CHAPTER SEVEN:
Kuroi watched Kintoun warily. "So now what?" she asked her twin who was pulling each of the seven dragon balls out of their packs and placing them beside each other on the ground. Shiroi's head popped up to regard her sister, then her eyes flickered to the cloud that Kuroi was standing next to.
"Oh, Kintoun? You can send it away: we don't need it anymore. After we're fused, we can train here until the Tenka Ichi Budokai." Kuroi nodded in quasi-understanding.
Shiroi returned to messing with the dragonballs while Kuroi tried to send it away.
Kuroi lifted a hand and wafted it at the cloud. The cloud quivered for a moment before settling down again. Bolder, Kuroi placed her hand on the cloud and pushed. The cloud puttered away for pace and then stopped to hover, undisturbed. Kuroi's black eyebrows furrowed. Stomping to the cloud she grabbed the cloud and shoved. Kintoun flew in the direction Kuroi had shoved with rapid speed, then slowed and puttered to a stop. Kuroi screamed in frustration. "Shi-chan, it won't go away!"
Shiroi glanced up at her sister, and then at Kintoun a fair distance away from the both of them. "Well that's a start. Gokuu-sama told us that if we wanted Kintoun to call its name."
Kuroi glared at the still present cloud. "Well, we don't want it anymore."
Shiroi considered Kintoun for a moment. "Maybe say its name backwards."
Kuroi scrunched up her nose. "Nuotnik?"
Shiroi watched the unmoving cloud. She turned to her twin. "Did you tell it to go away?"
Kuroi thought this over. "No."
Shiroi called out to the cloud. "Kintoun, go away!"
After a pause, Kintoun shot off towards the sky. Kuroi glared after it while Shiroi returned to the dragonballs.
"Now what?" Kuroi asked, joining her sister by the dragonballs.
Shiroi glanced at her sister from the corner of her eyes and raised her hands into the sky. " Arise, Great Dragon, and grant my wishes!"
Kuroi tensed as the sky darkened and the dragonballs began to glow. Before Kuroi could even gasp, a bolt of lighting struck up into the sky from the now blinding bright dragonballs and the dragon appeared.
Kuroi made a noise of awe. "That's the dragon?!" Kuroi shouted, her neck craned back to take in as much of the dragon as she could. "Woohoo, he's huge!"
The dragon's rumbling voice stroke fingers down Kuroi's spine. "I will grant any two wishes. What is your wish?"
Shiroi took a deep breath, a hand held up to forestall her sister. "Shenlon, I wish for my sister, Kuroi, and I, Shiroi, to be fused into one person!"
Kuroi pouted at her twin for not allowing her to make the wish. She was about to voice her opinion when something pulled at her, and then slammed into her side.
Pain sliced up and down her body. The light was too bright, and the air too strong, too stifling. She couldn't breathe deep enough, but she had too much breath in her lungs. Her head clamored with two sets of thoughts, and twice as much pain. Her eight limbs melted into four.
The world righted itself within minutes.
She panted in both fear and exhilaration. She survived it? She hadn't died?
Shenlon's both foreign and familiar voice filled the air around them. "Your wish has been granted. Do you have any more wishes?"
With a smirk, she told him she had no others and watched in awe as Shenlon retreated to the dragonballs, and then the hovering stones shot off in all directions to recuperate.
Kuroi's mind danced giddily beside Shiroi's.
It worked Shi-chan! Kuroi wanted to do flips. The body that housed both Kuroi and Shiroi remained still. Shiroi's mind was affectionately amused, but unwilling to do flips. Kuroi settled down, and enjoyed the shared feeling of success.
She lifted her head and howled to the skies. "Now nothing can stop us!"
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"Ah, finally," Dende stated at no one in particular.
It was Popo who listened. "Has it happened?"
Dende nodded, grinning over at his assistant. "Yes. Gokuu-san loaned Kintoun to them so their trip was much faster and easier." Dende looked back down at the joyous twins; now one person. "Influencing Gokuu-san is very easy. Normally he doesn't need it, but in this case, I'm not quite sure if it was his will or mine for them to have use of the cloud. Gokuu-san truly is pure hearted. He helps anyone who needs it."
Nodding, Popo also gazed down at Chikyuu. "It is why he is the true savior of Earth."
This time Dende nodded. "Yes. He is the heart and spirit of Chikyuu. Perhaps this is why he helped the twins. He already knows, somewhere deep within himself, that they are essential to the flow of Chikyuu's history. Gokuu-san will not live forever. But he has influenced eternity to come."
"What happens now?"
