Blending In
9



"Hit me."
Flop went a card. Tonkeshin sought the braille label in the upper corner. A ten, a four and now he just received a seven. That made twenty one. He grinned smugly to himself, flipping the edge of his newest card with his little finger.
Greg chuckled and scraped his cards around. His seat creaked. Paper money rattled. "You win again. That's it, I'm tapped out. No more ones."
"Nah, we'll split it. Here, I'll count." Tonk fanned out all ten one dollar bills he'd won during their Blackjack games. Laying one bill on Greg's tray, then one on his own, he said, "There's one for you, one for me." He dropped another one on his friend's tray. Then he dropped two on his own, laughing. "One for you, two for me. . .one for you, three for me. . ."
"Hey!" Greg burst into snickers, "Who taught you to split money?"
"Don't ask," Tonkeshin chuckled and gathered up the remaining cash. He pushed the wad of bills into Greg's beefy hand. This time the betting wasn't entirely serious. "Here, so I won't feel bad about beating the pants off you again."
"Green bastard." Greg teased, "Scoot, I need the bathroom."
Tonk dutifully stood up so his large friend could slip by. He started hearing a lot of whispering when he sat down again. Whispering loud enough to pick up over the rattle of food packages, the plane engine and the general murmur of people speaking to each other. Oftentimes he forgot about his surroundings when he and Greg got goofy. It made him feel like people were talking about him. He also got the distinct sensation of eyes boring into him. But from where?
Probably Carol, he mused silently.
"Back," Greg's tenor voice spoke from above and to the right.
Tonkeshin stood up and let Greg squeeze past. He sat down again, staring straight ahead towards the front of the plane. "I feel like I'm being watched. Is it Carol?"
"She was." Lowering his voice, Greg went on, "I gave her the evil eye and she went back to minding her own business. I swear, Tonk, I had no idea she'd develop an infatuation with you. I've watched her look at you. She stares at your eyes."
"My eyes?"
"Yeah." More creaking around in the seat. "Well you know, you can usually tell someone is blind by looking at their eyes."
For some reason Tonkeshin found that funny. He smiled, amused. "Probably because their blindness is a result of something wrong with the eye or the visual part of the brain. For me it's neither. I don't have any optic nerves. No nerve, no signal."
He shrugged and went on, "The egg I hatched from was exposed to an intense radioactive storm while I was still forming. That's probably what caused it. Eh, it's no big deal. Could've been worse. What if I had two heads and buck teeth?"
"Hah! I seriously didn't know that. I thought something happened to your brain. Maybe I should've asked sooner."
"Hmph, it's all right. Talking about it doesn't bother me." Tonk felt around his tray for the water glass. He found it and drained the last of its contents.
At that moment a sudden thought slashed across his consciousness. He faced Greg and asked, "Since when did Carol switch from coconut to banana hand cream? I almost didn't recognize her. . ."
"I dunno. I never paid any attention to it."
"Oh." He sat back and dropped the subject. "So what do you see out the window? Any land yet?"
Greg twisted in his seat. His voice sounded muffled because he was facing away, "Nope, no land yet. Just a lot of sparkling blue water and a clear sky. It's pretty bright out there." A gasp, "Hey! There's a cruise ship down there! Cool. . .I always wanted to go on a cruise."
"Big ship?"
"Big enough that my fat butt can't sink it."
They both laughed.

