Of Two Hearts
Chapter 5:A Glimmer of Hope
There were many troubles in the imperial lands of Edo. A man is wrongly accused of a sin; leaving his life is in danger. His adversaries plan on his defeat, in the name of their loyalty to one woman. But this woman is drawing near to the sinful man, and is slowly discovering where her true feelings lie…
In the midst of all this, how could something good come of it? How could there be… A glimmer of hope?
***
It was mid October when the Ox-King's tournament was taking place. There were two battlefields reserved for this occasion. Each team had its own tent and medical bay to stay at. The royal people and officials sat in a balcony above the fields, so they could get a good view of the fights.
The Ox-King wasn't particularly rooting for any team; he just wanted them to fight. To be safe, the officials just sided with whatever the Ox-King said. Chi-Chi had feigned hope for Vegeta to win, but she was secretly cheering for Goku.
Right now, the contestants were preparing themselves for the brutal tournament.
Goku adjusted the iron armor he wore and placed his sword in its sheath. He took a deep breath, relaxing himself, and glanced around at the other competitors.
Several sneered at him, while a large number ignored him.
Goku knew why. They were still unforgiving, based on their opinions of 'Goku's demise'. However, Goku ignored them as well, and just concentrated on winning in his division of the tournament.
Goku looked up at the sky, asking the gods for strength. He closed his eyes, murmuring a silent prayer to Kami, and then opened his eyes. He looked to his right, and saw Chi-Chi in the balcony. He gave that smile he knew melted her heart.
But there was no time for love now. The referee had every warrior ready, and the tournament was going to start now.
Secretly, many wanted Goku to fight first for several reasons. They wanted him to get as many injuries as possible, so they could discover his weakness and use his fighting style against him.
"First up: Son Goku versus Orenji! (1)," the referee announced, standing in between both competitors. He waved a flag down to the floor to indicate the beginning of the battle.
Goku looked up at Orenji. He was a big, stout guy, and Goku could tell brute strength wasn't enough to knock him over. He unsheathed his sword and saw Orenji draw a mace.
Orenji swung his mace, but Goku ducked and head butted him in the chin. Orenji teetered backwards, stunned, and Goku tried to trip him.
Nope. He was too heavy with good defense.
Before Goku could jump to his feet, Orenji delivered a powerful blow to Goku's back. The impact of metal meeting iron stung Goku's body, and took a lot of wind out of him. But he wasn't down and out.
Goku balanced himself on both hands and used both of his legs to kick Orenji hard in the stomach. The armor caused most of the kick's power to fail, but it was still enough to bring Orenji to his knee.
Next, Goku aimed for a kick to the head, but as he did this, Orenji grabbed Goku's other leg, throwing him off balance. Goku's body swung in the air as Orenji lifted him up, spinning him in circles above his head.
Goku dipped his body down to the ground, and was quick enough to grab his sword. Even though Orenji brought Goku's body back above his head, Goku still had the sword and that was all he needed.
He switched it so that he was holding the blade with one hand. With his other hand, he undid the sheath around his waist. Slipping the sword inside the sheath, Goku flipped it over.
His eyes quickly darted when he saw the back of Orenji's head twice. Goku need exact timing for the next, painful move. It was painful not only for Orenji, but for Goku too. The next time he spun a 360 and saw the back of Orenji's head, Goku gave a forceful hit to it with the sword's hilt, followed by a horizontal strike with the sheath.
A mix of Goku's yell and Orenji's groan were the only sounds in the battlefield.
Immediately, Orenji stopped, and dropped Goku. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, as he stood there. After a few moments, his helmet cracked and split into two pieces, which then fell off his head.
Next, he mumbled something and collapsed, unconscious.
Goku stood to his feet, and looked over his bleeding palms, solemnly. He clenched his fists, letting rivulets of blood trickle down the side of his fists and arms. He grabbed the sheath on the ground and tied it back around his waist.
He looked away as the referee raved, "What a battle! Clearly, Son Goku is the winner!" Goku walked away as other men came to clear the battlefield.
