26. It's Not What You Think
Krillin was an optimistic man, but not an altogether foolishly hopeful one without any touch on reality. Thus, he did not tend to carry protection.
Juuhachigou was a bitter woman, and too afraid to actually have an exam and found out how much underneath her skin was metal. So she underestimated how much exactly of her remained human.
With this combination, they both understood that the dread they felt when she was a week late was justifiable.
He was spastically turning the faucets on and off. Then tearing out rough recyclable napkins from the dispenser to wipe down the mirrors. "It'll be okay, Juu. We'll get through this." Then he frantically ran around the room. He jumped up and spun around on a wall before going to wipe down a sink. Was his presence in this dirty bathroom of a gas station good or bad?
"Shut up, just shut up. This is hard enough without you waiting outside the stall."
"Are you almost done?"
"Just leave. Get out now."
"Fine, fine." He fled from the bathrooms, the door falling shut, and she yelled through the metal to get her another orange juice.
When he came back, her hand was twitching, and everything was done. She couldn't hold the stick steady, just staring at the white plastic, and waiting for a plus or minus. He dropped the carton of orange juice.
They stared at the stick for a long time.
Krillin was hyperventilating, while she could barely breathe at all.
After another minute, there could be no mistaking it. She'd hoped for at least a smudge or blur or some shade that could be blue, or maybe pink. Purple. Why couldn't it have been purple? And an x? Or a t?
He threw his arms around her. "It'll be okay. We'll get through this. You'll be a great mom. I just know it.
"Please don't cry. Everything will be fine. I know we'll be wonderful parents."
27. Starts
Although arguable she'd made the first move, he'd been the one to get attached first, to fall for her. Taking in their personalities, everyone assumed that she was the one to ask him out.
No one even suspected that he had been the one to show up at her house, to say hello and offer the olive branch of peace. Only the two of them knew that he came there again, a week later, drunk out of his little crazy mind, telling her in this determined, sloppy way exactly how he felt for her, and what he wanted to do to her in lurid detail about and how exactly he was going to do so.
Not even her brother would know that she'd never blushed harder than at that moment, and had never been quicker than when she pulled him into the house. She swore that she only did it to shut him up, and to stop her brother from hearing.
Juuhachigou, and Krillin (in a blurry way) were the ones who knew about the way she shoved him down, furious and revolted and more aroused than ever before, how dare you?
You're the most amazing woman I've ever seen.
You disgust me!
I think I'm in love with you.
I don't care!
Can I spend the night?
…yes.
And how their relationship roughly started right there on the couch.
Right there on her brother's favorite blue coat.
But of course, she could never say would have actually happened, or described the way the leather creaked or was horribly cold against a bare ass, and the way a crude wooden table cracked as it snapped when she threw Krillin onto it. The way they both jumped when it did so, then laughed, and then threw themselves at each other again. It broke eventually, but at that point neither cared.
So when the others would ask Krillin how he'd won Juuhachigou's heart whenever there was a get together, he would just shrug and she would change the subject, and everyone would smirk at how shy they were, how sweet and old-fashioned.
28. Spring
"You know what day this is, don't you, boy?" Master Roshi wagged an eyebrow at his remaining pupil. Krillin rolled his eyes. He remembered very clearly about finding out that Wednesday was 'hump day'. Whatever exactly that meant. Around here, wasn't it always hump day? If not from the porn, then from his Master complaining about his back.
"What day is it, Master?" He asked, with the same air of a teenager hearing their most obnoxious uncle repeating the same joke every year at the family reunions.
"The start of spring!"
"So?" Mentally, the short fighter wondered if it was time to go out and buy more allergy medication. Surely the old stuff must have gone bad by now?
"He-eey, Juu?"
The slim woman glanced behind her shoulder, before continuing to dig into the closet, gingerly pushing aside old magazines.
"Do you know what day it is?"
"The first of May."
"Do you know what that means?"
"The start of spring."
"Eh heh. It means it's time to start screwing outdoors!"
"Yes," her voice was clinical and detached. "I know." She finally found what she was looking for, which confused Krillin, since why did she need a large blanket when it was after all the start of spring? Juuhachigou tucked it under her arm.
"Come on, Krillin," the blonde woman grabbed and pulled him by his collar. "I know a secluded part of the park."
So he found himself, on the first day of May, drinking tea with a nervous tick and watching Juuhachigou, who kept explaining, amused at first, that she'd just wanted to get out of the house, and there would be no sex.
"Of any kind," her eyes narrowed, warningly, and made him wonder what kind there was exactly. He thought on what kinds there might be, all those different types that might exist, and had another piece of cherry pie.
They looked at the trees, the nice, nonsexual trees that dropped nuts and fruits to splatter under their feet and made them unappetizing, the pretty flowers he couldn't pick for her that spread pollen everywhere and made Krillin almost sneeze and Juuhachigou stare at him, the birds calling to each other, and dates walking past arm and arm, the creepy guy in the leather trench coat with the binoculars who seemed to pay more attention to the people walking by then the cawing birds overhead.
They sat there, separated by at least two safe feet, and listened to the squirrels chattering almost angrily and thought about Juurokugou.
