LOOPHOLE! CHAPTER 9!

Disclaimer: DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS EVERY TIME? I DO NOT OWN ANY DRAGONBALL/Z/GT CHARACTER(S)! I ALSO DO NOT OWN "BLESS THE BROKEN ROAD" & "HERE COMES GOODBYE" BY RASCAL FLATTS! I ALSO DO NOT OWN "LAST KISS" BY TAYLOR SWIFT!

CLAIMER: I DO OWN KIMI SON, MATTHEW WALSH, AND ANY OTHERS I CREATE!

NOTE: "iTALICS" MEANS TELEPATHY, OR A FLASHBACK. BUT A FLASHBACK HAS

FLASHBACK... WRITTEN BEFORE IT!

*SOUND* "SPEAKING" 'THINKING' (AUTHOR'S NOTE)

ON WITH THE STORY!

Piccolo and I flew to my old home. We landed on the grass and walked to the door. I knocked softly.

Dad answered "Kimi! Piccolo! How've you two been?" He asks.

I say "We've been fine, dad. I was wondering if I could live here again. Bulma and her family shunned me out, literally."

"That's bad. Of course you can live here, Kimi! You're family, after all! Piccolo can to if he wants! The more the merrier!"

Piccolo said "No thanks, Goku. I like the outdoors. I couldn't stand living in a house."

I gave dad a hug. "Thanks, dad! But, what would mom say?"

"She's fine, now! In fact, she wants to plan your wedding! She's completley supportive of the relationship now that Gohan talked her out of killing the both of you."

Piccolo and I blushed feircely, ignoring the last part of Dad's sentence. "Dad, I think I want to wait before I get married, right Pic?"

"Definatley."

"Ok, if you two say so. You're going to be the one telling ChiChi that." Dad said. "Come on in! Your room is still empty!"

We walk into the house. "Chi!" Dad calls. "Guess who's here!"

Mom pokes her head in the doorway of the living room. "Kimi! You're home!" She gives me a huge hug.

"...Can't...Breathe..." I choke out.

She releases me. "Sorry, but I missed you! Oh, look who you brought! Hello, Piccolo!" Mom says.

"Hello, Mrs. Son." Piccolo says.

Mom smiles. "Drop the Mrs! Just call me mom!"

Piccolo's eyes widen, as do mine. "WHAT?" We say in unison.

I grab mom's shoulders. "Mom, Piccolo and I decided that we're going to wait a while before we get married, okay?"

Piccolo blushed. "Yes, we are."

"Ok, ok. How long?" she asks, still smiling.

"Uh. I don't really know. What do you think, Pic?" I turn to face Piccolo.

"Hm. I guess we'll know when the times right." He says.

"Ok, then! I better start cooking now, I have to feed four sayians an a pregnant woman!"

My eyes grow large. "Four sayians and a WHAT NOW?"

Mom looks at me. "I'm pregnant!" She says, smiling. "When this one grows up, I'll have at least four grandkids!"

Videl and Gohan walked in before mom said that sentence. Videl, Gohan, Piccolo, and I blushed.

"Let's not rush that, mom!" Gohan says.

"Mom! I can't beleive you're pregnant! That's amazing!" I say.

Videl looks at me. "Kimi?! What are you doing here?!" She demands.

I glare at her. "I live here. What are YOU doing here?" I ask, smirking.

She gives me a know-it-all look. "You don't live here!"

I smirk wider. "Yes I do. Right, dad?"

Dad smiles. "Yeah she does!"

Videl starts getting mad. She looks for something to tease me about. She finally sees the seven foot tall namekian that I'm holding hands with. "Who's the alien?" She asks me, pointing at Piccolo.

I growl. "Don't call him an alien. You know you're dating an alien, right?"

She looks confused. "Gohan isn't an alien! You might be, but he isn't!"

I look at her. "Gohan and I are twins. We're both half alien. If you get married to Gohan, your kids will still be half alien, due to your martian-ness. Shove that in your pipe and smoke it."

She smirks at me. "At least my boyfriend's not green."

I snarl. "You did NOT just go there!"

Her smirk widens. "Oh yeah? Why don't you and green bean over there go honeymoon on Mars?"

I power up to Super Sayian. I walk over to her, an pick her up by the collar of her shirt. "Listen here you whore, you might date Gohan, but say ONE more bad thing about ANYONE else in this house, and YOU. WILL. DIE. GOT IT?!"

She doesn't even look scared. "I'm so scared! You turned your hair blonde! You know what they say, oh wait, you don't. They say DUMB BLONDE!"

That's it. I take her outside, and fly about 600 ft into the air. "I will drop you down to your death, bitch! All you do to stay alive is say that you're sorry for the insults against our family. If you don't, you get a one way ticket DOWN."

She looks down. She's obviously scared of heights. "N-Never!" She stutters.

I smirk. "Fine by me." And I let go of her. She starts to fall, screaming "I'M SORRY!" I catch her.

"See? That wasn't that hard, was it?" I smirk. My feet touch the ground. I give her to Gohan. "Take her home please. She's made me mad enough." I say.

Gohan flies off with Videl. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. Piccolo looks at me "Was all of that necessary?"

I look at him "Of course it was! No one is going to insult you an get away with it! I could've cared less if she insulted only me!"

Mom and dad came outside. "Is she okay?"

"Videl's fine. She just has a severe case of Modays and Bitchiness."

"As long as she's okay." Mom said.

