The Wolf and the Ox!
Yamcha's morning started like every other since he'd moved to North City. He got up bright and early, took his shower, and then flicked through his albums before filling his apartment with the sounds of electro jazz. Yamcha lived in a fairly nice apartment and, as he danced around the kitchen in his blue bathrobe while he made himself bacon and eggs, Yamcha reflected on how fortunate he had been that none of his other friends had gotten into the "Hero for Hire" business. Not long after his and Bulma's breakup, when he was well and truly broke, Yamcha had realized that there might be a demand for people with super strength, the ability to sense energy, super speed, and flight. Sort of like a mercenary but… y'know. For the good guys.
He'd had to get his name out there first, of course. No one was going to come looking for him. After going out and looking for trouble, monsters to fight, or crises to avert; eventually people started contacting him. Drive out this gang, fight that giant snake, stop this avalanche. With his ki-sensing abilities, Yamcha could also find anyone who might be trapped or go missing during a natural disaster. It was good, steady work and it paid well. It paid his rent, it paid for his tastes in music and, although it had turned out to be a complete waste of money, it paid for his fancy gi.
Yamcha set down his breakfast and a cup of coffee and walked to the door to get the paper, just like every morning. He opened the door and nearly walked right into–
"Chi-Chi?!" Yamcha blurted in surprise as he stared up at the woman standing in his doorway. Not like every morning.
"Hello," Chi-Chi said with awkward politeness as she bowed slightly. She was still wearing her gi from the Budoukai which, if Yamcha remembered correctly, had been about a week ago. "I don't meant to impose," she continued, "But may I come in?" Yamcha nodded and moved to the side so Chi-Chi could enter his apartment. He closed the door and walked over to his record player while Chi-Chi looked around, taking the needle off the record to be polite. "You have a very nice home," Chi-Chi added as she stood in the center of the living room, clearly not wanting to sit anywhere without being told it was allowed.
"Thank you," Yamcha replied, feeling as awkward as Chi-Chi looked. "You can sit down. Make yourself comfortable." Chi-Chi smiled and nodded before sitting on the couch. "Do you want some coffee or anything? I think I have orange juice."
"I guess some coffee," Chi-Chi said, "But I really don't want to impo–" the mug was already in Chi-Chi's hands. "Oh," she said before she wrapped her hands around the warm mug and sipped it, "Thank you."
"So," Yamcha said as he sat down beside Chi-Chi, "Why did you come here?" He had the sneaking suspicion that his eggs and bacon would go cold today. "Not that I want you to leave," he quickly clarified, "I guess I'm just surprised you're here. I figured you'd have gone home." Yamcha winced when he saw the hurt expression on Chi-Chi's face, realizing he'd struck a nerve. "Is… is everything okay?"
"No," Chi-Chi told him as she let out a shaky breath. "No, everything is not okay." She took another sip as Yamcha looked at her and waited. He wasn't gonna drag whatever she wanted to say out of her. "My father… wasn't happy about my plans to marry Goku." The air hissed angrily out of her nostrils as she squeezed the mug tighter. "Something about 'The Ox line' and how it 'wasn't right' for a woman to want to fight. Even though he met my mother in–" Chi-Chi swallowed and shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I shouldn't be telling you all this. Maybe I should–" Yamcha put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.
"You clearly need to get this off your chest," he told her, "So you're not going anywhere until you say whatever it is you feel like you need to say." Chi-Chi gave a little half-smile and nodded.
"Thank you."
"Okay," Yamcha said, "So you can't go home. Fair enough, I get that. Why come here, though? How did you even find me?" Chi-Chi's smile grew a little more and she shrugged.
"I didn't know where else to go," she admitted. "You were… nice to me."
"All I did was give you a soda and sit next to you."
"It was more than anyone else did," Chi-Chi muttered with a huff. "So," she added, "I looked you up and, well," she smiled again, "You do list your address as ways for people to contact you when they need help."
