Hey, all. Sorry for the lack of updates - I have been very busy with school ending, but now I have some freetime, again, to work on stuff. Thank you all, as usual, for all the love and support for this story, whether you've read A Thrilling Chase or not. Enjoy!
Quick disclaimer - some of this chapter is very inspired by a scene from Dragon Ball, and I think you'll know which one it is, when you read it.
Piccolo was up before anyone in the house was. He huffed, as he sat up in bed. He couldn't train, and even if he could, it was too early to deal with Goku's nonsense. So, he quietly left his room and stepped into the parlor. He took a spot on the couch, and quietly meditated.
He had been living with Goku's family for about a week. He still had a lot of things he had to get used to. First, their lives revolved entirely around the brat – once Gohan so much as whined, they dropped everything to help him. Second, everyone had to pull a little bit of weight, around the house. Piccolo had tried a few things, but he hadn't found a stable role in daily life; they had everything already covered. They were trying their best to make him feel involved (Goku was trying a little too hard, actually), but he still felt alienated. It was only one week, but it didn't give him hopes for a future living like this.
He shook his head. He was thinking too hard about this. He cleared his thoughts and commenced his meditation.
The young Piccolo walked through the barren forest alone with nothing on him but the clothes on his back. He was still far too weak; he hadn't even found his old powers, again. He would stand no chance against Kami, in this state. He foraged and scavenged through the forest, in search of anything that would help him survive. He had to find food, soon; it had been days since his last meal, and he was starving.
There was a light in the distance. It looked like a small home. Perfect.
He made his way to the small abode. He looked through the window – there was a small family inside. They were laughing with each other, inside. The child ran up to his father and hugged him tightly. The father responded in kind, picking up him and gently tossing him in the air.
It made him feel sick. A small twinge of jealously was felt in his gut, as well.
He ran back and threw a rock into the window, shattering the glass. It lured the family outside, as they searched for the disturbance. Piccolo snuck in through the back door. He quickly went through their cabinets and their fridge, looking for any bit of food he could eat, doing his best not to make a sound.
His load fumbled, in his arms, and a can fell on the floor, with a loud clank.
The man turned around, looking for its source. He snarled, when he saw Piccolo, and cocked his shotgun, pointing the barrel right in his direction.
Piccolo ran out the way he came, stuffing whatever he could down his shirt. He went as fast as his small legs could take him. Loud gunshots behind him only made him stumble faster. His breathing was harsh, and his heart was palpitating faster than it had, before. A bullet rushed right by his ear. He closed his eyes and held his ears, as he kept running.
A loud barking noise came up behind him. He glanced back – a dog was chasing after him. It was howling and growling at him, as saliva was dripping down from his mouth. Its teeth were sharp, as they clanked and gnashed together.
Piccolo tripped and fell into the dirt. The dog stopped a few feet away from him, growling. It scraped its paws in the soil, as it watched him turn over. Piccolo slowly backed away, but the dog walked forward with every backwards movement.
It pounced. Piccolo put his hands in the air and closed his eyes, bracing for impact.
A bright light flashed. The dog whimpered and whined. He stayed in the guarded position for several moments, but nothing came.
He opened his eyes. He stood up, to see what had happened. The dog was lying on the ground, writhing around and whimpering. It was very slowly limping away, back in the direction of the house. He could vaguely smell something burning. When the dog stood up for a moment, he caught a glimpse of his stomach – the fur there was burned off, leaving its skin burnt and red.
Piccolo looked down at his hands. So that was the power he had inside of him. If he could tap into it again and learn to control it, then it would be useful in his conquests.
He pushed his hands up to the sky, trying to concentrate his energy into his palms. He focused all of his energy into a single ball, and then…
A bright light burst into the night sky. The trees shook, as the animals scattered to get away. It lasted for several seconds, before retracting back into Piccolo's hands.
He clenched his fists and grinned. This was perfect.
Piccolo's eyes opened. He groaned, and dug his nails into his forearm. He had never gotten flashes of the past like this, before. Why was he getting them, now? This had only started happening, after he had gotten back to Earth. If he knew why, maybe he could make them stop.
He stood up, and stormed out of the house. He quickly powered up and flew off. He needed some answers.
"I don't know what to tell you," Kami said, exasperatedly. "I have no idea what you're dealing with or what could have caused this."
"You've surely been feeling it to," Piccolo hissed. "Are you certain that you have no clue what's happening, to me?"
"I'm afraid I do not. I was not aware that this was happening, before you approached me about it."
He scoffed. "How lucky for you, then…"
"Piccolo, I wish to help you in some way. You are still the other half of my being, and your troubles are mine, as well. I realize I made a grave error in my judgment all those years ago, but I only wish to repay you, in some way."