"She's gonna be shaken up for a bit, but I think she learned not to mess with ANYONE close to me." I smirk. "I'm gonna fly around for a bit. See y'all at dinner!" I take off into the sky. Piccolo takes off after me.

"Ah, two lovebirds." Mom says, watching Piccolo and I fade into the distance.

"They do love eachother, don't they?" Dad says.

"They sure do." mom replies.

Piccolo and I come to a stop in the same place where we fought Vegeta and Nappa. "Why on Earth does fate always bring me here?" I ask.

"I don't know." Piccolo says.

I jump. "Damn! Where did you come from?"

He smirks. "Namek."

"No dip, sherlock."

"What's dip?"

I grab his hand. "It's the stuff you dip chips in. Let's go somewhere else."

We fly away, ending up in the same clearing from chapter 7. (I broke the 4th wall)

I walk over to the little pond, and gaze at the fish with mild intrest. I smile watching them swim around.

I let my mind drift away from the fish, and somehow ended up falling in the water.

"*cough* What the hell?! *sputter*" I say.

Piccolo looks at me. "You fell in the water."

"No! Really?" I say sarcastically, climbing out of the pond. I flare my ki, drying me off.

In the distance, a stranger watches us. "One day, Kimi Son, you will be mine!"

I look into the woods. "Did you hear that?" I ask Piccolo.

"Hear what?" He asks.

"Nothing. I'm finally losing my mind." I say.

A maniac's laughter in my head startles me. "AH!" I scream, falling to the ground, gripping my head.

"What?!" Piccolo says, kneeling beside me.

The maniac starts to talk. I hear Piccolo's voice. "It's your turn, Kimi." The voice says creepily, in Piccolo's voice.

I thrash. "No! NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I scream, taking off. Piccolo takes off after me.

"Kimi?! Are you okay?" Piccolo asks, catching up to me.

Piccolo's voice continues to ring in my head. "Only two days left!" The voice says.

I countinue to scream. "NO! NO! NOOO!" I suddenly lose my ability to fly, and I fall. Piccolo caught me.

"Kimi?! Answer me!" He pleads. I hear him, not the other one.

"Piccolo?" I ask.

"Yeah?" Piccolo says.

I blink twice. "Is it you?"

He looks confused. "Is what me?"

I look at him. "Is it you that wants me dead?"

3RD PERSON POV...

In a the distant woods, Sharpener Pencil calls a man with his phone. "Well done, comrad. Your mind invading powers are wonderful. Soon, the one called Piccolo will end his relationship with Kimi thinking she's crazy, and she'll fall right into my arms!"

"You will keep up your end of the bargain, won't you?" The man asks.

"Relax, I'll pay you. 45 hundred zeni, right?"

"Correct."

"You'll get the money, but first, I get the girl."

SCENE CHANGE TO KIMI AND PICCOLO...

Piccolo just looked at her. "Well?" She asked.

"Of course it's not me! I would never want you dead!" He assured her.

"Okay... Take me home?" She asks.

"Sure." He says.

When the couple reached the Son household, all was quiet. Goku and ChiChi were sitting under an awning, watching the sunset.

"They love eachother a lot, don't they?" Kimi asks Piccolo.

"They do." He says.

(I can't type in any other POV) KIMI'S POV...

We land. Piccolo sets me on my feet, and I walk to my parents. "Hey, lovebirds!" I say to mom and dad.

Mom looks at me. "We should be saying the same thing about you and Piccolo!"

I blush. "Naw, you really think so?"

Dad says "Definatley! You two are perfect for eachother!"

I smile. "Thanks, dad!"

Piccolo stands beside me. "What?"

I smile at him. "Dad said that we're perfect for eachother!"

Dad looks at Piccolo. "Yeah! You two are a great couple!"

I smile wider. Piccolo smirks, that being the closest thing to a smile he's ever seen doing in public. I think that I'm the only one who's ever seen him smile.

I look at my mentor. "Wanna spar? We haven't sparred in years!"

He shook his head no. I give him my famous puppy dog eyes. He sighs. "Fine, but don't expect me to go easy on you."

I smirk at him. "I never have."

We walk into a field, mom and dad following us.

I get into my stance. He settles into his. I look for openings, but don't find any. 'Damn, he's improved, this is going to be really hard.'

Reading my mind, he smirks at me. I check to make sure that I'm well guarded. He launches himself at me, I phase out of the way. I launch a kick to his side, he grabs my leg and throws me a few feet away. I get back up.

"I'm back" The voice in my head says. My eyes grow wide. Piccolo punches my abdomen, I double over in pain. "And when you least expect it." It adds.

"I said get out of my damn head!" I say through clenched teeth.

"Never." The voice sounds demonic now. "This is my body."

I turn Super Sayian. "No it's not! Now get out of my damn head!"

Piccolo, hearing what I said, looks at me with a confused expression.

The other side takes over. "If this is your body." I start, "Then would you mind it dead?!"

Mom's, Dad's, and Piccolo's eyes grow wide. "What does she mean?!" Mom asks frantically.

I pick up a sharp rock. I hold the pointed end to my juggular vein. Before the rock can slice me, dad grabs my arm, taking the rock out of my hand. He tosses it hundreds of feet away from us.

"Kimi Hannah Son, WHAT in Kami's name, WAS THAT?!" Dad asks.

Mom and Piccolo walk over to us.

I look at dad "I-I really don't know." I say.

Piccolo looks at me. "Kimi," He began "Y-You tried to commit suicide. Why?"

