woman, I must admit."
The alien started, an arm raising in surprise. "W-woman?! I'm a man!"
Kuroi's eyes became pinpoints. Weakly raising a hand, she pointed. "B-... But you have bo-... boo-..." Kuroi's hand dropped and she made a squeezing motion at her own set of breasts and again pointed at the prominent protrusions from the 'male's' chest. "Boobs!"
Face still shocked, the alien protectively covered his chest. "All males of my race have breasts! The females are so irresponsible, we males are forced to care for the children! On top of that, we're the only ones strong enough to protect them!"
Kuroi's shock gave way into anger. "Strong enough?! Females are stronger than males!" The alien regarded her curiously as she fell into a deep stance. "We will always be stronger than males!"
The alien regarded her for a moment. "I'm afraid I cannot agree with that statement."
Again the alien found Kuroi in his face, fists and feet uselessly reaching for him. In a turn of events, Kuroi swung up, attaching herself to his arm and furiously began gnawing on it. "I- ITE!" Kuroi soon found wind coursing through her hair as she flew swiftly through the air. Panting at his injured arm he scowled at the limber human. "Granted that hurt, but you will never be able to reach me to make any more damage."
Kuroi slowly sat up and shook her head free of cobwebs. Wiping dirt from her face, she grinned at him. "Can't reach? Who says I have to reach with my hands?" Thrusting a hand out, Kuroi yelled.
"What?!" Falling to the side, the alien felt a searing energy blast graze the side of his face. Sitting up, he stared at Kuroi.
Grinning in triumph, said human stood with her fists on her hips. "See?" Raising her hands, she challenged him. "How many of my flashy hand techniques can you dodge?" At this, rapid fire fell from her hands, leaving a cloud of smoke in their wake.
Kuroi stared at the cloud, waiting as it dissipated. Her eyes widened when a completely intact alien continued standing. Huffing, she crouched. "Fine, my flashy hand techniques won't work, I'll just have to do my big flashy ball then."
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Moltan sighed, scanning the crowd. It hadn't intended to make its student mad. Knowing Kuroi, she probably stormed off to pick a fight. Stopping a nearby stranger, he asked about the whereabouts of his pupil.
"Oh, I remember her! Last I checked, she was headed over - oh, well there she is!" Pointing a finger towards a clearing, Moltan followed the stranger's gaze.
Eyes widening at the scene, Moltan started scrambling over. "Thanks!" it threw over his shoulder. That baka! No one her size with her limited fighting knowledge and experience can take an alien like that head on! Let's hope I can talk some sense into her before she gets herself hurt.
Moltan watched as Kuroi drew her hands to her right hip, face fierce. "Ka..." A flicker of light formed between her palms and Moltan skid to a stop.
"No way...!"
"Me..."
"She said she didn't know what 'ki' was!" Moltan stared as its student stood confidently, forming a ki ball it had only seen formed once before. "No way!"
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With only a verbal description of what a dragonball looked like, Shiroi plunged back into the warm water of the lake, waving off Gokuu's offers of help. I already owe him my life twice over. That alone is enough to disgrace my ancestors as well as my descendants!
The warm water soothed her frazzled nerves, and the occasional crisp cold currents caressing her skin as she swam deeper, avoiding fish and peering in between rocks and crevices kept her awake. When her lungs began to burn uncomfortably from lack of air she pushed off the bed of the lake and surfaced.
After four more searches she discovered that there were thirty different kinds of fish in these waters, and ten of them seemed quite poisonous. Or, at least, none of the other, bigger fishes bothered them. She also found out that there was little bug-like-things living in the water. They were incredibly vicious and seemed to think of her as an ideal meal. She didn't find, however, the dragonball.
Surfacing with a growl after fending off another pack of the flesh-eaters, Shiroi waded out of the lake and panted with frustration. She felt a violent urge to blow up the lake, dragonball or no. She was about to squat into her fighting stance when she realized, with a start, how much her response reminded her of her sister. She laughed at herself as she straightened.
Gokuu ambled over, curious, but he kept his mouth closed. He'd been offering her help for the past hour, and she had never accepted it. He gathered that she never would.
"I can't find it," Shiroi spoke, her voice cold. Gokuu glanced at the white-haired girl out of the corner of his eye.
Her head was held high, but her chin quivered.
"This entire adventure has stripped me of my dignity." Shiroi sighed and sat on the shore, glaring out at the water, as if somehow she could coerce the lake to fork over the dragonball. Gokuu joined her, his wrists resting atop his bent knees. The Dragon Ball Radar casually hung from his fingers as he regarded the horizon.