Dende closed his eyes, a smile on his lips. "I've kept someone asleep while the twins were fusing. It's time for them to wake up."
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Dark blue eyes flashed open, as he sat up abruptly. Sweat had formed across his features and he panted, eyes now squeezed shut.
"Kuso," he muttered in an odd double voice.
Taking a deep breath, he sighed out the built up tension in his shoulders and reflected upon his nightmare. His brow furrowed as he sensed an unusual ki suddenly manifest nearby. Is that what had woken him? Standing, he brushed dust off his gray pants and went to investigate.
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The fused twins looked down, raising their - now her - hands to inspect her new form.
Her skin was neither the deep tan of Shiroi or pale whiteness of Kuroi. The wish had blended the two into a common shade of flesh. She turned her hand, continuing her inspection. A new power surged through her. She could feel it, down to her bones. A section of hair fell over her shoulder, and she took a bit of it to inspect it as well. Like her skin, it had blended the black of Kuroi's hair, and the white of Shiroi's hair into a pleasant silver that glimmered brightly in the sun. She guessed that her eyes had also been blended, creating some usual shade of blue. Dropping the bit of hair, she looked up and smiled.
Su-sugee! Kakkoi! Kuroi regarded her twin's mind, an intense desire to jump up and down again bubbling out of her. Isn't this great?!
Shiroi, also excited, but certainly more reserved, agreed. I didn't know exactly what to expect. This is far beyond what I had been imagining.
What shall we call ourselves?
Shiroi pondered this for a moment before finally answering. Giniro.
Perfect! I can see it now. "The world champion fighter, amazon warrior Giniro!"
Silent, Shiroi allowed her sister to voice her fantasies about being the strongest in the world and stomping on every male in existence. Instead of contributing to her images, she inspected the minute details of Giniro's body. Being as Kuroi and Shiroi were identical twins, ignoring their coloring, Giniro's body was very comfortable. Her senses were more acute, and even with the tiny motions she had already made, Shiroi could tell her reflexes and speed were increased. Even separate the twins were a match for a large group of seasoned male fighters. Now, fused, there was nothing to stand in their way; aside from a gun. With how she felt Shiroi was sure she could probably even dodge a bullet.
... right, Shi-chan?
Having been distracted, Shiroi had been ignoring her twin's ravings. Sorry what?
I said we should start training right away for the Tenka Ichi Bodokai.
Oh, yes we should. With this, Giniro's eyes refocused from her inner dialog and looked around. "Which way is the Tenka Ichi Bodokai, 'cause here I come."
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Trejiita scowled as he focused on the ki source. Swerving through some trees, he ducked under a low hanging branch to avoid making noise. Ah, one of the quirks of being able to fly.
Slowing to a hover, he eased his weight to the ground, carefully avoiding dry leaves and their noise. Peering from behind a tree, he noticed a sizable clearing. There in the middle, with her back to him, stood a silent figure.
He narrowed his eyes, observing the stranger. Yes, this was the source of the unusual ki. He tilted his head in thought. Her ki was certainly human. Or at least it seemed human. It had the familiarity of Chikyuu blood, but it wavered and seemed almost... beautiful to him. He scowled sharply. Beautiful, my arse. With ki like that, no matter how human-like it seems, she must be an alien. A threat to Chikyuu?
Creeping closer, he moved to another tree, hoping to get a better look at her features. He nearly jumped out of his skin when she spoke.
"Which way is the Tenka Ichi Bodokai, 'cause here I come."
What is she, psychic?! Quickly he leaned against the tree he was hiding behind and crossed his arms. If he was caught, he might as well not let her know he was trying to hide.
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Giniro turned, a huge self-satisfied smirk on her face. Her eyebrows shot up as she found she had an audience. A shorter than average man was leaning against a nearby tree, his arms and legs crossed. He had wild, deep purple hair and it rose towards the sky, split in the middle as if by lightning. Two tendrils hung from the tip of his widow's peak, falling over his face. She idly wondered how he could ignore them.
His face was hard, a scowl imprinted upon his features half hidden by a beard and mustache, and she found two orbs of dark blue staring at her. She noticed twin earrings dangling from his ears and puzzled over the fact that they were the only jewelry he wore. He wore a skintight black tank top, offering no question as to the strength of the muscles beneath, and a pair of fingerless white gloves covered his hands. A pair of gray pants graced his legs, tucked into mustard yellow boots.
"Who are you and what are you looking at?" she demanded, an odd, uncomfortable feeling forming as he continued to stare at her.
His eyes narrowed, regarding her. "I'm called Trejiita."