The battles continued like this, and they all were very entertaining and exciting. Goku hadn't noticed when he had been called to fight more times than the others. He also didn't notice that Chi-Chi had been worried about him in every battle he was in.
Two hours had passed by, and there were only two competitors left: Goku and Vegeta.
***
Vegeta looked Goku up and down and smirked. He could tell Goku was tired, dirty, and had shed some blood. Great. His opponent was already weak prey for him. This wouldn't be a problem.
With his long iron staff in his hand, Vegeta stepped closer in the arena.
Goku was catching his breath slowly as he wiped some blood and tissue off his sword. This was unlike anything he'd ever done before. In these kinds of tournaments, the training was cruel and the battles were bloody, gory, harsh, and unmerciful, as if they were in war.
Even some of the audience had been surprised to see that Goku had only knocked Orenji out, and not kill him.
Goku stepped into his position in the arena, and prepared to fight the Prince this kingdom loved. Now he knew he couldn't kill Vegeta for sure, or wound him much. Another knockout would have to do.
The crowd roared with anticipation as the referee announced, "This is probably the best battle we're ever going to see! Are you people ready for some blood? Well, we've saved the best fight for last! Son Goku verses Prince Vegeta!"
He waved the flag, and the battle begun.
Vegeta chuckled arrogantly, and jabbed continuously at Goku with his staff, but Goku rolled underneath the strikes and swung his sword out of his sheath, and toward Vegeta's head. Vegeta spun around to avoid the swing, but it was too late.
Strands of Vegeta's hair fell to the floor.
Goku smirked from below. "Be careful now, Prince Vegeta. Don't think I'm that easy to defeat." Vegeta growled and stabbed at Goku's chest with the end of his staff. Goku's free hand grabbed the staff and twisted it the opposite way of Vegeta so his arm would twist in an abnormal way. He would have to let go.
But Vegeta didn't. He resisted Goku's direction, and used the sturdiness of the staff to hold his weight. He swung his body around the staff, and delivered a smashing kick to Goku's side, where it was bare. The top armor only protected the front and back of the person who wore it.
Goku cried out, released both the staff and sword, and fell to the floor, clutching his side. He thought he heard several ribs crack… The metal blade of his sword swished through the grass.
Vegeta seized Goku's sword and swung hard to the back of his head.
"No, Goku!!" Chi-Chi felt like screaming from the balcony. She had really only been interested in the fights when they proved funny, but most of the fights were ugly, and she worried when Goku fought of course. But she didn't like this battle at all.
Goku rolled away from the slice of the sword, and jumped up high in the air. Vegeta looked up at him and laughed superiorly. "You fool!" he yelled into the air. "Did you forget that I have a staff as well?"
As Goku suspected, Vegeta dropped the sword, grabbed his lengthy staff, and swung hard in the air, to bring Goku crashing to the ground with hard force. But Goku forced himself to fall to the opposite side Vegeta swung.
He rolled into a landing, grabbing his sword, and stabbed Vegeta hard in the back.
The sword had only pierced Vegeta's armor, tore his clothing underneath, and pressed into his skin so only dribbles of blood would come out.
Vegeta tensed. He was done. One move and Goku could kill him right here and now. Instead, Goku kept Vegeta still as the tip of the sword never moved from his back. Slowly, he brought his other hand back to form a powerful punch.
He hated to do this, but he had to. With a fierce yell, he punched Vegeta hard in the back of the head, sending him flying into the audience. There were a few grunts as some men caught Vegeta and a huge portion of the crowd toppled over.
The referee came scurrying back into the designated arena and announced, "Well, this battle was very breathtaking! Both Son Goku and Prince Vegeta had an equal chance of killing each other, but they did not! And now Son Goku has somehow sent Prince Vegeta out of bounds with a very painful punch, I will assume! Son Goku is the winner!"
Some of the crowd cheered with joy, while some of the others roared and protested, "What?! You call that a battle?! No one died! There was no blood!"