"Ever since I was little, I've always looked up to Kuroi. She was so alive, and so carefree." Shiroi shook her head. "And irresponsible. There were times that I could only look at her in awe for still being alive. One time Kuroi became convinced that all bears were as friendly as our Papa was. Of course, she decided to cuddle with a cub of a irritable mother bear, but Kuroi only came away from the incident with a cherry red butt ala Mama." She smirked. "She couldn't sit for a week. Papa felt sorry for her and snuck her sweets when Mama was sleeping. The thing was, Mama knew, and when Papa stopped coming, Kuroi wailed at the top of her lungs until Papa shuffled in, cooing and shushing her, telling her that she should be a good girl and just go to sleep. Mama wasn't letting him into her bed, and that was one of the things that Papa couldn't live without."
Shiroi's eyes glazed over. "When Mama, Papa, and Akai died in the fire, I made myself responsible for the both of us. I wouldn't allow Kuroi to ever be anyone but her carefree self. I thought everything through ten times over before I acted, I did the talking when we went to the village, and I managed the money we got from trading furs and the extra produce from our garden. Everything was fine until Kuroi died. I lost the last of my family seconds after returning home from the village. And for what? I don't even know what the guy killed her for."
Shiroi remained quite for a moment. "I'm the only living descendent of Tsurara the Amazon. And when I die, Mama will have been banished in vain." Her eyes sharpened on the surface of the lake.
Standing with great dignity, Shiroi waded back into the water, her white hair disappearing moments later.
Gokuu smiled.
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Shiroi nearly gasped when she noticed something glinting on the bed of the lake. Swimming closer, she brushed off a few layers of sand, trying to unearth the shimmering. She grew frantic when what she was uncovering was curving like a ball. She surfaced and blinked the water from her eyes, trying to get a closer look at the sphere in her hands.
Orange, smooth as a marble, two stars in the middle! She had found the dragonball!
Shiroi whooped and thrust her hand into the air, waving to Gokuu who waited on the shore.
"I found it!" she yelled, more out of enthusiasm than for him to hear. "I found the dragonball!"
Gokuu's cheering answered her and she swam to the shore. When she could get her feet under her, she ran to stand beside the madly grinning male.
"So how does this work? I just tell it my wish, and then Kuroi comes back?"
Gokuu shook his head. "We need to find the other six. When we have all seven, Shenlon will appear and then you tell him your wish."
Shiroi nodded in understanding, her grin reaching from ear to ear. "Then where's the next one?"
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Shiroi grinned in anticipation at the six balls that lay at her feet. She bent down and gently placed the two star ball amongst its brethren and then rose to her feet. Gokuu joined her side and they grinned at each other in shared excitement. Before Shiroi could express her thankfulness at his help, Gokuu thrust the Dragon Ball Radar into her hands.
"What's this for?" Shiroi asked, blinking at the machinery that, until now, had been in Gokuu's care.
"I don't need it. Why don't you keep it?" Gokuu asked before he rose his arms into the air, his boyish grin nearly splitting his face.
Shiroi regarded the male that had been her traveling companion for this past two weeks. Although he was the cause of some vexation, he had always managed to sooth things back over. Shiroi closed her eyes, smirking. Gokuu-sama, you are one weird male.
"Arise, Great Dragon, and grant my wishes!" he shouted to the sky. The marble-like balls at their feet began to glow from within as the sky began to blacken. Gokuu appeared unaffected so Shiroi forced herself to remain just as casual as her companion. A lightning spark burst from the glowing balls and bolted towards the sky. Soon after, a large serpentine dragon grew from the jagged lightning. The deadly mouth of the blood red eyed dragon was wide open as if unsure to laugh at their unworthiness or to munch them whole for daring to expect him to grant a mere human's wish.
"Yo, Shenlon, It's been a long time, ne?" Gokuu waved enthusiastically at the gigantic dragon. Shiroi's black eyes couldn't get any wider from the visual shock of Shenlon "arising," so she narrowed them at Gokuu instead.
"You know him!?" Then she stood fully upright from her crouched position (wary for any attacks) and lifted the hand not clutching the Dragon Ball Radar to forestall him. "Wait, no, of course you know him. You're probably childhood buddies."
"Actually, yeah - "
"I will grant any three wishes. What is your wish?"
Shiroi took a step forward, ignoring Gokuu, ignoring everything else but this monumentally proportioned dragon that resided in balls to grant wishes. "I wish that my sister, Kuroi, were alive again!" she announced, her voice firm and loud, making sure that the dragon understood her wish and didn't end up giving her a bowl of rice instead.
The silence that followed lasted for what seemed like hours and left Shiroi in so much suspense, she could only think of the worst.
"Your wish has been granted," Shenlon boomed at her, and her heart traveled rapidly from its residence in her feet back up into her chest and then beat like she'd just run around the world. "Do you have any more wishes?"
Shiroi started and stammered out a hasty negative. Then with as much flash and flare as the dragon had appeared, he shrank back into the dragonballs. After the cluster levitated into the air, they hardened into stone and shot off in different directions, to remain there until they had recuperated.
