Chapter 3
~dream~
I was standing in the middle of a field, large, rocky cliffs rose from the ground in random places, and the sky was dark with a nearly-full moon. I blinked in confusion, and spun around once, taking in my surroundings curiously. 'Where am I..? Am I dreaming..?' I thought confused, before a soft crying noise caught my attention. Ears perked in interest, I followed the sound to a rock formation.
"Hello?" I asked cautiously. I heard some shuffling, and in front of me, a small black head popped up from behind the rock, eyes wide in fright.
"W-w-who a-are y-you?" The boy whimpered frightened. He looked to be around 4 years old, with a weird yellow and green, japanese-styled outfit. Kneeling to seem less imposing, I look at him worriedly.
"My name is Melon. What's your name?" I asked gently. Even if this was a dream, I couldn't help but pity the poor soul.
"G-g-gohan, ma'am." He said politely, wiping his eyes clear of tears.
"Are you lost, Gohan? Where are your parents?" I questioned.
"M-m-m-my father's d-dead." He said, more tears replacing his old ones. Realizing my mistake, I immediately rush forward, and hug him reassuringly.
"Sshh, shh, I'm sorry for asking, its alright now.. Shh.." I whisper reassuringly, rubbing small circles in his back. Gohan's little hands clutched my shirt tightly, as if his life depended on it. Eventually, after calming him down, he sat back, and I rubbed his face clear of tears with my shirt.
"T-thank you miss.." He mumbled, blushing slightly.
"Its alright, and call me Melon, Gohan." I said, smiling sweetly. "Now can you tell me why your out here alone?" I question lightly.
"A big green man took me, a-and said he was going to t-train me, but mama doesn't want me to train! But he said I have to s-su-survive out here for six m-m-months before he comes b-back." He explained stuttering again. "I-I don't want to t-train alone!" He said, hugging me again. Wrapping my arms around him assuringly, I sigh slightly.
"Gohan.." I mumble, only for Gohan to lean back in an epiphany-like moment.
"Ms. Melon! You can stay, Can't you!? You can stay with me, right!?" He asked excitedly and innocently. I only give him a sad look, before slowly shaking my head.
"Gohan.. I'm sorry, but I can't. You see, I am going to train also.." Gohan looks down in sadness, letting out a small 'oh', which internally broke my heart. "But that doesn't mean I can't visit!" I said reassuringly. Gohan's head snapped up to me in renowned hope.
"Tell me, Gohan, are you dreaming right now?" I ask with innocent curiousness. Gohan sat, and thought hard, then reluctantly nodded.
"I-I think so.." I continued. "Well, Gohan, how about we make a deal? Every time your feeling lonely or scared, I'll come and see you, but ONLY if your asleep. Deal?" I ask smiling slightly. Gohan immediately nodded in happiness.
"Oh, yes! yes! yes! Thank you so much Ms. Melon!" Gohan yelled happily, jumping up and down in excitement and glomping me, causing me to giggle.
"Alright, Gohan, I'll come visit whenever I can! Pinky promise!" I said holding out my pinky. He nodded, and slipped his smaller pinky into mine, and we both shook it in sync.
~dream end~
I slowly retract from sleep-land, and awake in my slow, lazy way. 'When has my couch pillows ever been this warm? Did I fall off the couch?' My mind was hazy with sleep, so when I opened my eyes to be consulted by an array of orange and blue, my mind didn't know what to make of the situation. Yawning, I rub my eyes clear, and roll onto my back, moving into a sitting position. Blinking, I gaze at the stone path that stretched out beyond my feet in an emotionless manner. 'Wait, so I wasn't dreaming after all? I really am here!' After stretching my arms a bit, I twist my body, so I could get a good look at my 'pillow', only to see Goku, still asleep. After my mind made the connection, a blush immediately appeared on my face. 'Thank god he isn't awake. That would be embarrassing'. Willing the blush off, I stand up and stretch my customary stretch (A/N: The one where her heel is on the ground, and she lifts her toes and stretches to them).
