Chapter 8: (Part 3)
A few hours later, Mai and Shihori arrived at the house party on Mai’s Capsule 20 motorcycle. Once they hopped off the bike, Mai depressed a button on the center console to put the machine back in its capsule for storage. She picked it up off the ground and stowed it in a case she had concealed in her jacket pocket. Mai and Shihori were both dressed casually wearing jeans and t-shirts. Mai was wearing black boots since she was driving her bike and a leather jacket over her white t-shirt. Shihori was wearing black sneakers with white stripes on the side. A blue band t-shirt depicting her favorite metal band from West City and a pair of jeans that were distressed in appearance. The ladies made their way inside through the throngs of people scattered outside on the front porch of the house. Mai looked around at the crowd of people and took Shihori by the arm, “Come on, let’s mingle.” Shihori was feeling anxious about being here the minute she arrived. She was starting to come down off her buzz from drinking earlier and felt the urge creep up on her to find something to drink. Mai stopped them near the back of the house which had a large pool in the back and several party goers hanging around it. A bunch of college guys suddenly jumped off the roof into the pool with a loud smacking sound that flesh makes against water from such a height. Everyone watching cringed but when they came up out of the water with red skin and pumping their fists in victory there were cheers and jeers for their efforts being called out. Mai looked to Shihori, “I’m going to go find the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” Once Mai disappeared through the crowd Shihori was quickly on the hunt for something to drink. Over the past week she had become so used to keeping her emotions in check with alcohol it seemed like second nature that she needed something to get through the night. She grabbed up two bottles of beer from kitchen and popped the caps off with the snap of her fingers. This drew the attention of some college guys, “Whoa, how did you do that?” Shihori felt smug about keeping the knowledge that despite her appearance she wasn’t human, that and she was quite a bit stronger than anyone here. She gave the guys a cocky smirk, “Plenty of practice.” She quickly consumed one of the beers and then proceeded to finish the other in quick succession. Tossing both bottles over her shoulder without looking, they landed with a clatter in the blue recycling bin against the wall. “That was sick!” one of them exclaimed. Shihori grabbed up another round of beers for herself, “Catch you fellas later.”
She started to wander around the party and stopped between the living room and the kitchen to enjoy the music that the DJ was playing. After a few minutes of enjoying the music she received a tap on the shoulder and turned around, “About time you got back, I was starting to wonder if you fell in.” When she turned around, she received quite a shock because instead of Mai standing there, she had come face to face with a pretty blonde girl with blue eyes. “Hey there, bunny girl.” Shihori’s expression fell to one of pure terror, she couldn’t believe her eyes. More than that she couldn’t believe that Rox was actually trying to talk to her like they were on friendly terms. She eyed Shihori and gave her a self-satisfied smirk once she realized her presence was getting to her, “I just wanted to ask you, there’s no hard feelings between us is there? I guess men are just shallow creatures and poor Goten couldn’t resist my more appealing attributes.” Rox flaunted her sizeable chest and licked her lips as if mocking the fact of what she did with him. Shihori’s gut instinct was to grab this girl and rip her in half on the spot. Unbeknownst to Rox, she was imagining that very gruesome fantasy in her head at this very moment. Except there was something else now, something else driving her instincts since she had become emotionally damaged from her bad break up with Goten. Shihori needed more to drink and not waste her time dealing with this home wrecking slut. She wanted to bury her feelings with alcohol and not feel the emotional pain that Rox so savagely brought to the surface. She pushed past her without a word and stormed off into the backyard to get out of dodge. Rox put her hand on her hip and had a self-serving cocky smirk painted across her lips as she watched Shihori storm away in a panic. Mai noticed what was happening from across the room and harshly pushed Rox into the wall as she gave chase to Shihori. “Hey! Watch it, bitch!” Rox complained noisily after Mai body checked her.
