Gokuu appeared suddenly next to Katera.
She looked up at him in a mixture of surprise and indignation. " Gokuusama... "
He looked down at her sternly. " Katera... what are you doing? "
Katera laughed sardonically and as a result coughed up more blood from the reopened wound in her chest. " Dying, " she answered with a smirk.
Now Gokuu looked concerned. " Then let me handle this... "
" NO! " Katera snapped. She glared at him, " I have to do it. I know how to do it now! If only I weren't so... " she paused and winced as the vehemence of her words pained her, " ... weren't so stupid as to end up like this. "
" You did what you had to do to save the kids, ne? "
" Hai, " she whispered, " I've been around you too long. "
Gokuu blinked.
Katera leaned heavily on her sword and used it to propel herself to her feet. " Rucuruu... he'll kill Trunks before Vejiita. " She offered Gokuu a weak smile. " I cannot allow that, for I will be the one to kill Vejiitaojisama. "
Gokuu sweatdropped.
Katera took a step toward the hallway. " Ore wa Saiyajin! " Katera enforced, " I won't lose to Rucuruu... I won't lose to anyone! "
" And! " Gokuu inputted, " I won't let you lose, for you have not called me 'Tousan' yet! " He smiled and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder, " and Chichi would cry again. "
" Still hasn't given up on me, has she? "
" Iie. "
[a note about Katera; (cuz I don't think I've mentioned this before... have I? I dunno.. the story's too long to keep track, but anyway) 'Ore wa Saiyajin' means 'I am Saiyajin' but since Katera is female she should *technically* say 'watashi' as opposed to 'ore' [see note 3.2 at the end of the companion file] But as Katera would use the masculine form of the language, and since she's not especially polite, she would use 'ore' to refer to herself. Why did I bother mentioning this since this story is in english? Well, I'm writing this in the frame of mind that it's Japanese they're speaking, which is why I lapse so much. There's no real division in the English language in terms of masculine and feminine forms, which makes something like Katera's position in life hard to illustrate. But I'm way off topic and this note is very long, so I'll just quit now.]
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Vejiita formed a ki ball and threw it overhand at Rucuruu.
Rucuruu swung his sword out and knocked it away effortlessly. He twisted the sword around and placed the tip of the blade on Trunks' chest.
Trunks struggled, but the most he could do was aid the blade in slicing his shirt.
Rucuruu looked down at the boy with an almost kindness on his face. " Dame, " he said quietly, " You wouldn't want to hurt yourself, little prince. "
[Dame => Don't. pronounced Da-may]
Rucuruu looked over at Vejiita from where he stood on Trunks' bed.
" Be patient, Vejiita-Oji. I will kill you when I am through with your son. " He noted Vejiita's ki aura as it appeared. " If you attack me with anything stronger, you'll do my job for me. " He looked at Trunks again.
Vejiita ground his teeth in anger. There was nothing he could do.
" Rucuruu! " Katera's voice rang out as she and Gokuu entered the room.
Vejiita turned. " Katera..! Kakarrot?! "
Rucuruu glared at his student. " I have nothing more to say to you. "
She glared right back. " The most important lesson. There's a difference between power and skill. "
Rucuruu smiled and closed his eyes, but without any trace of pride or happiness. " So you do remember? "
" Ee, " Katera took a deep breath and lifted her sword from where it was holding her weight, " I never believed you. "
" K-Katerasan... " Trunks whispered.
Vejiita looked miffed. " What are you people talking about? That's bullsh-- "
Katera snapped attention to him. " Kisama! Don't use my words! I'll kill you yet! "
" What the hell are you talking about?! " Vejiita shot back.
Gokuu, Rucuruu, and Trunks all watched with a variety of expressions.
Finally Gokuu interceded. " Ano... is this really the time? "
Katera glared at Vejiita, but turned away from where it looked like she was about to attack him.
[I'm telling you, anger does EVERYTHING for Saiyajin]
Switching her glare to Rucuruu Katera pointed the blade at him and said quietly, " Put him down. "
" Katera... " Rucuruu's voice took on a condescending note, " you're dying, dear boy. Just give up. "
" I Will Not! " Katera widened her stance, and her ki aura manifested around her. " Rucuruusensei, you taught me every skill I have with this weapon. Ima... Kisama o korosu! "
[Now... I'll kill you!]
Rucuruu turned in anger at his former student. Tossing Trunks back he stepped off the bed. Lifting his own stone sword, he crossed the blade with that of Katera's ice sword and met her gaze.
" If we do this, we do it properly, Kateraope. "
" Oi, Trunks, you alright? " Vejiita demanded with a scowl in his son's direction.
" Ee, " Trunks answered, sitting up a bit from where Rucuruu had dropped him. " He didn't hurt me any more. "
Gokuu smiled at Trunks in relief, and then went back to watching the sudden silence that had risen between Katera and Rucuruu.
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Yamcha closed the door behind him and leaned against it heavily. He looked at the hall table and read the note left in Pouar's clumsy hand (paw?)
Gone to Capsule Corp. to get Kyande
Yamcha sighed. On some level he was relieved to have the house to Himself, on another level he wondered what kind of trouble Kyande had gotten herself in, and on yet another level he just didn't care.
Sarro... doshite...
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The pain was unbearable. How very reminiscent of their first meeting.
He'd caught her at a weak moment, when she'd just finished a battle that nearly killed her, and had killed her opponent. She'd been tiny, not much bigger than when she'd been regressed here on Chikyuu.
Chikyuu. Would she even be here without Rucuruu? She could smell the blood coming from her reopened wound. So many memories.
Was his mind racing as well?
Rucuruu looked pained. He hadn't yet recovered from their last battle
either. This wouldn't be a proper battle. It was sad, almost in a way.
There's a difference between power and skill She'd never believed that.
She was Saiyajin, after all. They were proven to beat out skill with power many times. But a balance... she was the only one to come close to accomplishing that before Gokuu mastered the Nyoi-bo.
She wondered...
... was she going to die finding out?
**
[Find out in Chapter 37! Mwa ha ha ha ha! ~ahem~ okay, sorry. Will Katera defeat Rucuruu? Will Gokuu interceed? And what about Sarro?! We can't forget about her! Sooner of later it will all come to light. I just can't guarentee the former.]
[Written by Inseiko, 2000]