Greg's quiet snoring created a gentle droning noise. It almost matched the rhythm in which Tonkeshin's fingers swept over the pages in his book. A very interesting book on meditation. At least it would be if his brain would stay attached to the words on each page. Considering all he'd been through, it wasn't easy.
Tonk sighed and gave up. He couldn't keep his mind on what he was reading for more than a few seconds at a time. Thanks to Carol, his thoughts kept drifting between her, the Tournament and countless other things.
He lightly touched the thick plastic ball-tip on the folded cane sitting in his lap. Sometimes touching an object a certain way evoked memories of when he was little. This was no different. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts go back in time to his fourth year of life:

Thick grass shifted abruptly to dirt under Tonkeshin's small feet. His long tunic kept tripping him. He smacked hard into the side of the building he was searching for. Tears blazed liquid fire down his cheeks. He trailed the smooth wall in search of the door. When he couldn't find it, he shouted, "Lians! Lians, are you home?"
A loud whirring noise sounded from the left. Wooden tapping and heavy footsteps came out. The footsteps of someone who spent many days on his knees, working on keeping the Ajisa plants alive. Then a deep voice roughened by age spoke from a long way up, "Tonkeshin, what's the matter?"
"They laugh at me because I run into things and can't find my shoes. . .and say I'm blinder than you because I can't tell if it's sunny or not." The young Namek tearfully approached the elder, both hands held out straight to seek out obstacles. Each step carried the terror of falling a million miles. "Why don't they run into things all the time?"
"Ah, my boy." Tonkeshin felt Lians' hands, large and wrinkled like old wood, close around both of his and pull him gently forward. "Come inside and I'll explain it to you."
Tonkeshin allowed himself to be led into the warm abode. The careful hands steered him to a wooden bench and pushed him gently to sit. He heard a creak that signified the elder had seated himself on the same bench.
"You are blind." Lians spoke gently, "That means you 'see' with your hands instead of your eyes, but that doesn't mean you're any different than your other brothers."
"But what about colors?" Frustration choked Tonk's voice. He struggled to stop his tears. "What's blue? Red? Green?"
He felt the kind elder's hand rest atop his head. Its soft pressure was reassuring. "Don't worry yourself about such things. There is more to life than colors. You can still enjoy the smell of soil after a storm, or the velvet of a leaf between your fingers, or even the song of a waterfall. Use your imagination."
Tonkeshin brightened and gazed up towards Lians' voice, "Rain on the roof! It helps me sleep."
Lians made an approving noise. His hand withdrew, "To keep track of your shoes, you need to put them in the same place every time you take them off. I keep mine by my bed."
"And how do I not run into things?"
The elder replied, "By using a cane similar to this."
Something large and wooden slid into Tonkeshin's hand. He closed his fingers around it - they didn't encircle it completely - and examined it thoroughly. It didn't seem to be more than a long, heavy stick that had been scraped smooth.
He faced Lians' breathing, "How do I use it?"
"I'll teach you. But first I have to make one in your size. It will only take a moment." The voice carried a smile behind it, "Wait here."
Suddenly the presence beside Tonkeshin was gone. He listened to the shuffling footsteps moving away. It was amazing, Lians could walk around in his home without hitting a single thing! How did he do it?
The careful footsteps returned, "Stand up for me."
Tonkeshin obediently stood. He felt Lians rest a rough stick against his shoulder, his hands measuring the distance from the ground to his armpit.
"Good. I'll be right back."
For the next several minutes, Tonkeshin listened to Lians cut, scrape, notch and shape the rough stick. When he felt the object slid into his hand again, it felt like a smaller version of the long rod Lians handed to him earlier.
"If you are willing, I can teach you how to use this cane so you won't run into things. The others will quickly stop laughing at you once they see you can get around as well as they do." Lians tapped his own cane on the smooth floor. It created a hollow click that echoed off the walls of his home. "With it you'll be able to go anywhere you want without having to hang on to someone's arm. It can even tell you if the ground is uneven so you won't trip."
Tonkeshin's eyes widened. He sprang up and grasped the front of the tall elder's floor-length tunic. Behind it, he felt his knee. "Teach me!" He smiled up towards his new source of hope, "Please, teach me everything!"