There was a little tiki bar set up in the backyard and Shihori pushed past everyone else waiting in line for drinks and grabbed up an open bottle of tequila. She removed the pour spout from the bottle and started to guzzle it down in one long drink. She had just about finished the entire bottle as Mai walked up and the young lady put her arm around her shoulder, “Shihori, are you okay? I saw what that bitch did to you. I’m so sorry, it was a mistake bringing you here, come on I’m taking you home.“ Shihori’s head started to spin in circles not just from all the drinking but the waves of anxiety that were brought on by encountering the one who was partially responsible for ending her relationship with Goten. She looked at Mai with a cold sweat beginning to bead on her face, “I think I’m going to be sick.” Mai quickly helped her inside to one of the bathrooms upstairs and pushed her way past the entire line of people who were waiting. They barged inside as soon as the door opened and locked it behind them to many protests of angry party goers waiting to use the toilet. Shihori hunched over the bowl and lost the contents of her stomach in a messy haze of dark emotions and physical sickness. Mai held onto her hair and ears while she handled her business. Shihori lifted her head and leaned up against the wall with a sloppy, intoxicated expression on her face, “I’m okay, I’m okay.” Mai reached down to brush hair from her face, “Stay here for a minute. Let me get something to clean you up.” Shihori acknowledged her even amidst the drunken haze as Mai turned to exit the room, “I love you, Mai. You’re my best friend.” She had stopped at the door and turned back to her, giving a warm smile back to her messy friend, “I know.”
Outside the party, a blue skinned man slowly lowered himself down to the ground in the middle of the street. Everyone else seemed too preoccupied to notice that an alien had just come down from the sky and began to walk through the front yard. A couple of fraternity brothers gathered on the front porch finally noticed Kanzō walking up to the house and moved to intercept him, “Hey, bro! What’s with the crazy get up?” The alien swordsman stopped in his tracks and gave the intoxicated humans a curious look. “Why are you dressed like a pirate, bro?!” A comment made in reference to his over the top garb and sword sheathed at his hip. “You’re not with those Kappa Delta dickheads, are you? Cause f*@$ those guys!” Kanzō arched his brow, “Such a curious greeting from a primitive species. No, I’m here in search of a female by the name Shihori. Might you gentlemen know her?” The college boys all looked at each other like he was speaking gibberish, “Man, just get the f*@$ outta here, freak!” One of them lunged forward to push Kanzō in the chest, but instead of contacting him Kanzō had seized him by the arm with crushing force. “I think you’re sorely mistaken human. I was asking you a question, not entertaining your buffoonery.” The human male winced painfully as Kanzō tightened the crushing force he applied to his arm and lifted him off the ground. “No matter, I’ll go see for myself. Be seeing you…. bro.” Kanzō gave him a sinister sneer before quickly spinning around in a circle with the young man in his grasp. He whipped him around like a rag doll which knocked over the other men standing in front of him, he launched him through the front wall of the house which caused his body to crash into a few party goers inside.
Mai had just stepped away from the sink with a glass of water and a towel for Shihori when the frat boy’s body came to a crashing halt next to her with a sickening crack of broken bones. Her eyes grew wide with shock while the people around her began to scream in terror at what just happened. Kanzō casually leapt up onto the front porch and walked through the hole he had just made with the man’s body. His eyes began to search around while people scattered in every direction to flee from him. Mai dropped everything onto the ground and took cover against the wall dividing the living room and the kitchen. She reached into her jacket behind her right hip and drew a compact 9mm pistol from its holster. She always made a habit to stay armed when she wasn’t drinking and since she was playing designated driver this evening, it was good fortune on her part. She reached up with her left hand underneath the pistol and slightly pulled the slide to the rear, performing a press check to ensure the pistol was loaded. Kanzō’s boots were thumping against the floor as he methodically made his way across the house. He soon stepped past the divide in the rooms and Mai thrust her weapon hand out to make a contact shot which rang out with *bang* as the weapon fired a round. The blue skinned alien just smirked as the shot went wild into the ceiling. Kanzō had snatched Mai by the wrist and diverted the muzzle of the weapon away from his