ChiChi wrinkled her nose in confusion. How the hell was she supposed to understand something this complicated? She flipped to another page, and studied the symbols carefully, looking for any similar symbols to the ones on the page before. They all looked completely different to her, and she really wasn’t getting anywhere. She sighed in frustration, shut the book, and crawled out from under the bed. She had been under there for hours trying to decipher the symbols in the book, or at least give it some sort of organization, and she had come up completely empty handed. Not only that, but her back was absolutely aching from crouching under there all day.

She stretched and gave a yawn. At least she actually had a project to work on now. Her days weren’t as boring and mindless anymore. Her hands were aching to do something constructive, something worthwhile. What she really wanted to do was cook, but she was almost positive that they wouldn’t let her do that. Besides, she thought darkly, cooking only brings back memories, and I really don’t need that right now. The last thing I need to do is think about Gokuu again.

With another yawn, she stood up shakily and sauntered over to her tiny little window. Oh, what a surprise. She thought sarcastically. It’s snowing.

Lately, she had been trying to take a little bit of humor in her situation. If she thought about it, it was actually mildly amusing. Here she was, kidnapped, on a planet that was perpetually snowing, by a lunatic Saiya-jin who wanted to marry her or ravage her….or who knows what. And the whole time, she was lying under her bed, trying to figure out the ‘secret code’ so she could help the rebel Saiya-jins assassinate her would-be-lover. If she ever escaped, she was going to have to write this story down and sell it. She snorted in laughter, turning away from the window.

Koronu stood right behind her.

“Ack!” ChiChi cried, covering her face and dropping to the floor like a rag doll. “You scared me!”

“You should have been more alert.” Koronu scolded. “A Saiya-jin always knows when a predator is sneaking up behind them. It’s necessary to survive around here.” She rolled her eyes. “And if you want to stay alive next time, I suggest staying on your feet instead of falling to the ground in a more vulnerable position. Are all humans as weak and simple minded as you?”

Koronu looked out the window, at the flurry of snow that that was rushing past it, out into the pure, open whiteness that surrounded the Saiya-jin complex. “Nice day out.”

ChiChi looked up at her quizzically. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn the female Saiya-jin had been making a joke. Suddenly, she didn’t fear Koronu as much as she had before. Knowing that Koronu was on her side, and not on Sukuashi’s made her feel slightly comforted. Koronu was strong and intelligent and somehow seemed to exude a natural aura of confidence. No one in their right mind would ever mess with her --- and when the right time came, Sukuashi was going to be killed. ChiChi could see that in her eyes.

“Ah, Well….I….don’t know.” ChiChi replied faintly. Should I tell her about the book? Should I just grab it and show her? Would she kill me if she knew I had it? Her mind was racing. Or is it too soon? Maybe I should tell Potuto. He seemed a little bit friendlier anyway.

“You have to come with me.” Koronu said, looking out of the small window instead of looking at ChiChi, who was slowly climbing to her feet. “Potuto needs to see you and make some minor adjustments.”

“In….in the infirmary?” She asked quietly, hoping that they wouldn’t strap her to a stretcher again. She nervously wrung her hands in front of her. “I….I promise I won’t try to get away if you don’t put me in a stretcher. I’ll be good, I promise.”

“Don’t beg.” Koronu snapped. “I wasn’t about to put you in a stretcher. I think you know it wouldn’t be wise to escape when I am guarding you. Plus, you’ll be staying in the infirmary overnight, so there is no need for a stretcher after you pass out.”

ChiChi’s eyes grew wide. “Pass out?”

Koronu rolled her eyes again and sighed in exasperation. “I don’t have all day. Let’s go.” With a long, pale hand, she pointed at the door.