Tonkeshin took his fingers off the tip of his cane and smiled. His life was never the same after Lians made that old cane for him. The whole world just opened up and let him in.
He felt the plane take on a leftward tilt. His stomach groaned in protest, but he didn't throw up.
Greg's snoring didn't miss a beat. Tonk pondered taking an ice cube from his glass and dumping it in Greg's lap. If anything it would leave a funny surprise for him when he woke up.
Before Tonkeshin could even dig his fingers into his drink glass, he heard a beep. A female voice spoke over the intercom, "All passengers please buckle your seat belts. We're passing through a minor storm, so expect some turbulence."
"Huh? We landing?" Greg yawned.
Tonk found his seat belt and buckled it. Clatters all around suggested others were doing the same.
"No, going through a storm. C'mon, buckle up."
Less than a second after Greg buckled his belt, the whole plane vibrated. Tonkeshin gasped and grabbed the armrest of his seat. His ears popped. That meant the plane was going lower.
"Whoa, relax buddy. We're not crashing."
Tonkeshin laughed at himself. How foolish he must look, getting all nervous over a little quiver. "I hate airplanes."
"So do I, but not for the same reason." Greg squirmed around, making Tonk's seat move as well. "These darn seats. It must be horrible for that poor woman up front. I wouldn't be surprised if she weighs over four hundred pounds."
"Wow."
Of course Tonkeshin didn't understand what made fat people so unattractive. Just another visual thing he'd never "get". Of course he usually found himself wrinkling his nose if he had to speak to someone with obvious body odor, smelly breath or a strange sounding voice. Squeaky nasal voices like those of Cappa and Cheeno drove him absolutely insane.
He could recall asking a nice young man about the price on a bottle of laundry detergent. Later on he learned the person he spoke to had more body piercings than a pin cushion and wore clothing that made him look like someone from a gothic band.
Then there were people like Carol, who everyone said was attractive. But her pretty outer looks hid a strange individual. He still wondered why he never noticed this behavior before. . .she always did like standing a little too close when they had a conversation. Now that he knew why, he shuddered at the thought.
"Land-ho," Greg whispered. He scuffed his shoes against the floor. "Get ready, we're going to land any minute now."
"Right."
An announcement went up, telling everyone to please remain seated and return their trays to their upright positions.
Tonk pushed his sleeves up to his elbows and leaned back. Pressure built up in his ears until they popped. Elation bubbled inside him like carbonation in soda. His antennae perked. The plane was definitely descending. That meant the only thing between him and the Tournament was a space of seven days.
The floor became level.
"Here it comes. . ." said Greg, "Doing okay over there?"
"Just fine."
A jolt startled him slightly. He heard the squeal of tires and sighed. Back on the ground again.
Suddenly a hand tapped his right shoulder. Tonkeshin faced the direction curiously, "Hello? Can I help you?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you," It was the female newly-wed he'd been hearing all through the flight. The one who kept chattering on and on to her husband. "I was wondering if I could get your autograph. I heard about you on the news, but I didn't want to bother you during the flight. I have a pen and - oh! Silly me."
"Naw, hand it here, I can sign my name." Tonkeshin grinned, he couldn't help it. Nobody ever asked him for his autograph before! "Just put the pen where you want my signature."
Manicured fingers guided his hand to the right spot. He used his thumb for a line guide and signed his name. "There you go. Hey, have fun on your honeymoon."
"We sure will," The man chuckled.
"Thanks," Giggled the woman.
Then the couple shuffled from their seats and started grabbing their luggage. Tonkeshin stood up and did the same, sliding his and Greg's suitcases to freedom. By then the plane seemed pretty much empty. If Carol was still there, Tonkeshin didn't know or care.
"Got your stuff?"
"Yup." Tonk allowed gravity to unfold his cane. "C'mon, let's get going."
Greg shuffled past him to take the lead. "Wow, it's been raining pretty hard here. Everything's soaked."