I look at Piccolo. "That- that thing, I was going to give it what it wants. It wanted me dead, and I was about to do anything to get it out of my head."

Dad looked confused. "What thing?"

I say. "It's confusing. It lives in my delusional mind. It looks like Piccolo, and sounds like Piccolo, but it's not Piccolo. I'm sure it's not Piccolo."

Dad gives Piccolo a look that says 'mess-with-my-daughter-and-you-will-die'. "How are you so sure it's not Piccolo?"

I break free from Dad's grasp. I walk to Piccolo. I give him a hug. "Because Piccolo loves me, and whatever that thing is hates me."

Piccolo starts "Goku," He sighs "I know you have your doubts, and looking at my past, I can't blame you, but your daughter has changed me for the better. I could never hurt her." He says.

I say "See dad? Ten years ago, without a shadow of a doubt, he wouldn't have said that, and you know he wouldn't, but he just said that he wouldn't hurt me. Don't you beleive him?" I ask.

Dad smiles. "I do beleive him. I just don't want to lose you again."

Gohan lands next to us. "What did I miss?"

I say "Nothing really. Just a spar."

Piccolo looks down at me. "And the fact that you attempted suicide." He adds.

Gohan's eyes bulge. "You attempted WHAT?!"

I say "Oh nothing, I just tried to cut myself with a rock, no big deal!"

Gohan looks at me. "Why?"

I ask "Why are you asking me that?"

"Because I want to know."

"Maybe I don't want everyone to know."

"Who's everyone?"

"I don't know, who is everyone? You tell me."

"I don't know who everyone is."

"Of course you don't."

"Hey!"

"Hey!"

"Stop doing that!"

"Stop doing that!"

Mom says "Stop it! You two are acting like five year olds! You're both sixteen, I thought you would've outgrown such childish things!"

Gohan and I look at mom "Sorry, mom" we say simultaneously.

"Now, let's go eat!" Mom announces.

The word 'eat' catches Dad's, Gohan's, and my attention, and we rush inside.

"Sayians. They're something else." Mom says.

Piccolo looks at mom. "They sure are. Tell Kimi that I'll see her tomorrow." And he flys away.

Mom walks inside. I ask "Where's Pic?"

"Oh he left. He said to tell you that he'll see you tommorrow!" She says.

I smile "Ok!"

Dad complains "Chi, can we eat? I'm starving so much that my heart hurts!" He says, not realizing that your heart doesn't hurt when you're hungry.

Mom quickly grabs herself some food. "Ok... Begin!" She says, dismissing Dad's comment.

We dig in. I could tell you that I eat in a dignified manner, but then I'd be lying. I eat with a little more class than Dad, Gohan, and Goten, but only a little. Very little.

When we were done, Gohan and I gladly took part in the family tradition of helping mom with the dishes.

When we were done, Gohan and I started our homework. "This is so easy! Do they think we're three? If the rectangle's sides measure 7 in. long, and 8 in. wide, then A= 56 in2!" I say. (I know that this isn't high school work, but I'm not in highschool, so :P)

"I know! This is too easy!" Gohan says.

When we're done with that, we walk into our respective rooms. The clock beside my old bed still works. It reads 10:45. 'It's late!' I think. I climb under the old blankets of the bed, and fall asleep in a place I hadn't been in for years.

The next morning, my alarm clock sounds at six AM. I climb out of bed yawning, and stretch. Gohan is still asleep when I walk into the bathroom to shower. I get out of the shower and flare my ki, drying me off. I put on my clothes, and stand in the mirror. I put on this 'makeup' stuff that Bulma had given me. I walk into the kitchen and eat a few bowls of cereal, returning to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I take my meds, disgusting as they are. I walk back to Gohan's room, and see the most adorable sight. Goten, jumping on top of Gohan yelling "Wake up big brother!"

I say "Throw a weak ki blast at him, Goten!"

He does, and Gohan shoots out of bed. "What was that for, Goten?!"

I defend Goten "Gohan, I told him to do that. Now get your lazy bum up or we're going to be late for school."

Gohan looks at his clock. 7:15. "Crap! We have to be at school in an hour!" He says, grabbing his clothes and running into the bathroom.

When he's ready, we say goodbye to our family, and take to the air. While flying over Satan City on the way to school, Gohan decends, picking up a waiting Videl.

Videl looks at me. "Where's your boyfriend, Kimi? Break up with you alr-"

I growl "Stick that comment back up your ass where it came from, Videl."

Gohan looks at me "That's mean."

I look at him "It's the truth."

We fly the rest of the way to school in silence.

We land in an alley, walking the rest of the way to school. When we walk inside, Erasa runs up to me. "Oh my gosh, Kimi! You're wearing makeup! You look awesome!"

I smile "Thanks!"

Erasa sighs "But we HAVE to do something about that outfit! It's too...*shiver*.. Country!"

I look at my outfit. A plaid shirt, faded jeans, and boots. Plus my hair is tied in pigtail braids. "Huh. Ain't never noticed that before."

Videl smirked. "And drop that hideous accent."

I glare. "As soon as you drop that darn hideous face o' yours."

She glares. "I'm gonna laugh when you fail english."

I look at her "They don't fail no body for their accent."

"Let's go to class!" Gohan says.

-choir-

We sang "Bless the Broken Road" again, this time a little better. It was also the first time that I'd realized Gohan was in choir, too. He's awesome. The teacher askes if anyone could play guitar. I raised my hand. An acoustic guitar was handed to me, along with the music to our other song, "Here Comes Goodbye" also by Rascal Flatts. I didn't know what to think.