The sky lightened as quickly as Shiroi's mood, and avidly, she began to scan the hills and forests that surrounded her for her twin.
"Ku-chan!" she called out, listening for a response. "Ku-chan!" she repeated, louder this time in case Kuroi had failed to hear her. "Ku-chan," she grew worried. "Where are you? Quit playing games with me and come out!" Annoyed now, she cursed the dragon. "Come back here you lousy, dragon! I want my wish!"
Shiroi howled to the skies, swearing revenge on anything associated with the red-eyed beast.
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Moltan flinched, eyes wide. A flicker above its student's head caught his attention, and if ever its eyes could widen further, they did. Did she just lose her halo?!
"Ka...," Kuroi growled. I'll show him what my big flashy ball is all about!
A burst of wind knocked Kuroi off her feet, interrupting her. She rose from the ground, once again shaking her head. "Whoa, that was a big one! It even knocked me off my feet!" Blinking and looking at her hands, she frowned. "... Wait a minute, I wasn't done yet!" Looking up, she found two very large shoes in front of her. Her eyes traveled up from the shoes, following the lines of the tacky pants and eventually found herself staring at a sunburned version of Enma. Wait, he was always like that.
Waving her arm, pointing frantically at him, she stuttered. "Y- you, you!"
Enma's booming voice easily overlapped her frail one. "I've come to take you."
Kneeling on the ground, she humbled herself. "Sorry! Whatever it was, I didn't do it!"
Moltan scraped its jaw from the floor. "It's Dai Ma-ou, Enma-sama!" Oh no, don't tell me Kuroi's being kicked out of heaven! Scuttling over, it looked up in awe at the red giant. "I will attest for Kuroi. She's done nothing to be punished!" It motioned to the ball of human on the ground and again noticed her missing halo. Concerned, it returned its attention to the great god.
A white smile broke through his red lips, and he spoke again. "I realize your honesty, Moltan, but this is beyond my control." Turning again to Kuroi, he addressed her. "Dende wants you Kuroi. You have places to go." At this, he grabbed hold of her shirt.
Kuroi's tearless bawling sharply cut short as the pair vanished in a violent gust of wind.
Moltan blinked and sighed. "... What did she do this time?"
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Kuroi was still bawling when they reappeared in Enma's headquarters.
Enma motioned to a tall alien standing nearby in a white cloak. A large 'Kami' symbol was printed on the front. "This is your Kami." Turning to 'Kami' he grinned. "Here is your charge, Dende. She's all yours."
Kuroi ambled over, uncertainty written over every feature she had. Reaching forward and tugging lightly on his robe, she inspected him. "Are you really Kami? How can I tell that you're not just some random alien who is pretending to be God?"
Dende's smile was friendly. "Yes, Kuroi, I really am Kami."
Kuroi stared wide-eyed at him. "He knows my name..."
"But wait, I don't remember Enma knowing my name! If you're really Kami, you can prove it to me by doing some godly thing, right? And if you're really Kami, wouldn't that make you Enma's brother? If you're brothers, then how come one of you is really big, hairy, and red, and the other is normal size, with pointy ears, and green?" Kuroi reached up and tugged on an antenna. "Are your antennae real? I've never seen anyone here with antennae. Is that a godly thing? If that's a godly thing, then how come Dai Enma doesn't have antennae too? If he does have antennae, does he hide them under his hat? Why don't you wear a dorky hat like Enma anyway?" Kuroi looked at Dende's robes. "No, you have taste. Enma wears stupid clothes that don't even match." Glancing at Enma, she started. "Ah, no offense! I won't get sent to hell for that will I?"
Enma simmered in the corner while Dende freely vented his amusement. "No, that's not a large enough offense."
Kuroi tilted her head, watching the Namekkian. "If you're Kami, then how come I didn't see you anywhere in heaven. Did you design heaven? It's not very heavenly for a heaven, you know. There aren't very many humans here. And I think there should be more Chikyuu flowers or something. If you're Kami then you can do that, right?" Kuroi stared at the being called 'Kami' and waited for an answer. After receiving none, she blinked. "Did I say something wrong?"
Dende smiled, a sweat drop forming at his temple. "No, it's just that you remind me so much of your sister."
Kuroi's eyes widened. "You know my sister? But how?!" Kuroi grew faint. "No way!" Grabbing Dende's robe, she pulled him closer. "Don't tell me she's dead! I was just learning how to do a really cool technique! I don't want to lose my body yet!"
Dende smiled and pointed above her head. "You won't have to lose your body since your sister wished you alive again."
Kuroi stared, her face still in his. Slowly a sweat drop formed. "Uhm, I'm alive again?"
Still smiling, Dende nodded.