'Yesterday, Goku and I got tired, and decided to stop and rest, and we both ended up falling asleep, yet I don't remember falling asleep on Goku.. That was one weird dream I had though.. it seemed so real..' Shaking my head, I decide that it was time to get a move on.
"Hey, wake up." I say, push Goku's shoulders with my foot. Goku rolled over, mumbling something I couldn't make out. Rolling my eyes at his childish nature, I kneel, and shake him with my un-injured hand, only harder. "Get up Goku!" I say louder. Grumbling again, I glare at him as he ignores me, and continues sleeping in obliviousness. "Pfft. Whatever Goku. I'm going to just leave you to catch up." I say in an irked tone. Stepping over him, I start jogging down the walkway. Looking down at my right hand, I notice that it was already mostly healed, only a scab was along the small cut. Relieved, I looked ahead, and stared at the path. As I was jogging, my mind was filled with unanswerable questions.
'What am I going to do exactly? Once I get to King Kai's, I don't want to hinder Goku's training, yet I know that for me to survive in this world, I need at least some more training.. Damn, so I guess I should at least get as much training as I can when it doesn't interfere with Goku's. Afterwards, maybe I should try to leave early to help hold down the fort until Goku arrives. But.. what will happen if I change the storyline? Will someone who wasn't meant to die WILL die? Damn, what am I supposed to do exactly, anyways?' An annoyed and slightly defeated sigh escapes my lips. 'Why the heck does this stuff always happen to me?' Shaking my head, I stop, and try regaining my breath. Once I could breathe normally again, I start jogging once more, but boredom got the better of me, and knowing I can't sing while I'm running, I go for the next best thing, and hum the tune for Angel with a Shotgun. Approaching a curve in the path, I suddenly hear something echoing off the wind. Stopping, I turn towards the way I came. Hearing it again, I recognize my name. Smiling in spite of myself, I shout back to the flying Goku.
"GOKU! OVER HERE!" I shout waving at the quickly approaching figure. Moving my foot backwards, I planned to turn and continue on, only for my foot to step on nothing. My smile was wiped off my face in an instant, as I looked back in horror. All that escaped my mouth was a surprised, and slightly shaken, "Huh?" before I was falling backwards towards the clouds.
"Melon!" I didn't pay attention to Goku's shout. Reacting on instinct, I reach out, and grab onto a scale. Yelping in pain, I squint one eye shut in pain, as I looked up at the sharp scale, which was now coated in my crimson blood. Quickly, I realized that the hand that was bleeding was the exact same one that I cut yesterday, only now, it hurt more, meaning I re-opened the wound, AND made a new cut. As the blood dripped down my arm, I felt my hand start to slip.
"Shit." I mumble, before screaming "GOKU!" as my hand lost its grip, and I started to fall. Squeezing my eyes shut, I felt the wind hit my face, but suddenly, my descent was stopped, as a warm hand wrapped around my wrist. My eyes stayed closed for a second, before they snapped open, and I looked up warily to see what grabbed my arm. I look up only to see Goku's worried eyes gazing into mine.
"Goku.." I whisper relieved, breathing out a sigh of relief.
"Its okay, Melon, I got you." Goku said, pulling me up effortlessly. Once I was back on the path, I slowly stood on my shaky legs, before sinking to the ground in shock, my injured hand clutching my chest, above my heart.
"T-thanks." I breathe out, looking up at Goku with a small smile. Goku quickly knelt down with a smile on his face, before he suddenly frowned, concerned. Following his gaze, I notice my hand still dripping blood, and it was creating a sizable puddle on the ground.
"Your bleeding." Goku stated the obvious, which made me instinctively try to hide my wound, which I did by covering it up with my free hand.
"Its just a scratch." I stated, shakily standing up. A few more drops fall onto the pavement from movement, causing Goku to give me a disapproving look.
"No, its not 'just a scratch'" Goku said slightly irked, grabbing my arm, as I tried passing him.
"Goku, Its fine. Let's go." I whine, shrinking slightly in hopes of slipping from his grip, but to no avail.
