Amidst the falling rocks, boulders, and varies debris, the two warring opponents continued their battle unhindered. Katera's fist hit Piccolo full on in the face, and the larger warrior careened back, hitting a boulder as it fell and taking a moment to catch his bearings.
Okay, so unhindered was slightly off.
Katera punched one to pebbles nanoseconds before it collided with her head. She raced towards Piccolo again. Trainer! Hah! She would be the one to teach him a lesson.
Meters away, Katera's sheathed sword hit the ground with a dull klunk. Immediately after, much of the debris from the ruined plateau landed on it, larger peices bouncing off with force. Simultaniously, Katera winced.
This did not go without notice by Piccolo. She hadn't even seen the sword hit the ground, or any of the rest. How had she known of what had happened? Upon inspiration, Piccolo ducked under the kick sent at his head from his little student and dove for the sword.
Hitting the ground on his feet he crouched low and his fingers closed around the sheath. Standing, Piccolo turned to face his student, his cape flaring out behind him. Seeing Katera only confirmed his suspicions, as she had stopped short upon seeing just what he had been aiming for.
They stood there for a long time, as the plateau's remains settled around them. Facing off, the contrast was again all too apparant. Where Katera stood low to the ground, her knees slightly bent and a grim expression on her youthful face, Piccolo stood tall, perfectly relaxed, with the sheathed sword clasped in his green hand.
Finally Katera commented, " You're not so dumb as you look, Piccolo. "
Mildly, Piccolo mentally remarked on the fact that it was the first time she ever called him by name. This too, added to his theory. Self- preservation is never stronger than that within a Saiyajin: and in no other species is it more instinct than want.
" You're so ready to throw your life away, and yet, you treasure this sword as if it were your life itself. " Piccolo commented. He undid the snap holding the sword in place and let the sheath slide away. " Tell me, Kateraope, how true are my words? "
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The gravity room was well scarred, well worn perhaps would be the nicer word to use. But certainly Dr. Briefs hadn't designed this room's fixtures to last the so-called training of the Saiyajin no oji.
In truth, to Vejiita, 'training' was just blowing off steam.
And he had a lot of steam to blow off. Kakarrot, Sarro, Katera... Bulma. The prince scowled in his regal way and pushed the thought of Bulma from his mind with near-violent resolve. Damn woman, why wouldn't she stay the hell out of his mind?
A low whistle suddenly caught his attention. Vejiita paused in punching the stuffing out of an imaginary Kakarrot and glared at the door.
Sarro stepped lightly into his-- okay, Dr. Brief's-- gravity room and bounced on the balls of her feet experimentally.
" Nothing but the best, I suppose, eh, Vejiitasama? " she inquired.
Vejiita... sama? What was she up to?
" I suppose you'd rather it be decorated, " Vejiita sneered and returned to killing Kakarrot.
Sarro gave him a mortified look. " Decorated? Why waste money on something I'll just destroy? "
Eh? Vejiita couldn't help himself, he looked at her again, Kakarrot nearly forgotten in his surprise. He'd underestimated this woman apparantly. But then again, he suspected all along she was more than she claimed to be. Zello... he'd heard that name before somewhere... sometime long ago in that nearly forgotten, repressed aspect of his memory.
In other words, any time he'd spent with Freezer. Good thing the bastard was dead.
Sarro smiled at him, almost coquettishly. Vejiita returned the look with an perturbed expression. What the hell was this woman up to?
He found out all too soon when she extended one arm sideways and a small ki blast emitted from her fingers. But then again, he'd not found out too terribly much then, not until that little ki blast swung around and slammed into his back with enough force to introduce his face to the floor.
This time Sarro laughed, emitting a peal of laughter that was all the more damage to his precious pride. " Excellent! " she proclaimed as he picked himself up. " Excellent! I've not sparred with someone strong as you in a long time! "
Vejiita felt more insulted than he'd felt in a long time. This... woman... proclaimed to be a match for him. He smirked. There could only be one Katera in the universe. This flimsy little woman was entirely too confident of her no doubt laughable power. Or lack thereof.
But then, it would make Vejiita feel worlds better to beat some sense into her. Vejiitasama indeed. Coming from her it was almost as insulting as Katera's absurd sarcasm when she called him Vejiitaojisama.
Why was it that all the remaining Saiyajin either tried to assassinate him or blatantly disobeyed him? It was a travesty to the memory of the Saiyan empire. It wasn't fair, dammit!
Suddenly Vejiita's thoughts were interrupted as Sarro came at him and had him flying back towards the far wall. Vejiita blinked in surprise. There was quite a bit of force behind that punch.
Still, he flipped himself around and pushed off the wall. He flew at
the insolent woman with a fist ready to show her just what
'Vejiitasama' had to offer.
Unfortunatly she dodged, stepping to the side, and again when he attempted to correct his attack accordingly. He swiped with the other fist and this time she merely moved her head back and turning it to the side. When he punched again she caught it in her own fist, still without moving her head and smiled, narrowing her eyes in the same motion. Vejiita glared in insult for a moment before she twisted his arm nearly three hundred sixty degress and deposited him on the floor to suffer.
Lightly, and still infuriatingly moving noislessly on the balls of her feet, Sarro moved tactically back.