head before she realized what was happening. “My, my, look at the beauty we have here. Yet you have such a poor taste in manners. *Tsk tsk tsk*” He casually admonished her with the wag of a finger for trying to shoot him in the face. He proceeded to lifted her off the ground quite effortlessly by her seized arm. “Don’t worry my lovely young friend, I’m not here to hurt you. As a matter of fact, I’m here on a mission to save your entire primitive species from annihilation.” Mai narrowed her eyes in irritation at the casual demeanor he had taken with her right after he finished tearing up half the house. “I just need one small favor if you don’t mind? Do you know where I can find a girl named Shihori?” Mai began to clench her teeth in anger at the mention of Shihori’s name, but she kept it cool for now when she responded, “Can’t say that I do. Now how about you let me go, please.” Kanzō gave her an inquisitive look like he was studying her reaction before he released her from his grasp. “Alright, I’m a man of my word. What’s your name?” Mai kept a straight face as he set her down and continued to engage him for information, “It’s Mai. What’s yours?” He seemed very smug and a slight smirk crossed his lips as he ran a hand back over his long hair, “My name is Kanzō, it is such a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mai.” He took her by the hand and kissed the back of it like a chivalrous gentleman. It took everything Mai had to keep her emotions in check because she felt being touched by him made her skin crawl. Kanzō released her hand and gave her that same inquisitive look as before, “Now how about we start by being truthful with me and tell me where Shihori is hiding.” It took everything Mai had not to betray her emotions to him when he revealed his hand. “I know you two are friends and if I’m not mistaken you know those two boys, Goten and Trunks as well.” His demeanor suddenly changed; he became quite agitated by her attempts at stalling him. “Now cut the bullshit and tell me where she is.” Mai’s eyes started to look around the room to find a way out here and her eyes briefly settled on something next to her on the wall. She crossed her arms to keep him at ease even though she still held on to her weapon, “Listen, tell me what you want with her and maybe we can come to some sort of an arrangement.” Kanzō ran a hand back over his hair to smooth it out and he gave a relenting sigh, “I’ve been tasked to find out if she can be swayed from her current position of ignorance concerning a few deities. If that’s the case, you both certainly have nothing to fear from me. Quite the contrary, I would enjoy nothing more than having one so lovely as you by my side. In time we could even learn to enjoy each other’s company a bit more…. intimately?” He ended his statement trying to sound smooth, but it came off as extremely creepy. Mai closed her eyes and gave him a smirk, “You know, I’m inclined to believe you but there’s just one problem with that.” Kanzō raised an eyebrow curiously, “Oh? What’s that?” Mai kept her eyes closed and gave a soft chuckle, “I’ve already got a boyfriend and his name is Trunks!” Just then she fired a shot into a fire extinguisher mounted close-by on the wall. The pressurized cylinder began to spew a white cloud of dry chemical powder which obscured Kanzō’s vision and started to make him cough. Mai kept her eyes closed which protected her from the chemical shower. She quickly ducked low and retreated to the back of the kitchen where she knew the door to the backyard was located. After a quick moment she found the edge of the door frame and pushed her way through out into the open of the backyard.
Once she was in fresh air, she opened her eyes and gasped to get some air into her lungs. She took in her surroundings and noticed some people still cowering in ad hoc hiding spots in the backyard such as behind the tiki bar and in the small pool house on the opposite end of the yard. “Everybody needs to get the hell out of here now!” she called out to them in a commanding tone. Their frightened eyes fell not onto her but onto the blue skinned alien that had come stomping out the back door looking quite pissed off. Kanzō reached down to his waist and drew his curved longsword giving it a flourish in front of his body, “Now you’re going to make me go back on my word about not hurting you.” Mai spun around and took aim with her pistol, she began to fire double taps at his chest which were quickly deflected in an unseen flurry of his sword. The young lady displaced and began to fire on the move as he encroached on her position. Once her weapon ran dry, she ejected the magazine and reached under her jacket onto her beltline to withdraw a fresh magazine, quickly inserting it and reloading the weapon. Kanzō dashed forward faster than her eyes could follow and before she knew it, he was right on top of her about to