"We are not going anywhere until you show me your hand. Now show me where your hurt." Goku demanded. Slightly taken aback, I realize it was no use, and look away while holding my hand out for him in embarrassment. Goku gently held my wrist, and uncurled my fingers, exposing a long, and slightly deep gash stretching from the bottom of my hand to the conjunction between my index and thumb. He tilted my hand a little bit, studying it, before he sighed quietly.
"Its not that bad.." I murmur childishly.
"It's not too bad, but it does need to be wrapped up." He said, which I knew to be true.
"Well, we don't exactly have spare rags or bandages lying around." He murmurs thoughtfully, looking around us. Nodding, I look around also, before being struck with an idea.
"True, but, what we do have is this." I mention, tugging the edge of my shirt.
Goku's eyes immediately widened, and a blush started to form.
"W-what? No, we can't use your shirt! J-just give me a second, there's bound to be something else around here." Goku babbled embarrassedly, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. Suddenly, I realized why he was over-reacting, and let out a loud laugh, interrupting him from his rambling.
"Goku. Calm yourself.. I didn't mean I was gonna strip. I was thinking of tearing a piece of my shirt to wrap around it." I said logically, giggling in between some of my sentences. Goku's blush increased slightly, and he avoided eye-contact.
"O-oh, I knew that." Goku murmured. I giggled again.
"The only problem is-" Goku looked up into my eyes again " I lack the ability -currently to tear my shirt. So, can ya help me out?" I ask, smiling. Goku's blush disappeared, and he nodded, reaching out, and grabbing my shirt.
"Alright." He said, tearing a long strip from my tank top, so the front had a section missing. He grabbed my hand again, before I could protest, and wrapped up my hand, tying it in a knot. Stepping back, I lift up my hand, examining it quickly, before nodding my thanks.
"Thanks Goku. Lets keep going, we've still got a long road ahead of us." I say, walking forward.
"Try not to fall off this time." Goku replied, causing me to giggle.
"I'll try my best." I retort sarcastically, before breaking out into a jog.
~Time Skip~
I was sitting, staring at the road that we had traveled, contemplating on how long we had been traveling when suddenly, a hunger pain shot through my stomach, causing it growl some-what loudly. A small blush formed on my face, but I willed it off with a grunt as I rubbed my stomach. I reach into my pocket and pull out the granola bar that Mr. Tour Guide gave me, and took a bite. Chewing slowly, I re-wrap the bar, already planning on rationing it out.
'Then again.. I don't know how long I need to ration it for..' I frown slightly, hoping that we won't have to waste any more time. 'Lets see.. Its always bright on this path.. so I can only guess on how many Earth days we've been out here…' I thought boredly. While Goku is resting- which I should be doing also, I'm attempting to answer some of my questions, and keep myself entertained.. 'I can last about 5 days before I start getting hunger pains..' "So that means we've been on this path for about 5 days.." I think aloud, tilting my head at the thought. I let out a small groan and shake my head, dropping my head into my hands in defeat. 'When the hell are we gonna arrive at King Kai's place?' I thought irked. I close my eyes, and slowly exhale. Deciding to meditate, I sat straight, and sit criss-cross-applesauce style. Meditating always helped me clear my mind. I started by calming my torrent of thoughts, and took a slow, deep breath.
~Flashback~
"Sensei, what are we doing here?" I question curiously, looking around the field in fascination. We just hiked through a bunch of giant pine trees, and into a small meadow. To my right was a small river, or a big stream, which cascaded down a small waterfall and into a huge pond filled with tiny minnows and craw fish. The water was pure and clear, while the trees that curled around the pond gave one a feeling of security. I looked up at my current Sensei, who was sitting on a big rock that dropped into the water. He was a man who was aging, his beard looking very raggedy looking, while his hair was long and in desperate need of a cut. His hair and beard were a dark brown, but you could easily pick out the grey tones in it. He looked over at me, blue eyes reflecting the sun, and smiled, motioning me over. I maneuvered my way across the small rocks, until I was standing on another big rock next to his.
"I am going to teach you how to find you inner ki." He said, his low voice rumbling out, making me suppress a giggle.
"Inner ki?" I asked incredulously, my voice filled with humor.
