Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ So Many Steps to Death... ❯ Just Another Day: The Clue in the Fortune Cookie ( Chapter 4 )

Notes: the time this takes place is early summer.

~

Just a day, just a day, just an ordinary day…

The excitement of Yamako had reached the other Z Senshi, who had panicked awhile, but the matter had been calmed down in a surprisingly short amount of time. It had only been last week now since the 'slumber party' happened. Chi Chi had been thoroughly informed of her newfound abilities, though she was slightly startled one day when a tail suddenly appeared. Goku reassured her it was completely normal, and kindly offered to pull it off for her. The latter, of course, refused, but found the new limb to be extremely useful for balance and grabbing things, but it took a while to get used to sitting down.

It took even longer for Yamako to get adjusted to being 'a third-class Saiyajin.' People wondered if she ever did. Nobody ever did know the answer, not even her future husband, nor figured that question out, except for maybe Vegeta, who always kept his private thoughts to himself. The woman Saiyajin kept stomping around, alternating between the Son House and the Capsule Corporation Mansion, shouting about and lowly uttering profanities. Chi Chi utterly despised her, Yamako the same. The latter's relationship with Bulma was slightly better, but the two on a great many occasions exchanged many acid fights. All three hardly agreed on anything, from world politics to proper cooking, and each always took the advantage whenever her pet subject came up.

One thing, however, did not change: Piccolo's melancholy. Few people wasted their worries on him, though, being Piccolo after all, save Gohan. He had visited Piccolo just after Yamako had first appeared, but found his former sensei disinterested in talking. Not that talking was one of Piccolo's strong points, but Gohan had thought maybe Yamako would intrigue him, and discuss with Gohan whether or not the new Saiyajin was a threat. Piccolo had barely mumbled: "Yes, yes…" during the whole visit. Frustrated with his friend's moodiness, Gohan had burst out again, hoping to at least motivate a spar: "I'm going to study now! Good-bye!" That stimulated a rather pathetic, half-hearted fight with Piccolo, which Gohan could've won even if both of his legs and an arm were broken.

"This is stupid, Sensei!" Gohan had forcedly said, automatically stopping the spar, "You're not even fighting!!"

Piccolo threw a glare, encouraging Gohan's hopes. There was a movement, and Gohan was knocked out for a few minutes. He woke with a huge headache, finding that Piccolo had disappeared.

"OW…"

Since then, Piccolo had avoided Gohan, staying in the high mountains, not wanting any more reminders of that incident. That incident…

Sotari…

Kami's Lookout materialized again in front of his eyes: the snapped pieces of white wood, the torn roof, scattered stones… And her, staring defiantly at him, the shining blades of her sheath to the sun, light brown hair…Those eyes of hers…Pink and deadly. Hiding…Hiding what? She seemed so cryptic. Intense…Isolated…Sad. Not willing to communicate to just anyone. Piccolo looked up at the sky. It was a starless night, with sparse clouds here and there, and a slightly nippy wind. The Namekian tried to pull himself together. He was Piccolo, son of Piccolo Daimao, former Demon King of the World! Why did Sotari disturb his world so? Why even at all? Such a damnable question!

"I could hate you, Sotari," muttered Piccolo, "I could really hate you…"

He paused a moment.

"…I just…I can't…"

It would make me feel better…And I wouldn't be going crazy wondering WHY you're bothering me… Stupid Saiyajin!

The smelly odor of flowery perfume sliced the air like a knife, and Piccolo cringed. Swirls of pink smoke billowed out, surrounding him partly, and fireworks exploded around his feet. Green smoke followed suit, but it was much calmer, and a stern voice could be heard lecturing…

"Futomi," said Jito, with forced self-control on his temper, "I told you…"

"Isn't the moon beautiful tonight!" declared Futomi, clasping her hands and her eyes shining, then to Piccolo, "I'm glad you waited for me!"

"…"

"Futomi," said Jito, gripping her shoulder hard, "There is no moon."

She didn't skip a beat, though her vowels seemed to be dragged.

"Oh, reeeee-ly??? No moooon??? What haaaaapened???"

