A Need Unknown
Chapter 3
Author's Note: Hey guys! So sorry for the wait; I actually started this chapter the same night I posted Ch. 2, but with some dumb stuff getting in the way I didn't get to finish it until today. I do plan to start Ch. 4 tonight, and hopefully things will start to heat up from there. ;) I've been trying to decide myself just how…spicy, let's put it that way, I want to make this story. I'm not sure whether I should write a lemon or not, what do you guys think? What would you prefer? Let me know, I'd love some feedback from my readers on this! And if you guys have any suggestions or ideas, feel free to pitch them to me. I will work to include them in later chapters! :)
I do want to apologize if the timeline is a bit wrong here; I actually went and made a timeline myself on engineering paper and tried to map it out as best I could to the original DBZ series, just so I could make sure not to mess up the 10 days and what happened during and etc., but just in case there are some mistakes, please forgive me. I really tried! :)
Also, I've been trying my hardest to keep Cell in character so the story has some validity to it, as if it could actually happen in the series. At least that's what I try to tell myself, sniff sniff. Hehe, anyway, without further adieu, here's chapter 3!
After a few more minutes of walking, Sayah noticed a few animals peeking at her from behind nearby trees. She stopped, setting the bag she was holding on the ground and crouching down, motioning for the animals to come closer. A squirrel did so, the others hanging back and watching curiously as it approached. Sayah laughed, setting her hands on her knees and looking at the squirrel with a smile. "Would it be too much to ask you to take me somewhere I can bathe?" She asked, pretending that the animal could understand and reaching her hand out to pat its head. The animal seemed to respond and began leading her in a different direction than where she'd been originally headed, causing her to get up and grab her bag. "There's no way in hell this little guy can actually understand me, right?…But if I didn't know any better, I'd swear he knows exactly what I'm saying…" She thought, taking a few steps forward before actually following the small critter, "Well, it can't be any worse than the situation I'm already in, so…lead the way!"
Cell had been able to keep tabs on her by following her movements and listening to her footsteps, yet he found it hard to trace her using her life energy or power level, as most humans had, regardless of strength. "She's either so weak I can't pick up on it, or dead," He mused, noticing as she kept going further and further into the nearby forestry, "I don't think she's stupid enough to try and escape, especially since we're quite a ways away from her home…" He added, sighing once he noticed that she was almost getting out of range to keep tabs on via hearing and began to wonder what the hell she was actually doing in there. He thought about flying out and trying to find her by looking for her above the trees, but he knew that that would most likely be more effort than it was worth, so he decided he'd take his time and follow the route she used, as to try and figure out why she had gone out there in the first place.
As he walked past the corner of the ring she'd claimed for herself, his curiosity sparked as he saw the pink bags out of the corner of his eye. He wondered what was in there that would require a bag so obnoxiously colored, and he figured it wouldn't do any harm if he satisfied his sudden inquisitive spurt.
His feet made their usual squeaking noises on the tile as he walked over, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to look inside one of the large cerise-hued bags. The sky was beginning to darken, and as he peeked inside he saw what seemed to be various colored fabrics, with some of them having matching lace edges. His right brow raised, he shoved his hand into the bag, feeling the soft materials touching his hand on both sides. He grabbed the first one he thought felt the most curious, and he pulled it out, all of it bunched in his hand besides the hanger. He pursed his lips to one side, trying to figure out what the hell it was while it was still in his hand, and when he spotted the hanger he figured it would probably make more sense to look at it as he imagined it would've been displayed in the store. With a quick 'Ah, what the hell' and a shrug of his shoulders, he grabbed the hangar with one finger and released the item from his other hand, lifting the hangar up to be slightly above his eye-level so the garment would be directly in front of him. It took him a few seconds of staring at the item before he realized what it really was, and his mind unconsciously shoved an image of what it thought Sayah would look like wearing it into his head, causing him to immediately release it and let the item drop to the ring floor. He instinctively held his hand out towards the garment to incinerate it to little more than ashes, but he hesitated when he realized that if he did so, Sayah would know that he'd looked inside there. Half of him was almost mortified of her finding out, while the other half, his usual callous self, couldn't care less whether she did or not. In the end, his rational self won out and he let out a deep sigh, tossing the item back into the pink bag he'd got it from. He lightly shook his head and muttered a quick, 'Get ahold of yourself, Cell' before continuing his walk past the various bags and heading into the forest, pushing the past few minutes' incident into the furthest corners of his mind. Little did he know, that the item he'd happened to pick up had been one of the few that Sayah had mentioned would let her 'have sexy undies when she died.'