"Yes." He said, bobbing his head," Your inner ki. Now, you remember what a ki is, right?" He tested, causing me to slightly roll my eyes.
"Yes, sensei, I remember what ki is. Ki is the life force in your body and every living thing. Including plants, animals, and even the earth." I said.
"Correct. And what is the most important step in accessing your ki?" I stayed quiet, not knowing the answer, to which he sighed, before lifting a finger in the air knowingly.
"It's simple. You exercise you ki until your mind and body become one. All true strength is from your ki, rather than muscle, so its in your best interest to learn how to control your ki now, rather than later." He stated. Cocking my head to the side, I gaze at him curiously.
"Sensei.. How do I access ki?" I asked.
"Simple. You meditate." I looked at him, dead-panning.
"Meditating? It's that simple?" I ask incredulously. Suddenly, a rolled up magazine whacked me in the side of the head. "Gah!" I squeak in shock, looking at him in shock.
"No, its not that simple." He opened his eyes, and gazed at me, lecturing me. "You don't think that your enemy will simply allow you to meditate in the middle of a fight, do you?" I humbly shook my head. "No! of course not! So, you simply practice, and practice, until you get so used to accessing your ki, it comes as naturally as blinking." There was a slight pause as I processed this. "We are here today, so you can find your inner ki, and bring it forth."
"Like physically bring it out?!" I asked excitedly, only for the blasted magazine to hit me again. I groan and rub my head slightly.
"No, not physically. But I want you to get a feel of your inner power." Nodding seriously, I sit down on the rock, Indian style, and sit up straight.
"Okay, now take a deep breathe, and close your eyes.. inhale.. exhale.. don't think about anything.. just let your mind go blank.. inhale.. exhale.. Imagine your standing in the dark.. your looking for a light.. look for a blue flame that lights up the darkness. Breathe.. walk closer to that light.. feel its warm and welcoming embrace.. like two old friends meeting up at a train station." I snorted slightly, but quickly got shushed." Focus.. breathe. focus on that flame. Imagine your holding it.. its not burning you. Imagine that blue flame's warmth spread through your veins, filling you up.. breathe.. now, as it fills you up, imagine the small flame is getting bigger as it spreads through you.."
~Flashback end~
I followed his instructions calmly, taking in deep breaths and focusing on that blue flame. 'That flame strangely looks bigger..' I ignore it, and continue focusing on the blue flame, twirling it around in my hands, smiling fondly. I suddenly get an urge to look up, only to immediatly spot a pair of giant, strangely familiar red eyes. Those deadly eyes pierced through the darkness, staring at me. Gasping, my eyes immediatly pop open in shock.
I was breathing heavily, in complete confusion and shock at what I just witnessed. 'What the hell was with those eyes.. they looked so familiar. And why did they appear near my ki?!' I couldn't ponder the strange phenomenon more since Goku suddenly sat up in alarm, looking around tense.
"Goku, what's wrong?" I ask, my voice jumpy, since I didn't expect his sudden movement. He searches the skies for a moment, before turning to look at me, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"I swore I felt a power level near by.." He said, causing a shiver to crawl up my spine. Looking around also, I search, only for my eyes to catch nothing suspicious. Staring at the path behind us in confusion, I frown. Goku then stood up swiftly, lunging from side to side in a stretch, before standing straight, smiling like nothing happened.
"Well, I guess we should continue running then." He claimed.
"What about that power level?" I ask worriedly, and confused. Goku just grinned and waved the question off.
"Don't worry, it was probably nothing. So let's go, we have a Trainer to meet!" Sighing, but nodding in agreement, I stand also, patting my knees before grinning lopsidedly at him.
"Sure. Lets go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we get to eat!" I said happily. A chuckle escaped my lips as a quiet rumble escaped from Goku's stomach at my statement. Rolling my eyes, I start jogging, Goku easily keeping pace, and surpassing me.
A/N: Okay, so I dunno if I want to upload these if no-ones interested.. Please, Someone review! T-T it'll inspire me to upload more chaaaapteeeers~ and let me know that people wanna actually READ my work.