"Oh yeah," he muttered while his face reddened slightly. He'd expected people to use that to mail him letters. "Hey," he said, "You said something about your mother but we never saw her at Fry-Pan Mountain. Was she… I dunno, out of town, or did something… happen?" Chi-Chi sighed sadly and looked down.
"Her name was Shishijoou," she began, "And she was as great a warrior as any man who ever lived. My father encountered her when he came to take over Fry-Pan Mountain. She was the only one who could match his strength. In the end, they reached a truce and he came to rule by her side." Then with a slight giggle she added, "Nine months later, there I was." Yamcha snickered and she smiled a little more. "I can remember when I was very small, my mother would tell me stories of warrior women on adventures and princesses who fought for themselves, who saved their kidnapped fathers and won wars. My father would laugh and smile and encourage her. He had even started to make me a suit of armor like my mother's." Chi-Chi smiled fondly at the memories before she frowned, "That was before Madaija the Serpent attacked Fry-Pan Mountain. My mother and father fought it together and managed to kill it but… but my mother died from its venom. I was… six. Maybe seven." Chi-Chi bit her lip and Yamcha put a hand on top of hers.
"I'm really sorry, Chi-Chi," he said softly. Chi-Chi nodded and squeezed his hand for a second before pulling away awkwardly as if remembering herself.
"M-my," she stopped and cleared her throat, "My father tried his best, I suppose it is fair to say. In his grief, however, he became… overprotective. Now all my stories were of princesses being saved and damsels needing heroes. My armor was left unfinished. He had a tutor brought in from the village to teach me how to be a proper lady and was always looking for a suitor, someone 'strong enough to protect me'." She huffed again and rolled her eyes, "I imagine if Son Goku had been a boy that my father would have tried to throw me at her." She took a long sip of coffee and paused before continuing, "Do you have somewhere to be today? I'd hate to hold you up or anything." Yamcha shook his head.
"Nah," he told her, "Not unless someone calls me." Chi-Chi smiled and nodded.
"Okay," she said before pausing again to remember her place. "Oh, right! Son Goku," she hissed as she squeezed the mug angrily and Yamcha winced as he saw vein-like cracks spreading across the surface. He loved that mug. Chi-Chi noticed and set it down on the table. "For as much grief as she's caused me," she admitted, "She's also responsible in a large part for how I've turned out. After all, that was when my father let me wear my armor. Unfinished as it was, my father still wanted me to to be able to protect myself on my 'quest'. When I met Goku, there was something… different about her. Something special. She was a girl like me but she could fight. More than that, she wanted to fight and there was no one to tell her 'no'. She was a girl going on a grand adventure, just like in my mother's stories. Something about that stirred something inside me, although I never could have dreamed what it was at the time."
"So what happened after Goku left?" Yamcha asked. "I mean, Roshi kinda, y'know, blew up your house." Chi-Chi grinned and they both chuckled.
"Well," she said, "We had to build our house again first. Or rather, my father paid people to build it. During that time, we stayed at an inn in the village." Something about that made Yamcha throw back his head and laugh. "What?" Chi-Chi asked. "I'm serious!" Yamcha just kept laughing and she eventually joined in, caught up by the infectious nature of his laugh.
"I-I'm sorry," Yamcha breathed out. "It's just… your dad's a big guy. How did he get in the building?"
"Not easily," Chi-Chi admitted and they laughed again. "While we were staying at the village inn, we happened to watch the 21st Budoukai on the television in the common room. That was the first time I'd seen Goku since she had left with the Dragon Ball. Watching her fighting fanned that little spark inside me and I started to think about things I normally didn't." She paused as it dawned on her how that last part might sound. When Yamcha snickered her face reddened and she nearly lobbed a couch cushion at him. "Not those kinds of thoughts!" she insisted. "I just started thinking about fighting. That I might want to fight. We heard about the Red Ribbon Army on the radio and there was a part of me that wanted to go join Goku but I had no means of reaching her. Besides that, my father was ill at the time and I had to care for him. Once he was well, I did begin my training, though."