bring his sword down on her. She fell backwards to the ground narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp blade, she fired off a few more rounds in his direction which were casually deflected by his sword. Mai began to scramble to her feet while firing at him one handed as she attempted to get some distance between them. She was suddenly surprised when her weapon didn’t go *bang* like she intended, she noticed the slide was locked back indicating an empty gun. She cursed her lack of situation awareness and threw the pistol at him in a vain attempt to keep him at bay. He merely ducked his head to the side to allow it to helplessly sail past him. “Enough games. Last chance to tell me where your friend is hiding.” Mai reached into her pocket and withdrew the only weapon she had left on her person, the switch blade knife that Shihori had gifted to her all those years ago. She flicked open the blade and held it reverse grip in a boxer’s stance, “Like hell! I’ll never give her up to you, asshole!” Kanzō shook his head, clearly disappointed with her decision, “Such a shame.” He disappeared off the spot and closed the distance on Mai in an instant. Before she knew it, he was on the attack from her right side and she managed to turn her body slightly as the blade came racking across her torso to slice her open in a splash of blood. Mai cried out in pain as she fell to the ground clutching her rib cage, she felt the warm gush of blood run over her fingers. She looked down at the wound and while not a mortal wound it was still bleeding steadily. She winched in pain as she began to crawl backwards on the ground in a fruitless attempt at escape. Kanzō casually closed the distance between them and aimed to finish her off with a thrust of his blade but he paused with a sigh, “It’s such a terrible waste to have to dispose of such a lovely woman.” Before he could strike the fatal blow, his attention was caught by someone shouting at him from the direction of the house, “Hands off my friend, dickhead!” Shihori was already in the air and crashing down on him with heavy right hand which pounded into his left forearm that was brought to bear to block her strike. The force of the blow caused him to slide backwards a few feet, creating skid marks along the ground where his boots had dug into the earth.
Shihori lowered herself to the ground next to Mai and reached down to help her best friend to her feet, “Mai, are you okay?” She grimaced in pain while she still clung to her side and leaned on Shihori’s shoulder, “He got me pretty good.” Shihori pulled her close and she leapt into the air onto the roof of the house and bounded off to make a landing in the front yard. Shihori set Mai down on the ground as carefully as she could manage. Mai winched in pain from being jostled around but she focused on digging in her jacket pocket for her phone, “Be careful, Shihori. He’s after you.” Shihori nodded and looked up just as Kanzō had leapt over the entire house in a single bound and landed in a crouch nearby. He stood up to his full height which towered over Shihori and he gave her a smile, “My goodness, aren’t you just a vision of beauty. Shihori, my dear, I’m just here to talk. We don’t need to be enemies.” Shihori gave him a skeptical look after the attempt to hit on her. “You’ve been lied to your whole life by deceitful gods who want nothing more than to control you.” He reached out his hand to her, “Come with me and I’ll show you the truth. You and everyone you care about will be safe, I give you my word.” Shihori pursed her lips together and stared at him intently as if she considered his words carefully, “Listen, dude. I’m too drunk for your bullshit right now. You just attacked my best friend with a f*#$ing sword and my week has been pretty shitty so far. So, if you could kindly f*#@ off, I would greatly appreciate it.” Kanzō narrowed his eyes at the mouthy young lady and shook his head, “I wish you were more willing to be reasonable with me.” He dashed forward with his sword reared back to attack with a horizontal slash, but the strike was intercepted by Shihori who clamped down on the blade with her bare hands. The force of the blow pushed her backwards across the lawn, the tips of her sneakers digging two thin lines in the grass. Kanzō smirked at her and before she knew it, he drew the blade across the insides of her palms, cutting her hands opens. “Ah! Mother fu-!” While she was distracted nursing her injured hands, he was on the attack once again and slashed at her from multiple angles which she narrowly managed to weave her body through in her inebriated state. She was momentarily distracted; it gave him enough time to strike out and he caught her in the face with a fierce left fist which hammered into her jaw. She was sent sailing through the air into the front wall of the house, creating a new hole and out the back into the yard.