The teacher handed me a stand. "You will have to play guitar and sing our second song, understand?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah." I said. I put the music on the stand and slowly strummed a few notes.

She handed us a lyric sheet for our second song. We sang.

-AFTERSCHOOL-

I walked out of the building, in my usual fake cheeriness with a forced smile. I ducked in that same alley and flew toward home.

I landed in the yard. I heard noises out back, and went to investigate. Dad and Piccolo were sparring. "Hey, y'all!" I said.

"Hey." They said. I sat in the grass and watched the spar.

Dad won the spar. He handed Piccolo a senzu bean. "You okay?" He asked Piccolo.

"I'm fine, Goku." Piccolo said. He ate the senzu bean.

"What have y'all been up to?" I ask.

"Sparring." Dad says.

"No!" I say sarcastically. "You were dancing!"

Piccolo says "Never, in a million years, would the very notion of dancing with Goku pass through my head."

I smirk. "It just did."

He smirks. "That's enough from you."

I stick my tounge out at him. "You can never get enough from me!"

"Enough what?"

I float up to him, and say "Enough of this." and I pull him into a passionate kiss.

Mom walks into the field we're in. "My stars! That is adorable!"

Dad says "It is." and he pulls mom into a kiss.

Gohan and Videl land in the field. Not wanting to be left out, they kiss.

Piccolo breaks the kiss. "No," He starts "I couldn't get enough of that." We kiss again.

I look at Mom, Dad, Gohan, and Videl. "It seems that we started a chain reaction." I laugh.

Gohan and Videl stop kissing. So do mom and dad.

I say "That was... somethin' else..."

Gohan says "It sure was."

Videl grabs Gohan's hand. "C'mon Gohan, let's go study!"

"What subject do you want to study first?"

"I was thinking chemistry."

I look at Videl. "Now, my friend, THAT has wrong written all over it. Especially since neither one of y'all take chemistry."

"Shut up you hick."

"At least I'm not a dick."

"What did you say?!"

I smirk. "You're just saying that to get me to repeat the insult even though you heard it the first time."

She runs at me, fist raised. She throws her sloppy punch at me, and I catch her fist.

I look at Piccolo "Permission to kill?"

He answers "Denied."

I frown. "Damn it." I throw Videl at Gohan. He catches her, and they walk inside.

-LATER-

I'm listening to songs on my mp3, and the song "Praying For Daylight" by Rascal Flatts comes on.

I sing along to the chorus.

"Prayin' for daylight, waitin' for that mornin' sun, so I can act like my whole life ain't goin' wrong, baby come back to me I swear I'll make it right, don't make me spend another lonely night, prayin' for daylight."

As I walk around outside, I feel that breeze. That breeze that indicates that something's going to go wrong. Really wrong. I keep walking around, waiting for that something to go wrong, when I realize, that stranger in my head wants me dead tomorrow. Tofuckingmorrow. To think I thought that was what was going to go wrong!

'Oh hell' I think. 'My life is done. Goodbye world.'

Piccolo replies 'Your life isn't over.'

'Will you stop reading my mind?'

'As soon as you quit thinking that you're going to die.'

'Hmm, carry on then.'

'*sigh* You didn't take your medicine, did you?'

'Actually I did, it just wore off, thank you very much.'

Our conversation was interrupted by Gohan running over to me. "Kimi! Dad's having a heart attack! Come quick!" Fear was evident on his features.

My eyes bulge, and I frantically follow Gohan into the house. We run into Mom and Dad's room, where Mom is crying beside Dad's lifeless form.

'No, No, NO!'

'What happened?'

'Dad's, he's, he's DEAD! No, No, NO!'

I break down where I stood, and began to sob. Gohan tries to comfort Mom, tears running down his cheeks. Videl, in all of her bitchiness, just stands there and watches us.

PICCOLO'S POV...

I walk into the Son home, and I hear sobs coming from the next room. I walk in there and see Goku, lifeless on the bed, ChiChi and Gohan crying by the bedside, and Kimi, collapsed on the floor, crying. And Gohan's strange girlfriend just standing there, as if a death is nothing.

I kneel beside Kimi. I wrap my arms around her, and allow her to cry on my shoulder.

A FEW HOURS LATER...

Krillin walked through the door. "Guys, I can't sense Goku's energy! Guys?" He walked in the room seeing the same thing I did, except that I've been added to the scene.

"G-Goku?!" Krillin exclaims, rushing to the bed. He looks at Goku's body, and begins to cry. His 'wife', Android 18, walks into the room. She walks over to Krillin. "He's dead. Big deal. Get over it." She says coldly.

"I know right?!" Gohan's girlfriend says.

Kimi looks over at the two women. "Will you shut up?! You two didn't know him like we did!" and she continues to cry on my shoulder. I glare at them. They stay silent.

The rest of the Z-Fighters slowly make their way into the room, grieving over the loss of Goku, knowing that he can't cheat death this time around.

About ten minutes after Yamcha showed up, Kimi's crying ceased. She looked at me with her horribly bloodshot eyes. "Thank you." She said.

I say "You don't need to."

She says "Of course I do. The sleeve of your gi is completley soaked!"

"It's okay. It'll dry."

Blue Launch, Tien's wife, looks at us, smiling. "Your love is something special."

Kimi smiles. "I guess. How's Tien?"