"Oh…my…" Sayah let her words trail off, almost dropping the bag in her hand when she arrived at the spot the small animal had led her to. Right in front of her was a waterfall, not a very large one but more than enough for a set of people to fit under. It was enclosed within what appeared to be a shallow pond, but she wouldn't know just how shallow until she got inside. There was a small mist or fog that appeared to be emanating from it, as if the water was warm enough to let off steam, and around this waterfall was a clearing of green grass, surrounded by all the tall trees of the forest that created almost a canopy around it, keeping it hidden from view, yet still with plenty of light that shone through the branches and leaves to illuminate the entire clearing completely. She took a few steps forward, the soft grass crunching beneath her feet as she set her bag on the ground next to a flat rock, peering inside the pool and surprised to be able to see clear to the bottom, where the rocks and algae lay within.
"Am I dreaming right now?" She asked aloud, pinching herself and wincing quickly after doing so. "Okay, definitely not dreaming. But it sure feels like it…this place is amazing." She smiled widely, glancing back at the animals that had gathered enough courage to come closer still, "Thanks, to all of you. This is so much more than I could've asked for!" She giggled childishly, quickly grabbing her items out of the bag and setting them close to the pond, to be within reach once she was inside. She then lay the outfit she would wear out on another rock, and once satisfied, nodded once before pausing to look around for anyone peeking before deciding to take off her clothing. Once naked, she tested the water with her foot, and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't freezing cold, but rather fairly warm, which made sense to her since all that fog surrounded her and the rest of the clearing.
She lightly waded closer to the waterfall, reaching her hand out to touch the crystal clear water in front of her. She noticed that, when standing, the water reached up to her waist, but when sitting on a rock inside of the pond, it covered her entire body up to the upper part of her breasts, leaving her shoulders, head, and neck exposed. When she moved around the pond standing, she would cover her breasts with her hands and arms; although it was unlikely to find a peeping Tom out here in the woods, she didn't want to chance it and it was also a natural reflex to cover herself up when she wasn't within the privacy of her own bathroom at home.
She observed that there was space between the falling water and the rock surface behind it, enough for her to step under said water and have it fall on her head without her body actually touching the wall behind the cascade. She found a rock near the waterfall to sit on, and began rubbing the shampoo into her scalp and through her long chocolate-colored hair. She closed her eyes as she did so, taking note of the sounds of the falling water and remembering the music that she usually listened to while in the shower at home. She began to hum one of the tunes that she always seemed to remember when she was calm and relaxed, or trying to get calm and relaxed; she could never recall where she'd heard it or why it helped calm her down, but she figured it probably had something to do with her childhood.
She opened her eyes and sighed, getting up from the rock and covering herself as she made the short walk to the waterfall. She dipped her head under the falling water and started washing the shampoo out, letting out a deep sigh as she tried futilely to dig up any memories connected to that song. She made her way back to the rock and allowed muscle memory to take over washing her body, as her mind was currently more preoccupied trying to pull any possible recollections connected to her past and her favorite music out of the furthest trenches of her conscious.
She was brought back to reality when she felt something warm and wet running down her cheek, quite obviously not the same temperature of the pond she was in, and she gasped as if startled out of a deep dream. She reached her hand up, shaking off the excess water from it, and touched her cheek where she'd felt the liquid at, pulling her hand back and looking at it in confusion. "A tear?" She thought, staring at it for a while before letting out a soft, almost somber, laugh, "I didn't think that was possible…" She said quietly, reaching her hand up again and wiping her eyes quickly, "I think the last time this might've happened was a few years ago when I couldn't remember—" She stopped when she heard leaves crunching, and she covered her chest instinctively even though she was almost entirely submerged, staring in the direction the noise had come from.