Her body skipped off the ground and sloppily tumbled until she impacted the tiki bar which finally arrested her movement. She began to groan in pain as her fingers lightly brushed her aching jaw. She slowly managed to sit upright and noticed movement off to her right side which quickly drew her attention. There was someone hiding behind the bar she came crashing into and they were huddled in the corner quaking with fear. Shihori saw that it was Rox who was giving her a terrified expression and stuttered her words as she trembled in the corner, “I-I’m s-s-sorry! G-g-oten is all yours! Just p-please don’t hurt me!” Shihori rolled her eyes at the frightened blonde and shook her head, “Just shut the f*@$ up and stay down!” Kanzō had closed the gap on Shihori before she realized it and reached down to scoop her off the ground by the front of her shirt. “Oh shit!” she exclaimed as she was man handled by the alien swordsman. She quickly slammed both her hands against the sides of his ears and when he staggered from the shock of the blow, she thrusted both her feet forward into his chest in a push kick to free herself from his grasp. This managed to do the trick and she fell to the ground in a crouch while Kanzō shook off the stunning strike to his head. He growled at her in frustration of her continued defiance, “Such a needless struggle will only prolong your suffering!” Kanzō dashed forward and struck her in the chest with a rising knee which completely collapsed her over his leg. Shihori coughed and struggled to breathe from the sudden impact to her chest. She was quickly lifted off his knee and received a vicious punch to the side of her face. Shihori collapsed to the ground and spat blood from her mouth. She looked up to Kanzō with a bloody smirk, remaining cocky and defiant despite the pummeling she just received, “Is that all you’ve got? You hit like a pussy.” Shihori utilized her hands planted on the ground to brace herself to attack. She performed a handstand and struck out at him with a kick. Kanzō intercepted her foot and pulled her face straight into his knee. Shihori cringed as the knee smashed into her face. She was bleeding not only from her mouth but from twin trails that began to drip blood from her nose as well. He whirled her around in a semi-circle with her foot still in his clutches and pitched her into the ground. The angle of her body impacting the ground caused her to skip which sent her careening into the in-ground pool.
Shihori awoke lying at the bottom of the pool, she lurched forward in a panic and gagged on the water as it attempted to enter her lungs. She panicked for but a moment before she managed to center herself and calm down as she remembered her training from father. It had been a while, but she channeled her ki throughout her body, the feeling of it warmed her and reminded her of a long-lost friend. Her power exploded outward sending all the water cascading out of the pool into a geyser in the air which rained down on the entire backyard. Kanzō shielded himself from the cascade of water with his arms and he narrowed his eyes when he caught sight of a golden-haired female rising up in the air out of the now empty pool. Shihori locked her blue-green eyes on him when she came fully into view, she managed to transform into her Super Saiyan form. She appeared quite angry with a bruised face and dripping wet hair, “Now you’ve pissed me off,” she said coldly which elicited a cocky smile from Kanzō. He began to chuckle at her bold statement, “You think just by changing the color of your hair I’d be inclined to give up? You’re sadly mistaken, my dear Shihori. Allow me to give you a small sample of my true power.” Kanzō took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, his power quickly erupted from his body which became visible in a red aura that engulfed his entire body. What Shihori felt from him in that moment shocked her sober again and her eyes grew wide with surprise as the weight of his power overwhelmed her senses, “What the hell?!” Kanzō vanished from view and was inside her guard in an instant slamming a fist down into the side of her face and he continued to press forward with the attack. Before she hit the ground, she felt a kick of his boot into her back lift her body up again before another fist slammed her down again. He juggled her this way for five to six consecutive strikes before she hit the ground and slid along the grass creating a deep trench with her body. She quivered in pain as she managed to press up off the ground and attempt to launch a counterattack. She cried out as she launched herself forward with her fist cocked back to strike, but he was too fast and cleanly evaded her telegraphed punch. When she passed him by, he swiped his sword along her back which opened up a large wound that ran from her shoulders down across the length of her back. She came crashing to the ground with a splash of blood and a yelp of pain as the blade did it’s damage. Shihori whimpered as she rolled over onto her back to put him plainly in view. She dug deep in her resolve and thrust her hand forward to fire off a close-range beam attack with all the power she could muster forth, “HAAAA!” Kanzō was enveloped by the blue energy wave at point blank range and for a moment