She points to him, standing over Goku's body, with a sad expression on his face. She frowns. "He's been better."

Kimi looks at Launch. "Be with him. The one you love can always make you feel better!" She leans on me, and I wrap my arm around her small form.

Launch's smile widens. "Couples could learn from you two." She walks over to Tien, and they begin to talk. They hug.

Kimi smiles at me. "Love is somethin' else, alright."

I say "It sure is."

She walks over to Gohan and ChiChi, and a suddenly appearing, sobbing Goten. They wrap eachother in a family hug. It's sad watching the grief stricken family. Goten knocks Kimi over, sobbing on her shoulder. She hugs him tight, saying "It's okay, Goten.", and trying not to cry herself.

A few minutes later, a crying Bulma with a frowning Vegeta walk into the room.

Bulma spoke on her phone "Y-Yes he's dead, okay thank you, bye." She flipped her phone shut. "The 9-1-1 people will be here in a few hours." She told everyone.

"Why a few hours?" Krillin asked.

"It takes a long time to get out here."

"Oh."

KIMI'S POV ...

A FEW HOURS LATER...

The paramedics got here, and they loaded Dad's body onto a stretcher. They carried him out of the room. Gohan and I kept ourselves together for Mom's sake, while Trunks had taken Goten outside, to try and help him get Dad's death off his mind.

Bulma was busy calling a funeral home, to make arrangements for Dad's funeral. Vegeta stared at nothing with his usual scowl, nothing being Videl. The two were busy having a glaring contest. Tien, Chiaoutzu, and Launch had left a while ago, giving our family their condolences, and promising to return the day of the funeral. Yamcha had also left, claiming he had 'baseball practice'. The only Z-Fighters left were Piccolo, Vegeta, and Krillin, although Vegeta would object to being called a Z-Fighter.

Mom had finally calmed down, and started wondering what we were going to eat, so she walked into the kitchen, doing one of the things she does best, trying to get her mind off of things.

Gohan and I shared a hug. "I miss him already." Gohan said. I replied "I do too."

We seperated, and Gohan walked over to Videl. "Come on, let's get you home before Mr. Satan starts worrying." They walked out the door, and flew into the air.

I slumped down to the floor. Piccolo sat down beside me. "You okay?" He asked me.

I sigh. "I've been better, but I'm okay. Dad's, he's, in a better place now." My voice cracked.

Piccolo draped his arm around my shoulder. "Don't cry. Goku was always happy, he wouldn't want you to be sad." Piccolo said. " He was always annoying, too." he added.

I giggled. "I'm not so sure about annoying, but he was always happy."

Piccolo smirked. "I'm sure that he was always annoying."

I laughed a bit. "If you say so, Piccolo." I snuggled up a bit closer to him.

Krillin looked at us. "Get a room, will ya?"

I smirk at him. "If I'm not mistaken, this IS a room."

He folded his arms across his chest. "You know what I meant!"

"Yes, I did know what you meant. However, it seems that my version of what you meant doesn't match yours, so will you tell me what you meant?" I ask.

He frowns. "I meant stop the romantic stuff. It's weird."

I look at him. "You're married to an android and you have a two year old. THAT is weird. And you think that our relationship is weird. Hmph."

Krillin smirked. "At least 18 isn't an alien."

I glare. "You're right, she isn't an alien. She's a modified toaster with a computer in her head programmed to kill my dad. You'd better watch your mouth, boy. Either one of us could knock the shit out of you in 2 seconds flat." I warn, my glare solidifying, and filling with anger.

He glares at me. I glare back. Eventually, my heated glare melts his icy glare, and he walks into the kitchen with 18.

I smirk. "Serves him right." I look up at Piccolo and see that he drifted into thought. I kiss his cheek, saying "I'm gonna take a walk, I'll see you later." He nods, and I walk out the door, taking to the sky.

As I fly, I realize that I haven't had the alone time that I've been craving. While alone, the silence speaks values. While in a crowded room, silence taunts me, makes fun of me because no one hardly ever speaks to me.

'Depressed thoughts! Damn it, I did it again!'

'Did what again?'

'N-Nothing, Pic.'

'Don't lie.'

'I'm n-not.'

'Yes you are.'

'I-I am n-not!'

'*sigh* I'm not going to get an answer from you anytime soon, am I?'

'No you're not.'

And thus ends the 'brief' conversation.

I land in a lone spot in the woods. I climb a tree and sit on a branch. I, for once, enjoy the silence. It's strangely comforting. I lean on the trunk of the tree and fall asleep.

I wake up on the same branch the next morning. I stretch, and jump out of the tree. I decide to walk back to the house since it would take longer. On the way home I hear Gohan's voice calling me. "Kimi! Where are you?" It sound close.

I find Gohan walking around in the woods. "Gohan!" I say.

"Kimi! Where've you been?!" He asks.

I yawn. "I slept in a tree last night."

He looks puzzled. "Why?"

"Cuz' I felt like it."

He sighs. "You're weird. Let's find Piccolo, he's looking for you too."

We fly off in the direction of Piccolo. We find him flying over a different part of the woods, shouting "Kimi?"

I tell Gohan to keep quiet. I slowly sneak up behind Piccolo. I get close enough, and say "Yes?", hoping to scare him.

He spins so quickly that you can't see him move. He instinctively nails me in the face, and I'm sent flying. "Woah!" I yell, hitting a tree with a loud *thud*.

Realizing what he'd done, he rushed over to me, lifting me off of the ground, and into his arms. "Kimi! How bad did I hurt you?" He asks, bringing me close.

