Assimilation
ChiChi was thirteen years old when she became an older sister, although technically she became a younger sister but with the way her new sibling sometimes acted it was hard to remember who was older than whom.
It all started when her father, Ox King, came home one day after a patrol of their kingdom's borders. He brought back with him several rucksacks filled to the brim with capsules. But at the time, the dark-haired princess was more interested in the blue-haired girl her father was carrying in his arms. She clearly wasn't from around here and looked just a little older than ChiChi.
In normal circumstances, ChiChi was shy and timid around strangers, especially outsiders of their small mountain kingdom. She would have simply stood in the sidelines, letting her fierce-looking father do the talking and asking. But one look at the blood-soaked lab coat that the unconscious girl wore had ChiChi going into nurse mode on instinct.
She had her father bring their guest into a spare bedroom, "I'll handle undressing her, dad. Could you boil some water in the meantime?" It wasn't difficult holding the unconscious girl up so she could change her out of the bloody garments and into an oversized nightshirt. ChiChi was stronger than she looked.
Well that's strange, she thought, Lots of bruises and tons of scrapes and cuts but you don't get this much bleeding from just that. The lab coat had a thin tear in the chest and the lining was ripped, but apart from that and the blood stains, it was salvageable. She'll patch it up later after she's washed it and the rest of the older girl's clothes.
Ox King had just finished cooking dinner when he heard a thud and a yell of pain. His daughter bolted from her seat at the dining table towards the guestroom to check up on the blue-haired girl. He figured it was best if he let ChiChi handle things not because he couldn't be bothered but because, well, he was Ox King.
Many found him intimidating, if not outright terrifying, at first glance. And his ferocity in battle, sheer brute strength, and the way he was pretty handy with his battle axe allowed him to remain ruler of their little kingdom in Frypan Mountain for so long. He was probably not the first choice anyone (who wasn't his daughter) would want to see upon waking.
He looked up from the pot of stew when his daughter's normally timid voice took on a hard edge, "Hey! You're too injured to move, get back in bed!"
"Says you, squirt, I am totally fi- OW!"
Ox King winced, whoever that blue-haired girl is, her voice really carried. He turned the stove off and padded, deceptively quiet for such a large man, towards the guest room. In the hallway, he found ChiChi kneeling over the prone form of their guest who was bandaged up to comically excessive proportions.
"Where does it hurt?" ChiChi asked, frowning.
The blue-haired girl sniffled and wiped at her eyes, wincing in pain from the movement before answering petulantly, "Everywhere."
"Can you stand up?"
Another sniffle. "I don't think so. I think I broke my leg."
"It's just a bad sprain," ChiChi corrected. "But I can carry you back to bed if you-"
"If you can carry me to bed, you can carry me to my damn air-car because I can't stay here!"
Ox King saw the hard determination in the older girl's eyes. He saw the stubborn protectiveness in his daughter's eyes. And he knew this was not going to end well unless he provided a distraction, "Girls, dinner is ready. ChiChi, please carry her to the dinner table. I'll set an extra place."
The injured girl opened her mouth when her stomach suddenly growled out so loudly it drowned out her protest, settling that matter for all parties involved. The two girls sat across each other, glowering in righteous indignation until the blue-haired one had a mouthful of stew and dreamily sighed, "Kami this tastes like heaven."
"My dad is the best cook in the world," ChiChi agreed with pride.
"Oh come now, you two are going to make me blush," Ox King laughed. He ladled another helping of stew into the older girl's bowl and asked, "What's your name, dear?"
"Bulma Briefs," she answered, suddenly tensing. Quickly, she kept on talking, "U-um, who are you?"
"I'm Ox King and this is my daughter ChiChi. You're welcome to stay at our home until you've recovered from your injuries."
"Th-that's really kind of you, but I really have to be go-"
"Even if it wasn't already dark, you won't get very far on a sprained leg without your air-car," ChiChi cut in. "Dad said it had crashed."
"I have more than one air-car," Bulma scoffed. "Just give me my capsules and I'll be on my way."
"Where are you going and why are you in such a hurry?" his daughter demanded, visibly unhappy that her patient was being an uncooperative one.
Ox King didn't miss the undertone of desperation in Bulma's voice when she answered, "I need to get to Mount Paozu as soon as possible."
"To meet up with your mom and dad?" ChiChi assumed.
The light dimmed in Bulma's eyes and she hung her head, mumbling "They're both dead."
"O-oh! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"
Ox King remembered all the dried blood on her clothes. "Are you running from someone?"
The wide-eyed terror on Bulma's face said it all. But she took a deep breath and described three people and the one unifying trait among them: "An armband with a red insignia."
When she drew the symbol onto the table, ChiChi only tilted her head. Ox King, on the other hand, grimaced because he recognized, The Red Ribbon Army.
Neither ChiChi nor Ox King pressed her for more details, instead they assured her, "You're safe here on Frypan Mountain. Stay as long as you need."
"Wh-why are you being so kind? You don't even know me," the blue-haired girl whispered, tears trickling down her cheeks.
Ox King felt himself swell with pride when ChiChi laughed, "Because it's the right thing to do." His little girl was going to be a great benevolent ruler when she came of age. He only hoped his future son-in-law would be just as compassionate. If not, said future son-in-law better pray Ox King had passed on because he wasn't going to hand over his daughter otherwise.
"Hey, ChiChi?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"S-sorry about earlier," Bulma apologized.
"What are you sorry for?" ChiChi canted her head at the older girl.
"I shouldn't have called you a squirt. I mean, you're not that short and you're probably still growing."
"Oh. I thought you were going to say sorry for acting reckless even though you're injured," somehow ChiChi managed to say this without a trace of sarcasm. "I forgive you."
"Great! Um, just out of curiosity, where are all my capsules? A-and my satchel?"
"Dad put your capsules in the closet. I placed your satchel," ChiChi pulled out the drawer on the bedside table, "Right here. Oh but if you're looking for your weapon I had dad hide that in the armory. It's dangerous to carry a gun."
"Please, it was only a semi-automatic machine gun," Bulma waved her hand dismissively and winced. "Augh is there no part of me that doesn't hurt?"
"You should count yourself lucky that you only have sprains rather than broken bones."
"Capsule Corporation takes safety very seriously." Bulma was practically preening, though ChiChi didn't know why the older girl was acting so proud.
A beat.
"Can you bring me to my air-car's crash site?"
"What?! Why would you-"
"I wanna salvage it for spare parts. I know I look like a beauty queen," she glanced down at all her bandages and made a face, "Usually, but I'm also a genius. If you got any appliances on the fritz I can take a look at them while I wait to heal. Otherwise I'll end up thinking about them and..." Bulma trailed off, a shadow crossing her face.
ChiChi couldn't bring herself to refuse so she relented, "We can go after breakfast. I'll ask my dad where he found you."
"Great! Let's bring lunch too! We can make it a picnic!"
"O-okay, that actually sounds fun." ChiChi smiled. Even if Bulma was proving bossy and stubborn and a little full of herself, ChiChi liked her.
She headed out of the room, instructing Bulma, "You better get some sleep soon. Breakfast is half past five."
Ox King was in his bedroom on the other side of the house and he still heard the blue-haired girl's scream of "FIVE IN THE MORNING!?" Kami, the girl's voice really carried.
A/N: In my headcanon, ChiChi is as much a mama bear as she is a tiger mom because the two aren't mutually exclusive concepts. Apologies for the wonky pacing, I'm just learning to juggle an ensemble cast. Hopefully I'll work out the kinks as I keep writing.