"Blown up, I suppose," said Jito, "But enough, let's get to business."

He looked at Piccolo, a stiff, business-like air assumed.

"Tomorrow," he began in a formal manner, "Is the date."

Piccolo stiffened at the word, breathing in hard, but he didn't say anything.

Will of the gods, will of the gods… he had to keep repeating in his mind.

A clipboard appeared in a puff of green smoke, and Jito slipped the pen from behind his ear. He snapped his fingers and a pair of reading glasses appeared. Jito slipped them on, peering closely at the text. He then started jotting down notes. Next to him, Futomi clung to his arm and giggled.

"You look so cute in glasses…"

He ignored her comment completely, looking up at Piccolo.

"The date plan is usually kept confidential, but since this is your first (and probably your last) date, I'll indulge in outlining the plans for tomorrow. Meeting time is 12:30pm, and expected temperature tomorrow is a pleasant 68 degrees Fahrenheit. First order of business is a trip to the amusement park for a total of 3 hours. At 3:30pm, you and Sotari are scheduled for…"

"Hey," said Futomi, "What about ice skating?"

"What's that?" said Piccolo.

Futomi looked at him blankly.

"That's not in the schedule!" blurted Jito, flushing, "It's supposed to be…"

"You could go deep-sea fishing," Futomi suggested further, "Or a picnic!"

Jito rolled his eyes.

"I think they'd like fishing better," he said, taking no notice of Piccolo's face, "Anything but picnics…"

"No, a movie! No, shopping!" Futomi was firing suggestions every second, and Jito pinched his third eye.

"We'll figure it out somehow," he said to Piccolo, "But just know that you probably won't be off this date until at least 10:30pm…"

"10:30PM!!!" Piccolo protested for the first time, "NEARLY 12 HOURS!?!?!?"

Jito made no comment. He calmly magicked away the clipboard and tucked the pen behind his ear, slipping his glasses off.

"I'll be seeing you at 9am tomorrow for preparations," he said in a tired voice, "Futomi will get Sotari ready, and we'll rendezvous at the amusement park at 12:30pm."

Futomi burst out laughing, smiling rather idiotically. Jito rolled his eyes and took her arm.

"Come on," he said agitatedly.

The two disappeared in twin puffs of smoke, stranding Piccolo to his thoughts on the lonely hillside.

~

Jito took of his glasses and sighed with exasperation, leaning back in his comfy office chair. This was the part he always hated most. He closed his eyes and pinched his third eye, trying to relax. The sound of a bell jingled behind, but Jito didn't look up.

"Good morning, Jito!!" came Futomi's bubbly voice, noisily stomping into the room.

The boy didn't answer at first. He had to clear away all the paper, notes, crumpled balls, and pencils first, before Futomi practically slammed a tray on his desk. Her elbow knocked over his phone. Jito sighed. She was so clumsy! He calmly picked it up while Futomi stood ready with a pepper grinder.

"Want some…" she began, but she was already grinding away, starting a nice little pile of gray on Jito's eggs.

Jito made a face. She knew he hated pepper on eggs! He told her every day! What was the matter with her? His face flushed, and he put his hand on hers.

"Futomi," he said a little angrily, but Futomi interrupted.

"Today's the day, Jito!" she said in cheerful tones, putting down the pepper grinder and taking his other hand, "I'll take Sotari and you take Piccolo!"

"Fut---"

"Now, eat your breakfast and we'll get going! We've only got five and a half hours!"

"Five and…" Jito said in astonishment as Futomi gracefully turned around on one foot and leapt out of the office.

He kept staring at the door long after Futomi was gone. Honestly, that girl never ceased to amaze him! A coworker at the desk next to Jito nudged him.

"Bweakfast 'gain, eh, mate? Does it evewy mornin' fa ya. Wha', yuu go---"

"Yeah…" said Jito vaguely, turning back to the tray.