"I think they're fighting," Juuhachigou motioned to the furry animals rolling around in the trees before their heads.
One of them wasn't getting off the other. "No…I think they're…"
"Humping?"
They both had another piece of pie, and wondered, hoped, that the man with the binoculars was just reaching into his pocket to look for a booklet on birds. Or a lost coin.
"To call his parole officer," she mumbled, suspicious more than ever of weird men after moving into Kame House.
"I'm sure he's a normal guy."
"In a leather trench coat?"
"Okay, maybe he's just…"
They looked at him closely. Someone yelled something, outraged. "Okay. Or not. Dear god, right in the park?" And then Juuhachigou looked at him closely, and maybe, he shouldn't have sounded so curious, so awed.
When someone finally called the cops and he was removed, and after they gave their statement, they packed up and headed home. Old fallen leaves remained underfoot to squish under their shoes and slip them up. She walked close to him, and Krillin liked to think some stranger might have thought they were a couple. Juuhachigou looked mildly worried when he began coughing over some pretty flowers, and he made a note to have his allergy prescription taken in.
29. Fall
Krillin was so eagerly and neatly sweeping up the fallen leaves, that Juuhachigou had no choice but to discretely set a ki wave over them while his back was turned to mess up his pile. His confused face when he turned around, as well as the flutter of brown leaves in his new hair made her smile.
Politely, she tapped him on the shoulder just as he was trying to gather the leaves again. He jumped, and she casually pulled and held the rake's handle away from him so no one got stabbed by it. Her smile told him everything, including how he should fall on his back.
"Chi-Chi will be back any second now. We can't be found like this."
But there was something in the air. Nothing quite so corny as 'magic' like Krillin might have called it. It was something nice and crisp and fresh, and even as nature died or slowed or withered around them, she felt good. He was there, and she was there, and the dead leaves under them didn't crinkle from their weight. It was pleasant, and the sweet, polite way he unbuttoned her shirt allowed her to ignore the smell of mothballs on his sweater.
So good that she didn't even care when the widow of the man she was programmed to kill finally walked in on them and began screeching, telling Krillin that she was going to beat him to death. Obviously she didn't recognize who Juuhachigou was, or she probably wouldn't have turned the hose on them both.
Or, as Juuhachigou thought while spitting out a mouthful of freezing water, soaked, maybe she still would have.
30. Winter
The only time they ever saw snow was when they headed up north. Thankfully, this time they weren't there to visit the Sons, and even as Krillin whined, she knew that they wouldn't take a step onto that yellow dome of a house. Today, she wouldn't have to listen to a pregnant harpy yell at her for not wiping her shoes properly on the mat or for Krillin to finally pop the question to Juuhachigou, and then again for when he fell over and knocked a pot of hot water onto his head.
The air smelled and tasted sweet. Sweeter than one of Chi-Chi's double-layer chocolate cakes.
Next to her, grabbing and pulling on a heavy coat while she stood next to him in a plain white shirt, Krillin went on about how lovely this spot he'd found was. Gohan had thrown him into the waterfall during a sparring session, but Krillin insisted that it was still perfect and lovely. Juuhachigou could already see the silver of the frozen lake, the pink of his cheeks and his delighted smile when she grudgingly agreed that it was very nice, hiding her own smile that he would inevitably pick up on.
Although surely he knew better, he insisted on wrapped his own scarf around her neck. "It's too cold," Krillin said, seriously, making sure it was tight enough to not fall off. Before they left, she kissed him for a long moment, savoring the peace. When they arrived and created a warm fort underneath the snow that collapsed atop them, it was still better than being at the Son's. No matter how much snow went down the backs of their clothes.
31. Summer
What he needed, he understood, was to trap her in a room for awhile. He needed them to both be stuck in an enclosed space, and slowly wear down her will. To do what Bulma had done to Vegeta.
After enough time, her urge to hit him or run away would crumble. She would smile at something he said while rolling her eyes. They would start to have inside jokes, then he would say or do something that would stick in her mind. It would haunt her, this word or gesture, until it would invade or at least taint every thought. Meals would become excruciatingly wrought with tension. When she started to avoid him, he would have her right where he wanted.
The blue-haired scientist had explained to this, telling him the steps that were needed to be taken. "She'll deny everything and it'll take forever to wear her down, but eventually she'll cave in. She just has to get over her ego."
It was his, their, charm.
Well now he had his chance.
And look, they had to do it wearing only skimpy clothing.
Joy.
Across from him, the beaten woman could no longer push back the strands of hair from her face. Every time, the fans would just blow it right back.
She stared at him, blurrily, "I hate you, baldy."
"Right back at you, blondie."
She started to push herself upright, then fell back against the couch. "You have no right to be angry at me. I'm the one who was tricked."
"Were you," Krillin asked, uninterested.
"Yes, you said," she pointed an accusing finger at him. "You said this is a nice island. You liar."
"Did I?"
"You promised me a temperate zone. The humidity, Krillin, the humidity!"
"Yes." His head rolled limply on his neck. "But at least," he tried. "We have each other?"
"What does that mean?"
And she became more and more annoyed, while Krillin fell into a heavy sleep.
Each other? What about each other? Since when did they 'have each other'?