The referee frowned. "I'm not in charge of the rules. I just obey them. Son Goku is the winner of Division One, and that's it!"
In the balcony, Chi-Chi felt like jumping and screaming for joy. Goku had really won! And he didn't die! Instead, this huge smile was plastered on her face. She really didn't like it when he fought, but right now, she couldn't be more proud of him.
***
During a break, the Ox-King came down to congratulate Goku. Though he didn't like him, he still had to follow custom and compliment his skills, as well as dubbing him a vassal, one preparing for training to graduate to a samurai. Once this was done, the Ox-King returned to the balcony, secretly detesting the act he had to commit.
Others hated it too.
The slaves and peasants grumbled among themselves as they saw Goku wearing a samurai's armor and he was to be referred to as 'Sir Goku' now. If only the Ox-King knew what Goku had really done, they thought.
The tournament continued with more spectacular fights, until the winners of Division Two and Three were upgraded to new positions as well. The overall results of the tournament pleased the Ox-King, and once everyone had either gone home, or was in the medical bay (or was buried), he and Chi-Chi went to the winners to help them with their new equipment.
Once Goku had taken off his new samurai armor, he was surprised to see Chi-Chi hug him tightly, squealing with delight at his victories. "I'm so happy you're alive," she murmured. "I'm so proud of you."
Goku just smiled, and Chi-Chi pulled away from him so the Ox-King wouldn't suspect anything. His back was turned to her. Good.
Goku placed his armor in his sack, which was to be taken to Wakaru's quarter. He effortlessly picked it up and looked it over, which confused Chi-Chi. "It's not heavy to you?" she asked him. "You pick it up as if it were feathers."
Goku shrugged. "It was like the weighted clothing I wore, but this feels a little heavier. It's good training though."
"Hmm," she mused, and then smiled at him, teasingly. "So how does it feel to be a vassal now, Sir Goku? Only a lucky few rise to this position."
Goku placed a hand on his stomach. "Well, this samurai-in-training is hungry."
Chi-Chi laughed and playfully punched him. "All right. There's food in the Dining Hall. Come on."
As they began to clear the field, only one person remained, watching them go.
Vegeta leaned against a tree, his arms crossed and eyes narrowed. He had been watching Chi-Chi and Goku, and he had been thinking of two things. First, the battle with Goku…
How embarrassing! Vegeta, the prince of Edo, has lost to the likes of the ex-slave, Son Goku? I shouldn't have underestimated him, Vegeta thought. Even if he does have better skills than most people, I still didn't think he'd be so crafty. What beginner's luck…
This was bad. There was no way Vegeta could redeem himself. If he weren't of royal descent, he was sure to be teased.
The second thing Vegeta was thinking of… He thought of how Chi-Chi reacted lately when it came to Goku.
"The princess is truly in love with that fool, and she thinks of him a lot, slipping away into her fantasies…" he mumbled.
He shook his head. This was only going to get worse if he didn't interfere. Chi-Chi belonged to him in the first place. And according to him, what was planned stays planned.
***
Several weeks had passed since then. The vassals practiced protecting the innocent civilians, standing guard, and continued their training. There was a special area right by the palace where only the vassals and the samurai would train.
The expert samurai and guards had their own areas too, but the vassals' space was much larger.
The place didn't matter so much to Goku. He was just happy that he was being treated better than when he was a slave, and he also could train continuously, and not just when a tournament popped up.
He liked this position as a vassal for another reason too.
Goku was now regarded as a special warrior, so he was in a high position, which meant he could associate with royal things now.
And that meant Chi-Chi too.
Goku noticed Chi-Chi's frequent visits with him had dwindled to secret meetings once in a while. He wished he could have her company more often, though. If he was a vassal now, couldn't he see Chi-Chi more often? He wasn't a slave anymore.
At times like these, Chi-Chi wished Goku knew how the court system worked. According to custom, it didn't matter if one was the highest official. If you had no royal blood, then you shouldn't be with the royal people.