Vejiita got to his feet and ran at her, ready to prove that this time he would not be taken by surprise. When she dodged he caught her by the long braid and used to the swing her around into the wall. As her back added a dent to his collection, his fingers enclosed her neck. Still, despite her lack of air, Sarro smiled smugly at him. Vejiita growled and pressed harder, leaning forward to add his mass to the force.
Even so it was not enough to wipe that smile from her face. In fact, she craned her head forward and whispered in his face, " Yawarakai death. " She then kissed him on the nose.
[Yawarakai => gentle, I believe, gotta check with Konekochan on this one]
That kiss triggered a chain reaction in her ki that transferred it as an electrical charge that shocked his entire body. The prince hollered at the pain it sent searing through his body and recoiled.
As Sarro stepped away from the wall, infuriatingly wiping her tunic free of imaginary dust.
But as Vejiita knelt there on the floor, hacking up blood from the attack, a memory entered his mind, almost as if the electrical nature of Sarro's ki had jarred it to the forefront.
Yes. He'd heard that name Zello before... and Sarro as well. It was so long ago, and at the time he'd been occupied with other problems. It had also been one of the infrequent moments in which his and Katera's paths had crossed. Sadly, the memory made Vejiita laugh, it struck him as funny, despite the pain his body still writhed with on the inside.
Looking up, the confused expression on Sarro's face only made it funnier, and he laughed right out loud at her, at the memory, at himself for not remembering before. It didn't explain everything, but the little that it did made Vejiita awfully proud of himself.
" Now I remember you! " he declared. Sarro scowled at him, her mouth becoming a thin, straight line. Vejiita chuckled again, standing and wiping the last of the blood from his chin. " Yes, it wasn't even that long ago now that I think about it. One of King Cold's tournaments... that is, " now Vejiita's tone turned sly, as he felt himself about to win this little 'sparring' match, " if you really are the Densetsu no Sarro. "
[Densetsu no Sarro => Legendary Sarro]
Sarro's scowl went beyond classification into one so furious it would have frightened any other, more sane, person than Vejiita. Screaming " SHUT UP! " she leaped at him, and Vejiita very smugly introduced her to the floor.
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Katera had been silent so long, Piccolo was beginning to wonder if she had an articulate answer. As it were, she was just angry enough to match him for eloquence of speech.
" I suggest that you set down my katana, " she stated warningly.
Piccolo smiled ferally and complied, slamming the opaque blade into the ground. The only clue he had of the pain Katera felt was a blink of her eyes.
" What happens to the sword, happens to you, correct? " he clarified.
" In a sense, " came the guarded answer.
" So if it were to break...? "
" I would die. "
Piccolo considered this. That was a strong bond indeed. How curious. This was someone committed to her cause. Still, he had to be sure. " You have a blood tie to this weapon. "
" Not a blood tie, you moron, " Katera contradicted, her words coming thickly, proving how hard it was for her to say it, " that sword was created out of my ki. The blade is petrified ice. Have you not noticed the chill it gives off, or are you numb as well as ignorant? "
" Ice Blade. Kori no Shi. All your attacks have something to do with ice, " Piccolo pointed out.
" No shit. " Katera stalked foward to stand directly in front of him. " Before I got that sword I never named attacks. I never saw the point. " She looked away, not saying any more.
Suddenly the hilt entered her vision, and she looked up at Piccolo. He was giving her a look that was not quite kind, not quite not. She regarded him suspiciously.
" Have you grown to small for your own ki, Little One? "
Little One?! How Dare He!
" I can't. Lift it. " Katera said tersely.
" It's a matter of wanting it enough, " Piccolo said, moving the hilt closer.
Katera grasped it with both hands, and took a deep breath. Piccolo let go...
... and the weight sent her slamming into the ground. Her face went forward onto the sword and she bloodied her nose on the flat of the blade. Picking herself up onto her hands and knees, Katera began to curse and swear like nothing else.
Piccolo glared down at the little girl and snapped. " I said you have to want it enough. You obviously don't. You're a waste of my time. "
Leaving that to hang in the air, Piccolo turned and began to walk away across the scattered remnants of their first and last training session.
Katera's hands tightened on the hilt as she suffered there on the rocky ground. Her temper burned. This was rediculous. She was the best swordfighter, Rucuruu had said so, this Namekuseijin dared? He Dared?!
" You... " Katera trailed off in her fury, gripping the sword in a white knuckled grip, " ... Bastard!! " Putting all her anger and fury and manifesting it in her ice blue aura, Katera turned to face Piccolo's retreating back and swung the sword up and off the ground to attack wordlessly with Ice Blade.
Piccolo had to admit being caught by surprise that time, and the attack bowled him over. When he got back up, he found his student to be standing, staring in awe at the sword still ringing with energy that she held above the ground. The sword was bigger than she was, no wonder she'd lost heart.
Saiyajin, Piccolo commented wryly, anger did everything for them...
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[Never was a more truer statement said. Well, Katera's got her sword back, and we know a bit about it. Who the heck is Rucuruu though? Ah well, it'll come along eventually... we hope, neh? But speaking of anger, whatcha think's going on between Sarro and Vejiita. She's angry, he's angry, (wow, that's a difference in his demeanor... Not!) but we're all wondering just what it is that Vejiita's remembering, neh? Next! Chapter Fourteen; Vejiita's Reminisence. Fog Lifted from the Past!]
[Written by Inseiko, 2000]
[in one sit, no less!]
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