"Nothing like the smell of fresh air after rain." Tonk replied, grinning toothily. He ran his tongue over his front teeth and stared blankly ahead in anticipation of exiting the stuffy plane.
A laugh sounded, "I can't wait to get us checked into our hotel. After that I'm ordering myself the most exotic dinner I can find. I swear, I'm starved."
"Psh. You're always hungry." Tonk dug the end of his cane against Greg's heels and laughed, "Now march."
Greg shuffled forward. Tonkeshin followed close behind. They both passed a cloud of banana freshness. Great, Carol was going to get off behind them.
Just as he suspected, soft sounds indicated she was indeed coming up from the rear. The rollers on her suitcase were a dead giveaway. She didn't even realize he knew of her presence. And at the moment, he didn't care, all he could think about was getting off the plane.
More forward movement. Tonk went with the flow, keeping his cane held tight next to his chest and tilted forward slightly to locate anything waiting beyond his toes. The tip rammed into the cabin door. Greg forgot to mention the turn. He turned abruptly right and stepped into the corridor between the plane and the airport.
"Sorry, forgot." Greg fell into step with him, pointedly ignoring Carol. "Gimme your bag, I'll check it in with mine."
Tonkeshin held his suitcase out to his friend, "Thanks. I'll wait for you by the gate."
The bag was lifted from his grasp. Greg's footsteps hurried away.
Carol's rolling suitcase rumbled closer. Tonk did a sudden about face and trained his eyes in the general direction of the sound. "I know you're back there, Carol. Was the view nice?"
Carol was so surprised that she ran right into his chest. Tonkeshin suspected it wasn't entirely an accident. He didn't move.
"I'm. . .sorry. I didn't think you heard me." Her weight pressed more solidly against him. Moist lips touched his cheek. "Remember what I said about people staring." Her voice hinted at a smile.
Then she was gone, lost in the confusing throng of people all around.
A sneer curled Tonkeshin's thin lips. He wiped his cheek on his sleeve.
"I can't believe you just let her walk away!" Greg roughly grabbed his arm. A move that startled ten years off Tonk's life.
"Shut up, I didn't know what she was doing," Tonk snapped furiously, "What's she going to pull next time? And the next?"
Greg sighed, turned Tonkeshin in the right direction and let go of his arm. "Dude, sorry I scared you. Just settle down."
He went on, "Anyway, you have to be frank with Carol. Just tell her to her face that you're not interested."
Tonkeshin flipped his cane into the proper position and started tapping it gently across his path in an arc slightly wider than his shoulders. His temper quickly cooled. He remembered his sunglasses and donned them. The feeling of being watched from all directions returned, but he ignored it.
"And if that doesn't work? Huh? What then?"
Greg coughed a laugh, "Then you run. Fast."
The tension left Tonkeshin's expression. His laughter joined Greg's. "I don't think there's a place I can run to get away from the likes of her. But whatever, she doesn't concern me." He gave Greg a nudge and grinned crookedly, "We're here! That's all I care about. Now the fun begins."
". . .I hate it when you smile like that." Muttered Greg, "What are you up to?"
"I'm not up to anything, I'm just excited to be here," Tonk replied. "Hey, are we still in the same time zone, or do I have to adjust my watch?"
"We lost an hour. Not too bad." Soft clicking indicated Greg was adjusting his watch to the proper time. "We're due to pick up the rental car in about twenty minutes."
Tonkeshin fixed his watch as well. "Do we have enough time?"
"Plenty."
"Cool." He followed Greg to the baggage claim area. After that they headed for the cool breeze coming from outside.
Tonkeshin didn't disguise his smile when tile became wet pavement under his cane and feet. Moist, fresh air greeted his nose. People, cars and luggage carts whizzed past. Puddles splashed. Jet engines howled.
It was real this time, he wasn't dreaming.
Seven days to go.


Author's note: And there's another chapter! Whew, long one, too. I can't believe this one came together so fast. My fingers are feeling a lot better, so here I am typing up a storm.

I got a huge laugh when I heard that "My Hands Are Small" song by Jewel while I was pondering how to word the part with Chibi Tonkeshin and Lians. shakes his head and grins Let's just say it provided a little inspiration.

By the way, thanks for the fun RP, Velasa. wink