Eh… sorry. It might be awhile before I get out the next chapter after this one. I've been slacking and all. Bad me. Bad. But, it was nice having these chapters come out fairly quickly, yes? Even if there weren't that many…

Ah! Kiwi-chan came back!! –hug- Indeed, I did miss you. :)

See, you can't get away with not reviewing anymore people. I have the enhanced stats now. I can SEE you. Every time you click on a chapter to read, I know. In fact, somebody has been reading Redemption without reading Condemned first. Bad little reader. Bad. –fake slap-

And like I suspected, people are clicking on the first chapter of this fic and not reading any further. Grr. I've gotten 5 hits on it in the last couple of days, 1 hit on the second chapter, and 2 on the third. I'm not sure how the hell that happened, but okay. Cha.

Anyway, have fun peeps. Bathe yourselves in the fluff-ness and frolic.

Regression

Ranu stepped into the room and quietly shut the door behind him, being careful to not wake Kris. Turning around to look at the bed where he had left her, he panicked.

She wasn't there.

He immediately felt for her ki and let out a sigh of relief when he found it. She was still in the room. Calming down, he pinned it down to her closet and bit his lower lip slightly in worry. Well, her hiding in a closet wasn't exactly a good sign…

"Hey, Kris-chan?" he said, loud enough for her to hear but not shouting. "Kris-chan, it's me, Ranu. You okay?"

He waited for a response.

He heard a bit of shuffling, then the door to the closet opened slightly, just far enough for him to see Kris's eyes staring at him. It unnerved him slightly, but he tried not to let it show.

"There you are!" he said, sounding happy and smiling like he hadn't been sure of where she had gone to and was relieved.

"What're you doing in there?" he asked, tilting his head to the side in a clueless manner.

"... hiding…" came the whispered reply.

"Oh?" he said. "Well, there's nobody else in here, I checked. You're safe."

"Check again."

So he made a show of checking under her bed, in her desk, under furniture, even going so far as to float up to the ceiling and peeking into the air vent.

"'Kay," he said, settling back onto the carpet. "It's all clear Kris."

After waiting a couple minutes, it was clear that she wasn't coming out. He sighed, and walked slowly over to the closet. Kris whimpered and shrunk back into the shadows where he couldn't see her. Stopping right in front of the door, Ranu sat down cross-legged and watched the sliver of shadow that was his view of the interior of her hiding place.

"…You don't have to come out if you don't want to," he said. No reply. "… can I open the door a little then?" he asked.

"… nn."

Taking that as a yes, he nudged the closet door open a little further, letting some light into the space. And there, curled up around herself and staring at him with wide eyes was Kris.

"Hey there," he said, smiling gently and closing his eyes for a moment. "You hungry?"

She looked away for a second, then looked back at him, nodding slightly. He smiled again at her, reassuringly.

"Mrs. Bulma's mother is sending up some hot chocolate and cakes and stuff soon. Want me to go tell her to send more stuff too? How 'bout steak?"

Kris shook her head, eyes suddenly fearful.

"Alright then," he said, still talking in a soothing voice, like one he would use with a child or a wild animal. "We'll just wait for the food to get here then. Want to play a game or something?"

She paused, then nodded.

"Okay. I'll get Battleship then," he said, then slowly got up off the floor and reached above her head, plucking a box off a high shelf.

"Nnnn…" Kris moaned, trying to get his attention. He paused and looked down.

"Yes?"

She bit her lip, looked down, and fidgeted a little.

"…Mancala?" she whispered.

"Sure," he said, smiling again, then taking another, smaller box off the shelf. He sat down again and unfolded a wooden playing board with small bowls carved into it, and two oval shaped bowls at each end of the rectangular board. He took out the brightly colored glass playing pieces and started placing them in the circular bowls, counting them out as he went. It felt good to hear the sound of the sturdy little glass stones plucking together against the wood. It filled up the silence.

"'Kay," he announced when he was done. "You go first."

They played until Mrs. Briefs brought up their snacks, at which point Kris ducked back into the closet. And when she was gone, Kris slowly crept out of it, and nibbled on the edges of a mini cake while Ranu gulped down the hot cocoa.

"Aah," he sighed contentedly, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes, enjoying the warm sensation in his belly. He started slightly when he felt something equally warm in his lap.

"Eh?" he said, opening his eyes and looking down.

Kris had crawled over to where he was sitting and now had her head in his lap and was curled up next him, her tail wrapped around her arm.

"Oh… um, you sleepy Kris-chan?"

Her only response was to yawn widely and purr for a few seconds while she shifted her head around in his lap to get more comfortable. Ranu blushed bright red and began stuttering.

"A-ah… Y-ye-ah, okay…Y-you just… sleep, r-right…"

And then she smiled at him and closed her eyes, falling asleep.