"So how come you didn't enter the 22nd Budoukai?" Yamcha asked. Chi-Chi frowned and chewed her cheek for a moment.
"I did," she admitted, "But my performance was… embarrassing. I ran into your three-eyed friend in my first match."
"Tenshinhan."
"Right, Tenz… Tinshan… Ten." Chi-Chi sighed and shook her head, "I lasted maybe a second. I was so humiliated by my defeat that I went straight home without even trying to find Goku. Then we watched you all fight Piccolo Daimaou on the news and I saw Son Goku and…" she bit her lip and shrugged. "That was when I had my stupid little revelation. Since he didn't know the whole truth yet, my father was more than happy to support my training which made me happy as well. Especially once my growth spurt hit. I used to be such a tiny little thing."
'That's putting it mildly,' Yamcha thought, though he wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud where it might be misconstrued. He'd rather not get put through his own roof. Then he'd have to pay for it.
"Well," Chi-Chi said wearily, "You know the rest. So now–" Yamcha's cell phone chimed suddenly.
"Crap," he muttered, "I'm sorry. Hang on." He twisted around on the couch and called down the hallway. "Puar!" he shouted. "Can you get that?" Puar came puttering down the hallway out of Yamcha's room while still wearing his sleeping cap.
"Good morning, Yamcha," he grumbled groggily as he grabbed the phone. "Good morning, giant Chi-Chi." He handed Yamcha the phone and puttered back down the hall.
"Giant Chi-Chi?" she asked. Yamcha shrugged as he looked at his phone.
"Like you said, growth spurt." Chi-Chi couldn't help but snicker as Yamcha scrolled through his phone.
"Did you get a text?" she asked.
"Nah," Yamcha said as she held his phone up to her, "I got a notification on my app." Chi-Chi blinked as she stared at the screen. It had a picture of Yamcha grinning while giving two thumbs up and said "Yamcha's Hero Service: When You're in Trouble, Send for the Wolf!" in a poppy, vibrant font. There were fields beneath the font for location, nature of disaster, and how quickly Yamcha would be needed.
"You have an app?"
"Well sure," Yamcha said as he got up from the couch. "What small business doesn't?" It was Puar's idea. In fact, he'd made it! He walked into his room and came back out wearing his orange and green bandit gear. No sense dirtying up one of his gis for this job. "I've gotta go, there's a town in a valley south of North City that's having some pretty nasty weather. The mayor's worried about a mudslide and wants me to evacuate the populace. You're welcome to stay here if you–"
"Can I come?" Chi-Chi blurted out. Yamcha stared at her for a moment and her face flushed slightly to resemble a peach in color. What was she saying? Yamcha wasn't going on a field trip, people's lives could be at stake! Still, she wanted to go. She wanted to help if she could and do something.
"Sure," Yamcha said with a shrug. Why not? She was pretty strong so it wasn't like he'd be taking someone who'd just get in the way. "Can you fly?" he asked. Chi-Chi shook her head. "Do you have a car?" Still no. "...How did you get here?"
"I… jump really well," she said with more than a touch of awkwardness. Yamcha stared at her for a moment before he shrugged and made his way for the door.
"Then let's get a move on, Jump Girl."
OoOoOoO
To say that the weather was bad would be the understatement of the decade, right behind "Piccolo Daimaou was not very nice." Rain was coming down in sheets as the winds howled and the crash of thunder was nearly deafening. Yamcha and Chi-Chi frowned up at the hill above the town and Yamcha was already able to see the mud rushing down towards them.
"I'll try to hold it back!" Yamcha shouted above the wind and thunder. "You get the civilians to higher ground!" Chi-Chi nodded as Yamcha flew off. She turned to look back at the town and, not knowing how else to do it, started knocking on doors. When people opened their doors, she would grab them by the collar and pull them out of their homes.