It was a messy affair, that breakfast was. Not only were the eggs covered in pepper, they looked yellow blobs of paste and still slightly undercooked. One side of each piece of toast was burnt a solid black, while the other sides were a warm, what-toast-should-be brown. The orange juice had pieces of eggs, toast, and eggshells settling at the bottom of the glass. It was hard to tell whether that was better than the hash browns, which had a gooey, mashed-potato-like appearance (also heavily peppered). Jito picked up the cup of coffee and shook his head at the site of the collapsed slice of chocolate cake she cut out for him.

"That girl…"

His coworker called out to him again.

"A' leas' (at least) shee makes goo' (good) coffee…Dem (damn) fine, I shoul' say. Dem (damn) fine gel (girl)…"

"Yes…She does."

He couldn't help but smile.

"Futomi…"

The ring of a phone interrupted his reverie, and Jito answered it. It wasn't of any importance, for it was a wrong number. Jito sat down and leaned back in his chair again, his hands folded over and resting on his stomach. He had never---in all his life---felt this way…

"Oi! Jito!" said his coworker, "Awe ya goin' ta wowk?"

"Yes…" said Jito, but to his coworker, it sounded more like 'Yaaasss…"

The coworker grinned and shook his head, turning his attention back to the files. Jito did not rouse himself for a while. But even then, he was still a little distracted. So he took breaks---unusual of him. Even the other coworkers noticed, but they didn't say anything. Two and a half hours later, Jito finally gave up.

"I have to go," he said shortly to his neighbor, "Can you cover for me?"

The other nodded, and Jito departed, clipboard and pencil in hand, and his eyeglasses perched smartly on his nose. He found Piccolo easily, and magicked them both in a puff of green smoke to a building. Piccolo's eyes widened a little, but he wasn't surprised at what the building's contents were. It was like the men's section of Nordstrom, only bigger, and there were no people around. The place also served as a salon for men. Piccolo frowned.

"All this," he said in an annoyed tone, "For just…"

He hesitated over the word.

"…Date…"

Jito nodded.

"I know…It's all boring to me, too, but you have to look decent after all."

"But I'm fine!" Piccolo snapped back, then waved a hand at the nearest object, "Why do humans make such a fuss over everything!"

"Well, Sotari's getting ready, too!" Jito said sharply, his face flushing a little, "And you're going to be among the humans, so…"

Piccolo scowled.

"I am not…" he started, but Jito stopped him.

"Will of the gods," he said calmly.

There was two-minute silence. Piccolo threw back his head and covered his face with his hand.

"Why me?"

Jito sighed.

"I know…Let's just get it over with…"

He led Piccolo to the salon.

"Take a shower and I'll pick out some clothes for you," said Jito in a tired voice, like he had just finished chasing a two-year-old.

In a very short time, the affair of getting ready for Piccolo's first date was done. But the actual going to the meeting place…

"I can't do this!" Piccolo said angrily, banging his fist on a counter in the salon, "I'm asexual!"

Jito sighed and said in his exasperated voice, "I told you before…"

"Hell with it! I can't!"

"Listen," Jito barked, smacking his hand against the counter and leaning forward, "Don't you know what wrath…"

"I know!!" Piccolo shouted back.

"Then why!?!?"

"Because…" his voice trailed off.

There was another sigh from Jito. He reached down and pulled up a colored glass bottle. Piccolo raised an eyebrow.

"Drink?" asked Jito.

Piccolo looked slightly nervous.

"I don't know what reactions Namekians have from 'drinks'."

"Just drink some," said Jito, pouring some out in a glass, "It'll calm you down."

"I don't need calming…" began Piccolo, but Jito shoved the glass into the Namekian's hand.

"Drink it," he commanded.

The other looked at the stuff suspiciously. He sniffed it.

"What is it?" he said.

"Dry white burgundy," replied Jito, pouring some out for himself.

Piccolo screwed up his face and hesitated another moment before he swallowed the whole thing. The liquid slid easily down his throat and gave a pleasant burning sensation in his gut. His muscles loosened a little, and Piccolo looked at Jito. Jito took down his glass. He, too, looked at Piccolo.

"A relatively easy, but sour drink to take down," said Jito, pouring some more.

The Namekian pushed his glass towards him. Jito took the hint and gave him some.