he disappeared in the smoke that the impact of the blast created. Shihori crawled backwards struggling to get to her feet and became suddenly shocked when he appeared completely unscathed from her attack. His left hand was outstretched with smoke rising off his palm from the impact of her ki attack. “So, you still have some fight left in you. I do so enjoy when my victims put up a fight.” He licked his lips which made Shihori uncomfortable and at the same time angry that he continued to toy with her. Kanzō kicked off the ground from where he stood and quickly appeared within striking distance of her. He made a swift thrust aimed for her face but Shihori rolled to the side at the last moment, the blade slicing into her right cheek as the cold steel passed by. She rolled up into a crouch and touched the side of her face, angrily narrowing her eyes at the smirking blue alien. He dashed in on her again with a lightning fast slash of his blade, this time she was unable to evade due to his increase in speed and the short distance between them. Shihori brought her right arm up to protect her body from the blow and it was cleaved into deeply down to the bone which snapped under the force of his strike. As the searing pain of the blade cut through her flesh, she quickly realized her arm wasn’t removed from her body. Then she saw the look on his face, he gave her a sinister grin that told her it was intentional, he wanted to let her know he could have easily dismembered her if he wanted to but this sadistic act was meant to cripple and demoralize her even further. The severe damage was done, her right arm was hanging limp at her side with most of the connective tissue severed. Blood was hemorrhaging out of the deep laceration and spilling onto the ground. She attempted to clamp down on it with her free hand, but it did little to stem the flow. Shihori was clearly in a great deal of pain but Kanzō did not relent in his attack as he came at her with blinding speed. She attempted to meet him head on to throw off his rhythm, but he corrected himself faster than she could react to his movements. He got around behind her and sliced his blade across the back of both her legs. Shihori collapsed to the ground in agonizing pain and cried out. She couldn’t believe how easily he was overwhelming her, she cursed herself when she realized this was proof of what Vegeta said about her conditioning. She willed herself to get up, she struggled to get even to her knees just as he rounded on her with his sword. He spun the blade and flicked her blood off his sword with calculated malice. “I think our little game is over.” Kanzō looked down at Shihori as she trembled in pain at the amount of damage he dealt. “You could have been with me after we succeeded in our efforts. You would have known nothing but happiness and pleasure. You really are quite beautiful, but you leave me no choice. Allow me to release you from your suffering as a parting gift.” Shihori’s expression was mixture of quivering anger and pain with a look that told him where he could stick his mercy. Kanzō reared his sword back to bring it down like a cleaver against her neck but before the blow could be struck, she lashed out her left hand to catch the blade in mid-strike which stopped the attack in its tracks. Blood erupted from a deep laceration on her hand as the sword made contact, but it moved no further, Shihori’s rage began to build and she mustered everything she had to push herself up to her feet. “What?! Where did this strength come from?” he sounded clearly shocked from witnessing this sudden defensive action. Shihori’s hair began to stand on end and her body shuddered with power, a golden aura erupted around her as she struggled to push her energy forth to reach a higher power. Kanzō attempted to free the blade from her grasp but her bloodied hand remained latched onto it in a deadly struggle. Shihori’s power shook the ground around them as debris from their battle hovered in the air. She pressed her body harder as her eyes washed over to solid white and electrical discharge snapped off her body. She began to rise up to her feet and press him back despite all her injuries. All her suffering and rage bubbled to the surface and only drove her further over the edge.
Suddenly, it all stopped, her expression froze in place and her pupils came back into view. She looked at Kanzō who was smirking down at her with an expression of exuberant victory. Shihori’s eyes slowly fell down to her torso and that is when she realized there was a large knife impaled into her torso. For a moment Shihori looked up at Kanzō with confusion like she didn’t understand what was happening. He savagely lifted up on the blade until it came to a stop against the underside of her ribcage. This grievous act caused a large amount of blood to erupt from her mouth and run down her chin in a pitiful display. She looked at her attacker with a great deal of pain and sadness in her now tear-filled eyes, so much so that the misery of her situation was palpable. She didn’t understand how it could have come down to this so fast, the end of her life was so brutal and thoughtless. Kanzō yanked the knife from her body and wiped her blood off each side of the blade on shoulders with a calm decisiveness. “Be