Buki looked at her hand, then up to Gohan again, and back to her hand. Gohan had pulled out the sword and was training with it before he had Buki teach him, but she was still thinking about when he held her hand. 'What is this strange… bubbly… fluttery feeling? Is this what they call 'Butterflies in my stomach'?' She wondered. She paused when she felt Goku's ki, causing Gohan, Shin, and Kibito to stop as well. 'Boo's still running about, probably killing people. And the fact that we can feel his ki in the afterlife means he's exerting a lot. But I doubt he's fighting Boo.' Buki frowned more. 'I have a bad feeling about this. I'd like to start training Master Gohan now, but he can't fight with a sword he can barely swing. I'll have to wait.' She sighed and looked down.
It wasn't much later he was able to swing the sword easier. "Buki, I think I'm ready." He said. "Are you sure?" Buki asked, walking over. "Yes." Gohan looked at her as she looked at the sword. "Very well." She pulled out her sword and looked at him. "Come at me with all you've got." She said. Gohan didn't hesitate to run at her. She blocked attack after attack. "You don't need to put so much force into a single swing. Doing so will leave you at a disadvantage." Buki explained. "Like so." She deflected one of his swings, forcing it into the air, then ducked under and hit his stomach, causing him to fall. She placed her sword at his neck. "You're swings are too long. Let the sword do it's job and cut. You need to direct it, not control it." She put her hand out.
Gohan took her hand and let her pull him up. "Direct it, not control. Got it." Gohan repeated. "When you try to control you blade," Buki lifted his hand to hold the sword out. "Your energy travels down the blade," Her fingers danced down the blade. "and, while your strikes may be stronger, they will slow down." Her fingers dance back up the blade and stopped at the handle, slightly brushing his hand. "If you direct the blade, and let it follow through, you energy will only be around here." Her hand circle the handle and bottom of the blade. "You will still control it, but it will be easier to move when someone is prepared with a counter attack." Gohan gulped and nodded, following along. "Good. Let's try this again." Buki ordered.
After about an hour, Buki was able to hold back less and less. Everyone paused as Goku appeared suddenly. "D-Dad?" Gohan stuttered. Buki took this chance to hit Gohan's hands with the flat of her sword, knocking the blade into the air and catching it, pointing it at him. She sighed, putting it down, her own sword resting on her shoulders. "I didn't think I'd have to teach you to pay attention to your opponent." She shook her head. Gohan laughed a bit, embarrassed. "Yeah." Buki smiled a little and flipped the sword, holding the tip. As Gohan took the sword and looked at her mischievously, Buki stared at the sword. 'The Zeta sword feels a lot like Deria, but my sword is supposed to be the last. What's going on?' She wondered.
"Buki? You okay?" Gohan asked. Buki looked at him and nodded. "I'm fine." "Good." Gohan smiled, then used his sword to pull her foot from under her. Buki looked at him with wide eyes. "Don't let your guard down, right?" He grinned. Buki froze, then burst out laughing. Gohan smiled, never seeing her laugh before, then held his hand up. Buki smiled and grabbed his hand, then used her leg to swipe his feet out from under him and pull him down, then got on top of him, preventing him from moving. "You're right. Don't let your guard down." She smirked, then got up and walked to Goku, her smile falling. "It hasn't been 24 hours yet. Why are you back?" Gohan stared at her, then got rid of his blush and followed her.
They listened as Goku told them what had happened on Earth. "I see… So, Boo's destroying Earth…" "Lemme' see that sword." "Oh, sure." Gohan handed the sword to his father. "You were right, Buki. We need to look at Boo as the enemy and nothing else." Gohan sighed as Goku swung the sword. "Even without a master, Boo still destroys things." "Yeah." Buki muttered and looked down. 'But, as I thought, Boo is a child. He only does what he was taught.' She thought. "Could I have something to eat, too?" Goku asked, handing the Zeta sword back to Gohan. "I bet you have lots of great food here." "Okay, maybe we should take a break." Shin said and lead them away.
More time passed after they ate, and soon Gohan was able to mostly master the Zeta sword. Buki swung at him and he blocked. She pulled back and he flipped it, catching it with his other hand and swinging at her again. The attacks started going faster and faster, until it was a blur. Finally, the two were locked, pushing against each other. "This is where strength would be better." Buki smirked. "However…" She disappeared and kicked him forward. He stumbled forward, and as Buki swung at him, he blocked, falling down. They were locked again. Buki closed her eyes, then pulled back and smiled. "Well done. I don't think there's much more I can teach you."