I smile reassuringly at where I hope he's at. "It's okay, Piccolo! You didn't hurt me!" I say.

He looks at me in what I beleive to be concern. "Kimi. I'm not over there. Can you see?" He asks.

"Y-Yeah!" I lie, earning a frown from Piccolo that I can't see, but know was there.

"Kimi, don't lie to me. How many fingers am I holding up?" He asks, holding an unknown amount of fingers in front of me.

I just blink, not seeing anything but black. "Uh... Two?" I say, hoping I guessed right.

"No. You're blind, aren't you?" He asks nervously, fearing the worst.

"If blind means seeing only black, and nothing else, then yeah, I'm blind." I say. Though I can't see the expression on his face, I'm rather sure it wasn't happiness.

I hear a small, shocked gasp coming from the namekian that's holding me in his arms, and I'm sure that shock is written across his features. I feel my way around untill I could wrap my arms around his neck, and I say into his gi "It's okay, Piccolo. It's probably only temporary." I assure him.

I feel his arms encircle my waist, and he whispers in my ear "I'm so sorry, Kimi. I never meant to hurt you.", and even though he's whispering, I clearly hear the regret in his voice.

My damaged obsidian eyes fill with tears at the tone in his voice, knowing that I'd made him feel bad. I cursed myself mentally. His grip around me tightens at feeling a few tears soak through the cloth of his gi. "Don't cry." He says. One of his arms reaches up from it's position around my waist, coming to rest on my back, a soothing gesture. A calming feeling erupts from the spot, spreading to every nerve in my body, but tears continue to leak out of my glistening, black-as-night orbs.

I try to stop the flow of tears, but I can't. I feel a sob clawing it's way up my throat, but I supress it, not wanting Piccolo to feel any more regret over the situation. 'Why did I do this to her?' I hear him think. 'First I punched her, then I made her cry! What's wrong with me?!' He thought angrily.

'There's nothing wrong with you, Piccolo.' I tell him via telepathy. 'NONE of this is your fault. It was only instinct when you punched me, and I started to cry because I made you feel bad by going blind!'

He directed his gaze down to me, well, I think he did. "Now, why would you think that you made me feel bad?" He asked.

I looked up at him, though I could only see a faint outline of him, as my vision slowly returned. "When you whispered that... I-I heard the regret in your voice." I say, still holding back the offending sob. I looked down, colors slowly making their way back into the hazy picture, and I saw the grass and the multicolored fall leaves on the ground.

"Of course you heard regret!" He said. "I wasn't trying to hurt you!" He added.

"I know that!" I said, looking back at him, and into his eyes. Anger, coming from nowhere, welled up inside me. "When someone feels bad because of me, it makes me feel bad! There's that explanation you've been wanting!" I say, working my way out of his arms, and running further into the woods, thinking 'What just happened back there?'

He phased in front of me, I ran into him, and he grabbed my shoulders. "Kimi..." He started. "Don't run away from me. I'm not exactly sure why you got mad, but let's just talk this out." He suggested. I shuddered slightly. 'He's changed so much...'

Wracking my brain for the reason I'd gotten mad in the first place, and coming up blank, I shrugged, and nodded. We levitated up to a tree, and sat down on a branch. I realized I'd have to play my cards right, or else he might just break up with me, and hell, I'd actually kill myself if that happened.

"Kimi," He began, frowning. "Why did you get mad?" He asked, looking into my onyx orbs.

I sighed in depression, due to sleeping in a tree, the medicine I'd taken yesterday had long since worn off. I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it, realizing I wouln't be able to say anything without my heart aching. He watched this action closely, as if he'd known it would happen. I looked away, suddenly finding a squirrel in another tree interesting.

I froze, feeling his arms lace around my waist, bringing me closer to him. "What were you going to say?" He asked.

"N-Nothing." I say, another sigh escaping my lips.

He frowned at the lie, and looked into my eyes. "How many times have I asked you not to lie? It doesn't make a difference, I can see right through it." He said. "Just tell me what you were going to say a minute ago."

Try as I might, I couldn't tear my gaze from his. Even as my eyes started to sting when fresh tears made their way into them, I still couldn't look away. "It doesn't matter." I said finally, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"It matters to me." Piccolo stated. He brought me closer to him. "And don't you dare start crying again." He adds.

The tears fade from my eyes in that instant, and I wonder how it happened. 'Huh, wish I could've did that earlier.' I think, frowning slightly. 'If only I'd did that, this whole thing wouldn't have happened, and I wouldn't be sitting here, not knowing what to say, for fear that a wrong word could end our relationship! Ugh! That's it, I'm done here.' I decide, jumping from the tree.
'Maybe we could just sort things out... If I wasn't mentally unstable. Damn it. I hate being depressed.'

Piccolo follows closely, and when he catches up to me, we're back at the same spot we'd been in moments ago. I could plainly tell he'd heard my thoughts, due to the way I was suddenly pulled into his arms. Or maybe it was because a pissed Gohan decided to show at that very moment.

"Piccolo!" He shouted. "Why on Earth would you hit her?!" He demanded.

I said "Gohan! It wasn't his fault! It was purely instinct! What would you've done if I'd did that to you?" I asked, wiping the anger off Gohan's face.

I wiggle my way out of my boyfriend's arms, declaring "Hey, I'm gonna go check on mom. Come if y'all want to!" I fly away, leaving them to wonder how I left the scene so quickly.