Closing her eyes, her face fell to the ground, knees weak. With a deep breath, her grip tightened on Dende's robe and she thrust her face in his once more. "Why didn't you tell me that before?! If I'm dead, then why am I still in heaven! And if I'm alive again, how come all of my wounds are gone? No one ever explained that to me before. I thought it was because I was dead. How am I supposed to get back home? I'm sure Shi-chan's worried about me. When I was wished alive again, how come I didn't feel it? Aren't dead people supposed to know if they're dead or alive? Wait, I'm alive. Aren't alive people supposed to know if they're dead or alive? How come when I was wished alive again I didn't just go back to Earth? Speaking of wishes, how did she wish me back? Are prayers that strong? Is it because of you I'm alive again? Don't tell me I have to go on some godly journey."
Dende weakly smiled at Kuroi. "Do you really want to know about everything you asked?"
Kuroi released the Namekkian's robes and considered this. Shrugging, she smiled. "Not really. Can I go home yet?"
His smile growing, he placed a hand on Kuroi's shoulder. "Of course you can. That's why I'm here." Dende waved a farewell to Enma, and the next thing Kuroi knew, she was standing on a large platform overlooking Chikyuu.
"A-.. ah!" Kuroi stumbled away from the edge of the lookout and tightly gripped Dende's robe again. "You said I'd go home, now where are we?!
"This is my temple, a median between the two worlds. To take you home, we had to first pass through here."
"... Oh." Kuroi looked around her. So, this was where Kami resided? How come she hadn't seen it going to heaven? Shrugging it off, she continued inspecting the premises. A movement caught her eye, and she squinted for a better look. A black mass of something wearing a large turban and sporting incredibly large red lips turned and waved. Kuroi gripped Dende's poor robe even tighter. "Uhm, can I go home yet?"
Not paying attention to her tense mood, Dende scanned the earth below. "Please be patient, Kuroi. I'm trying to find your home."
The black form put down what appeared to be a watering can and potted flowers. "Oh, okay. What about now?"
"I've almost found it."
To Kuroi's horror, the figure began moving closer. "Now?" Kuroi edged further away, very nearly falling off the edge. Now only a mere 5 feet away, the figure rose a hand. She squeezed her eyes, expecting that very hand to push her to her doom.
"Welcome back, Kami-sama! The flowers missed you!"
"Ah, it's Mister Popo!" Turning, Dende approached this 'Popo'.
Having lost her handhold on Kami's robe, Kuroi flailed her arms, toes desperately grasping for the lookout's platform. "Ka- kami-samaaaaaa!" Kuroi's voice faded as a gust of wind blew her off the edge.
Twirling around, Dende's eyes widened while Popo's mouth formed an 'O'. "Kuroi!" Running to the edge, he stared down at her receding form. "Excuse me Karin, I need to make use of your cloud. Kintoun! Please catch her!"
Kuroi screamed as a giant mass of yellow cloud formed below her. "Help me, I'm gunna get eaten by a cloooouuud!" Squeezing her eyes tightly, her form disappeared into Kintoun. And bounced out again before settling. Opening one eye, she looked around her. "Eh?!" All around her, a massive yellow cloud encompassed her vision. Turning, she found a tower within a few meters of her position. Blinking, she looked again. "Help me, I'm gunna get eaten by a cat with a stiiiiick!"
Said cat chuckled and looked up. Curious, Kuroi followed the feline's gaze and found Kami descending. "I'm so sorry Kuroi! I would have caught you myself, but I can't fly that fast."
Kuroi stared wide-eyed at Dende. "Wow... You can fly! Does that come with being Kami?"
Dende laughed and decided it was best to remain silent. "Come, I've found your house."
Kuroi jumped up and looked starry-eyed at the green god. "Really?! I can go home now?!"
Smiling, Dende nodded. Taking a hand, he placed it on her shoulder before both vanished. As rapidly as it had formed, Kintoun dissipated into its usual ring around Karin's tower.
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With a snarl, Shiroi whirled around to confront Gokuu. Stupid male. Stupid dragon.
"Gokuu-sama," she ground out, "You have... some..."
Shiroi scanned the area around her, searching for the suddenly missing male. "Gokuu-sama?" Shiroi called out, walking to the place that he had recently been standing in and turning circles, hoping to spot him. She rolled her eyes when she failed to find him. "Kuso. What else should I expect from a male? Granted, he's not like any other male I have ever met, but he is still a male." Shiroi glared at the sky and pondered how much time she had left in the day.
Where was she supposed to go now? The dragon had said that her wish had been granted, but she didn't see her sister anywhere. Shiroi gasped as she realized that the dragon had said Kuroi was alive. Kuroi's body was buried! What if she came alive in the coffin? She would die from suffocation! Shiroi bolted off in the direction of her home, cursing herself from traveling so far away from the house at a time like this.