Juuhachigou snorted.
'Each other.'
Ridiculous.
What made him think he had her? And her him? What made him think she wanted him? What was considered 'having'? Why would he want her?
Why would she want him?
It wasn't as though she had a list, or any ideas as to why she might want him. Because she didn't.
'Each other.'
32. I feel connected to something strange and strong.
She was the devil, there, on that sand. Smiling, with blood on her teeth and hair from his stray blows that she'd allowed to simply check her opponent's strength. There was no red gleam to her foreign eyes; it wasn't necessary. Beneath the pale lovely face, there was metal and gears and wires that provided strength and life.
Juuhachigou still had no ki, whatever claims of her humanity might be made. No name. No memory.
And lying on the ground, Krillin was piteously groaning and clutching his ribs.
"Juu-haaachigou. That one hurt."
"I've hardly used any strength. Get up. You said you wanted to compete in the tournament."
"Can't we stop for a break?"
"Oh, fine then. Marron probably needs a diaper change. You can manage that, can't you?"
"Mean."
33. Drink/Drunk
Krillin's beaming smile and the burning of candles was all she could see in the room. Those, and the brightly wrapped presents that made her feel so ashamed. In some forgotten language, she'd heard that the word 'gift' also meant 'poison,' and that had never made complete sense to her until now.
What are you doing here?
I have no idea.
Juuhachigou's stomach rolled and she had another glass of punch and tried not to be conspicuous. Which was simultaneously very difficult and easy to do. There were several aliens here, a couple of kids, and several very rambunctious man-children. And the other women, they also were in various states of immaturity and made more noise than the men.
She was keenly aware that she didn't belong. Her relief over her brother not being here was as strong as her wish that he was next to her, wearing a smirk and about to say another sarcastic zinger.
So she had another glass of punch.
As the stares she was given, either hostile or curious, or annoyingly knowing, began to no longer linger when the evening continued on, she still felt self-conscious. A cup of punch was needed, again.
Everyone began filing out to leave and she hung around the back of the living room, and waited. While having another glass of punch. Only after they were alone did she stumble over to him.
"You're drunk." He stared at her open-mouthed. "You're actually drunk."
"And I didn't buy you anything." Her breathing became more labored. The worst idea came to her.
"That's okay. You coming was more than enough. Aw, Juuhachigou, that's not what you were worried about, were you?" Krillin smiled, looking so earnest and sincere and so damndibly sweet and cute. She grabbed him by his jug ears, and for the millionth time in their minds, and the second time in reality, bent downward to kiss him.
It was, he swore the next morning as he held back Juuhachigou's hair while she vomited, the best birthday present anyone had ever given him.
34. It's Only Rock 'N' Roll
No matter how much she understood him, in ways that even he didn't fully comprehend, there was one thing Juuhachigou did not get. Which Krillin didn't really understand; they had the similar taste in food, in shows, how could she not share his love in music. Or, more importantly, karaoke.
How could a woman, his soul mate, not get how awesome it was to be up there, with the bright light on your face, feeling sweat run down your back, while you tried desperately to keep up with the white words being scrawled across the blue screen? Hearing your friends heckle you and dodging the occasional can of beer, and still not remembering the chorus of your favorite song you sang every day in the shower. There was a certain beauty up there on stage, a certain power and fame.
She refused to even try, something Krillin thought was particularly unfair. Surely a duet…but no, she only made this horrified face every time he tried to pull her on stage or give the microphone to her. She didn't mind when they danced, even if they were the first on the floor, so it wasn't a matter of being self-conscious.
Krillin just didn't get it.
But still, even if she refused to join in, Krillin would always dedicate the ballads to her, making sure to point her out in a crowd.
35. Tattoo You
Juuhachigou had never doubted his devotion. Not once. Even before they'd gone out on a single date, she'd known how he felt and that forever she would own his heart. He was hers, forever and ever and ever.
However.
That road of careless thoughtless love only went in one direction.
He would never say it, but obviously he was convinced he loved her more.
Juuhachigou would not let that stand.
That was why, after a few shots of Jack Daniels and a visit to a sketchy part of the nearby port down, she found herself in a questionable tattoo parlor, pants pulled down and a giddy smile on her face. Blood thankfully didn't trickle down her leg, despite her being too drunk to even walk completely straight.
"He'll really love this," she told a heavily tattooed man whose unfeeling face told the blonde woman that he didn't give a damn either way.
"I really think he'll like his name in that heart."
"What about the dragon wrapped around it?"
"That's not too tacky, is it?"
When she stumbled home, redolent of whiskey and rubbing her sore hip, the now-completely-unquestionable object of her affection was sitting at a table. Staring at him, Juuhachigou felt her heart overflow giddy happiness. Look how sweet he was, waiting up all night, afraid for her because she'd forgotten to leave a note explaining her absence. Those big dark eyes that were so scared, the loose mouth near wobbling because he'd thought she might be dead.
She didn't deserve him.
Juuhachigou tugged down her jeans.
"What happened?" He sounded appalled instead of that gooey tone of absolute affection she expected.
"What?"
"Did you get burned?"
