AN. We're still in canon. There'll be two more chapters in canon and then I'll be branching out into headcanon again before dipping back for the last tournament in DB :) Please to enjoy.

Huge thank you to CommanderAIK for looking over this for me. And for being so encouraging and lovely. Small niche, best niche :)

Chapter Thirty-One

Something didn't feel right. A vague sense of unease flitted around the corners of his mind and settled small itching points on his skin. He was silent as they sat around the campfire, Yamcha and Krillin laughing and smiling and joking. Tien was joining in where he could, but was clearly being very careful and measured with his words. His smiles were rare and usually uncertain.

Are you okay, Chiaotzu?

The telepath jolted slightly. He hadn't felt the first touch of Tien's mind and wondered briefly if there had been one to feel. Perhaps their minds were linked again, as they'd been in the past. The idea made a pure and simple joy well in his stomach.

They didn't look at each other. They stared across the fire at Yamcha and Krillin's goofy smiles, their faces blank as they conversed telepathically.

I'm fine, Chiaotzu sent, his voice soft and uncertain. I… Never mind.

A frown briefly creased Tien's face before it vanished. Yamcha paused for a moment before a slight smile from the triclops relaxed him and he went back to elbowing Krillin in the ribs.

Tell me what's wrong.

Chiaotzu ducked his head. I don't know. There's something…wrong here.

Wrong?

Chiaotzu looked up at the sky, the twinkling stars, the velvety darkness between, again noting the total lack of moon. He'd commented on it a day or so before, when they were about to go to sleep, and Krillin had admitted that Roshi had been the one to destroy it. Apparently Goku, on observing the full moon, turned into a monstrous ape, gigantic and primal, and in an effort to save the previous tournament Roshi had had to destroy it before the ape that had been Goku had rampaged out of control.

I can't describe it. It's…it's like… Chiaotzu groped for a comparison, his hands lifting off his knees slightly and grasping at the cool night air. Like the world is hurting…

The world…is hurting?

There was doubt in Tien's voice, but no scorn or disdain. Nonetheless Chiaotzu's cheeks heated up with blood and he ducked his head.

Never mind. I'm just…I'm just tired.

Tien didn't respond but reached out and rested one hand on the boy's shoulder, a small comfort. Yamcha and Krillin saw but didn't comment. Krillin, at least, could understand why Chiaotzu occasionally needed a word or a moment of reassurance and Yamcha was too polite or awkward to question it.

"Bedtime I think," Krillin said, also looking up at the sky and stretching his hands over his head. "I'm exhausted!"

Chiaotzu's lips curled up in a small smile, the first of the night he realised, and he nodded. They split up for their various pre-bed routines. Yamcha and Krillin had set their bedrolls up near the campfire, close to the warmth and gentle light it exuded. Tien and Chiaotzu had set theirs up a little distance away, side by side, close enough that they were still part of the group but far enough away that if Chiaotzu had another nightmare it wouldn't wake the others.

The nightmares had continued. They would leave Chiaotzu drenched in icy sweat and gasping for breath, tears streaming down his face and his muscles locked in terror. Tien was highly tuned to this; always awake and comforting silently as Chiaotzu cried himself back too sleep.

Tonight, though, there were no nightmares. Despite the vague anxiety he had slept easily and dreamlessly until Krillin's sleepy voice roused him and he sat up rubbing his eyes. Tien was standing at the edge of the forest, looking up at the dark hulking shape of the mountain that loomed over them. He could hear drums and chanting, the sounds of festivities under the moonless sky. Chiaotzu opened his mouth to respond and then froze, his eyes wide, the stars reflecting in his dilated pupils.

Tension. That was the feeling. The world was tense with pressure, building up and aching. The ground beneath his feet was almost throbbing in time to the drumbeats and it hurt his heart to feel the pain of it.

"Chiaotzu?"

He blinked and shook his head. Everyone was staring at him. Yamcha and Krillin confused, Tien concerned. Though he meant to speak telepathically he found his mind was weighted under the pressure in the ground beneath his feet and so the words came from his mouth instead; "Something's wrong."

Tien's gaze sharpened ever so slightly but Yamcha and Krillin both let out quiet laughs and lay back down, the boy saying; "You've just had a bad dream, is all. Let's go back to sleep."

They did, but uneasily. The beat of the drums seemed to sync with their hearts so when silence fell at sunrise they all jolted awake. Once their beds were rolled up and secured and the fire had been completely stamped out, they set off again, towards the mountain.

As they walked they continued to laugh and joke. The vague sense of unease still lingered at the back of Chiaotzu's mind but he found walking beside Krillin with his corny jokes and infectious laugh banished the feeling significantly. He'd even managed a peal of laughter that startled him with its unrestrained joy, before Tien tensed and ducked into his fighting stance in front of him.

"Tien?"

Hush, Chiaotzu. Don't worry, I'll protect you.

Ice spread through Chiaotzu's veins at those words. Protect him. Protect him from the nightmares and fear and death. But Tien couldn't protect him forever, especially now that he was so determined to make amends for his past mistakes.

Demons emerged from the bushes lining the dirt path. Red faces twisted in furious snarls surrounded the four as Yamcha and Krillin both ducked into their own defensive positions. A tense silence hung in the air before a short demon approached Krillin.

Small hands gripped the red cheeks and then the snarling demon was tilting and lifting, revealing the smiling face of a young girl.

Krillin fell out of his stance, instantly flushing and grinning a wide infatuated grin. Chiaotzu could almost see the tiny love hearts that had replaced his pupils.

The rest of the crowd lifted their own masks and revealed smiling, friendly faces. Tien remained in his fighting position a beat longer than Yamcha, distrust and fear staying his hand. A woman approached and shook his hand, smiling widely and he relaxed.

A festival. A celebration to the mountain god who protected this group of villagers and their homes. Of course. That's what the drums had been.

"Would you like to come back with us?" Mint, the young girl who had approached Krillin, asked.

"Will I have to wear a demon mask too?" he asked, and flushed as the villagers laughed. Tien relaxed a little further and Chiaotzu was glad. It wasn't good to be so tense. Protection was well and good but Tien was tearing himself apart with this worry. Perhaps a relaxing festival was just what they needed.