She scowled sharply. This... this male dared to treat her like this?! So wrapped up in his disrespect, she dismissed his unusual double voice. "You better run away before you get hurt," she warned.
Faintly, a smirk grew on his lips. "You can't hurt me even if you wanted to." His eyes remained narrowed, watching for any changes in her unusual ki. What is she? Human or not?
Kuroi's brash nature flared, barely kept in check by her twin. This male really is a dense one. You'd think he was challenging us!
Giniro stared silently at him; eyes slightly unfocused as Kuroi and Shiroi debated this male.
Huffing and pride pricked, Kuroi addressed her twin. Want to test ourselves?
Shiroi regarded the stranger for a moment before replying. Sounds like fun. It'd be a good chance to figure out our limits.
Forget limits; let's kick his cocky arse out of here! At this, Giniro's eyes narrowed. "Well then, let's find out just how much I can hurt you." Lowering into a stance, she locked onto her target. "Get ready."
Trejiita uncrossed his arms; smirk completely vanished from his face. Disturbed by her increase in ki, he scowled. Fists tightening, he stood his ground, watching and waiting for her attack. He prepared himself, hoping that she wasn't a legitimate threat to Chikyuu.
Giniro eyed the male warily. Despite her recent creation, she was still unsure of her abilities. And this male, no matter how typical he may appear, still struck something odd in her. He didn't look like every other male she had seen in her journeys as Kuroi and Shiroi; his eyes were definitely too sharp to be normal. Biting down her Shiroi logic, Giniro tensed her muscles, and pressed away from the ground, startling even herself with her new speed. With fist extended, she charged.
Trejiita flew backwards at the force of the hit, landing roughly against a tree, cracking the trunk a bit. Slowly he rose his head, watching her as she stared at her fist in awe. Has she never punched someone before? Using his glove, he wiped the trickle of blood forming at the corner of his mouth. He had let her punch him - he wanted to see her power before doing anything rash.
He stood, still watching her as she continued to stand and stare at her fist. His eyes narrowed. She surprised him with her speed; no human should be that fast. He was also surprised by the power in her punch. A typical human would have broken their hand on his jaw, not draw blood. He must certainly keep himself guarded - he still didn't know the extent of her powers. She may even have psychic powers. After all, she had caught him with his ki lowered and completely silent. As a safeguard, he rose a mental shield.
Giniro's mind buzzed. Kuroi, if she still had her own body, would have been standing slack-jawed.
Did... did you see that?!
Mutely and equally shocked, Shiroi expressed an affirmative.
Certain of herself and confidence surging, Giniro looked up at her victim. Her eyes widened slightly when she found him standing a distance away. Standing?!
"Not bad," she said, body straightening. "You're stronger than I thought you would be." He narrowed his eyes, almost calculatingly, and curled his fists. Taking the cue, Giniro charged once more.
Trejiita fell into a pattern of blocking that was disconcertingly familiar. He looked closer at her style as she attacked him. So familiar... I've seen this style before. But where? It couldn't be...
His train of thought was effectively broken as his opponent screamed in frustration and thrust her hand in front of his face. He had barely enough time to blink when a flash of light blinded him.
Giniro half smirked as Trejiita flew back, face steaming lightly. Trejiita growled as he stood. She knows ki?! Deciding he was done observing, he charged at her. Giniro didn't even have time to finish her smirk when a sharp pain lanced across her jaw. Flying backwards, she heaped into a pile, blood trickling down her chin.
Unlike Trejiita, it took her a long while to stand. Head hanging, she gingerly touched the offended area. Wincing, she scrunched her face up and formed a semi-scowl. "... Ite." Giniro stood and frowned at the male in front of her. Rage overcame her at his ability to cause her to express any statement of pain.
Hoping to catch him off-guard, she sprung from the ground, using her father's favorite tactic. With her arms and legs tucked in, she leapt at him. Feigning a punch, she fell to the ground, sweeping her legs under him. Raising and pulling them in, she waited for his body to fall so she could plant her feet into his back. When it didn't, shock tugged at her features. "Nani?!"
Giniro met with a solid kick to the side, again sending her flying. Curling into a ball, she cradled her aching body.
Kuroi's mind seethed, incredulous that this male could defeat her. No, this can't be happening! Giniro writhed. This male is stronger than us! Even after fusing, it CAN'T be!
Shiroi remained silent; the implications of defeat grinding into her.
I don't wanna be married yet! Kuroi whined.