"Hold on tight!" she shouted to be heard and tucked them under her arms like luggage before jumping high into the air, maybe half a mile or so. Her eyes swept over the terrain and looked for a safe place to put the screaming civilians. She found a raised plateau that was just a bit taller than the roofs of the houses and was, hopefully, wide enough to fit the entire populace. She landed on it and gently set the people down before jumping back to the town. She sure hoped Yamcha could buy her plenty of time.
Yamcha was ripping any large trees or boulders out of the ground that he could find and stacking them up to try to create some kind of dam or fortification that would hold back the mudslide. He wasn't an engineer but he was pretty sure this would work. No sooner had Yamcha finished laying down his fortifications, however, than the weather suddenly got even worse and the mudslide rushed forward like a raging rapid. It caused the dam to burst apart, now picking up rocks and trees in its wake. Yamcha swore under his breath and ripped the tallest tree he could find out of the ground and slammed it down horizontally to try and hold back the tide as it rushed down toward the village. What Yamcha had forgotten to take into account was that the ground under him was also mud. He lost his footing and let out a curse as he was suddenly swallowed up by the mud. It would have been easy enough to fly out of the mud… if it wasn't for one of the boulders he'd pulled out clocking him in the head and knocking him loopy.
Chi-Chi saw Yamcha, or more accurately a patch of orange and green, disappear under the mudslide and her eyes went wide with worry. She had to help him but there was still about half the town that hadn't gotten clear yet! She fretted, glancing back and forth between the town and the hill before she was struck by inspiration. She grabbed the flat roof of one of the houses and ripped it off the house with a grunt.
"Sorry!" she called as the laid the roof down. "Come on, everybody get on!" The townspeople quickly piled onto the roof and bunched together tightly to make enough room for everyone. Chi-Chi hoisted the roof overhead and jumped, depositing the people onto the plateau when she landed. Then she jumped back to the town and jumped again to land on the hill, pushing herself along and trudging through the mud. She'd swum through worse, after all. She found a hand sticking out of the mud and, hoping there was still a body attached to it, grabbed and pulled. Yamcha came out with the hand and was coughing and sputtering as Chi-Chi jumped back to the town.
"Did… did you get everyone?" Yamcha asked as he caught his breath.
"Yeah," Chi-Chi said as her gaze turned back the the onrush of mud and debris, "But now what do we do?" Yamcha looked up as stinging rain whipped at his face and shrugged.
"I have an idea," he replied, "I just didn't know if I was strong enough to make it work." Chi-Chi put a hand on his shoulder and nodded.
"You can do it," she assured him. Yamcha nodded and bent his legs as he brought his hands down to his side.
"Not like I have a lot of options at this point," he muttered under his breath as the energy began to build. "Kaaaameeeehaaaameeeee…" Yamcha let his energy build for a few seconds more as it rushed closer. "Haaaa!" he thrust out his hands and the red-white beam blasted forward to meet the mud and blasted it apart, sending a spray high into the air and cutting a trench into the hillside. Yamcha sighed and the crisis seemed to be averted… until the rain and the winds kicked up even worse than before.
"Oh, come on!" Chi-Chi cried out in exasperation. Yamcha squinted up at the clouds. Something wasn't right about this…
Then they heard it. Above the wind and the rain and the thunder, they heard a terrible roar. There was a rolling, coiling shape visible when the lightning flashed. It slowly poured out of the clouds, a sinewy red body with malevolent black-and-yellow eyes.
"Is that…" Yamcha muttered.
"A giant, flying snake?" Chi-Chi finished. The serpent opened its massive jaws wide and let out a terrible hiss. "Is it controlling the weather?" she asked. The serpent's mouth opened wider and, where certain snakes might shoot venom, lightning shot out of its mouth.