"R-Really?" Gohan grabbed Buki's outstretched hand as she put her sword away. "Yeah. You can stand your ground against me pretty well, and I've been doing this for years." She said pulling him up. "All you need now is practice." Gohan grinned, still holding her hand. "That's great. Thanks, Buki." "It wasn't a problem, Master Gohan. Helping you is my job, though I haven't been the best at it lately." She looked down. Gohan released her hand and set the sword down, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You're doing fine, Buki. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself." He said. She smiled a little. "Thank you, Master Gohan." Gohan smiled and blushed, feeling nervous suddenly.
"Master, may I see your sword?" Buki asked. "Uh, sure." Gohan picked it up and handed it to her. Buki didn't struggle with it as much as the others did at first. She inspected the craftsmanship and run her fingers over the blade. She hummed in thought. "What is it?" Shin asked. "Nothing. I can't confirm my thoughts." She said. "Though the fact that Goku and I can hold it goes against the thought of this being a Derian sword." She muttered, then handed it to Gohan. "Thank you." She said. "No problem." Gohan watched her walk to the tree and sit in the shade. He shrugged and started swinging again. Buki watched him and the sword carefully.
Goku picked up the rock he was sitting on. "Cut this rock first." Buki frowned. 'No. The sword should cut through a rock.' She thought. "Hold on." Shin said, putting his hand out. "We might as well try it on something harder." He summoned a giant block of klangite. Buki shot up. 'That's bad.' "Wait-" She yelled as Goku threw it. She ran forward, but didn't reach him as the blade broke. "No!" Buki yelled, grabbing the end of the sword. "Oops." Gohan looked at his half. Buki stared at the blade. 'It's gone.' She realized and looked around, her eyes landing on an old, wrinkled Lord of Lords. Her eyes widened with realization, and she set down the blade. "I see." She muttered.
"That must be it. That's the power." Shin said, excited. "But… I dunno' if he's better than Boo..." Goku trailed off. The older Lord chuckled. "You're wrong." Kibito and Shin jumped in surprise. Buki nodded in thought. "I see. He wasn't the spirit of the sword. He was trapped in the sword." She muttered. "So when it broke, instead of killing him, it freed him." "Say, let's test him out." Goku said. "Huh… Wait-" Gohan paused. "Don't!" Buki yelled, but Goku didn't listen and shot, causing the old man to fall backwards. "Goku." Buki sighed. 'This is the man who reached Super Saiyan after me?' She groaned as the old man yelled at them and explained his power.
Buki walked back to the tree and climbed a branch, relaxing. "This is great and all, but Boo is still a problem." She muttered to herself. "And Gohan may have gotten stronger with the sword, but it's not the great power we wanted." She shook her head, then heard Goku talking to Gohan. "I can't go back to Earth, so you'll have to, you know, introduce him to your girlfriend. "Are you insane?' Gohan yelled. "She'll kill me." "What about that other Saiyan, Buki?" Goku asked. "You can order her to, right?" "I don't know. I don't want to do that to her." Gohan looked down. "C'mon. It's the universe." Goku added. Gohan still didn't look convinced, so Goku confirmed with the old Lord.
Buki shook her head and grabbed the top half of the sword, then tossed it, causing it to land in front of Gohan, stabbed into the ground. Gohan and Goku jumped back and looked in her direction. She nodded to them and Goku grinned. "Great!" Goku ran over to her. "Get the Lord of Lords." He told Gohan. He jumped into the tree with Buki. "Now, we have to make you look as cute as possible." He said, taking her hair out and ruffling it a little. Buki's eyes widened as she imagined her father ruffling her hair. 'Would it feel the same?' She wondered, then looked at Goku. "Will this help?" She reached inside her shirt and undid her wrap, suddenly feeling the kimono shirt tighten. She blushed a little. "Yeah, that's great." Goku grinned. "Why do you where that?"