Even so, Chi-Chi didn't care and continued to plan her secret meetings with Goku. They would do different things, but most of it consisted of talking together. When Goku wasn't eating the food Chi-Chi snuck to him, he would show her the new things he had learned in his training.
Whenever Goku merely showed her his newly learned techniques, Chi-Chi would feel her love for him grow as she became impressed.
She had no idea of anything else… Like the peasants' talk in the tents.
***
One peasant, Satoshi, slammed his fist against the wooden table in the tent where many peasants met for their talks. Satoshi growled in anger, and partly because he had hurt his fist.
"This has gone too far," he announced to the other peasants. "Goku has risen from nothing to something, and you all know of his evil ways. If he continues to rise in such a manner, he will corrupt the royal system!"
Daisuke nodded. "He is truly an evil fellow. When he became ill, he would not eat, and you all know how sometimes our daily portions weren't enough, but we gave them to Goku… He eats a lot."
"Yes," agreed Hideyoshi. "His strength is too unusual, and he's dull like an uneducated boy. He practices witchcraft, I tell you! What else could explain his strength? He's like Samson! When he fights our best men, he doesn't even break a sweat!"
"And he controls the clouds!" another peasant added. "It has to be the work of the devil!"
"Do not forget," added Satoshi. "That he had Princess Chi-Chi's necklace. That scoundrel is trying to take her away and stop Prince Vegeta from ruling the kingdom! Now that he is a vassal, he has gotten closer to the princess! He must be stopped!"
"But, Satoshi," Matsuki meekly interrupted. "I know you do not think Goku saving my life counts for anything, but how can we kill him? He can kill us. Additionally, he has protection, and if we kill him, we'll die too."
"I don't care!" Daisuke cried. "He's the devil's agent, and he must be killed!"
Shouts of "Kill Goku!" were chanted in the tent that night, and the anger of those men grew and grew as they planned their evil scheme to murder Son Goku.
"Gentlemen, you know that brash anger will get us nowhere," a new voice from the back of the tent spoke.
It was the same slave, Han Wong, who had been there when Goku was sick in the Slave Headquarters. He crossed his arms, smiling simply, and his eyes gleamed with an evil glare. "I know just as well as you all do that Goku must die, but if you do not plan this carefully, we will die in our foolishness."
Everyone was silent as Han Wong walked towards them, listening hard as if he were the leader of them all.
"Goku must die," Han Wong stated simply. "Harbor your anger for the day we will avenge ourselves. I'm telling you not to worry. Breathe. Think. Plan. I do not worry. I see my elderly aunt, as you all know, and though she doesn't believe it like you all do, she still helped me to see acting on impulse will cause pain."
Han Wong looked at the others, that evil smile never wiping off his face. "Respect your elders and do as I say. That is all."
***
"What did you say?"
The Ox-King had been walking with Vegeta to the main halls, where most private talk was held. It was also a sacred place, as many portraits of ancestors hung on the wall. Right now, Vegeta wished to speak to the Ox-King privately.
Vegeta looked up at the Ox-King, determined. "I do not ask for much. How much longer until the wedding day?"
The Ox-King frowned. "It has barely even been a season, my boy. You must be patient. The wedding must be grand and perfect for my girl. You do know that, don't you?"
Vegeta felt like snorting and rolling his eyes, but he nodded instead. "I just want to hurry up and give you a grandson, not to put you before your time, but to please you, so that you will give the child your blessing."
The Ox-King laughed. "Yes, but the wedding shouldn't be much longer. Stay busy and before you know it, your royal garments will be ready for you."
Vegeta looked away. "Hmph. That is all." He turned away from the Ox-King and walked down the hallway, cursing under his breath. How was he supposed to marry Chi-Chi to keep her away from Goku if the wedding preparations were taking forever?
"Curse females and their desires to please the eye. It won't matter behind closed doors! It will all come off!" Vegeta mumbled.
At the opposite end of the hallway, Talim strolled by, looking for Chi-Chi. Lately, she had been disappearing from the spots she would normally be at. Sometimes she would be gone for a few minutes, and for hours at other times.