I walk inside and see mom crying at the kitchen table. "Mom, you okay?" I ask, walking over to her.

She sobs "I'm fine Kimi, I-I just miss your father."

I hug her, and she cries on my shoulder.

"It must hurt to lose the one that you love. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost Piccolo." I say.

She looks at me. "Where were you last night?"

I laugh. "I slept on a tree. Literally. I don't know why either."

She blinks. "That's... Strange..."

Piccolo and Gohan walk into the kitchen. "What's strange?" Piccolo asks.

I look at him. "The fact that I slept on a tree last night."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"That is strange."

"Be quiet."

"Make me."

"You want me to?"

"Try, you'll fail."

*Slap* "You're quiet now."

"..."

I smirk. I hug Piccolo. "You know you love me."

He smirks. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

I frown and cross my arms across my chest, turning away from him.

He spins me back around. "That was a joke, Kimi."

I look at him. "That was a mean joke, Piccolo. Then again, you wouldn't be you if you weren't mean."

"That was mean." He said.

I smile innocently. "Watcha' gonna do about it?"

He grabs my waist, earning a squeak from me. "That." he says, smirking.

"Alright, you." I say.

"Alright what?" He asks.

"Stop making me squeak."

"I might, and I might not. You'll have to find out."

"I will find out." I say, smirking.

"Just kiss already!" Mom says. "You two are flirting enough!" I can clearly tell she's thinking 'Grandkids!''

Without further hesitation, he presses his lips onto mine. My heart speeds up. I smile against his lips.

No sooner than it started, I break the kiss. I blush. "Mom!"

Piccolo looks hurt. "You didn't like it?"

I look at him. "No, I loved every second of it. Mom just embarrased me."

Silence. When I'm around people I hate it. When I'm alone, I actually like it. I decide that it's high time to like it.

"I'm gonna go for a walk, see y'all later!" I say, exiting the house, hoping for some alone time. Piccolo follows me, not that I mind if it's him that's following.

We land in the same clearing from chapter 7 again. (shattering 4th wall with a jackhammer) I lay down on the grass, listening to the birds' chirping. Piccolo sits down beside me, and starts to meditate. I almost drift off...

*Whoosh* A knife flies through the air, landing beside my head. I scream, jumping onto my feet. Piccolo opens his eyes in alarm, and sees the knife in the ground.

A cloaked stranger runs out of the woods with a metal baseball bat in his hands. He takes a swing at me, and I catch the bat, tearing it out of his hands. I toss it about 15 yards from where we're standing. I uncloak the stranger.

"Sharpener?! What the HELL are you doing here?!" I yell.

"You're mine, Kimi Briefs. MINE. I will lock you up somewhere if I have to, but you are MINE." He says, falling into a battle stance.

I glare at him. "Sorry pal, you lost. I'm HIS, you loon. NOW LEAVE." I say, pointing to Piccolo.

Sharpener pulls out a pistol and aims it at Piccolo. "I'll have you one way or another!"

Rage consumes me entirely. I kick the gun out of his hand. I body slam him onto the ground, and pin his arms behind his back. I say in a demonic voice "Listen, bastard! You point ANYTHING at him AGAIN, and I will slowly dig out your stone cold heart with a dull, wooden spoon, rip your head off AND MOUNT IT ON A STAFF WHILE YOU'RE STILL ALIVE! UNDERSTAND, FAGGOT?!"

"Y-Y-Yes?" He says.

"Good, now LEAVE!" I throw him into the woods, fuming.

Piccolo walks up to me. "Note to self, NEVER piss off Kimi." He says.

"Damn right." I say. "That bastard's gonna get himself killed one day, and I'm gonna laugh."

Piccolo frowns. "Don't say that."

I look at him. "Well why not? He tried to shoot you!"

"A bullet won't hurt me."

"I know that. I just didn't want him shooting you."

"I can take care of myself!"

"I know that!"

"No you don't! You made me this-this mushy thing! I've shown more emotion in the past few days than I ever have in my life! I probably COULD get hurt with a bullet now, thanks to you! I thought that you'd changed me for the better, but it was really for the worse! Kimi, we're DONE!"

Piccolo flew away from me. I broke down on the spot, thinking 'My life is over.'

A MONTH LATER...

A month later, I'm still alive, but I don't feel like I am. I feel like I'm floating in space, all of the numbness in my heart makes me think that I'm dreaming.

I've definatley tried killing myself, but it got me nowhere but smacked with Mom's frying pan.

I settle into my red and black outfit for the chorus concert tonight. Gohan walks into my room. "You ready to leave?" He asks.

"No." I answer. "I don't see why you had to invite Piccolo. I don't want to go."

He looks at me. "Kimi, it's been a month. You haven't interacted with him at all, and you won't have to at the concert."

I turn to face my brother. "I understand that."

He asks "Then why don't you want to go?"

I answer like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "My voice hasn't sounded too good lately." I had gotten really good at lying over the past month.

He frowns. "You'll do fine. I heard you in practice today. We have to get going, or we'll be late, and our teacher won't be happy that her two soloists are late."

We grab mom and Goten, and take to the air. We land in the same alley that we do everyday, and walk the rest of the way to school. We drop Mom and Goten off in the school's auditorium, and walk into the chorus room.

"Gohan! Kimi! You're late!" Our teacher says.

"Sorry." We say. I grab the guitar, and join the rest of the class in our regular vocal warm-ups.

HALF AN HOUR LATER...