"I'm gonna guess that's a yes," Yamcha said. He looked at Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi looked at him. They nodded and leaped into the air with a battle cry, Chi-Chi leading with a kick and Yamcha flying with both fists out. The snake reared its head back and lunged.
OoOoOoO
"So," Chi-Chi said as she laid the massive fang on Yamcha's kitchen table with a "Thunk", "What should I do with this?" They were both showered and dressed in freshly-washed clothes, although their hair were still wrapped in towels.
"Hollow it out?" Yamcha suggested with a shrug. "Could make a pretty sweet horn." Chi-Chi grinned at the suggestion and looked the fang over as if inspecting it. "Y'know," Yamcha said, "Maybe I could teach you how to fly. Just so you don't have to jump everywhere."
"I'd like that," Chi-Chi said. They both smiled and Yamcha was about to say something when their stomachs began to growl.
"Guess I'll make somethin' for dinner," Yamcha muttered, realizing that he'd never eaten breakfast. Or lunch.
"No," Chi-Chi said as she moved towards the kitchen, "Let me. I'm the one who barged in and made your breakfast go cold." Yamcha moved into her path and folded his arms over his chest.
"No guest of mine is going to make me dinner. I'm a big boy, I can cook for myself."
"Really," Chi-Chi said as she stepped forward again to loom over him, "I insist."
"So do I," Yamcha said, not intimidated by the fact that she was taller than him. His ki was still stronger than hers, after all. Not that he really wanted to fight about something like food.
"Why don't you both make dinner?!" Puar called from down the hall. "For crying out loud!" They stared at each other with the dawning realization that this was, in fact, a thing they could do and were reduced to helpless snickering as they made their way into the kitchen.
"That," Yamcha said one incredibly filling meal later, "May be the best bowl of beef and rice I've eaten in my entire life." Chi-Chi blushed and waved a hand.
"Stop," she begged, "I should be the one complimenting you. I don't think I've ever had crab dumplings like that." Now it was Yamcha's turn to blush.
Puar burped.
Yamcha and Chi-Chi laughed again before Chi-Chi stretched and stifled a yawn.
"It's getting late, isn't it?" she muttered to herself as she looked out the window at the night sky. "I should get going." She started to get up when Yamcha put a hand on her shoulder.
"No," he said, "You can crash here, it's fine." Chi-Chi stared at him for a moment and he held his hands up innocently. "Not like you have someplace else to go, right? I'll sleep on the couch." Chi-Chi shook her head.
"Oh, Yamcha, I couldn't–"
"It's fiiiine," Yamcha insisted. "I fall asleep on this thing as often as I do my bed, anyway. Besides, I'm not making you sleep on the couch." Chi-Chi smiled and bowed her head appreciatively.
"Thank you," she said softly. Yamcha smiled back and gave Chi-Chi a pat on the arm.
"You stay here as long as you need."
OoOoOoO
Two weeks later, Yamcha (in undershirt and boxers) turned to Chi-Chi (in her underwear and a nightgown Yamcha had bought her after the first week) in bed and propped his chin on his hand as he looked at her.
"Hey," he said softly as he nudged her slightly with his other arm. Chi-Chi grumbled and stretched, just waking up.
"Hhhwhat is it?" she asked with a yawn.
"What do you think you'll do now?" he asked. He hadn't really thought about it before. They'd been working and talking about their pasts and cooking and just doing everything but having the conversation that he suddenly realized was fairly important.
"Finish waking up and make a cup of coffee," Chi-Chi mumbled sarcastically as she arched her back. Yamcha rolled his eyes and nudged her again.
"You know what I meant," he said. "I mean what are you going to do? Now that the whole Goku thing's…" Chi-Chi winced as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and Yamcha quickly tried to keep the conversation moving. Son Goku was still a touchy subject. "Are you gonna go out looking for an adventure? You could gather the Dragon Balls. Won't be much competition." He smirked and sat up as she did. "I'm pretty sure we're all Dragon Balled out." Chi-Chi chuckled and ran her hands through her long, black hair; fluffing it and giving herself a terrible case of bedhead that made Yamcha laugh.