"What?" Horrified, she twisted her head and stared at her hip. On her side, just beneath the band of her underwear, there was a hideous scab. Her stomach gave a twinge that made her think of the clothes going around in a washer. It told her that the spin cycle was here, and that the clothes were going to come tumbling right out this moment.
"Oh, right. Well," Juuhachigou pulled her jeans back up. "In a couple of weeks, you're going to be very moved. Now help me to the bathroom, because I think I'm going to be sick."
36. Movies
Krillin had a tendency to talk during movies. He chattered through them, saying little things like "Once, Goku did that, and Bulma called the cops." Leaving her wonder for five minutes about why exactly Bulma had called the police just for boxing a few robots around the room. Then she would think about it for another ten, playing other movies in her head of all the destruction the spiky-haired man had done over the years. By then, she would lose all track of the movie and Krillin would have to explain what she'd missed, talking over another ten minutes of film until she was entirely lost.
But through this one, he didn't say anything. He was too busy crying.
"I hope they die, slowly and painfully," Juuhachigou hissed into his ear.
The sound of his sobbing could be overheard even as she sucked the last drops obnoxiously from her cup, using a straw and making sure to take her time getting every tiny bit. Even over her crunching on popcorn and chewing candy.
The tears had swollen his eyes, until he could only blink pitifully and dap at them with a napkin. But still, damn it, he could make out the screen and the couple, the adorable perfectly matched couple, one of whom was dying of a slow mysterious cancer. They didn't know, because their tests had gotten mixed up and they didn't want to know who was dying; they just wanted to be together for as long as possible. Their relationship was so doomed, so star-crossed and romantic.
Juuhachigou hated them. She crossed her arms and waited for one of them to croak.
She hated their tiny, charming apartment, their opposite looks, the tender looks and smiles. She hated their perfectly woolen and cotton clothes that you better believe were brand name, their sweet families that had died before their time, and even the small dog they'd adopted. She hated his blonde mussed hair and her straight dark locks, the blue-gray and brown eyes, their matching sweaters and scarves. She hated the graceful way they were in bed, and their cuddling, and even the way they cried without looking unseemly.
The easy way they leaned into each other, content and loving. Those three words that fell so easily from their mouths.
She watched another tear trail down Krillin's face. Then she shifted in her seat, and placed one of her arms over his small shoulders. Her words were tender in his pink shell ear. "I hope she starves to death in a well, and he dies by being ravaged by wolves."
37. Speechless
A tiniest crack in her icy demeanor was found when she narrowed her eyes, just slightly, after he moved his bishop. Otherwise, her face was as lovely and emotionless as usual. A rook moved to the left, and again, the blue eyes became a little narrower. In the bright living room, as the light flooded in, her pores were barely visible, but Krillin could make out the dark circles under her eyes as they played another game.
She moved her queen for too much, even after all these games. She was too paranoid. What she needed was to relax a little, and learn to use her pawns more.
Krillin lifted the knight, and there was a slow dawning on her face.
Her king was in check.
He smiled, about to offer her another chance, another, another, when she simply took both sides of the board, and tossed the pieces into his face.
38. Hot and Cold
Their relationship was a see-saw one. Right now, it was all saw. Everyone in the house mentally rolled over and prepared themselves for a fight by surrendering. The sea itself seemed to feel her rage. Through the window, Krillin watched a crab scuttle away, and felt envious. If not just for the ability to escape, or the safe shell, but that it didn't have Juuhachigou's attention.
"What," every syllable was pronounced perfect, as though it were her words in question, "did you just say?"
"I just…"
"What?"
Her eyes were huge and snakelike.
There was a hiss of sneakers and sandals on the hardwood floor as the housemates slid and ran and threw themselves out of the house. From what they could tell, this was huge on the scale. A two had been their honeymoon, until she learned of the video camera his roommates were trying to install above the bed. A four was everyday, business as usual; a five if someone forgot to leave a note on the door informing the others of an empty carton of milk; and a nine was the night Krillin brought his friends here without warning her beforehand.
If she'd come downstairs before he'd gotten a chance to clean up after them, it would have been a twelve.
And now, it was at least a six. When the temple began to twitch, a six and a half. Krillin shot for a solid seven by telling her to calm down. Then, abruptly, she just shut down almost as though he had the old remote, only with less full out collapsing. A full furious ten.
"Come on Juuhachigou."
"No, it's fine. Obviously, you don't care about my opinion."
"Don't try to guilt me."
"Don't pretend you care then."
"Fine."
She huffed and opened a crinkled newspaper. After five minutes of solid silence and their housemates scrambled to their rooms, the short man tore the paper from her grasp, yelling at her to not ignore him and to just talk to him about what the problem was.
39. Bad Idea
She stared at the smear (shmear?) that was left. Then she shrugged.
Eh, okay, he'd been pretty cute.
But really, that voice.
She didn't need to listen to that nasally drone go on and on about how she and her brother could turn over a new leaf. And since they'd probably blown up the last store for miles, wherever would she find a decent gag? Plus she had a feeling her brother would want to share, like just about everything even when she wanted to torture someone by herself, and they would end up fighting and really, it was just too stressful.
Still, though, the six dots had been kind of adorable. And the big sad eyes. Oh please, don't hurt anyone else.