The principal introduces us, and we walk onto stage. The audience claps. I look at Piccolo, our gazes meeting briefly, I then look away, frowning. The principal hands our chorus teacher the microphone, and she begins to speak. "Welcome, parents, locals, and others to the Orange Star High's annual back to school chorus concert!" The audience claps louder. "The choir will now sing "Bless the Broken Road"! Our two soloists are twins Gohan and Kimi Son!"

The pianist starts to play. I start to sing "I set out on a narrow way, many years ago." Gohan continues "Hopin' I would find true love, along the broken road." I sing "But I got lost a time or two, wiped my brow and kept pushin' through." We both sing "I couldn't see how every sign, pointed straight to you." The rest of the choir goins in "And every long lost dream, led me to where you are, others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars, pointin' me on my way, into your loving arms, this much I know, is true, that God bless the broken road, that led me straight to you."

I continue "I think about the years I've spent, just passin' through." Gohan sings "I'd like to have the time I lost, and give it back to you." We both sing "But you just smile and take my hand, you've been there you understand, it's all part of a grander plan, that is comin' true!" The whole choir sings "And every long lost dream, led me to where you are, others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars, pointin' me on my way, into your loving arms, this much I know is true, that God bless the broken road, that led me straight to you." The pianist, percussion player, and the other guitarist play loudly. When their part is over, the whole choir continues "And now I'm just rollin' home, into my lover's arms, this much I know is true, that God bless the broken road, that led me straight, to you."

The audience cheered. The chorus teacher grabbed the microphone. "Thank you! Now for our next song, "Here comes Goodbye"! Our soloist is Gohan Son!"

The guitar is handed to me, and I throw the strap over my head.

The pianist starts. A moment later Gohan sings "I hear truck tires comin' up the gravel road, and it's not like her to drive that slow, nothin's on the radio, footsteps on the front porch, I hear my doorbell, she usually comes right in, now I can tell-" The rest of the choir joins in "Here comes goodbye, here comes the last time, here comes the start of every sleepless night, the first of every tear I'm gonna cry," The girls sing "Here comes the pain, here comes me wishin' things had never changed," The boys sing "That she was right here in my arms tonight," All of us sing "Here comes goodbye."

When we finish that song, the audience cheers again. Why didn't I finish typing the rest of the lyrics? (there is no longer a 4th wall lol) Because I started crying after that point, lipsinging the rest of the song with tears running down my cheeks, silently praying Piccolo didn't notice.

The teacher allows the audience and us a short intermission so they can talk on their phones, etc, and we can get a drink of water and rest our vocal chords. During the break, I stopped crying, and most of the rest of the concert continued with me fake smiling. Why did I say most? When the female choir consiting of Angela, Erasa, myself, and a few other girls, sang "Last Kiss", Angela was the only one not crying by the time we were done. Ex boyfriends ran over to the girls in the small choir, Angela and I being the sole ones that didn't have guys running after us.

When the concert was over, the whole choir bowed, and got ourselves a standing ovation.

We walked back into the choir room to wait on our parents.

PICCOLO'S POV...

After I heard Kimi and the rest of those girls sing the final song, I finally realized how much I'd hurt her. After the concert, I followed ChiChi and Goten to the school's choir room. I saw Kimi crying on Gohan. It-It broke my heart. 'I caused this?' I realized.

I walked over to them. Gohan glared at me. "See what you did?! Are you happy now?!"

I frowned at Gohan. "No, I'm not happy. I want to apologize to her." I said.

KIMI'S POV...

I heard Piccolo's voice. He said he wanted to apologize. 'I can't beleive it. I won't beleive it.' I think.

He read my mind like he used to so long ago. 'Beleive it. I'm sorry I hurt you so bad, Kimi. I had no idea'

'Why are you apologizing now, then? I could've sworn you didn't care'

'I'm apologizing now because I never stopped loving you. I though you wouldn't take me back until I heard you sing that song.'

'What makes you think I'll take you back now? After you hurt me so bad, and I spent countless nights crying myself to sleep with a broken heart?'

'I thought you still cared, too.'

'Piccolo, I still care. I wouldn't be crying if I didn't care.'

'Then why did you say that?'

'I wanted you to realize just how much I've been hurting.'

'I do realize that, and I'm sorry.'

'You really are?'

'Really.'

'That is so sweet.'

'Do you want to give us a second chance?'

'Of course I do, Piccolo.'

He took me from Gohan, and hugged me. I hug him around the neck, saying "You don't know how much I missed you."

Gohan looks at mom. He whispers in her ear "This is exactly why I invited Piccolo here in the first place."

She whispers back "I have such a smart boy!"

Piccolo sets me on my feet, and for the first time in a month, I smile. A genuine smile.

Mom squeals "She's smiling!"

The numbness in my heart goes away, to be replaced with love again. I don't feel like I'm dreaming anymore. I don't feel dead, I feel alive. As our family stood in the crowded choir room, we can all feel that something has changed. There is a happiness about us. Like there hasn't been in so long.

I then realize that I'm still in a relationship with Matthew. I walk up to him, and let him down easy, sending him back to Angela. 'Looks like everyone in the women's choir gets a new beginning.' I think.

That's it! I killed Goku off! OH NO! Why would I do something like that? It plays an important role in the story, and I PROMISE that he'll be back later! REVEIW! Qusetions, pointers, NO FLAMES!, CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM is allowed, but remember, there is a fine line between flaming and construcitve critisizing!