Blending In

Click.
"Riiiiiise and shiiiine, Satan city! This is Kreemin Shooger at SC one - oh - three - point - five! The time is seven-thirty! We have bright sunshine with lows in the mid fifties and highs in the upper eighties. We'll be back with your traffic report right after this - "
One hand searched the nightstand, located the clock and flipped off the alarm. Crisp sheets rustled in protest as a sleepy figure stirred beneath them.
Tonkeshin groaned and climbed from his comfortable bed. He'd mistakenly set the clock to play music instead of the proper wake-up message again. What a shame, his old alarm clock met an untimely death under his foot last week.
He stood up and stretched every muscle in his lean six and a half foot frame. Some joints popped into alignment, making him sigh. He reached down to adjust his silk boxers, dropped to the floor and did a few push-ups. That always woke him up.
"Another day." Tonk muttered to himself, standing up. He slid a palm along the wall until he felt cold metal and pulled. The vertical blinds clattered open, filling the room with warmth.
Tonkeshin stood at the window and let the sunlight warm him. Muffled city sounds reached him through the warm glass inches from his face. He stared blankly ahead.
Unfortunately, time didn't allow him to drink in the morning for long.
Turning away from the window, Tonkeshin headed for the closet. The business suit he'd selected for today hung on the hook inside the door. Brown, if the sales clerk had told him correctly, with a red tie and white shirt. Prodding the jacket's large buttons proved him right. He dressed himself accordingly and headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
Hm, looks like I need more toothpaste. Tonkeshin noted mentally. The rolled toothpaste tube had just enough for one last use. He set to work scrubbing his healthy teeth with the toothbrush. Making extra sure he didn't miss his sharp fangs. Brushing his teeth wasn't really a necessity, he didn't eat. But he'd learned that minty fresh breath seemed more appealing.
Water gurgled down the drain. Tonkeshin spat, rinsed and dried his face on a towel. He entered the kitchen and helped himself to a few gulps of bottled water.
At that moment, he heard the clock on the counter state, "The time is now seven forty-five."
"Egads!" Tonkeshin shoved the water bottle back into the fridge. He trailed the table with one hand until he'd cleared the kitchen.
Chains rattled as Tonk unlocked the front door. He reached to the right for his briefcase and, more importantly, his long, white cane. He held his briefcase under one arm while he located the locks with his thumb and pushed the key into each one, grumbling to himself about so many locks.
Sometimes he hated living in his cheap little fifth-floor apartment. Due to repeated robberies downstairs, more locks were installed on all the doors. At least he didn't need six different keys just to enter his own home!
A few minutes later found Tonkeshin walking briskly down the street. His cane swung gently ahead of him in an arc slightly wider than his shoulders. Its movement was as unconscious as breathing, yet it kept him informed of his environment.
Being a Namek AND blind didn't bode well for blending into a crowd. Green skin, fangs, pointed ears, antennae and hairless, protruding eyebrows did seem a little imposing. Adding a white cane to the mix only made people stare more. Especially since he'd been told his eyes seem perfectly normal from the outside and he didn't wear sunglasses(often, anyway). His gaze was always forward and alert. He felt like gawkers followed him whenever he passed an area of heavy foot traffic. Lacking sight didn't bother him in the least - he was born that way. It was the reactions of other people that drove him crazy. How ignorant could the world get? He was blind, not helpless!
Tonkeshin's mouth quirked into a half-smirk. He wondered why people asked him if he 'saw black'. What was black anyway? Tonk saw nothing. He was as conscious of nothing as a sighted person was about not seeing out the back of their head. That explanation usually made people bug off.
He breezed past a morning diner. Eggs, pancakes and many flavors of coffee assaulted his nose. Somebody was smoking a cigarette outside the door. High heels clicked on the sidewalk ahead. Shopping bags rattled. A child sneezed. Wisps of sound reached him through buildings with open doors, some blasting him with warm air. Hovercars whizzed by overhead. A bicycle buzzed around the corner.
Click-tap. Click-tap. Clank!
Tonkeshin's cane located a large metal-framed object sitting in his path. Probably an abandoned shopping cart. He wove around it without missing a beat.
"The light's green!" A female voice told him when he stopped at a curb.
"Thanks, I'll wait for the next one." Tonkeshin knew the light was already stale. It stayed green for forty seconds. Twenty had passed, if he counted right. Better to wait for the next one. He pulled his cane in and stepped back from the curb so people waiting to turn could do so.
Slowly the traffic moving across his path stopped. Engines on his left began to move. Tonkeshin waited one second more and stepped off the curb. Gasoline fumes ripped away the fresh morning air. He sneered slightly. Suddenly his cane hit cement. He automatically swept the curb once, then stepped up and continued on his way.
Grass on the right. Tonkeshin let his cane touch it each time he swung it on that side. Shorelining, sometimes that technique saved him from being hopelessly lost. The grass lasted an entire block. It ended abruptly, but a fire hydrant on his left and brick wall with an alley on the right marked the corner. He worked in the building just beyond the alley.
Satan City Radio Station. From what Tonk knew, it was a large rectangular structure with an antenna on top. Now if he could just convince people that his antennae didn't pick up radio signals. . .