Talim began to notice this, and the fact that she and Chi-Chi didn't do their lessons together anymore.
Talim sighed as she hung her head. Was it so much to ask for someone to play with? The age difference didn't matter to Talim; she was seven and Chi-Chi was eighteen. Someone to talk to was someone to talk to, and besides, Chi-Chi was very much like a mother figure to Talim, whose real mother had died during childbirth.
"Hey, you! Girl!"
Talim looked up, startled and curious. She saw Vegeta at the other end of the hallway, beckoning her to come to him. Talim was surprised. The Prince wanted a word with her?
Talim ran to him and bowed her head respectfully. "Yes, my Prince?"
Vegeta placed a hand on her head. "You're that little messenger girl, aren't you?"
Talim nodded. "Talim, daughter of Shogun Hyuki of Midori Village."
Vegeta nodded. "All right… You spend large amounts of your time with the princess, don't you?"
"Yes, my Prince."
Perfect. This girl was perfect.
Vegeta patted her head. "Yes… Has it come to your attention that Chi-Chi isn't seen at all, out of supervision and without an escort?"
Talim nodded again.
Vegeta smiled. This was the information he needed. "Good girl. And do you have any idea as to why this may be?"
Talim stopped herself from nodding, and she bit her lip. She knew why now. She knew that whatever careful chance Chi-Chi had to see Goku, she took. Though it took Talim a while to figure it out, she realized it wasn't Vegeta Chi-Chi loved, but Goku.
That day she read Chi-Chi's waka, she had asked if Chi-Chi was writing about Vegeta and she had said it was something more.
It was something more, all right. She was in love with Goku. It was as plain as day.
Another factor was the time Talim went to get the necklace. Chi-Chi had disguised the story behind it very well, but Talim figured it out now. However, she also remembered promising Chi-Chi that she wouldn't say a word.
"No, my Prince," Talim answered cautiously. "I have no idea."
"No?" Vegeta asked brightly. "Hmm… That's funny. It appeared to me that she had been going off somewhere, as if she were seeing another man… As if she didn't love me."
Talim gulped.
She feigned a laugh. "Don't be silly, my Prince. Chi-Chi loves you, truly and dearly."
Vegeta frowned. Talim sounded nervous, thus confirming her statement as a lie. However, he patted her head once more. "You're a good girl. Thank you. Now run along."
Talim was quick to leave.
Vegeta crossed his arms, his thoughts on Chi-Chi. You cannot fool me. Even your little friend gave me the biggest clue. If you will not cooperate, it seems I'll have to take drastic measures.
***
Chi-Chi found her bedchamber was dark when she returned from the Dining Hall for the midday meal. That was strange. In the day, her room was full of light from the curtains being pulled up high.
Chi-Chi cautiously entered her bedchamber, and began walking toward her stand, where her candle would be. She felt for it, but the waxy cylinder wasn't there.
Suddenly, she jumped as she heard the bedchamber's door close, and saw the light from the hallway disappear. She spun around and flinched as she heard a match being lit, and a bright glow from the orange flame burn from the wooden stick.
Chi-Chi gasped as she saw the flame light up half of someone's face.
"V-Vegeta," she stuttered. "What are you doing here?"
Vegeta said nothing as he held the lit match with one hand and her missing candle in the other. He lit the candle, put out the match, and placed the candle in its holder at its original position.
Silence filled the room as this happened, but when Vegeta finished, he looked Chi-Chi in the eyes, determined. Chi-Chi didn't like the look he gave her.
"Make love to me," he said.
Chi-Chi's eyes widened, her mouth hanging open slightly. Did she just hear him right? "W-What?" she spat, incredulous. Had Vegeta lost his mind?
Vegeta approached her, a gentle squeak coming for every time he stepped on the tatami mats. His determined eyes watched Chi-Chi retreat. "You heard me," he said.
Chi-Chi's heart began to race as she was being cornered. This was just great! Talk about a change of personality! It was random too. But now Vegeta was thinking of… No, would he?
