The door of the infirmary opened with a loud bang and Potuto looked up from the experiment. His little sister entered the large room and looked around with a disgusted look on her face. Without a second of thought, he pushed away all of his notes under a few books and grasped the beaker of yellow liquid tightly in his hands, hiding it from her view. Pi gazed at him with that same, familiar look of disdain that their father had and curled her tail tightly around her thin waist as she sauntered over to him.
“Otousan would like to know how things are progressing with the Earth woman. Have you completed all of the work yet?” She asked him, in a voice that implied he probably hadn’t.
She was right. He hadn’t. He and Koronu had been so caught up in the assassination plan that they he hadn’t had time to do anything with the woman that Sukuashi was so enamored with. In fact, he hadn’t even seen her since that first time. Of course, he wasn’t about to tell Pi that. If he did, she was sure to inform their father that he was incompetent and they would assign one of the other doctors to experiment on the Earthling. And he didn’t want that at all. Though he had just barely met her, he liked the woman, and felt awfully sorry for her. He knew that as far as the Saiya-jin race went, he was probably one of the very few who ever showed even an ounce of compassion show. He was afraid that if one of the other doctors was in control of ChiChi, they would treat her terribly.
“Hai, almost. I have done a great deal, but there are still a few minor adjustments I need to make to assure the best results.” He told her, hoping that she wouldn’t catch his bluff.
Luckily for him, Pi seemed too distracted to notice the fact that he was lying. She merely nodded in agreement at him. “I’ll let him know that everything should be set soon. And if I were you, Potuto, I wouldn’t waste any time finishing. He isn’t happy with you as it is.”
“Fine.” He said quickly, wanting her to leave so he could continue on with his experimentation. “I’ll go and fetch the Earth woman in a few hours.”
He turned his back on her and hoped that she would take the hint and leave, but she stayed where she was and crossed her arms doubtfully.
“Hours?” She questioned. “Is there something else more pressing than Otousan’s immediate orders, or are you just trying to be difficult?”
He knew that Pi was his little sister, and Saiya-jin families usually had close bonds, but he couldn’t help it. He absolutely hated her. He had hated her since the day that she was born --- and the fact that their own father chose to adore her only made it worse. Potuto didn’t know for sure what exactly it was that Pi did to get in their father’s good graces, but somehow, she did.
“Pi, I am very busy. I will get to the Earth woman as soon as I can.”
“You have an order, Potuto. Nothing should come before Otousan’s orders. He wants you to finish up with the woman now.” Pi insisted. “Whatever you are doing cannot be as important as what he wants.”
He was tired of arguing with her. If anything, he could just grab the woman and keep her down in the infirmary until he had finished his own experiment and was able to work on her. She was quiet enough.
“Fine. I’ll go and get her now.” He consented, grabbing his lab coat from the back of a nearby chair and shrugging himself into it. He paused then, forming a plan. “On second thought, I’ll have Okaasan retrieve her for me.”
He reached for the nearby panel and flipped up the lid, punching in Koronu’s code. “There.” He said. “I’ve summoned her. Are you happy now?”
Pi didn’t reply, but she left the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Potuto watched the door for a few moments, his ears straining to hear her footsteps walking down the hallway, then he sighed with relief. He set down the beaker on the counter top again and moved his notes out from under the pile of books.
That was close. Too close. He thought, his eyes skimming over the contents of his notes, scribbled in neat, scientific handwriting. Way too careless, he had forgotten to lock the door after he entered the infirmary today. Usually, he was very careful about keeping the notes and projects that he and Koronu had compiled in a safe hiding place. And it was a good thing too, because Pi already seemed suspicious of him. The fact that Potuto loathed their father was not exactly a secret.
He had no doubt in his mind that if Pi found out about the assassination plan, Sukuashi would find out within seconds. She may be an absolute brat, but Pi was fiercely loyal to their father. Beneath all of that loyalty though, there was something else. Something that made Potuto wonder if Sukuashi was controlling Pi or if Pi was controlling Sukuashi. Sometimes, he couldn’t help but feel as though their family and everyone else on the planet were merely pawns in some elaborate plan of Pi’s.
The door opened again, and Koronu entered, shut the door and looked at her son warily. “Isn’t this kind of a risk?” She asked. “You shouldn’t be calling me here like that. They’re going to start to wonder.”
Potuto grabbed the sheets of notes off of the countertop and waved them at her. “Don’t worry, I had another reason for calling you in here. After I show you what I’ve found, you need to go get the Earth woman and bring her back down here.”
She nodded and locked the door behind her. “Have you discovered anything yet?”
He led her over to the beaker of yellow liquid and handed her the notes, looking discouraged. “It didn’t work.”
Koronu looked up from the notes in surprise. “Not at all?”
“I tested it on myself early this morning, but it didn’t work. While the elixir did stimulate all of the senses and create strength a great deal larger than before, it is nothing compared to the kind of power that we are looking for.” He explained, and looked at her sideways. “Besides, it only lasted for a short period of time. I don’t think we could accomplish all in that short of time. It would be nearly impossible, even if we didn't manage to kill him.”
Koronu nodded at her son in agreement. “We would still have to fight anyone else in opposition to us.”
“Like Pi.” Potuto said, raising his eyebrows.
“Like Pi.” She repeated, looking deep in thought. Potuto frowned at her. Could she really murder her own daughter? As much as Potuto hated Pi, he was having a hard time with the idea of killing her. After all, she was family.
I guess all this time I’ve been hoping that she would turn herself around. He realized. He didn’t want his little sister to have to die. He didn’t want his father to either, for that matter. But there was no other way. If they wanted to stop the oppression, they had to fight back. They knew that they couldn’t leave it up to anyone else anymore. Someone had to do it before Sukuashi went beyond control.
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