With much effort, Giniro pulled herself to her feet and glared at Trejiita. He watched as she stood, face schooled and inexpressive except for a pointed scowl. She's weaker than I thought. I've only hit her with my weakest attacks. She's stronger than a normal human, but she's certainly no threat.
He lifted an eyebrow in curiosity as her face went through several stages of emotion, varying from anger to consent and back again. Finally, her face scrunched up and she yelled at him. "Bakayaro, idiot, I hate you, you're no good, so there!" Taking her shredded pride she stormed off, leaving a very confused and slightly amused Trejiita in her wake.
Turning himself, he smirked. "Ke, stupid humans."
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Giniro stomped her foot in a very Kuroi like fashion and she scowled. Squatting down, she picked up a stick and poked at the ground only to drop it and then sit with her arms and legs crossed.
Ku-chan, we have to go back.
I don't want to!
We're amazons. He defeated us in battle. According to the law, we are to be married, and there's nothing we can do about it except challenge him again, and you and I both know what the outcome of that will be.
Giniro's lips pouted as Kuroi responded. But he's stupid! I don't like him!
It doesn't matter if you like him or not, Ku-chan. Remember what Mama told us about Papa? She didn't like him at first either.
I'll never like him, though!
Giniro sighed. Here's what we can do. We'll go back, have him fulfill his duty as a husband and have him train us. When we've finally surpassed him in strength, we can challenge him again and dissolve the marriage.
What about the Tenka Ichi Bodokai? We're supposed to be there!
We can go next time, Ku-chan. Right now, this is more important.
Biting her lower lip, Giniro stood. Fine. But I'm not having any brats with him.
Eyes focused, she quietly snuck back to the clearing just in time to see Trejiita walking away. Giniro's lips pursed and she crept after him.
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Dende sighed, exhausted. Giniro was much tougher to influence than he had first surmised, about as tough as Trejiita when it came to that department. He could tell he was going to have a hard time with these two. A voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Has it happened yet?" Popo asked.
Looking to his companion on Kami's Tower, he slowly shook his head. "No, Mister Popo, it hasn't. We have to wait a while longer before Trejiita can be discovered. He still has an important task."
Content to waiting, the patient Popo wandered back over to the garden, tending to the flower buds peeking out of the ground. Dende looked down at Chikyuu. Face serious, he sighed yet again. "So much waiting."
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Trejiita dusted his pants free of the dirt that had accumulated there during his "fight" with the nameless girl. Despite her unusualness, he figured he was still mindless to believe she was a threat in the first place. Ah well, one less chance for exposure.
Starting in the direction he had come from, he tensed as he felt her ki grow near again. Curious but not quite concerned enough to confront her again, he continued on his way. To his interest, she persistently kept close enough to have him in eyesight, yet just far enough away for the average human to not detect. Too bad I'm Saiyajin and can sense her halfway across the world. If I ignore her, she'll eventually lose interest and go away.
To his annoyance, however, by the time sunset had rolled around she was still following him. Hoping she wouldn't bug him, he set up camp. Irritated, he constructed and started a fire the old fashioned way. He didn't want her to know about his ki powers. Trejiita hunted a large dinosaur and set it up, leaning against a tree while it cooked. A waft of air - thick with the scent of heated meat - fanned under his noise and his stomach growled loudly in response. Trejiita sorely lamented that he couldn't just ki fry the monster and eat it that second. He closed his eyes and sighed. It was going to be a long night.
Small snapping noises caught his attention and he watched a glint of silver flicker in between a gathering of trees bob closer, hesitate, and then rush forward again. Trejiita lifted an eyebrow as the girl who had been discreetly following him until now dug a foot into the ground and kicked.
The large wave of dirt and rocks easily topped his head and was aimed both him and the fire. Squeezing his eyes closed, Trejiita waited for the wave to crash on him. Running was undignified.
When he opened his eyes again, he found the silver haired girl eating his dinosaur in front of the now non-existent fire which was covered by several layers of dirt.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, woman!?" Trejiita barked, lunging forward to snatch the haunch she held to her mouth. Giniro twisted her food out of the way of Trejiita's grasping hands, and thrust a foot out which was meant to catch him in the stomach and keep him at bay.
Trejiita easily bat her leg aside and leaned farther forward in his attempt to retrieve his meal. Giniro twisted the leg of the dinosaur the other way and up into the air. She placed her other hand underneath her, as her pivot, while she swept a leg underneath the angry male.
Trejiita made a started yelp as he teetered forward. Giniro quickly realized that he was going to crush her if she didn't move and before she could decide otherwise, forfeited her claim on the dinosaur and shoved the meat into Trejiita's mouth. The move effectively stopped his decent long enough for Giniro to roll away from him and scamper towards the dinosaur to rip free the other haunch.