Buki blushed heavier. "Uh, when I'm fighting, they tend to get in the way or get hurt." She explained, looking down. "Wrapping them keeps them out of the way." "Oh." Goku said. "This way." Gohan muttered. "She's in the tree." Buki swung down, hanging upside-down as Goku jumped down. "Talk to her, and you'll help Gohan?" Goku asked. The old man nodded, staring at Buki with Gohan. "Ok!" Goku grinned, shaking his hand. "It's a deal." The old man agreed. Buki jumped off the branch, landing with her back turned. She spun around and put a hand on her waist. "Let's go this way." She pointed off to the distance. He nodded, hooking arms with her. "Yes, let's go."
Once they were far enough away from the other's, they sat down. "So, you were the spirit in the sword." Buki confirmed. "You were the one reaching for me?" He asked. She nodded. "I could feel your spirit. I have the last Derian sword, and wondered if you were the same. I was worried when the sword broke, but I felt your ki build outside the sword." She explained. "Right. I saw you fighting the boy-" "Gohan." "Right. Gohan. The mortal who pulled me out." He shook his head. "How the gods have fallen." "Shin is trying his best. I believe many of your old abilities have been lost with the Lords lost to Boo." She sighed. "That's true. Kaio-shin is still young." He nodded.
"You should teach him." Buki smiled. "Traditions are a sad thing to lose." "That's true. You have the last Derian sword." He said. Buki nodded, pulling out her sword. "Originally, Master Freeza wanted to destroy it, getting rid of the whole race. It was when I was weak and only a messenger, but I was able to convince him to let me keep it." His wrinkled hands ran over the blade. "Yes. I can feel the spirit in the sword." "Not many people can. That's why I could feel you." Buki nodded. She put her hair in a ponytail. "Your body is very… interesting." He paused. Buki froze. "W-What do you mean?" She stuttered. She slowly lowered her hands and looked up.
The old Lord was staring at her. "You're dying." Buki looked down. "I know." She sighed. "I've known it for a long time. I've been so close to death, I've been here so many times." She closed her eyes and looked back. "And with the chemicals Bulma wasn't able to get out of my body and the prevented aging… My body is destroying itself from the inside out. And the blood that once healed me is now destroying me." "Using you ki is speeding up the process." He said. Buki nodded. "But, I had to make sure Master Gohan survived, even if I did not." "You really care about him, huh?" "He and his brother were the first to be kind to me. And Goku freed me, even if he doesn't realize it."
"Gohan likes you a lot." The man smirked. "I could see it when you were practicing." "I know. I could see his blush, his nervous glances, his racing heart. I started realizing it when I started feeling the same things." Her hand went over her heart. "I'd love nothing more then to stay with Master and his family, but that's impossible. And starting a relationship would be worse. It'd end in heartbreak and tragedy." "What about these… Dragon Balls?" He asked. "Can't they heal you?" "No." Buki's hand tightened into a fist as a shadow fell over her eyes. "Bulma had found out I was dying months ago, while she was trying to get rid of the chemicals in my system. She did a lot."
She shook her head. "But the damage is done. She told me about the cyborgs, who can never return to humans. I'm the same. This is who I am, and a magic dragon can't change that." "What if you died and were brought back to life?" The Lord asked. Buki shook her head. "If I was brought back, the chemicals would activate again and I'd just die again." She sighed, then looked up. She was holding back tears. "I've known this for years. Master Freeza found out, so he kept me in a coma, hoping to stop the chemicals, or at least slow them, but it made it worse. I was never scared before, but now… I'll leave people behind." A tear fell down, and she wiped it quickly.
"Why don't you tell them?" He asked. "If I did, they would hold me back." Buki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I was made to be a tool, a weapon. And until I die, that's what I'll be." The old Lord nodded, then stood up. "Well, I should start my part of the deal and help Gohan." He said. She nodded. "Do me a favor?" She grabbed his shoulder. "Don't tell them. I want to tell them after this, or as I'm dying if it happens soon." She said. He sighed and nodded. "Thank you. Please, only tell them if I die and am unable to." She added. "Alright. I won't tell them." He nodded. "Thank you." She kissed his cheek and walked ahead. He blushed and grinned, then followed.
There's more bonding with Gohan, a little bonding with Goku and Elder Kai, and Reader's secret. If you think the story with end with you dying... You're right! Sorry, but this is your warning. If you don't want to die, stop reading now.