Tonkeshin pulled the heavy door open and stepped inside. It was cooler in the building. Coffee, bagels, a "band-aid" smell and various different personal scents replaced the fresh morning air. His ears picked up the chorus of mumbled greetings sent his way amidst typing fingers and ringing telephones. The hello's were returned in kind.
"Tonkeshin!" Footsteps raced towards him. "Thank Heavens you're here! We need somebody to cover for Lei! He was supposed to be doing the eight o'clock broadcast and he didn't show. You think you can do it?"
"Me?" Tonkeshin's mouth went dry. His nerves instantly jumped into hyper-drive. He felt like everyone was staring at him. Several seconds passed before he remembered he could speak. "Mr. Latte...you're asking me?"
Old Spice cologne edged closer. Mr. Latte's light southern pipes broke in, "We need someone in good voice this morning. Think you can manage until ten? Cappa and Cheeno will take over after that."
Tonkeshin didn't see what was so special about his smooth baritone voice. It wasn't unique among the males on the planet. But the idea of taking the mic both excited and unnerved him. What if he messed up?
And one more problem needed attention.
"Okay...but I'll need everything I'm supposed to say embossed."
"Greg, get on it!" Mr. Latte's tone suggested a smile, "Tonkeshin, get your green butt into the studio!"
Tonkeshin swallowed a gasp. He turned his face and eyes towards his boss's voice, "Yes, sir. But why are you asking me, if I may ask?"
He startled when a beefy hand suddenly clapped on his shoulder. Mr. Latte laughed, "Because you don't mumble."
"Oh." Tonk slipped free and fumbled his way into the studio seat. His briefcase found a home near his feet. He groped for the cool metal microphone stand and drew it a little closer. I can't believe I'm about to broadcast...please if this is a dream, don't let me wake up now!
The soundproof door opened with a soft hiss. Tonkeshin inclined his head to the faint noise. He heard thick paper slap the tabletop, followed the scent of coconut hand cream.
"There, it's all in braille for ya."
Tonkeshin smiled crookedly at the friendly alto voice. "Thanks a lot, Carol." He closed one eye, "Lookin' good, by the way. Keep using that cream."
"You would know, wouldn't you?" Carol teased back, laughing. "Mr. Latte said your earphones will ping you once when you're on air and twice when you're going off. Enjoy the hot seat!" The door groaned shut.
"Thanks, I sure will," Tonk eased the heavy earphones over his smooth head. He placed his left hand on the first embossed line and let his right index finger glide quickly over the raised dots with soft swish-swish noises. His left hand dropped down to keep his place when he reached the second line. Years of experience made him a quick reader, as fast as anyone reading print. He mouthed each line as he read it, ensuring he got everything before -
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!
Too soon! Tonkeshin forced a silent breath to calm his nerves. He just prayed to Porunga that his voice wouldn't shake. His tapered digits were slightly sweaty and stuck to the dots instead of passing smoothly over them. He shifted his fingers back up to the first line anyway and read aloud, "Good morning, you're listening to SC one - zero - three - point - five. I'm Tonkeshin, in for Lei Xing. It's now eight o'clock under clear skies. Expect some haze by late afternoon. Temperature highs are expected to be in the upper eighties today. Currently it's sixty-three degrees in Nikki Town, North City checks in with fifty-nine and it's sixty-four degrees here in Satan City. Now let's get this hour going with Our Champion by the Tossed Salad Group."
Beeeeeeeep! Beeeeeeeep!
Soft rock music started playing. The ballad about how Mr. Satan beat Cell. That song was probably ten years old and still a hit.
Tonkeshin sighed and sagged back in the chair. That didn't seem too bad for his first time on the air. He might have done better with more warning.
Just when he was getting the hang of things, ten o'clock rolled around. He groaned silently at the heavily accented female voices entering the booth with him. Cappa and Cheeno just weren't his cup of tea. They talked over the beginnings and endings of songs and bantered until the commercials started. He listened to the radio for news and music, not stupid blabber.
He surrendered his seat so the girls could take over. And what thanks did he get? Someone's hand shoving his cane and briefcase at him.
"Uh, thanks, ladies." Said Tonkeshin dryly.
"You're welcome!" One of them replied. Cappa and Cheeno sounded too much alike for him to tell them apart.
Tonk exited the sound booth without another word. He walked to his rightful spot at the front desk to do his original job - answering the phones and forwarding calls. Any elation he felt earlier stayed locked behind the glass door with Cappa and Cheeno.
The computer beeped as he flicked it on. A robotic screen-reader vocalized the name of each program as it opened. Tonkeshin flipped through the selections until he located his email. "So much for being famous." He brightened, "Oh well, maybe next time."
"You have...four...new messages in your inbox." The computer read aloud.
Tonkeshin hit the tab key and listened to the titles of each message. Two were from people who sent song requests to the wrong address. The third required just a simple 'yes' reply.
He paused at the last one. Forced the computer to read it again.
It was an ad for the World Martial Arts Tournament.

Author's note: So that introduces my original character into the universe. I'm blind myself so I made my character blind. I like everyone's descriptions of Piccolo, so I made Tonkeshin a Namek. Saiyajins are so overused anyway, in my humble opinion. I also figured that writing this story from Tonkeshin's perspective might give others some idea of what life is like without sight(I really can't write any other way laughs). I hope you like it.