"Is someone there?" She called out, waiting a few seconds and letting out a relieved sigh when a fawn stepped forward, "Holy crap, you scared me," She laughed, shaking her head, "Although I think you're my cue to start heading back. Thankfully I'm almost done…" She rinsed her entire body one last time before reaching for a towel that she'd found at the clothing store, shaking some of the water off her feet once she stepped out and wrapped the towel around herself. She grabbed her hair and squeezed the water out of it, muttering something about long hair taking forever to dry before drying her body off and putting the underwear that she'd brought with her on. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink since she wasn't used to wearing something so flirty even just as underwear, but she didn't think too much on it before putting on a form-fitting purple t-shirt and a pair of slightly loose sweatpants that still managed to outline the curvature of her hips. She then put on a pair of extremely light and flexible sneakers, smiling as she took a few steps in them around the clearing.
"Oh wow, these are so light…they remind me of ballerina slippers," She noted, looking at the animals that had gathered around the clearing and were watching her inquisitively, "Don't ask me how I know that, I just…know," She put her hands on her hips, laughing softly and lifting her hands up defensively, "Oh you want me to prove it? Well fine…I'm not wearing the right attire nor shoes, as light as these may be, but I'll try. I don't practice this daily or anything so don't be too hard judging, alright?" She took a few steps away from the animals that watched her curiously, and stepped into a part of the clearing that had more space for her to move around in, "I must be going crazy thinking animals are asking me to do ballet," She thought, standing still before closing her eyes, the tune she'd been humming earlier playing through her head as if on stereo.
Seemingly on cue, she began to perform a mixture of ballet moves, ranging from Grand Jete's to Double and Triple Fouettes, ending with a 540 Battement en Rond. When she was done, she took a few deep breaths and stood up, putting her hands on her hips and looking up towards the now-darkened sky. "It was a terrible idea to do that without the proper shoes," She huffed, trying not to laugh and to ignore her throbbing feet, "I hope you guys liked it. I'm going to be feeling it for the next few days," She joked, a big grin on her face as she noticed the pain already starting to dissipate, but choosing not to think too much on it since this wasn't the first time it'd happened.
"I better start getting back, I'm surprised Cell hasn't come looking for me wanting to rip my head off," She uttered, quickly throwing everything back into the pink bag and picking it up hurriedly, "Although maybe he thought I'd get eaten by wild animals and didn't bother looking," She laughed, winking at the animals that were watching it curiously, "Well if you can understand me, thank you and I'll be back soon, I hope!" She took off in the direction she remembered coming from, her damp hair flying behind her and starting to dry off quicker from her fast movement.
Cell had found her while she was still bathing, but he refused to watch her do so and had turned to begin to head back to the arena when he'd heard her gasp, causing him to look back momentarily. He saw her wiping away a tear and listened to her talk to herself, beginning to wonder if she had started 'going crazy,' as the humans called it. He turned around and set his back against a tree, crossing his arms and remaining still as to not alert any of the surrounding wildlife as to his presence, especially since they tended to me much more keen at doing so than humans were. He listened to her movements and had decided to head back again, when she suddenly started talking to what he now realized were the animals near her, causing his curiosity to spark up and making him turn, now facing her and the clearing she was in. He'd recognized the tune she'd been humming earlier as classical music, which surprised him since as far as he knew, classical wasn't a very popular genre within the humans of this era. He didn't have too much time to think about it before he watched Sayah performing very difficult ballet moves, and he knew of their difficulty due to the vast knowledge he'd been given by the computer at the command of Dr. Gero. He hadn't noticed his jaw dropping and eyes widening as he watched her, and it took him but a few seconds to realize that the tune she'd been humming earlier matched up perfectly with the movements of her body as she danced now.