at peace and know a better world awaits those you leave behind.” He sheathed both his weapons on opposite hips and started to walk away from her. Shihori collapsed face first to the ground with a sickening thud. Her blonde hair and blue-green eyes faded back to normal. A dark pool started to form underneath her body while she began to gasp for air and choke on her own blood in an unsettling rattle. Kanzō turned to give her one last look to ensure she remained neutralized before he leapt into the sky and disappeared into the night. Shihori laid in the grass with her eyes affixed on the broken remains of the house. In the midst of her agony she noticed a lone figure limping their way toward her. She couldn’t make out who it was because her eyes were blurry with tears. She heard Mai’s voice call out to her, “Shihori!” Mai collapsed to her knees next to her and she looked over her grievously wounded friend, “Oh God! No, no, no. Stay with me! Help is on the way!” She rolled her body over onto her back which caused Shihori to close her eyes tightly to the overwhelming pain it caused her. Mai went about applying pressure to the puncture wound in the middle of her torso. She looked around in a panic as she desperately needed something to dress the wounds to stem the bleeding. “Help! Please, someone!” A few moments passed when she heard someone cautiously approach her from behind. She turned her head to see Rox still trembling in fear from the traumatic experiences of the evening. “Help me! Get down here and hold pressure on this or she’s going to die!” Mai commanded her forcefully as she was doing all she could to keep Shihori alive. Rox nervously nodded and got to her knees on the opposite of Mai. Her shaking hands pressed down on the wound that Mai was holding onto for dear life. Shihori’s bright red eyes began to focus on Rox, she gave her a look like she was actually glad to see her. Tears began to flow uncontrollably out of Rox’s eyes at the miserable sight of her, “I’m so sorry.” Mai went about removing her jacket and pulled her t-shirt off leaving her with only her white lace bra. She began to pull the t-shirt apart with a wince as she stretched her own wound which was still bleeding down her ribcage. Rox looked at her as she did this, “You’re bleeding!” Mai ignored her own injuries for now and continued to work dressing Shihori’s other wounds with the torn-up t-shirt as tightly as she could manage. “Don’t worry about me. Just keep putting as much pressure as you can.” Once she finished bandaging up Shihori’s arm and her legs she hurried as quickly as she could back to toward the house. Once inside, she started to dig in the kitchen for anything she could use as a dressing for her other injuries. She grabbed a dish towel off the floor and went back to Shihori and Rox, “Alright, switch out with me.” She pressed the makeshift bandage down onto the wound which caused Shihori to cough again, dark blood came out between her lips which gave sign of severe internal injuries. Her breath rattled when she aspirated which gave indication that she might have a punctured lung. Her eyes became glassy and unfocused, “Come on, Shihori! Stay awake damnit!”
Just then two figures cut across the nighttime sky and landed in close proximity to them on the ground. Mai and Rox both looked up from Shihori and saw that both Trunks and Goten had arrived. “Mai!” Trunks called out as he hurried over to her with Goten right next to him. Both boys looked shocked at the scene especially Goten when he laid eyes on Shihori. “What happened to her?!” he asked with panic in his voice. Mai kept her focus on Shihori as she spoke, “No time for that now. Do either of you have any of those healing beans?” Goten and Trunks both shook their heads quickly in answer to her question. Trunks took a knee next to Mai and noticed that she was bleeding on her right side, “Mai, you’re hurt! Goten, give us a hand.” Mai started to feel the pain of her injury after the all the adrenaline started to wear off and she leaned heavily on Trunks for support. Goten got down opposite of Mai and knelt next to Rox, the young lady had Shihori’s blood all over her hands. He looked over to her quickly and moved to swap hands out with her, “Thank you, Rox. Even after everything you stayed to help.” Rox just nodded as she seemed to still be in a post-traumatic daze. Trunks helped Mai with her injury, but Mai remained intently focused on saving Shihori, “If we don’t get her help fast, she’s going to bleed out.” Shihori’s eyes were glazed over and she seemed unaware of her surroundings, her breathing became shallower and her color started to turn pale. Goten and Trunks looked to one another and Goten spoke with determination in his voice, “I’ve got her. We need to get to her Korin’s tower right now!” Trunks nodded to his friend as he moved to cradle Mai in his arms, “Take off as fast as you can. Don’t worry about us we’ll keep up.” Goten picked up Shihori as carefully as he could while holding onto her most serious injury. Goten and Trunks hovered in the air briefly and took off at top speed leaving a white streak of energy in their wake. Rox looked up at them from the ground holding her bloodied hand toward the sky in a sign of solidarity with the group, “Please be okay.”