She took a moment to examine Koronu, she really hadn’t taken the time to earlier. In a moment, she decided that she was very beautiful. She didn’t have that ugly scowl that Vejiita always had --- more of a pout, and her eyes were dark but thoughtful, not full of malice. ChiChi noticed that the Saiya-jin didn’t have on jewelry of any type, and that she was wearing the same outfit she had been wearing the day she met her. The blood red cape looked soft and warm around her shoulders, and just barely skimmed along the cool, stone floor. ChiChi suddenly became very aware of how she must look. Her own dress hadn’t been washed in days, and come to think of it….neither had she. Koronu looked so clean and nice, she must have been disgusted by her. She wanted a shower. Really bad. Or a nice, long, relaxing bath with candles and music and….Gokuu. If she thought hard enough, she could almost imagine his light touch on her back, his soothing voice in her ear, the smell of lavender candles.

Her eyes misted over with tears, remembering all of the stolen moments the two of them had shared. Surely he hadn’t forgotten about her. Their marriage as a whole had not been perfect, but there were those sweet, special times that absolutely could not be forgotten. Deep in her heart, she knew that Gokuu loved her, he just didn’t know how to express it as well as others. Also, deep in her heart, she knew that Gokuu would come for her eventually. He would never just abandon her here to die. Gokuu wasn’t like that. He’ll come. She thought. I just have be patient until then. Or I can come up with my own plan of escape….But to do that, I need to tell them about the book.

“Are you coming?” Koronu suddenly demanded.

ChiChi snapped out of her thoughts and swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure how exactly she should phrase it, but she knew that she had to tell her. Sheepishly, she walked beside her through the door and down the hallway, watching her the entire time. “Um, Koronu? Koronu-san?”

The Saiya-jin gave no sign that she heard her, but merely kept walking, her eyes focused forward and unblinking. She thought about all the times she had called to Vejiita and had him ignore her. Gokuu did it sometimes too, though unintentionally, but usually a light touch would bring him out of his thoughts. ChiChi hesitantly reached out and tapped her companion on the shoulder to get her attention. In the brief second before her hand touched Koronu’s shoulder, ChiChi realized that she had probably made a mistake.

In half an instant, Koronu somehow managed to slam her up against the wall with one arm, leaning over so that her face was only inches away from ChiChi’s. “Don’t ever touch me!” She snarled angrily, and ChiChi saw a hint of Vejiita flashing in her black eyes. “You have no right to touch me. Ever.”

ChiChi’s heart was thudding against her rib cage in fear. It had all happened so fast that she didn’t even have time to blink or breathe or apologize or anything. One second she was walking next to Koronu, the next she was pinned against the wall, cold stone digging into her back. The fury in Koronu’s expression was terrifying. She had trouble believing that such an anger, such a tremendous force could come from someone who seemed so calm and cool. She gasped for air, and opened in closed her mouth in fright.

Koronu released her then, and continued walking down the hallway, as if nothing had happened at all. It took ChiChi a moment to gather her senses back together and follow her, her heart still beating like crazy. “Gomen nasi!” She gasped. “I didn’t mean to offend you, I just wanted your attention.”

“You don’t have any right to my attention, Earth woman.” Koronu snapped. “You have no rights anymore. Nothing! This isn’t Earth, this is Sukuashi. If you’re going to stay here, you have to live by the rules and learn to respect your leaders.” Her dark eyes flashed. “If you think you’re right --- you aren’t. If you think you can have any sort of freedom --- you don’t. You are a prisoner. And as far as the Saiya-jin race is concerned, you always will be.”

She blanched. That wasn’t exactly good news. And the way Koronu talked, she made it sound as though ChiChi would never be able to leave Sukuashi. But I will. She told herself. I will. No matter what it takes or how far I have to go, I will get off of this planet and get home.

“We’re here.” Koronu suddenly announced, then rose a hand to knock on a nearby door. After a few moments, it was opened, and Potuto’s face appeared on the other side.

“Hurry.” He said softly, and ushered them both inside. He shut the door behind them and locked it, then finally relaxed, taking a deep breath. “Pi came back a while ago, trying to cause trouble or something….I don’t know. I told her that you had gone to get the Earth woman.”

“Does she suspect anything at all?” Koronu questioned, as she took a seat on the countertop.

“Iie. At least….I don’t think so. If she does, she didn’t give any indication of it.” Potuto replied, and then suddenly realized that ChiChi was in their presence. “Ah, It’s good to see you again.”