Quicker than Giniro, Trejiita latched onto her ankle while she was scampering and pulled. Dirt, sticks, and rocks scraped her palms and knees raw as she pressed all four of her limbs to the ground, trying to make her body heavier and slow her progression towards the purple haired male.
Once it was within grasping range, Trejiita grabbed Giniro's hip, and then a handful of thick, silver hair, wrenching the girl's head back uncomfortably.
With his free hand, Trejiita took the leg of the dinosaur from his mouth and scowled ferociously at Giniro.
"Who are you and what do you think you're doing eating my meal?"
Giniro glared at Trejiita from the corner of her eyes. "I am an amazon warrior, and by amazon code I must marry the man who defeats me in battle. So, starting earlier today, I am your wife."
With an oath, Trejiita thrust the girl away from him as if she was on fire. Giniro stumbled a few steps away and then scowled at Trejiita, her breath coming fast from both exertion and emotions. She wanted to be married to this pompous male as much as he wanted to be married to her, but a law was a law, and duty demanded her to follow it. "And, seeing as how males can do no more than to fight over females and hunt for their families, I am eating what my husband has provided for me."
Trejiita spat viciously at Giniro's feet. "Find your own food. I am neither your husband nor willing to become him, so I suggest you take your amazon law somewhere else."
"Train me." Giniro blurted her blue eyes intense. Trejiita blinked, for a moment speechless by the randomness of her words.
"You are a strong male. I have never fought against a male so strong. I wish to be just as strong; stronger, and you can show me how."
Trejiita narrowed his eyes at the girl. "Why should I?
"As my husband, it is your du-"
"Your laws mean nothing to me. My duty does not involve you."
"Then as a warrior. Impart your wisdom to a fellow warrior. Your day will come when you can no longer fight. Teach me to be as strong as you, and I will take your place. Then your duty will involve me."
Though he did not want to admit it, the girl interested Trejiita. He'd never come across a woman with so much spirit. Save for her, but she can no longer be mine. She was manipulative, and single-minded. Persistent, and patient enough. She possessed no threat to Chikyuu, and no threat to himself. And most importantly she possessed no link to his past, and so she did not threaten to uncover him. In fact, she appeared to pose a nice form of distraction. Perhaps, even provide him with the companionship that half of him yearned for.
"You will never be as strong as me. Nothing you do, no matter how hard you train your body, no matter what lengths you go to, you will always be weaker."
"Why!?" Giniro demanded, face alive in anger. Trejiita felt a twinge of satisfaction that he wasn't the only one miffed. "You and I are no different! Females are the stronger sex. I can surpass you! And when I do, the Amazon law will no longer bind us."
"Amazons or no, female or no..."
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Dende shook his head, and continued to press his influence upon Trejiita's mind, this time with much more force. "Say it, Trejiita. Chikyuu needs you to say it..."
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"...you can never surpass a Saiyajin in strength!"
Giniro's eyes narrowed as she straightened, curious of the new word. Trejiita's nostrils flared and his eyes burned with hatred. "Saiyajin?" Giniro repeated. "Is that what makes you so different? I've never heard of your tribe..."
Trejiita stormed back to the rest of his dinner with his dinosaur thigh clutched tightly in his fist. What had come over him? Very few humans knew of the Saiyajin, and they all lived undisturbed because of it. Even though this one did not suspect that the Saiyajin were a separate species, it had been a close call.
During his meal, Trejiita stole glances at the silver haired girl who stood where he'd stormed away from, deep in thought. To disturb her thought process (the more she thought of the Saiyajin and what the implications were, the better) he shouted. "Tomorrow the training begins, woman. You better get some sleep because you'll need it."
Giniro turned around to regard the male with a grin. Kuroi settled down, her nervous energy gone now that she could move again. Shiroi's thoughts caressed her sister's like a purr. See, I told you. Pretend to have something over him and he'll give in. He thinks we know, or are coming close to finding out what a Saiyajin is. Perhaps his race is more secretive than the amazons are! It was obvious that he didn't want us to know by the way he that reacted to his own announcement. It was a lapse in judgment.
Whatever, Kuroi's thought responded. If we had to wait any longer and I would have burst!
Giniro sauntered back to the gathering of trees she had run out of and picked up two packs, one white, the other black and shouldering both she moved closer to Trejiita's back. Placing them near the seething male, she pulled a blanket from one of them and, using the other as a pillow, drifted off to sleep.