"No," Chi-Chi said with a shake of her head while she ignored his laughter, "I don't think so. There's nothing I really want from the Dragon Balls at this point." She pulled her knees to her chest and sighed. "I don't really know," she muttered. "I want to adventure and I want to fight and I want to be bold but…" she chewed her lip and shook her head. "Never mind."
"No," Yamcha said as he scooted around to sit in front of her, "But what? Tell me." Chi-Chi sighed again and looked at him.
"I guess the stories my father read me after my mother died and those people he hired to tutor me… I don't know. Some part of it really got to me. I want to be a wife and a mother and take care of a home and everything, too." She shook her head and looked down again. "That doesn't make any sense, does it?"
"No," Yamcha replied, "I mean, no it does. Er… yes. What I mean is yes." Chi-Chi giggled and Yamcha groaned as he ran a hand over his face. "I mean… you wanna know what I wanted the Dragon Balls for?" Chi-Chi nodded. "I wanted Shenron to wish away my being scared of girls." Chi-Chi let out a titter of laughter and Yamcha frowned. "I'm serious!" he insisted, which just made her laugh more. "I'm just saying, I wanted normal stuff, too. A girlfriend, who'd be a wife and stuff, and… and I wanna be a dad. I never had one." Chi-Chi stopped laughing and looked at Yamcha with soft eyes as she laid a hand on top of his.
"Yamcha…" she said softly. Yamcha took her hand and squeezed it.
"I don't remember… anything of my family," he told her. "I just remember the desert. The wolves. Sometimes I see faces but… I don't know their names. I don't know how I got my name or where I'd even find them." Chi-Chi squeezed Yamcha's hand and moved her face closer to his. Yamcha froze, not sure what he should do. Should he move in? Would that be taking advantage of her? Or would it be worse to move away and reject her?
The decision was taken away from him when the "Wolf and Ox" rescue app dinged on his phone and Chi-Chi stopped.
"Better get that," she said with an expression that was both amused and annoyed. Yamcha nodded and twisted around in bed to reach for his phone.
"Shit!" he swore as he looked at the phone and scrambled out of bed. "We got a runaway train!" Chi-Chi ran after him as he hop-ran his way out of the building while trying to pull on his pants.
OoOoOoO
Another six months passed. By this time, Chi-Chi had an entire new wardrobe once they'd realized that she wasn't going anywhere. Also, by this time, the pair had settled into something of a daily routine. They'd get up every morning and go for a brisk fifty-mile run before making breakfast. Then they'd start getting work and they'd intersperse that through the day with talking, cooking, training, and watching TV.
Today, though, they spent one of their rare slow days lying in bed. Yamcha was sitting on Chi-Chi's back and rubbing her shoulders, which she was enjoying very much.
"Yamcha," she muttered into her pillow in a blissful and eased tone.
"Yeah?"
"You know… whoever I get married to inherits my father's kingdom and fortune, right?"
"Huh," Yamcha said without ever breaking stride, "Neat." Chi-Chi suddenly twisted around and Yamcha gave a yelp of surprise as Chi-Chi was on top of him and trying to kiss him. Every suitor her father tried to set her up with was always interested in the title or the wealth or what she could… do for them when she was older but Yamcha didn't care. To him, she was just… Chi-Chi and that was good enough. Between that and everything else he'd done for her in the last six months, that was more than enough.
"Wait," Yamcha said as he put a hand to Chi-Chi's shoulder and easily held her back, "Chi-Chi… wait. Before we do anything else, I have to tell you something." He chewed on his lip and seemed to be clearly struggling with whatever it was that he just had to tell her. "I… I wasn't entirely honest about my time as a bandit. I may have… no, I definitely killed people." There was only a moment's hesitation.
"How long ago was this?"
"About… eight years ago, maybe?"