ChiChi gave him half a smile. It was nice to see a friendly face, but the conversation with Koronu in the hallway had left her in a dark mood. Besides, she wasn’t all too happy about receiving another one of those awful Saiya-jin shots. She knew it was no use fighting, but she wished that the good doctor could have a little bit of compassion and go easy on her. Because the two of them seemed to be involved in a conversation, ChiChi let her eyes wander around the room, taking in her surroundings. She hadn’t had much of a chance to view it the other day, but the infirmary looked very clean and sterile; everything was snow white or metal, sparkling clean under the large dome lights above them. On the far wall, a large mirror hung, and ChiChi caught her reflection in it.

She looked absolutely hideous. Her hair was full of tangles and dirt, her face was streaked with tears and grime and dark circles were under her dull eyes. And her dress….well, it was basically ruined. No dry cleaner on Earth, Sukuashi, or anywhere for that matter could ever get the stains off of that dress. Suddenly, she had the strangest impulse to get clean --- and right away.

“I know this is an odd question….” ChiChi began quietly, looking at Koronu and Potuto. “But….Can I take a bath?”

They stared at her blankly, not comprehending.

“A…bath?” She repeated. “You know, to wash myself off?” She pointed to her messy hair and brushed herself off to demonstrate.

“Oh.” Koronu said suddenly, understanding. She pointed to a large glass box in the center of the room, with a short hose looking object at the top. Potuto walked over to it and flipped a switch, causing a spray of water to fall down into the bottom of the box.

He nodded at ChiChi. “Go ahead. We have things to discuss in private anyway.”

ChiChi hesitated.

“Is something wrong?” He asked.

She stared at the strange shower thing. “It’s glass!”

“And?”

“How am I supposed to take my clothes off? It’s glass! Everyone will be able to see.” She stuttered. “I just can’t….strip down and take a bath in a clear shower stall with you both in the room. That’s….disgusting. It’s just wrong!”

Koronu took a menacing step toward her, and snarled. “Do you want to clean yourself or not?!”

“Hai….I do….But….”

“That is the only way! Accept it! No one cares here. Just do as you must and hurry. We have schedules to maintain, and the least of our concerns is you.” Koronu added.

She walked over to a nearby box and pulled out a stretchy black garment of some sort, and a long brown piece of cloth. “You can dry yourself off with this.” She said, handing her the cloth, and then the clothing. “And wear this. There are boots and other materials in that box as well.”

“Arigatou.” ChiChi accepted both of the items, looking them over carefully. The garment was similar to what Vejiita wore under his armor: impossibly tight and stretchy. She noticed that it had a hole in the back, most likely for the Saiya-jin tail. She smiled, remembering how she had cut all of Gohan’s pants so that his little tail would be able to move about freely. It seemed so natural on for this clothing to have a hole there, almost as natural as an armhole, or a leghole. All the Saiya-jin clothes must be made like this, she realized, smiling at the fabric. If only I could have ordered them from this planet instead of scissoring all of Gohan’s clothes.

“I told you to hurry!” Koronu barked, and ChiChi jumped again, murmuring an apology.

She clutched her hands together tightly, and shot another worried look at the glass shower. Then, with a sigh, she slowly reached up and unbuttoned her dress, walking towards the shower while muttering to herself. The Saiya-jin race had absolutely no respect for privacy. She couldn’t believe how absurd all of this was! Here she was in a room with two strangers and she was about to get in a glass cage, strip down and bathe right in front of them. The thought of it made her sick to her stomach. As she bent down to peel off her dress, she caught bits and pieces of the conversation on the other side of the room.

“….Kill Pi first….only bring us trouble….out of the way….Sukuashi is an easy target….if only we had the book….”

The book.

She paused, her hands gripping the soft green material of her dress. I feel so guilty. Maybe….Maybe I should just tell them. If I get killed, so what? It would happen eventually anyway! It is far better to die doing a noble thing than to let Sukuashi put his hands on me….