She shrugged again.
Oh well.
40. Good Idea
They looked like crushed bugs, there on the dirt. Blood trickled slowly from their wounds, as though it itself was as beaten as them.
Why the hell did that purple-haired one have a sword? How stupid could you be to think a sword could actually do any damaged? She was amused to find this in this foolish boy's worn face an echo of the dark-haired Saiyan besides him.
The way they'd been able to so easily crush the 'resistance' cheered her up.
The victory even made the bumpy car ride tolerable.
Juuhachigou felt her lips curving upward into a smile. They must have wondered, after the short guy had given them senzu beans, why they hadn't died. But of course, they would never consider themselves lucky or fortunate, or that they deserved to be smacked around a little and this was why the cyborgs had shoved them down a peg or two.
Instead of slaughtering them where they stood as that voice in their heads forever and ever no matter how many times her brother kicked his head off his shoulders, told them to do, they had given them mercy.
Killing an enemy was something, but beating him was a lot more.
And yet, she flicked a bug that flew in through the window away, the little gang of fighters would never understand. They would never have to hear this voice of the man who had taken everything from them and somehow, given them much more and much less. How much was strength worth, when you were chained to such a being for all of eternity. When you didn't have a name, you had a number.
Even if the fighters died, they would still be able to remember their childhoods.
It wasn't as though she and her brother hadn't necessarily set out to not kill them. It was just…not as fun to kill them. They were both aware of their forever-youth, and really, destroying the lives of scurrying humans and their little toys would be fun. Very fun and nothing would give her more satisfaction than destroying that little store that had seen fit to call a cowboy hat and a belt buckle acceptable accessories.
But…there was something wrong with that. Not that she would feel bad for the people that might die or go without their fringed vests, but it was lacking. Yes, you could take what you wanted from this place before blowing it up, but why not just…leave them be? Let them scurry, while she and her brother casually knocked down the pieces that held them up. Blowing up and killing the cops, or instead, beat them, take their dignity as it had been stripped and then regiven to them in a new shape, and laugh in their faces.
Perhaps they might even learn.
If not, well, the duo, trio, would have their fun teaching them anyway. Besides, they had all of eternity to do this. Why ruin all the good times so quickly?
They would let them live the group of heroes, for a little more playtime. Especially that quivering one with the huge eyes and the balancing, tottering courage. She had plans for that one.
41. master/slave
Juuhachigou looked into a pair of eyes that had seemingly overnight shifted from her father's familiar shade of black into a blue that she saw every time she looked into the mirror, or her brother stopped by.
Next to her, his head buried protectively into her lap, Krillin cried.
The baby made an adorable frown of discontentment, and this was not her mother's pouty boredom, but Krillin's seemingly genuinely hurt stare. This stare was not to be easily tossed aside. It was just too pathetic.
All the books said that boundaries should be established, and control and order. She knew this; it was common sense really.
If her husband had no defense against this onslaught, Juuhachigou had even less.
"Fine. We'll go to the zoo."
The tears immediately dried up on the little face. The mouth turned upward in delight. "Yay!"
Juuhachigou had known fear and defeat when fighting against Cell, and the time afterward when she'd been left adrift to find another purpose. She suspected that she'd feel it again, even as she settled down. Nothing could ever be truly peaceful and still.
But never could she have imagined a two-year old being the cause of it.
42. Prejudice
When they met again, he wasn't the one to pull back and flinch, frightened.
She was.
Her entire spine froze and for a second she hoped he was just a hallucination. But no, he was there, wearing stupid clothes and a dumber smile.
"Are you alone?"
Considering he was sitting in a chair surrounded by an empty table, it seemed like an idiotic question. But you could never know; since when did Krillin stop by malls in his spare time? Not enough from what she'd seen of his wardrobe.
He tugged at his baseball cap, still looking amused. "Nice to see you too, Juuhachigou."
"What are you doing here then, without your little," her eyes narrowed as she sneered. "Friends?"
"Shopping?" The short man shrugged, and she took comfort in the fact that she towered over him in height alone. He looked so pitiful sitting there in some plastic chair in some dinky mall. Then she looked around nervously to confirm no other familiar person was walking up to them. She couldn't imagine Vegeta coming here, or Gohan, or that purple-haired unknown man, but who knew anymore. A bug had swallowed two of the strongest beings in the universe, then spat one of them out after a ten-year-old punched him. Reality and sense was a slippery thing.
Noticing her paranoia, Krillin held out his hands, palms revealed. "It's okay. It's just me. And besides, my friends would never hurt you."
His smile widened nervously. "So, is your brother here?"
"Of course not." And Juuhachigou realized he was a little afraid of Juunanagou, but not her. And he didn't realize that she was the one he should be worrying about. Her twin didn't even know the exact details of what had happened after he'd been absorbed. But, oh, Juuhachigou was aware of what this little man had done.
If his friends saw her again, at the least they would give her (them) suspicious knowing looks before pulling him away. Or starting a fight with her in the food court.
An awkward moment passed, and Krillin's eyes darted around, barely touching on her before moving away. "Okay."
"Okay then."
Then she turned on her heel, leaving him behind.