"And have you killed anyone since?" Yamcha shook his head. "Instead," Chi-Chi pointed out, "You fought the Red Ribbon Army and Piccolo Daimaou and tried to save the world. You can't change your past, Yamcha, but it doesn't mean you never change your present. It doesn't define what you are." Yamcha stared at her for a moment and suddenly slid out from under her. "Where are you going?" she asked with a hint of worry. Had she said the wrong thing?
"This needs to be perfect," he told her as he walked over to his record player and flitted through some albums. He put one on on the player and laid down the needle. The music kicked in and he started swaying his hips in time as he walked closer to her. Chi-Chi couldn't help but shake her head and laugh.
'What're you–" Yamcha put a finger to her lips as he pulled her out of bed and onto her feet.
"Shhh, shh, shh, shhhhh. Don't talk. Just… feel the music. Let it move you." Chi-Chi rolled her eyes yet still found her hips moving in time with his all the same. They moved closer and closer to each other as the voice on the recording sang.
"Hail with it baby, 'cause you're fine and you're mine and you look so divine," their lips finally met. "Come and get your love!" It was slow and tender and passionate. Their first kiss. The first of many things they'd share that day. "Come and get your love!"
OoOoOoO
Three years had passed since Chi-Chi showed up on Yamcha's front porch. It had been a whole three weeks since their wedding. As Yamcha shaved that morning, he reflected while looking into his reflection. Asking for Ox King's blessing had seemed an absurdly terrifying prospect but, to his surprise, the guy was just a big softy. He even let Yamcha call him "Dad" and "Pops". It had taken more than a little convincing on Yamcha's part to let Chi-Chi invite Suno and Goku. It had also surprised no one that Bulma wasn't in attendance. Woman could hold a grudge. What had been a surprise was that Puar had been able to preside over the union. One of these days, he was going to have to ask Puar where he found the time to learn all these things. Yamcha finished shaving and ran a hand over his goatee. It had been Chi-Chi's idea and he had to agree with her; it looked good.
"Yamcha!" Chi-Chi called from the living room. "I have something for you!" Yamcha grinned and, dressed in an undershirt and slacks, walked into the living room to find Chi-Chi sitting on the couch. He was surprised to see a long, black, wooden box on the table with golden hinges and clasps and a polish so high it was practically reflective.
"Well, well, well," Yamcha muttered as he looked down at the box, "It's not my birthday for another week, so what is this?" Chi-Chi smiled and stood, picking up the box in both hands.
"Call it a late honeymoon gift," she told him as he undid the clasps on the box and slowly opened it. The sight of the box's content took Yamcha's breath away. Carefully wrapped in a plush velvet lining was a sword unlike anything he had ever seen. It was a Jian with a golden hilt and intricately-carved scabbard with a white tassel at the pommel. Yamcha carefully took the sword from the box and slowly unsheathed it. The steel shone so brightly it was like a beam of light in his hand. He twirled it in his wrist and was awestruck again.
"The balance is perfect," he said with wonder. "I've never seen anything like it."
"It belonged to my mother," Chi-Chi explained. "My father wanted me to have it but, once he saw how much of a natural I was with the axe…" she shrugged and gestured to Ox King's axe, now hers, leaning against the wall by the fireplace. "I remembered that you had a sword when we met and you lost it during your fight with Piccolo Daimaou so I thought…"
"Chi-Chi," Yamcha breathed as he sheathed the sword, "I… I don't know what to say." Not having the words, he kissed her. Then they broke the kiss and he smirked. "How much should I be reading into the fact that you gave me your mother's weapon and you have your father's weapon?" Chi-Chi smirked right back and tucked a finger under his chin.
"You should read into it that a little more appreciation is in order."
"I can do that," he said with a grin and laughed as she slung him over a shoulder and carried him away. This wasn't how, or with whom, either had imagined they'd end up at this stage in their lives. But it was working out pretty great.