When she stopped, he was even more taken aback when she mentioned that she needed to get back to the arena, half-expecting her to be trying to find a way to get as far away from him as possible. He knew he could beat her back to the ring without her even knowing that he was nearby, and he did so in the blink of an eye, quickly moving back to his usual spot to stand in the ring with his arms crossed. As he closed his eyes, his mind couldn't get rid of how graceful and elegant she'd moved, even without the proper attire. He couldn't help thinking that something wasn't adding up about her, and he recalled the moment earlier when she'd shed a tear, remembering that she'd mentioned something about not thinking it was possible and that she herself couldn't recollect when the last time she'd done so had been.
He'd been so deep in thought that he'd barely realized that Sayah had made it back to the ring, only fully noticing her presence when she'd gotten back onto the floor of the arena. He didn't bother turning, listening as she set her bag down near her items and rummaged through some of the other bags, which he assumed was for food.
Sayah grabbed a trio of blankets she'd gotten from the clothing store, and set the smallest one on the ground to lay on. She then rolled another one up to use as a pillow, and set the last one down to lay under, all of them being used as a makeshift bed. She glanced over at Cell as she grabbed an energy bar, wondering if he'd eaten anything as she opened the wrapper and took a bite, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a couple of sips. She figured this would be enough to tide her over through the night until she ate something for breakfast the next day, and as she glanced at Cell again, she decided that she'd offer him something to eat in the morning, since he'd most likely gotten something for himself while she'd been gone.
Once she was done with her energy bar, she took another set of drinks from the water bottle before trying to make herself comfortable under the blanket, still able to feel the arena floor through the other blanket she'd set out.
"Goodnight Cell," She uttered quietly, almost whispering as if she didn't really want him to hear, for fear that he wouldn't respond well. She was too tired to try and argue right now, so she figured it would be best to say it quietly, since she felt it would be too impolite not to say anything at all.
Once morning came around, Sayah stretched her arms and yawned, suddenly remembering where she was. She let out a sigh, getting out of the blankets and folding them before putting them up and grabbing the change of clothes she'd wear for the day. She hurried into the woods to change behind a bush, putting on a pair of black yoga shorts and a v-neck tee that fitted to her body, as well as pulling her hair up into a messy bun. She'd noticed that during the day the weather around there got pretty warm, and she didn't want to end up getting too hot in some sweats or something similar. Once she finished changing she walked back to the arena, deciding that it was probably time for her to find something for breakfast.
She looked at Cell every once in a while as she looked through the bags from the café, pursing her lips to the side. "I didn't even think about getting any food for him while we were out…how selfish of me," She thought, letting out a tired sigh, "Even if he's an ass I can't just sit here and eat while he's probably starving…I'll offer him some. If he refuses, well that's on him, 'cause I tried," She added, her lips turning up into a smile as she grabbed a blueberry and a chocolate chip muffin, along with two bottles of water.
Her sneakers made soft sounds on the arena floor as she made her way to him, carrying the items. She slowed down when she'd reached his back, biting down on her lip nervously as she walked around him to face his front.
"Cell?" She asked quietly, watching his face for any response.
"What do you want?" Cell responded harshly, opening his eyes to look at her and hoping he'd frighten her away so he could have more time to think.
"Oh! Um…" Sayah took a step back, her cheeks starting to turn red under his gaze. There was something about his eyes that just made her knees weak, and it certainly didn't help when she was trying to put on a brave face in front of him. "Damn, this would be so much easier if he just kept his eyes closed…" She thought, nibbling on her bottom lip again before continuing her answer, "I just brought you a muffin and some water to share," She peeled her gaze away from his and set the water bottles next to her, "I thought you might be hungry or thirsty, or both, so I wanted to offer you some," She held the muffins up closer to him, one in each hand, "See? I'll even let you choose the flavor you want," She smiled, her eyes not moving from his as she stood, curious to see his reaction.
Cell, surprised, looked down at her hands and then back up at her face, seeing the large smile she had on her lips. "Is she really…does she not realize I'm not her friend?" He thought, a scowl replacing the usual line on his lips as he struggled to try and understand the small female in front of him. "I'll show her what I think of her peace offering," He added, his eyes narrowing and never moving from her face.