43. Private
Although they'd talk to him a few times on the phone, he rarely stopped by. They had not, literally, seen him in at least a year. For the most part, Krillin seemed content to just stay on Kame Island. Understandably, she and Chi-Chi were concerned.
"I think he's still taking Goku's death hard."
Chi-Chi shook her head. "That's no excuse to lock himself in his room like this. It's been years; he needs to move on." But Bulma could see the wariness in her black eyes. Like always, it was easier said than done.
They knocked politely on the door, and prayed, silently and to themselves, that Roshi was not home.
Krillin answered the door.
He yawned and scratched his head, and it took them a few moments to take in what they were seeing.
"You grew your hair out?"
It was fairly long too, meaning this wasn't just a spur on the moment decision. Krillin blinked at them, his face starting to lose color. "Yeah."
"…are you going to invite us in?"
"Sure."
Stiffly, the short man moved aside and led them inside. Gingerly, they stepped around dolls and cars and stuffed animals and crayons and coloring books. He started to squirm, guilty and scared.
"What's with all the toys?"
"Are you babysitting someone else's kid?"
"Oh, I see how it is Krillin. We fight off the bad guy, and you cheat on us with other mothers?"
His grin was strained. "Oh, it's definitely not like that."
An unknown woman came down the arms, dressed as casually at Krillin, although she didn't look anywhere near as relaxed or happy. She froze at the bottom of the steps, looking at them with alarmed eyes. There was a bundle in her arms. One that moved.
The blanket wrapped around her shifted aside from the movement, and revealed a baby with blonde pigtails and a huge pair of deep grey eyes that matched a certain short fighter. Chi-Chi and Bulma tossed him incredulous, amazed looks.
There went the babysitting someone else's kid theory.
In a millisecond, the dark-haired woman was up and scooping the child out of an unnerved woman's arms.
"And what's your name," Chi-Chi asked the infant in a sugar sweet tone while the little girl just looked up at her blankly, asking wordlessly, 'what exactly are you expecting'? Neither she nor her mother seemed to blink as much as other people needed to. "Someone finally got a girl; I'm so jealous."
"She's adorable, Krillin." Bulma punched the short man in the arm. Then her voice dropped dangerously, warning him that the punch was just the beginning. "Why haven't we seen her until now?"
"Well…" He shot an accusing, guilty look to the new woman in his life.
Chi-Chi was too busy cooing over the infant, so Bulma shifted over and held out a hand and a smile to the cold-faced woman. She was younger than the other two, Bulma noticed, not at all jealous. But when she realized that the new mother had apparently bounced back immediately since that child couldn't be more than a few months old and yet this lady couldn't be even a size six, she did feel a little burn over how unfair that was.
Her blonde hair was straight and even, the eyes almond shaped and exotic. How exactly did Krillin, Kami bless him and his no longer shiny head, manage to talk this woman into a date, let alone a child?
Awkwardly, the strange woman took her hand and glanced behind her shoulder at her…yes, that was a ring on that finger, so, her husband. The scientist decided to take a high road and decide it had been a short engagement and the wedding of a shotgun or drive-thru variety.
Bulma threw a sharp toothed grin at Krillin. "You have told her about us, have you?"
The short guy was looking at his shoes. "A little. Most of it she already knew."
"What?"
"You're the cutest thing I've ever seen," Chi-Chi told the blank-faced baby. "Look at your tiny fingers. I could just take you home and eat you right up."
More uncertainty rose in the blonde woman's eyes. Obviously, she was smart enough to be disturbed by the other woman's antics. Which put her head and shoulders, again, over Maron. "Don't worry, she won't actually do it."
She waited for either Krillin or the woman herself to introduce her, then waited some more. "So, what's your name?"
She was keeping one pale eye on her child, "Juuhachigou."
"That's nice," the blue-haired genius said instinctively. Then she went over it in her head. Juuhachigou. Number Eighteen?
Krillin hopped off the couch, and he immediately was grabbing his friend's arms and pulling Bulma toward the door. Skillfully, he slid his daughter from Chi-Chi's starry eyed grasp and pushed them out the doorway, one-handed. "We'll come by next Saturday," he promised. Then he kicked the door shut.
Juuhachigou? Number Eighteen?
"Krillin!" Bulma pounded furiously on the door. "Did you marry the android you were supposed to shut down?"
44. Respect
When the others warned him that the two were a bad influence, Krillin was sure that this wasn't what they'd meant. What they had meant, he wasn't clear on. But not this.
Luckily, the store owner didn't give him a second look.
With his white polo shirt and jeans, large innocent eyes, plus his age, no one would have pegged him for a shoplifter. Instead, he gave a suspicious look to the teenagers who were staring and not-staring at the dirty mags near the front of the store.
Briefly, he wondered if he brought Juuhachigou and Juunanagou in with him to stores, would they just be able to rob the place blind using the same technique of misdirection?
The cold air on his face as he quickly opened the freezer door wasn't enough to chill the sweat running down his face.
It wasn't that they were too young. They were, to Krillin's disbelief and relief, only six or so years younger than him. The two could legally drink. Only…they didn't have any ID. How could they get any, when they had no social security number or even a real name? It was unfair, and so the short fighter felt obligated to help them.