"Don't drink too much," he said to Piccolo, though the warning sounded pretty flat.

He raised his glass.

"Here's to…" he began.

Piccolo clinked it.

"…World peace."

Jito raised an eyebrow. That was about the last thing he expected Piccolo to say. Piccolo drank down his burgundy without another thought and gave the glass back to Jito.

"Time?"

The boy looked at his watch.

"12."

Piccolo breathed a heavy sigh.

"Can I have the rest of that bottle?" he asked off-handedly.

Jito gripped the bottle a little harder.

"You'll get drunk."

"No, I won't drink it…yet. I'm saving it for later," said Piccolo.

The other hesitated, but handed it over. Piccolo tucked it in the pocket of his new pants.

"I've a feeling you'll need it later," said Jito, stepping out from behind the counter, "Let's go."

"Hey, wait," Piccolo said, "What are those?"

He pointed to a little dish off the corner of the counter. Jito smiled slightly and swept up the dish in his hand.

"Fortune cookies. Want one?"

Piccolo did and cautiously sniffed it. It had a rather pleasant sugary smell. He bit into it, and cookie came to pieces in his mouth. Another bite---then a cough, and Piccolo spat out a small scrap of paper.

"What the hell…"

"It's a fortune," said Jito, "See what it…"

"'Love isn't as bad as you think,'" Piccolo read aloud, "'Have courage, and give it a chance'."

He scowled and threw the paper over his shoulder.

"…Sure…"

Jito read his.

"'Look around! Love may be staring you in the face! You just might miss your chance…"

~

Whispering, you stare
Watching, you don't care
Kiss me, make me cry
How did I wind up here?

Sotari's eyes reluctantly opened to dawn, too slow to take in the day. Immediately on her mind was the tightness of her muscles stiffened her. She wondered a moment why her fingers were so curled into a fist, digging sore semicircles in her palm. Was she fighting in her sleep?

The cold mist bit her wet skin and the dewy grass dampened her clothes as she grumpily rolled over to sit up and stifle a yawn. She rubbed an eye and massaged her palms. They stung a little, and Sotari leaned back on her hands as she surveyed the hill she had blindly stumbled last night before collapsing into an unexplainable deep sleep.

She did not wonder too much why she was there. Thinking made her crazy, driving her cyborgish logic to the brink. The very thought of thinking was too human, and Sotari didn't want to be too human… Sotari leaned back and let her eyes focus on the sky, her stare cold and calculating. The sky was too bright today…

Suddenly, the world went pink. Surprised, but hardly moved, Sotari blinked, thinking something was in her eyes. The pink didn't go away. It seemed to spread and billow out, and Sotari realized that it was clouds of pink. Her small waves of ki dispersed it, but not the hanging smell of flowers. The lady Saiyajin wrinkled her nose.

A pair of electric pink eyes suddenly appeared, blinking. Sotari's eyes widened. Then came the outline of cat's ears, then a girl's body, and a cat tail…The pink-haired girl stood in front of Sotari, smiling widely and waving a cat-paw glove at her. Her furry, cattail was swinging excitedly behind her, ringing an annoying little bell with a pink bow. The girl was dressed in a pink maid's costume, complete with a white lacy apron and black tights. Sotari raised an eyebrow.

"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooooowwwwwww!!!!!!!!" said the girl, winking at Sotari.

There was a movement, and Futomi lay flat on her back. She immediately sat up and rubbed her stinging cheek.

"Ow!"

Her eyes saw Sotari's bob up and down as she saw her retreating swiftly down the hill.

"Hey, wait!" Futomi called after her, "Where are you going!"

She unsteadily got to her feet and nearly fell down. Futomi's hand went to her knee.

"Ouch…What did you do to my knee!? Hey, come back!"

Sotari did not seem to hear her. She had now reached the bottom of the steep hill, walking in quite a mechanical manner. Futomi suddenly appeared again beside her, riding a cloud and applying ointment on her cheek. The girl eyed Sotari curiously, who did not make eye contact.

"Hey!" said Futomi, "Don't you know who I am?"