"I'm not your friend, foolish girl," He hissed, this time aloud and to her face. Without any effort, he reached his hand out and smacked the food out of her hands, not bothering to see where it landed on the ground or arena, "And for your information, I don't need food or water like you pathetic humans do to survive," He spat coldly, watching as the smile disappeared from her lips without leaving a trace, "I can survive anywhere, without any type of nourishment necessary, even in space," He snarled, crossing his arms again and waiting to see if she would have the guts to do anything in response.
Sayah's hands, to her surprise, barely stung from him slapping the food out of her hands, and she guessed it might've been because he was probably not trying to hurt her too badly…for whatever reason, even though it made no sense. Regardless, she felt her anger starting to rise at his outright rude and childish behavior, and she glared at him, this time his beautiful eyes having no effect on her whatsoever.
"What is your problem?!" She yelled, moving her finger to point at him, "How the hell am I supposed to know that you don't need some type of sustenance to stay alive? I mean excuse me for assuming, but I was just trying to be nice!" She added angrily, moving her hands to rest on her hips, "No need to be so rude about it. What happened to a plain old 'No thank you,' or even just 'No'?! You are such an asshole!" She shouted furiously, simultaneously throwing her hands in the air before her lips set in a thin line as she glared at him, hoping to pierce a hole through his soul.
Cell almost couldn't believe how blatantly disrespectful she was being; did she have no regard for her life? Surely she knew that he was stronger than her – much, much stronger; in fact, so much so that he couldn't even compare his ki to hers because he didn't detect ki coming from her at all, and if she wasn't standing in front of him breathing and moving, he would've sworn that she wasn't even alive.
He felt his rage begin to take over, and he balled his hands into fists as he approached her, ever so slowly. "You dare to speak to me with such vulgarity?" He growled, his arm moving so fast to grab her neck that it would've been impossible to see to an ordinary person, "You need to learn your place, human filth. I assure you I've been cordial up until now, but you are stepping quite out of rank if you think I'll allow a much lower life form to speak to me in such manner," His fingers began to close tightly around her throat, and a devilish smile creeped onto his face as he watched her facial expressions while he talked.
Sayah's hands instinctively grabbed his arm, her face a mixture of fear, anger, and repugnance as she stared at him, emerald eyes locked against his fuchsia ones. She could feel the pressure of his fingers on her neck closing slowly, and it was a few mere seconds before she felt herself being lifted off her feet, eyes widening even more than they already were. "C-Cell…" She managed to croak out, seeing the look of pure malice on his face as he watched her struggle against his grip. She didn't know much about him, but one thing she did know was that the Cell standing in front of her now was a completely different one than the one who'd actually healed her the day before.
Cell didn't know what it was, but there was a feeling deep down inside of him that was screaming at him to let her go and not harm her, but he blatantly ignored it and chose to allow his anger to lead his actions. While he continued to elevate her further and further off the ground, there was a wicked smirk playing on his lips as he raised his free hand and placed it directly in front of her belly, a small ki ball forming out of his hand and growing slightly larger each second that passed. "How does it feel to know that you will meet your end at the hands of the strongest, most perfect being in the universe?" He uttered lowly, his words dripping with venom as he watched and waited for her response. It didn't take long before he felt another presence around them, one that he knew too well, and his eyes peeled themselves away from Sayah's to look at the person who'd so discernibly interrupted his fun.
"Ah, Goku. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Cell uttered casually, ki ball retracting into his hand as he straightened up, grip loosening slightly on Sayah's throat.
Sayah felt the heat close to her stomach dissipate, and she strained to see this newcomer out of the corner of her eye, noticing Cell's hold on her throat slackening, even if just a little. She took as big a breath as she could, considering she was still midair and trying to break free of his hold, as futile as it may be. She listened to Cell and this 'Goku' exchange some words, amidst of which Cell lowered her back to the ground and released the grip on her neck, only to shift it to her arms when he moved behind her, now using one hand per arm. She looked at the newcomer's golden hair and muscly form, figuring that this was probably someone who could stand their own against Cell, considering he didn't seem to be afraid of him nor impressed by his superhuman strength.