They couldn't even go into any bars, since physically they looked to be teenagers. Not to mention, between the joyriding and pinching fights, which would occur even in public, mentally they weren't exactly very mature.
Were they really in their twenties?
Would they lie to him about that?
For some reason, when he was with them, he was the same age as them. Like he'd lost a good few (six? really?) years of maturity.
Really, it was her brother's fault. He brought something childish out on them. The dark-haired twin was a relief and an anxiety. There would be no awkward silences when he was near, true. And he always had an idea of something to do to pass time. But the activities, on the surface not necessarily bad, always turned into a way to make him do something against the rules or just humiliating.
Like ice skating: But he didn't know how, and nearly broke his tail bone after they forced him away from his hot cocoa, and onto the ice.
Or going swimming: No one had ever, until that day on the river, dared him to go skinny dipping.
Or going into a convenience store and just take a bottle of wine: there was no way he would actually do it, he was too much of a coward. The bottle shoved down his pants was chilling, freezing him, and he understood that he deserved that.
Once he made it outside, Krillin could breathe again.
Shame immediately hit in the fading afternoon light. The streetlights would come on soon, and he wished that he'd just bought the wine and pretended to steal it. Since they could lie to him about their age, he could lie about wine. Even after he pulled the alcohol out, he still felt cold.
Then the two bounded out of the alley they were casually waiting in.
Juunanagou was laughing, saying he couldn't believe he'd actually done it, admiring the year on the bottle, while Juuhachigou smiled at him, and patted him on the back. Her touch was light, wonderful. "I didn't know you had it in you."
"You know, I got an idea in there. In case you wanted to go shopping for free."
She looked even more impressed.
It was wrong, but his body was back to normal temperature at her touch, and so he no longer cared much about conventional rules. Her smile made him wonder 'what was so wrong with jumping into a lake on a hot day naked, and why couldn't he take a bottle of wine every now and again.' It wasn't as though he planned to ride on the Nimbus Cloud anytime soon. He could just fly if he needed to get somewhere.
Or maybe have Juunanagou steal him a car.
45. Comfort zone
It was quite possibly, the exact moment his entire life had been waiting for. This was everything, the pain and struggles and deaths had been leading up to. Everything.
He closed his eyes, and leaned in.
Then he opened them. Krillin became very aware that his face was set in a ridiculous pout and that she was not leaning into him.
When he looked into her eyes, he could read her perfectly. The fear of what this meant, what he was to her and her to him, all of that compounded into this exact moment. Any second now, it would all break apart and she would understand that this was okay. That he loved her, and this was perfectly safe and wonderful.
"I don't think so, lover boy." Then she casually pushed him into one of her brother's rose bushes and the sound of her closing the front door of her house echoed through the woods.
46. Milk
Another reason why Krillin was convinced fate plotted against him: Every time he ran into Juuhachigou, the circumstances were always bad.
If she was not trying to kill him or his friends, he was there to kill her. Or she'd awoken from a coma to find him and his friends hovering nearby, her brother gone, and finding out that one of her enemies, and the bald, scared one at that, had a crush on her. Someone, in short, was either beaten or humiliated. Or both.
So of course, sitting on the couch in his underwear, hearing the distant crash and crackle of cartoons, and feeling the soggy cereal that he'd spilled into his lap when she'd arrived and looked at him through the screen door, he could only sigh. And reach for a napkin.
47. Skin
Her fingers traced over his old scars. He tried not to melt into his chair. "Have you ever thought of getting them removed? There are lasers that could take these right off."
His mind took a second to take in what she said beyond the word 'removed' and 'take these right off.' "Oh, I'm just used to them. They remind me…" Krillin shook his head. Never mind.
Still, the tips of her slim, harmless only in appearance fingers continued to trace circles on his forehead.
His own, harmless, dangerous question about whether or not she had any scars disappeared when her hand touched a scar on his temple from Namek then trailed down to his lips. "You bite your lip too much," she informed him, as serious as ever.
48. Anniversary
They'd been together six months, and as soon as he mentioned this, Juuhachigou drove an elbow into his side that sent him falling to the ground.
"We are not together."
Her foot rested casually onto his throat, and Krillin was glad they were out here on an empty island where no one could see them. If any of their other roommates caught them like this, they would get the wrong idea and freak out and tell Krillin to break up with her while he had Gohan by his side. They wouldn't understand how normal this was.
"What, do you want some romantic dinner? Do I have to buy you a tacky tie and put on some uncomfortable lingerie and you crack a joke about that being for dessert?"
"Does this mean," He wheezed, "that I don't have to buy you a present?"
"Pearls," she said, slowly, taking her foot off of him. "And if you don't bring them, don't come home."
"Alright." Krillin gasped for breathe and rolled over. "And just so you know, I like that little black number you bought that you didn't think I knew about. Also, Master Roshi keeps the chocolate syrup in the back of the fridge."
Her furious kicking was made worthwhile by her angrier agreement. "Just make sure to wear that hideous tie."
49. Ticklish
Sadly, it was while sparring she discovered a whole new weakness. He'd just gotten over his embarrassment when touching her too. Unfortunate. For some bizarre reason, he couldn't even get her in a headlock and not blush.