No response. Except for a little jerking movement from Sotari's left hand. Futomi took care to notice it. However, she babbled on as if she didn't. Sotari continued to not notice…until Futomi was tactless enough to say: "Oh, and don't go making out in the…"

Sotari's fingernails sharply stung into Futomi's bare arm.

"What?" she said.

Futomi made a pained face.

"Ooooww…"

Sotari glared at her.

"Tell me."

The girl made a whining noise.

"Only if you let go of meee," she said.

Sotari gripped harder, her nails just about breaking the skin.

"Well," said Futomi, with one eye closed, but smiling slightly, "You and Piccolo-sama are going on a date!!"

The Saiyajin didn't move for a second. Her grip loosened, then tightened.

"WHAT?"

"LET GO!" screamed Futomi at the sudden rush of pain.

Sotari let go. Futomi held her arm in her other hand and inspected the damage. The nails had dug well into her skin. It was going to be sore, for sure, but no bleeding. The love goddess apprentice's grew into a pout. Sotari, on the other hand, was extremely impatient.

"PICCOLO!" she bellowed, "A DATE!!!"

Despite the pain, Futomi smiled widely and winked.

"Thaaaaat's right, folks!" she suddenly blurted, a pink microphone appearing in a puff of smoke, "Sotari the half-Saiyajin and Piccolo the Namekian are our big winners tonight!! They'll be going for 10 hour date, chaperoned by yours truly and assisted by Jito!!! Catch all the action tonight, Love-Goddess-Style, and see ya next time on…"

Sotari's eyes flashed brightly and her ki rose. Oh, was she going to pound her…

"…The Dating Game!!"

A firecracker suddenly exploded, sending sparks all over. Sotari blinked, and then a streamer popped in her face. Streamers started banging everywhere around them, followed by loud and noisy song:

"Cause you're everywhere to mee!

When I close my eyes, it's you I see!

You're everything, and that makes mee believe!

I'm n-hot alooone!

Oh-oh!

I'm not alone! …"

The song startled Sotari even more and she fell hard on her butt, her hands folded around her nose and mouth. Then, from apparently nowhere, hundreds of miniature stuffed animals of all kinds burst like an oil fountain and one smacked Sotari in the face. It was a doll of a fat, Japanese man with painted red spots on the bulging cheeks and wearing blue, black, and red robes.

Somehow, it stuck to her nose, and it maddened the poor woman to no end trying to get it off. There was a wide smile on the doll's face, and which, in some sort of insane way, matched the cheerful and messy block letters written on the flags the doll's hands held: "Hurrah! Love and Happiness! May You Have Many Children!"

Sotari turned bright red as an explosion of soft yellow, pink, and white petals rained on her and Futomi, of which the latter was giggling madly and trying to sing along with the music. She had a horrible, screechy voice, terribly out of tune.

The storm of flowers, animals, and Michelle Branch barraged her, and the agony of it all only increased when a big blowup of Piccolo appeared from the ground, swaying back and forth. Cardboard copies popped up around the toy in bowling pins formation.

That did it.

The half-Saiyajin stood defiantly up, ignoring the baby blue elephant that was sticking to her head and the pink hippo on her ear. A green thing was sailing through the air at her and she snatched it, trying to crush it. She loosened her grip a second, and gasped. There was a shriek, and the Piccolo-plushie fell to the ground.

"ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!" she threw back her head and yelled at the top of her lungs, "ENOUGH!!!!!!!!"

All at once, everything stopped. Futomi stared at Sotari, shocked and her mouth hanging open in mid-chorus. The music had lowered its volume drastically to almost a mere hum, and to a different tune:

"She stares into the sun
Self-inflicted pain
She sees that they're blind
Why does she take all the blame?"

Sotari glowered at Futomi, her eyes blazing as she ripped the hippo off her ear.

"I DEMAND TO KNOW WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!"

"Y-you and P-piccolo are g-going…" whispered Futomi meekly, "on a date…"

There was a short silence. Sotari reached for the blue elephant.

"A date," she repeated, her voice quite controlled, "A date."

"Yes."

Another pause; there was a ripping sound of a pastel green frog from Sotari's sleeveless white shirt. For the first time, Futomi shook her head and made a tut-tut sound.