"Please tell me you're here to get me home," She spoke up during a brief silence, her eyes and voice pleading with him, "You can't leave me here with him. He'll kill me before the day's over!" She attempted to struggle out of Cell's grasp, thinking she'd done it at first when he let go but soon realized she was wrong when Cell just reached out and grabbed her again, more firmly this time, and pressed her back against his broad chest.
"What do you plan to do with her?" She heard Goku ask, causing her to tense up even more in Cell's hold, almost afraid of what the answer would be.
"That is none of your business, now is it?" Cell responded, allowing the biggest smirk he could muster to play on his face, "I can do with her as I please," he added, lifting a hand up and wrapping a lock of her hair around his index finger, looking at it briefly while chuckling maliciously. He had to admit that Sayah had very much surprised him when she'd been able to break free earlier, as it was a feat he doubted any regular human could do, but he didn't have much time to think on it since they did have a visitor, after all.
Upon hearing this, Sayah's eyes widened and she tried to free herself from his hold but again, it was futile, and in response Cell pulled her back and pressed her even tighter to his chest, making her cheeks begin to turn red. "Oh no…I can't believe I'm blushing. Damnit, why does he have to have such a…broad…chest?" She thought, shaking her head lightly before letting out a frustrated sigh and listening to Goku's following words.
"I'll make a wager with you, Cell," Goku spoke up, fists tightening, "I'll fight you first if you don't harm her, and if you leave everyone out of this for the next 9 days until the tournament…that includes today. Understand?"
Cell's smirk widened, allowing a deep, hearty laugh to escape his mouth and lungs, "Very well Goku, I accept your wager. I promise I won't hurt her, nor anyone else…as long as they keep their distance."
Sayah watched as Goku, who seemed satisfied with this, disappeared into thin air without a trace. Her jaw dropped and she quickly looked around, trying to find out where he'd gone, when she heard Cell whisper an 'I must ask him where he learned that,' causing her to remember their close proximity and tense up, a breath catching in her throat.
Cell felt her tense up again, and he looked down at her, suddenly noticing her exposed neck and the slightly plunging neckline of her v-neck shirt. It didn't take long for him to discern the flush on her cheeks as well as exactly how close her body was pressed against his, and he tried to quell the strange feelings that rose up within him before roughly letting her go, almost pushing himself away from her. He'd had the sudden urge to touch the bare skin on her neck, not roughly like he'd done moments earlier, but softly and tenderly so he could know what it felt like, and to admire the smooth and soft complexion of the petite female so close to him. He didn't do so, of course, and as soon as the compulsion had come, it was gone, more so from him suppressing it than anything else.
He walked back to his usual spot on the arena floor, which wasn't too far from where they'd been standing, and turned his back to her, crossing his arms as if nothing had happened.
Sayah caught herself after her stumble forward from Cell letting go, and she tried to catch her breath as the previous moments' events replayed in her mind. "What the hell…what just happened? I guess that blonde guy was Goku…I can't believe he actually trusts Cell to keep his word," She thought, her gaze moving to look at Cell's back, which was now facing her, "He did seem pretty strong, though. I guess if he can take Cell at his word, so can I…although I'm sure I'll find out sooner rather than later." She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck tentatively before heading over to pick up the muffins Cell had so rudely slapped away, "Lucky for me they're individually wrapped, so as long as they're not pulverized into crumbs they should be fine…I hope." She pursed her lips to one side, glaring at Cell's back as she sauntered past him, hips swaying to and fro as she jumped off the arena and onto the grass. This was going to be a very long 9 days…
Author's Note: Well, what did you guys think? As usual, please let me know your comments in a review, and if you have time, let me know how saucy/spicy/sexy/etc I should make the *intimate* moments in the story. ;) Ask and you shall receive! There's a chance that CH4 will be longer than usual depending on how far I want to get in those 'moments' before deciding to split into another chapter, but I'm not sure yet. Just a heads up, in case it happens.
Anyway, many hugs to you all!
~SinTotchi