I am Kera, a Saiyan Warrior Princess

Chapter 7

Piccolo moved further and further away from Sitara. Something had happened between them last night so that they could now sense each other differently. He wondered how this strange connection had been formed and what it meant, but no idea came to him. It was beyond his imagination and that annoyed him. He needed to be able to explain things and situations, to understand them, so that he was above it all. If he couldn't, he felt powerless and that was a state he didn't like, that he detested.

It had more than surprised him that Sitara had pointed unerringly at him with her eyes closed, even though he had suppressed his aura. He now wanted to know if it was only because he was very close to her or if she could still spot him at some distance with his aura suppressed. With his aura suppressed, he could not fly as fast as he was used to, but for this test he had to accept that.

When he had almost reached the mountains, he slowed down. He did not know why. It was as if something was pulling him backwards, in the direction from which he had come. In the direction where Sitara was. He redoubled his efforts to keep flying, but it now felt like he was running through a muddy ground that was trying to hold him down. Quicksand that was pulling him down. He thought his senses were playing tricks on him. The pulling backwards became stronger. His chest felt tight.

It became uncomfortable, it was harder for him to breathe. Slowly he sank deeper. He had once heard that people could get sick. A cold that made them feel weak and weak for a few days. Could he get something like that? He searched his father's memories, but came up empty. Slightly amused at himself, he shook his head. Who had heard of the devil getting sick?

During the inevitable descent, he had continued to move forward. Now his arms and legs were burning as if they had caught fire from within. Panting heavily, he came to earth and looked at his arms. There was nothing to see from the outside. Then why did they hurt so much? He didn't know if he had ever felt so hurt and helpless before. After the fight with Goku he had been badly damaged physically, indeed he had been ready to die, to accept defeat. He had been in pain, but he had fought before and his opponent had also been injured. Now he was in pain, as if an invisible enemy had inflicted it on him. He wondered if it was magic.

'I need to rest,' he thought. Back to the cave. Somehow. On all fours, he crawled in the direction from which he had come. To the cliff edge, next to the waterfall. Where he had left Sitara. He felt miserable, ashamed that he couldn't walk upright, but there was no other way. Agonisingly slowly, he moved away from the mountains. Little by little the burning became more bearable, less so, until it disappeared altogether. Breathing became easier again. He could see the cliff edge clearly now, the river that plunged down there and Sitara lying on the ground at the edge.

Had she fainted? What had happened in his absence? Piccolo lifted off the ground and hovered just above the earth towards her. His body now felt normal again, as if nothing had happened. Only the memory of the pain was still present, like a bad dream that couldn't be shaken off. He wondered if he had imagined the tightness in his chest and the burning in his arms.

The closer he got to the edge of the cliff, the better and stronger he felt. Piccolo stopped next to Sitara. She just straightened up from her lying position with a groan and looked at him.

"What happened?" she asked, putting a hand on her chest and making circular motions with it.

Piccolo couldn't help grinning. "Did you fall asleep from boredom?"

Her eyebrows drew together in annoyance. Stupid monkey. He must have thought he was funny. "No.I couldn't breathe," she snapped in his direction and stood up. The pain was gone, she could breathe freely again, her body now felt like it always did.

Sitara gave Piccolo another withering look and turned around. She wanted to fly back down to her hut and didn't feel like dealing with him any more. But she didn't get far, because he held her by the arm.