A Girl and Her Giant (A Baki the Grappler Fanfic)

~1~

'This day cannot get any weirder', I mumbled to myself as I am currently locking eyes with a man. A huge man. And I knew exactly who he was.

Pickle, the man who persevered in ice for 190 million years. I saw him a few days ago, in the very same arena that we are in now. I don't know anything about him other than the news about that reporter girl, but from what I've seen during his few fights, including one against Baki, I know this man could rip me apart at any point now. I would consider myself pretty tough, but not against someone like him.

So how did I end here? Well, it's quite easy to explain actually.

It was raining outside and I just so happened to not have anything to shield myself from it, other than my gym bag, but that didn't do much to help as I was currently dripping wet and shaking from both fear and the cold. He seemed to be eating some kind of meat, but I did not want to find out, although I'm pretty sure I just ruined his meal with my very presence by the way he was staring me down from his spot a few steps away from me. I wasn't sure how long we were in this position until he suddenly stood up and walked over to me.

'Oh god...he's probably going to want to fight me. This is not good.'

My thoughts were racing as he walked closer and closer until he was practically towering over me. I had to remain calm. I don't want to make him angry or anything. He had a look of curiosity, but that could quickly change at some point. I took a breath in and decided to greet him. "Hello. Nice to, uh, see ya."

He didn't respond, not that I expected him to as I assumed that nobody had the guts to teach him anything. He just stood there, but I could tell that he was confused by my hand movements. At least he didn't attack me yet. I gripped the strap on my bag and cleared my throat. "Uh, I see that you're busy right now, so I'll find somewhere to go and leave you be."

I took a few steps back, expecting him to stay as he continued to watch me. Because of where he came from, running would be the worst thing to do and even if I did, he would already have me pinned down. As I walked, I could hear him moving again. I thought he was going back to eating his unknown meal, but as his footsteps got louder, I stopped and turned to see that he had moved even closer to me than before.

'Is he following me?'

I took a few steps forward and he did the same. I blinked.

'He's following me. But why?'

I was a little shocked, but seeing the look on his face made me change my mind somehow. Besides, it was still raining and I didn't want to get soaked again. "Okay, I guess I'll stay for a while," I said as I slipped off my bag.

He seemed quite ecstatic about me staying as he tried to smile normally at me, though his sharp teeth did give me a shiver. He then sat down right there and stared up at me, as if waiting for me to join him, which I did. I pulled my bag closer to me to look for my towel since I could still feel rainwater falling from the curls of my hair, and then I saw him leaning closer to me, or the bag. I could almost see his nose twitching as he sniffed it curiously. It was kind of odd, but I let it slide, once again considering where he came from.

"What? Do you want to see what's inside," I asked. He let out a grunt and started to mess with the zipper, trying to open my black bag, but was clearly struggling to. "Okay, but it's not much."

I could tell he was anxious to see what was inside as I finally pulled the zipper to open it. Like I said, there wasn't too much in there; I don't pack very much during gym trips. There were just clothes, snacks, and my phone. He stared at the things that I pulled out like they were magical tools, then picked up my clothes to 'study' the fabric. I was kind of nervous as I didn't want him to tear my only set of workout clothes, but I was surprised that he didn't. He then eyed a bag of chips and curiously grabbed them. I wasn't going to eat them anyway as I already ate before going out. I opened the bag and handed it to him. He immediately began to eat. That should keep him busy for a few seconds. I dug around for a while longer until I finally found that towel I was looking for and started to dry my hair. As I did, my mind started to wander.

Who exactly is this man?

Is it possible to teach him things?

Why did nobody give him any clothes to wear?

For a moment, I had forgotten about him being there. He seemed to have finished that bag of snacks as I could feel his eyes practically burning my face. Once I laid the towel across my shoulders, there was a sudden warmth on my scalp. It took me a second to figure out that he was touching my hair. Normally, I would have punched him; nobody touched my hair without my permission, but he was surprisingly gentle.

Plus, I'm trying to live.

He was actively trying to avoid hurting me. I felt his large hand move to and from my curls. It must have felt really soft because this went on for a few minutes until I started to become tired. But I can't sleep here. My bed is waiting for me. I pulled out my phone to check the time.

9:30 p.m.

"Damn," I whispered before moving from his touch to put away my things. "Sorry, man, but I have to go."

Once everything was repacked, I zipped up the bag and stood up from the ground, before saying something along the lines of 'see you later' and walking away. I assumed that his brain was even able to process what I said because I didn't get a chance to get far before I felt my leg being grabbed and then my face meeting the sand below.

"Hey, what gives?" I turned around to scold him but my words were stuck in my throat once I saw his expression. His golden eyes bore into mine with a hint of sadness. He doesn't want me to go. But I was getting tired. But what if someone else finds him? I doubt they would be any kinder.

Then an idea came to mind.

"How about you come with me?" As I asked this, I pointed at him, then to myself so he could understand what I was saying.

'Nora, what the fuck? Am I really going to have this eight foot four hundred pound ape-man in my house?'

He seemed to have got it as he pushed himself up from the ground, his strong grip slowly loosening so I could be free to stand up from the ground after him. That's gonna leave a mark later. I dusted off my top and looked at him.

"Follow me," I said, signaling to him to do so as I started again towards the exit of the arena. Hopefully, nobody catches us.

Well, guess I'm living with an 8-foot man-ape now. This should be fun...