What should she do? Scream? Fight?
She felt her back against the wall. Great.
Vegeta leaned closer to Chi-Chi, solemn. "Why not?" he whispered. "We'll be married soon anyway." He lowered his mouth to hers, but Chi-Chi turned her face away. "No, don't do this…"
Chi-Chi cursed the fact she was blushing. She should be angry! She couldn't even bring herself to look at him. Her body was frozen. Why?! Move! Fight! Her mind screamed.
Suddenly, she flinched as Vegeta slammed his hands on the wall, one hand on each side of her. He leaned his face closer to Chi-Chi's so that their noses almost touched. This time, his face displayed venom.
"Do you take me for a fool, woman?" he hissed. "Don't think I don't know the reason why you haven't even kissed your fiancé. You're in love with that wretch, Goku!"
"No!" Chi-Chi blurted before she came to realize it. Why did she just say that? Goku isn't a wretch, but she was in love with him. This situation was growing worse by the minute…
***
Wakaru closed the door to his quarter, and leaned against it, sighing. He could barely make it inside of his own living space without a crowd following him. It was tough being captain of the guards.
It was also tough to hide Goku and pretend not to know where he was.
Goku was sitting on his bed, organizing the money to be paid to the guards. He looked up when Wakaru entered the quarter, and he frowned. "Again?" he asked.
Wakaru nodded, wiping the sweat off his brows. "They keep questioning me of your presence, Goku, and it's been getting difficult to carry twice a man's portion of food and say that I've gotten hungrier."
He sighed and shook his head. "Truthfully, it is getting harder and harder to hide you."
Goku hung his head and spoke quietly. "I'm sorry, Wakaru, but I can't be seen by the people. There are too many people and I can't distinguish which ones want to kill me and which ones don't. I may be a vassal, but a powerful warrior versus a thousand average fighters…"
Wakaru raised an eyebrow. "But that's the point. You're basically a samurai. They don't stand a chance, but it's the royal treatment you worry of."
Goku looked up at him, worried. "I know, but the other samurai wonder where I go after the end of every training day. Sooner or later, they're going to find out that I don't have a quarter."
Wakaru frowned. Goku was right. "All I can do is continue to let you stay here. I know it seems that the people's anger will never die, but it will."
Goku looked away. What did I do to deserve this? He thought.
***
Chi-Chi's brows lowered into her determined eyes. She gave Vegeta a glare and stepped out of his surrounding her. "I'm not going to make love to you, Vegeta. We aren't to break religious laws and commit ourselves until after we're married."
Vegeta saw that Chi-Chi had turned the tables on him and cornered him to the door. He didn't mind. A feisty girl like her would suit him perfectly. Besides, he saw the look in her eyes.
Revenge.
For trying to make her forget about him.
Goku.
If she was going to play this game, then so was he.
Vegeta faced Chi-Chi and crossed his arms. "You're not escaping that easily, my precious lamb. You forgot one important thing."
"What?" Chi-Chi snapped, crossing her arms as well. "And I'm not your precious lamb."
Vegeta chuckled and raised an eyebrow at her. "Heed that I'm serious. You thought you did well, hiding the fact that you're in love with Son Goku. But you didn't. I know the truth, and don't think I won't say anything."
He circled her carefully, studying her expressions, but Chi-Chi refused eye contact and remained as expressionless as a statue.
"I suppose you're wondering how I've gotten in on your little secret," Vegeta continued. "My poor fiancée, you worried your heart out when you heard of Goku's news. Did you honestly think no one would know that you were with him? Did you think no one would witness your acts of love?"
He clucked his tongue. "It's a shame… The royal and admired princess of this country has committed such an insolent sin. Can she be forgiven? Can this go by without a say?"
He walked past her, hoping to see a surprised look on her face, but she wore a straight face. Vegeta stopped at the door and placed his hand on the handle. It was silent for a few moments, until Vegeta took his hand away.