But now he was holding her in a decent lock, when she, carefully aware of his rule about not really hurting him, ran her fingers against his side.
The most ridiculous giggles left his mouth, and she was able to push him away, incredulous. She did it again, for sake of science, but moved her hands up. He squirmed even more when she reached his chest. Fascinating.
Under his arms, and he was nearly in tears and trying to shove her away. Useless, of course. Even if she'd felt like moving away, she wouldn't have shifted from the force of his weaker hands. It was curiously enjoyable teasingly running the tips of her fingers up and down his back.
Curling up in a ball only left his neck exposed, and when he raised an arm to cover it, she could get his armpit again.
Unbidden, a smile touched her mouth, watching him roll around like a child. She had to sit on him and hold his wrists with one hand while the other one made tears run down his red face. Her chest felt light, as though some weight was being removed by his laughter.
"Juuhachigou! Stop!"
"There's no way you're a real fighter."
50. Gravity
Juuhachigou fell against him with a soft sigh. Since he was doing his best to show he was a mature, reasonably adult, even if she was not conscious, he did not squeal in delight. He carefully put down his book. Warm breathe tickled the back of his head and ear.
She barely weighed a thing, and he grinned helplessly.
Juuhachigou snored.
It was a careful maneuver. He pulled away, moving like the wind, and turning gracefully to catch her as she fell backwards.
He could feel dirt under his newly booted foot as the memories came back of when he'd first held her. This time, he could appreciate the flawless skin without the tinge of fear that someone would blow her up. Miraculously, she did not awake when he slid an arm under her knees and scooped her up.
Her room was just up the stairs and down the small hallway. The infrequent trips there had always been daunting, but now he felt more confident. After all, he was being a gentleman and delivering the owner of this room back to her bed.
The sheets were pulled up neatly, and the room was as clean and decorated as a hotel's. She'd come into this house with only a small bag of what must have been only clothes. Sliding her down onto the mattress was surprisingly easy, and Krillin wondered when the last time she'd slept was. Whenever he would ask her how her night was, she'd sneer and say she didn't need sleep like humans did.
The small fighter smiled.
Her hair was parted perfectly straight and to the side, like a boy. The brightness of it always astounded him. Most of his friends had dark hair, and somehow her blonde hair told him that he'd been missing something all this time. Because he couldn't resist, he tucked a loose lock of her hair behind her ear.
Back in his room, after he'd finished a brief moment of lying on the ground in a collapse of total ecstasy, he walked over to the camera that Bulma had installed. She was sick of finding out news and gossip about her friends' personal life years after the event had happened.
As soon as Juuhachigou had moved in, Krillin had contacted Bulma in a state of hysterical panic. "What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?! You have to help me!"
"Ask her out," Bulma told him straight face, proving she had clearly lost her mind between the stresses of her company and child and husband. "She won't kill you, right?"
"She might!"
"Well, then, don't. Oh! Did you hear, Chi-Chi's pregnant! Isn't it amazing?"
And the scientist took his twitching and spasms as a nod.
It would have been fine if the blue-haired woman had continue to talk him down from asking her out, telling him he was insane and had no business even thinking about Juuhachigou in such a way. But instead she would tease him and ask when the wedding date was. Then she would be confused and ask him why he was nodding in agreement about.
Bulma just didn't seem to think the blonde's presence was a huge, life changing event.
"She didn't flinch when she handed me the salt shaker. Our hands touched and everything! It was amazing!"
"Uh-huh." There was an undignified slurp of noodles as she proved that a Saiyan's eating habits could be transferred through osmosis. "Ask her out then."
"No way!"
"You managed to talk Maron into going out with you. This android can't be too bad, right?"
"She's amazing. But once she caught Master Roshi about to pinch her, and she threw him through the roof."
"Good for her. But Krillin, you need to make a move on her. I'm serious; don't you jabberer and nod at me. If you don't, maybe she'll meet someone else who doesn't mind the whole psychotic cyborg thing."
"I know. But what if she says 'no', Bulma? What if she says 'no'!"
"Then you'll just be roommates. A little awkward, but like you said, she doesn't want to move back with her brother. So she probably won't leave."
He rubbed his hands together. Sweat ran down the back of his ear. "I can't take that chance."
And now, they went through the same disagreement that was too apathetic on one end and too fearful on the other to be an argument. They always said the same things, and it was almost comforting.
"Made a move yet?"
"Oh, it's not like that," Krillin assured her. Juuhachigou was safely sleeping in her room like an angel, and he could not taint her vulnerable moment with any talk of baser things, like his love for her. "We're just roommates."
At that excellent moment, Juuhachigou tore open the door. The knob slammed into the wall and remained buried in the soft wood. Her face was demonic, and exactly what Trunks had warned them of. "What did you do?! I fall asleep, and you decide to take advantage of me? Is that why you agreed to let me stay here?" There was nearly steam coming from her ears, and Bulma dropped her bowl of ice cream with a clatter.
"You little pervert. I knew you had some pathetic crush on me, but I never thought you'd stoop so low. What else have you done?"
Krillin wordlessly reached up and turned the camera off.