Chi-Chi sat calmly under the night sky. They'd made good progress so far. They had three of the seven Dragonballs, though only she and Kakarot knew that. Finding the one star Dragonball had been a piece of cake. A peddler was selling Dragonballs, but most were fake. Bulma was able to find the real one and Verspa was able to ensure that the real Dragonball was given to their party free of charge.
There was little for Chi-Chi to worry about, but she simply couldn't sleep. She pulled her knees up to her chin and hugged her legs. The others had long since fallen asleep. She was sitting by the fire Kakarot had built. The Saiyans didn't really trust anything that was real food, and preferred to catch their own meals. Chi-Chi thought to herself that it was lucky that she woke up; otherwise the fire could have gotten out of hand. She heard footsteps and tensed. She looked around, straining to see in the dark terrain. Kakarot walked closer to the fire, a huge grin on his face. He'd caught another animal.
"You scared me half to death," she hissed at him. He smiled apologetically. Chi-Chi looked from Kakarot to his kill. "You Saiyans never get full, do you?" she asked. It was true. Just one of them could eat three times what Chi-Chi could. Kakarot began to prepare his kill for roasting on a spit. Chi-Chi looked on in silence for several moments, studying the Saiyan. The firelight danced gently across his face. Chi-Chi had never studied Kakarot this intently before, and her eyes were curious to explore. Her eyes wandered from his face and took note of his well shaped muscles. For a moment she wondered if he'd used his arms for anything other than fighting, like embracing a loved one. She caught herself in the middle of the thought and quickly brushed it aside. She refused to let herself think such things about Kakarot.
"So, you can't sleep either, huh?" Kakarot asked, finally breaking the silence. He turned his eyes away from his kill for a moment so he could look at Chi-Chi.
"No," she sighed, "I hate sleeping in the dynocap houses. They're too stuffy," she admitted. While she preferred shelter over her head as opposed to the night sky, she could only stay in one of those makeshift houses for so long. Especially when she had to share with so many other people. Kakarot relaxed into a sitting position. Chi-Chi and Kakarot were sitting close together by the fire, inches away from each other.
"It sounds strange," Kakarot said, glancing at her, "but I've never really been outdoors that much. I'd much rather be out here than in there," he jerked his head in the direction of the dynocap house. He carefully rotated the meat on the spit.
"How come you haven't spent time outdoors?" Chi-Chi asked. She was sure she would die if she didn't get to enjoy an occasional summer night, or spring day.
"My people have to remain underground," he said. "Otherwise Frieza will find us." His voice had a hint of sadness buried within it. Chi-Chi couldn't imagine what it was like to spend your whole life in fear and hiding.
"What's it like underground?" she asked, her curiosity aroused. Kakarot shrugged indifferently.
"Well, it's pretty much just a giant cave, nothing really special," he sighed. "There are two or three caves in all, each connected by a tunnel system that was built a long time ago."
"How did you stand it?" Chi-Chi asked. She hadn't really meant to ask the question aloud, but the words poured out of her mouth before she could stop them.
"I didn't know any different," he shrugged. "My planet was destroyed when I was a baby. Frieza made sure the surface wasn't recognizable."
"Frieza," Chi-Chi muttered darkly. "Once you get the Dragonballs, I'd like to stick around just to see you beat him."
"I don't think that would be wise," Kakarot said speaking slowly. His eyes were turned back towards his meat, but the firelight was reflecting in them, giving their deep color a new angle. Chi-Chi gave him a quizzical look. She would almost say she was offended. Did he honestly think she was too weak to stand on the sidelines? She wasn't stupid enough to think that she was actually strong enough to fight this creature.
Kakarot, upon noticing Chi-Chi's unhappy look, decided to elaborate further: "All I meant was, there's no telling with Frieza," he said, speaking quickly. "He may attack you."
"Why does that matter?" Chi-Chi hissed. Kakarot had never expressed any interest in keeping Chi-Chi out of danger. He'd never gone out of his way to inquire after her feelings. Why should her well-being matter now?
"I-" he began. He nervously scratched his head. "I just don't want you to get hurt," he said. He looked over at her sheepishly. Chi-Chi immediately felt remorse at her thoughts. Maybe Kakarot did care. He could come off as heartless sometimes, but that didn't mean he was.
"Oh," was all she could think to say. She studied his face again which-she thought- had seemed to flush a slight pink. Feeling her gaze upon him, he turned his attentions from the spit once more. A staring contest of sorts began. Chi-Chi wasn't really competing; she was merely losing herself in the endless depth of Kakarot's dark eyes. She was remotely aware of a strong, yet gentle hand running down the length of her cheek. Her eyes must have been playing tricks, for the dark expanse of Kakarot's eyes seemed to be increasing, as if nearing her own eyes. It wasn't until she felt the warmth of his lips barely brushing hers that she realized it wasn't an illusion. She snapped back to her senses and drew away.
"We've got a long day tomorrow," she said, standing quickly, mortified. "I'll see you in the morning, Kakarot." She turned to leave, doing her best to avoid observing the expression written on Kakarot's face. She walked quickly back to the dynocap house. So, Kakarot thought he could just suddenly act gentle and kind and she would forget his earlier hostility? She scolded herself for giving in to her desires, even if nothing had technically happened between the two of them. Kakarot had attacked her. He would have attacked all of them if he hadn't been stopped. He was- frustrating.
Chi-Chi sighed angrily as she collapsed onto her bed and pulled her covers up to her chin. Her lips were still tingling pleasantly from where Kakarot's had brushed them. He was filling her head, though she tried her hardest to push him out. They couldn't be anything more than teammates. That was all the attachment she'd allow herself to feel for him. He was a foreigner. Once he defeated Frieza, she'd probably never see him again. The fact that this disappointed her was also aggravating. Why? What was it about Kakarot that had her on edge, curious to know more? She tried to brush that thought aside. It didn't matter what made Kakarot so tantalizing. She refused to love him. There was only room for one emotion towards him, and it couldn't be love. She wouldn't give in. She hoped.