She peeled the dress off, forgetting her self-consciousness, and stepped under the warm spray of water. It felt absolutely heavenly against her skin. The water falling down into the bottom and going down into the drain was so dark and dirty that it was disgusting. She couldn’t remember a time when she had ever felt so glad to take a shower, nor a time when she had needed one so badly. The warm water relaxed her muscles, which were bound with tension and the fear that she had experienced over the past few days. She let the shower run over her face, closing her eyes tightly. If only she could will everything away. If only all of her problems could be washed down the drain like the dust and grime that was swirling down there now. I have to get out of here before I go insane. She told herself. I have to get off of this planet.

When she had finished, she stepped away from the shower and gripped the towel that they had given her. It wasn’t a soft towel, like the kind on Earth, or even very strong --- it had the texture of a brown paper bag or the paper towels in a public restroom, but it soaked up water extremely well. She patted her dark hair until it was merely damp and then picked up the strange outfit that they had selected for her. It fit her well, though it was a little tighter than she was used to. Carefully, she picked through the box until she found a pair of black boots that appeared as though they would fit her, and a loose top that would cover the hole in the fabric for her ‘tail’.

“Are you finished?” Koronu’s voice inquired.

ChiChi jumped and whirled around. The female Saiya-jin was standing behind her, leaning a shoulder against the shower stall. “Ara! You scared me!”

“Didn’t I tell you to be more alert?” Koronu scolded, then shook her head. “Potuto is ready to give you the shot. Just lay down there.” She pointed to an empty stretcher.

Hurriedly, ChiChi put on the boots and the shirt, tightening it around her waist. Potuto was standing next to the stretcher, a needle in hand. Once again, ChiChi was struck by the notion that he reminded her of Gokuu somehow. Maybe it was the slight, almost kindness that was in his eyes. She had never seen that in a Saiya-jin before.

Hesitantly, ChiChi wandered over to the stretcher and crawled onto it, propping herself up on her elbows. “Are you sure I’m not going to grow a tail?” She asked, thinking of the hole in the back of her new clothing.

Potuto shook his head. “The shot isn’t that advanced. We haven’t scientifically discovered how to actually change a member of another race into a complete Saiya-jin. You’ll just have various characteristics, like I explained before. Appetite, Strength….And of course, the age diminution.”

“Age diminution?” ChiChi inquired.

“For your race, you are fairly old. These shots will reverse the aging process and eventually stop when it’s reached an appropriate point. As you might know, Saiya-jins age at a rate much lower than humans.”

ChiChi gaped at him. “I’m going to get younger?”

He nodded.

“Hot damn!” ChiChi whooped and held out her arm with a grin. “Shoot me up!”

Potuto gave her an almost-smile again, and both of them seemed to be amused by her cheerful outburst. “I’ll have to numb you again first.” He explained, putting down the needle for a moment. “You’ll stay the night here in the infirmary, because this second shot will most likely knock you out. You’ll wake up with a minor headache and some sickness, and probably a very sore arm.”

He rubbed her arm gently with a cloth that he had soaked in numbing solution, then picked up the Saiya-jin needle again. She closed her eyes before she could watch him inject her with it. Piercing pain shot through her arm, and she wondered just how bad it would have hurt if he hadn’t put any numbing solution there. It would have probably been unbearable. She bit her lip when the burning began in her arm, sweeping through her veins, making her entire body tingle and shake. When red flashes started to appear in front of her eyes, bathing Potuto’s concerned, scarred face and Koronu’s dark eyes in crimson, she remembered something very important.

“I….I need to tell you something.” She murmured, drugged in agony and feeling light-headed. She tried to raise her head, to make eye contact, but the pain was too much. “I have it.”

“You have what?” Potuto asked gently, as he pulled the needle away from her arm.

“I have the book.” ChiChi murmured in a clear voice, and then felt consciousness slip away from her.

The Saiya-jins froze.

“Nani?! You have the book!?” Koronu demanded, grabbing ChiChi by the shoulders and shaking to bring her back into consciousness. But ChiChi’s head dropped back down limp, and her mouth opened in a snore --- already knocked out.

Chapter 32
Previous chapter

 My guestbook -- Sign it!