"Or on second thought," he said, almost too slyly. "I may have mercy and not reveal your love for Goku. You know you owe me your gratitude. It may be your word against mine, but you wouldn't do that to Goku, would you?"
A twitch.
Only a tiny voice in her head was holding Chi-Chi back from letting hell break loose…
Vegeta looked over at her, and smiled to himself as he saw a hint of anger in Chi-Chi's eyes. "I'll tell you what. It would be completely heartless of me to tell you out, wouldn't it? So I won't…. on one condition."
He stepped closer to her, so that their faces almost touched. Vegeta seemed solemn now. "If you stop your meetings and admiration for Goku, I won't say a word. However, if I find you gone, then you can wish Goku a sweet farewell to his grave."
Vegeta turned and opened the door slightly. "Choose well, future wife. Either way you'd like to think of it, you're mine." Then he left.
For several days, Chi-Chi hadn't seen Vegeta, and had time to think about his actions. Why did he suddenly want to make love to her? Chi-Chi paced down the main halls, thinking about this.
This is silly, but… Maybe Vegeta was angry that he lost to Goku. It's pretty humiliating to be a prince and lose to a samurai-in-training in front of the entire kingdom, Chi-Chi thought. Maybe he sought pleasure to soothe him and take his mind off it, but that was really wrong… It's too sudden that he'd start acting like this.
A new thought entered Chi-Chi's head suddenly. She remembered Vegeta telling her that she hadn't fooled him and that she was in love with Goku. And that, depending on her choices, she'd choose his fate as well as her own…
Her heart stopped.
How could I have missed it? The night Goku and I were together… I don't know how, but someone might've seen us, and the word got to Vegeta. I was being too suspicious and he noticed… I wasn't careful when it came to Goku. I wasn't careful enough, and Vegeta noticed, she theorized. That's why he tried to get me to make love to him. If I could get my mind off Goku by becoming his mate and carrying his child, I'd forget about Goku completely…
A wave of anger overwhelmed Chi-Chi, but she suddenly forgot her anger as she stopped striding along. She had stopped in front of a portrait of her mother. Looking up at the beautiful face of her respected mother, Chi-Chi blinked sadly.
"Tell me what I should do. Please. I need to know…"
To be continued…
Chapter Six: Trouble Accumulates
A/N:
(1) In case you haven't already guessed, "Orenji" is Japanese for "orange." Now don't ask me why I named a man "Orange"… I like being silly sometimes. And this is better than my first thought, "Kiiroi", meaning "yellow." A man named "Yellow".
Okay…
(2) I know some people are going to be confused about the tournament. Here's a little history lesson: Back in medieval Japan, the tournaments were like war. Every man for himself. Weapons were a big time thing then, so that's why this tournament had no martial arts. As for Goku vs. Vegeta, I know Vegeta should've won because he was stronger than Goku at this time, but stick with me. I know what I'm doing…. I think.
Gogirl: You know me. I can't have too many happy things going on, so yes, things must get worse. Heh. The question is, WILL G/CC be together? Heh. I'm going to hide now.
Noname: Aw, c'mon! You know you like cliffhangers! It's what keeps you coming back. This is the way it has to be.
Carrie: Thanks. I like that triangle too. Maybe a little too much… Yes, I had to make G/CC get caught in the midst of the kiss. This is a fairy tale, but a very twisted one indeed.
Lady Athena X: Thanks. I always wondered if Chi-Chi had any siblings or anything close enough, what would it be like. Yes, our Veggie is catching on. Watch out Goku and Chi-Chi… Yes, I had to rewrite and rewrite the kissing scene. At first, Goku was going to pull away and be like, "Huh?" and then there'd be some embarrassment leading to passion. Then I changed my mind and decided to let the kiss happen and they wouldn't get caught. Then… well, I'm evil, so you already know, okay?
Lady Thundera: I see what you mean. I hate fics where the characters are portrayed all wrong. Yes, something bad always happens in my story. It's like; you should have a good vibe of how I write now. Heh. Ah, I feel the evilness of what you're saying. I'll definitely bring on everything you said, and then hide…