"Unless you can find a way to make this stop, then you're of no use to me."
He ignored Kami's sigh, as he walked out of the room. He didn't know why he had wasted his time coming to him, for this. As always, talking to Kami was like talking to a brick wall. He went out onto the platform of the lookout, ready to make his way back to Mt. Paozu.
Kami phased in front of him, before he made it to the edge. Piccolo snarled, and stepped backwards. He hated it, when he did that.
"I do not wish for us to continue to quarrel and snipe at each other, like this. It is only making things worse, between us. I meant what I said, before: I wish to help you in any way that I can. Perhaps I can find a way to get to the bottom of your problem."
"Well? What is it?"
"The next time you have a flashback as you described, I want you to immediately flare your ki. I may be able to find the cause, if I see you immediately afterwards."
He huffed. He knew deep down the old man had his best interests, at heart. The bitterness over what had happened was preventing him from completely trusting him. Still, his desire to be rid of this overrided that, now. He supposed that he'd have to suck it up and deal with it.
"Fine. Now, if you'll excuse me." He walked past him, and jumped off of the edge of the lookout.
"Do say hello to Goku, for me," Kami yelled, as he went down.
Piccolo snarled, powered up, and flew back to Mt. Paozu.
The trip to the Lookout had lasted all day. The sun was already setting, by the time he returned to Goku's home. He shook his head. An entire day had been wasted, and he accomplished absolutely nothing. There wasn't even any indication that his situation would get better. He didn't even know why he still got his hopes up, anymore. He landed on the ground, with a soft thud, intending to go back inside and rest.
"Hey, you're back," Goku said. He was sitting on the porch, with Gohan in his lap. "We missed you, earlier. Where'd you go?"
"The Lookout," he said.
"Neat! How're Kami and Mr. Popo?"
"They're fine." He walked past Goku, wanting to go back inside.
"Hey, you wanna sit out here for a while?"
Gohan started babbling, pointing and pushing his hands out towards Piccolo. He pursed his lips together, glancing between the baby's gestures and the big grin on Goku's face. He sighed, and took a seat next to him, on the porch. It was getting harder for him to turn down requests, like this. Whatever reason it was for, he didn't like it.
Goku looked down and flexed his arm. "Man, I don't know how people can go without training for this long. And to think we've still got a few more weeks of this." He slumped down. "Maybe Chi-Chi had kind of a point, there. Heh."
Piccolo grunted. He couldn't argue with that; Goku had a bit of a one-track mind, when it came to training.
"You getting bored, too?"
"I don't spend all of my time thinking about fighting like you."
Goku laughed. "Yeah, I guess that'll do it!"
Piccolo felt something hitting his leg. When he looked down, he saw that Gohan was the one doing that. His wide eyes were staring and blinking at him. Piccolo just looked down at him. He didn't really know what he was supposed to do.
Gohan crawled over Goku's arm and leg, onto Piccolo's leg, and he plopped himself right in his lap. Piccolo leaned backwards, with his hands up. He grabbed a part of his cape, and covered himself with it, snuggling into his thigh. Piccolo just stayed frozen. He could feel his face growing warmer.
Goku chuckled. "He missed you, while you were gone. I should show you that picture he drew of you, a few weeks ago."
Piccolo gritted his teeth and folded his arms. He breathed out.
"So, what'd you go to the Lookout for?"
"I needed to speak with Kami."
"About what?"
"That's none of your business."
"Oh, come on. You can tell me!"
No, he really couldn't. That would require telling him about his past. He had a feeling that if he or Chi-Chi found out about it they'd kick him out. He was planning on taking it to the grave, with him: no one else was going to know the truth. He glared at Goku. "Let it go. I mean it."
Goku blinked. "Okay. If you ever do wanna talk about it, let me know."
The two sat in a comfortable silence, together, looking up at the night sky. The sky was clear of any clouds. The crescent moon shined dimly. As Piccolo continued to stare, he could see the stars twinkling above him. It was odd – he had lived on his own in the wilderness for much of his life, and yet he never took the time to look at the sky.
"Goku, it's time for Gohan to go to bed!"
"I'm on my way!" Goku gingerly picked Gohan up from Piccolo's lap, and cradled him in his arms. Gohan unconsciously snuggled into his chest, sticking his thumb into his mouth. Goku smiled down at him, and gently kissed his head, before taking him inside.
Piccolo stayed on the porch, still looking up at the stars. He had been all over the universe: so many different planets and galaxies. He had seen some interesting sights, of that there was no doubt. Yet, nothing quite matched the tranquility and beauty of just staring up at the sky.
He couldn't believe it had taken him this long to notice it.
