Chapter 16

Piccolo raised an eye ridge at her. "He probably went off somewhere...why?"

Katrina rested a hand over her heart and stared at Piccolo with a pained expression. "Something's wrong...I just know it. We've got to go find him now!" She was about to pass him to go into the clearing when he caught her arms and held her back.

"Wait a minute, Kat." He said. "What do you mean something's wrong? How do you know?"

"I just do, ok?!" Katrina exhaled. "I always get these feelings when something's up."

"Have these feelings of yours ever been wrong?" Piccolo said slowly, trying to calm her down.

Katrina shook her head. "No, none of them."

Piccolo looked off into the distance, then looked back at Katrina and nodded. "All right, I'll go out and look for him. You stay here just in case, ok?"

Katrina hesitated, wanting to tell him that four eyes were better than two, but finally she caved and nodded her head. Piccolo patted her arms as a brief farewell and took to the air.

Piccolo stopped and extended his senses. I should be able to sense Gohan's life force...but there's nothing out there... He thought, his head turning in frantic search. Then he heard a few gunshots to the east. Without anything else to follow, he took off towards the ear piercing noise.

Gohan skidded on the dirt floor and came to a stop in front of a tree. He sat up slightly, his head throbbing and small trickles of blood coming from his nose and mouth.

The four men in front of him sneered, one with tears still in his eyes. "The bastard kid actually broke my hand! I can't fucking believe it!!" He howled, holding his massively twisted hand.

Gohan slowly got to his feet and tried to stay determined. "What you were doing was wrong! Killing defenseless animals for fun is always wrong!"

"Somebody shut that fucking kid up!" The man with the broken hand shouted, and the other three began to close in on him. They took the butts of their shotguns and savagely beat the four year old down until he was curled up in a little ball crying.

"Hey Buck, shoot the kid already, I want to get some more hunting in before dark."

"Me?! I can't shoot a kid, I got kids of my own, ya know."

"Do you think I fucking give a shit?! No!! So shoot the brat and leave him for the wolves!!"

The man in the red coat gulped and brought his shotgun down so it was aimed at the quivering kid. He was about to pull the trigger when a sudden yellow beam knocked the gun out of his hands. Two more came out of nowhere and knocked the other guns away from their owners.

"I suggest that you leave the kid alone." A dark, scratchy voice ricocheted off of the surrounding trees.

"Why don't you come out and make us, ya mother fu—"

He was cut short when Piccolo came through the trees and stood before Gohan. "Either leave now or leave in pieces, it's your choice." He growled.

"Oh, so scary mister. I'm shaking in my hunting boots." The man in the blue coat replied.

Piccolo shrugged. "Fine then." Suddenly, he disappeared and reappeared before the man with the broken hand. He cleanly landed a quick punch to his gut and let him double over. Piccolo turned back around and landed a punch to the man in the blue coat's face.

Gohan hesitantly opened his eyes and watched as Piccolo pulverized the hunters down to the ground. His eyes wavered as he gazed in awe.

Piccolo stopped after he was sure that none of them would get up again. He walked over Gohan and knelt down beside him. "You ok kid?"

Gohan nodded slowly. His face was contorted because he refused to let Piccolo see him cry. Piccolo helped him stand back up but when he did, Gohan caved like a child should have. To Piccolo's surprise, Gohan wrapped his chubby little arms around what they could of Piccolo's neck and he sobbed in Piccolo's chest.

Usually, Piccolo would have shoved him away and told him to grow up. But he didn't. Instead, he took pity on the young half saiyan and he let him cry. He knew that this wasn't his normal behavior, and he had one person to blame for it: Katrina. He half smiled to himself. Thanks, Kat.

It was a little while after dark had settled in when Piccolo returned with Gohan in his arms. Katrina rushed over towards them both. "I got so worried when you didn't come back, I was gonna go out looking for you." She took a look at Gohan and saw that he was pretty messed up. "Is he ok?"

"He'll be fine. A couple days rest is all he needs." Piccolo said, placing the child in Katrina's arms. She carried him back towards where she had started a fire and covered him up with the blanket.

"What happened?" Katrina asked as she sat down near the fire. Piccolo joined her side soon after.

"From what I could understand, he wanted to go get dinner for us when he saw these guys hunting. At first, he was going to leave it alone because he though that they were hungry or something. But then they just left the bodies where they lay, so he tried to talk to them. Things led to another, and Gohan broke somebody's hand. When I got there, they were beating him with their shotguns."

"Poor kid..." She said with a pained expression.

"He's a brave one, I'll tell you that." Piccolo replied.

"That's because he looks up to you," Katrina said, turning back to look at him. "...a whole lot."

Piccolo thought about it, then shrugged.

Katrina laughed lightly. "You're just one big role model."

"Don't tell me you look up to me too..." Piccolo smirked.

"Well I have to, you're taller than me." She giggled. Piccolo frowned and shoved her slightly, but started laughing too. Katrina pushed him back, continuing the small battle. It carried on for a few more seconds before both opponents fell on the ground next to each other.

Silence draped over the pair like a wet blanket, and Katrina had to resist the urge to twiddle her thumbs. She stared up at the black sky for a moment, then finally said, "I do..."

Piccolo turned his head towards her. "What?"

She looked over at him and repeated, "I do look up to you..." Then she lightly attempted to push him. "So don't go do anything stupid."

Piccolo smirked and resumed looking at the night sky above them. Katrina gazed upon him for a few more minutes before sliding closer towards him. She laid her head on his shoulder and rested her hand on his chest.

He looked over at her confusingly. "Kat, what—?"

"Oh shut up, Mr. Role Model." She grumbled, squirming around trying to get comfortable.

Piccolo scoffed. "Oh, first I'm Mr. Pessimistic, now I'm Mr. Role Model? I must be a schizophrenic."

Katrina giggled, still trying to get comfortable. Finally, she managed to accomplish her goal and prepared to fall asleep.

Piccolo smirked and wrapped his outstretched arm around her shoulders. "Are you finally comfortable?"

"Yes, thank you." She muttered, already feeling the effects of her fatigue. "Piccolo?" She asked suddenly.

"Yes?"

"Do you think we're going to be ready when they come?"

Piccolo pondered for a moment before replying. "We'll just have to keep training and—"

"That's not what I asked." She said, lifting her head to look him in the eyes. "Do you think we'll be ready?"

Piccolo hesitated, then lightly smiled. He rubbed her shoulders gently and replied, "I think we'll be fine."

"And...what if we're not?" She asked, cocking her head slightly to the side.

"Don't worry," he answered. "I won't let anything happen to you...I promise..."

Katrina smiled sweetly and laid her head back down on his shoulder. In no time at all, she was sound asleep.

Piccolo gazed upon her for a moment before returning his eyes to the stars. His eyes narrowed in a slight glare as he looked straight up at a new, dim, flickering star in the blackness of the night. He looked down at Katrina again and brought her as close as possible to him. I'm not gonna let anything happen, Kat.