"We've got to get you cleaned up," she said, wagging a finger, "And…"

She stole a peek at a bright yellow watch on her wrist.

"…Oh ye gods! We've only got four and half hours!!"

Futomi slapped her hand against her forehead.

"We've wasted a whole half-hour just standing around!"

Sotari still wore hard look.

"I…"

However, Futomi wasn't listening. She snapped her fingers on both hands, and everything vanished, including the doll on Sotari's nose. There was a mild explosion, rather like a bomb, and pink smoke filled the air. It went into Sotari's nostrils again, and she shut her mouth tightly. Whatever perfume was, she certainly did not want to taste it. Her hands were folded over her mouth and nose again.

When the smoke cleared, her eyes widened. The hands dropped, and so did her mouth. Sotari took a step forward, her eyes sparkling with astonishment. She and Futomi were in a building now, set up like Nordstrom, only it huge as Costco. There were even escalators leading up to shoes and clothes. The ground floor was an enormous salon and makeup station. Futomi led Sotari over to the hair salon.

"Let's get you washed up!" she said, pointing the shower, "Just pop into the shower for a bit, but don't wash your hair! I'll do that; just let me go fetch the hair-washing things!"

Sotari quickly took one, and Futomi excellently washed her hair, and over the noise of water, she finally explained to Sotari about the date. Fortunate for Futomi, Sotari was hardly one to defy the gods either, so she reluctantly accepted the deal, though secretly hoped something disastrous would happen.

For the next few hours, Sotari grew very tired of looking and trying on all the different shoes, clothes, and makeup, but she was spared from Futomi from taking too long, or she would've blown up there and then. Futomi was the type of person/goddess who knew all the tricks of matching things with eyes, skin tone, etc. Even Sotari couldn't help but feel a little pleased with herself when she saw herself in the evening dresses, though out loud she claimed otherwise.

Finally, it was time. Futomi had fixed up the very last detail Sotari's makeup and was ready and rarin' to go in an outfit of her own.

"Let's go!" she said, her fist raised in the air in a triumphant manner.

She made a grab for Sotari's hand, but Sotari shrank back, making her way towards the nearest full-length mirror.

"Eh?" Futomi followed and found Sotari staring at herself in the mirror, "What's the matter?"

"I don't feel very comfortable in this…" said Sotari slowly, fingering the material of her shorts, "It's too…Showy."

"Whaaat?" said Futomi, "You've got a killer body! Show it off!"

"I'm not a prostitute!" protested Sotari.

"Calm down!" said Futomi, her hand reaching for something, and then tossing a white cardigan at her, "Take this!"

Sotari put it on and stared.

"It's…a little better…" she said.

"Reely? It's from JCrew," replied Futomi, sidling up beside Sotari, "I got all their summer clothes and stuff. This one is…"

She fingered the sleeve, which Sotari rolled up.

"…The Poor Boy Rib cardigan," continued Futomi, "I forgot what material it's made out of, though…"

"Enough," said Sotari curtly, "Let's go."

"Oh! Wait!"

Futomi crouched close to the mirror. Sotari raised an eyebrow. The kitty goddess brushed off an imaginary speck from her bangs. Then she ran her hair through with her fingers and wiped away something on her face. The half-Saiyajin frowned, and Futomi stood up.

"Okay!" she laughed aloud, "We can go now!"

She dashed ahead of Sotari, making a beeline for something. Sotari casually followed, and wasn't surprised to see Futomi bob up again in front of her.

"Fortune cookie!?" Futomi shrieked.

Sotari's right eye twitched.

"What?"

"Like this!!" Futomi squealed, snapping a cookie in two, "And you read your fortune!!"

She held her fortune up high to the light, reading aloud the message.

"'Calm yourself! Love isn't always about explosions.'"

Sotari crushed the cookie in her palm. While she ate the pieces, she read her fortune: "'Cheer up! Love will give you a chance as long as you don't sulk.'"

The half-Saiyajin's eyebrow raised, but she didn't say anything. She silently finished her cookie.

~