Dragon Ball: Shattered Memories vol 1

Chapter 2: Small Changes

"she's been bouncing off the walls all morning" Gine said with some nervous laughter

"it at least seems as though she's ready for whatever you throw at her certainly" bardock said with a smirk "she's certainly happy to see you she's rarely so...emotive"

"is that so? does she not normally become so hyper?" frieza asked with some level of curiosity

"usually she's sleeping...after all she's still not the size she is supposed to be, it must tire her out just kind of existing" gine said a little sadly

"oh yes i remember now...she was born prematurely correct?" frieza tilted his head at the absolutely tiny saiyan who was trying to float "well, whatever the case that isn't stopping her from trying to live normally, after all she is almost blind and even that doesn't seem to stop her from doing what she wants to"

"she's definitely a trooper, I'll admit that, so what's on the agenda for the day?" bardock then asked

"as i had said yesterday i simply wish to assess her needs from day to day life, i need to know how easily she can get around and what if any accommodation i must make" frieza said bluntly

"well she's a little ahead in milestones so she's learned how to crawl and climb....and now apparently she wants to fly-" gine let out a giggle as bardock grabbed shima out of the air after he wasn't paying attention for a few seconds eliciting a teasing chuckle from frieza

"ohhohoho, you really shouldn't take your eyes off of her especially now, who knows what could happen?" he said in a vaguely threatening manner, of course he didn't really care much personally what could happen however for his goals he knew shima had to be kept in top condition at least until she was an adult. but this girl was gaining his curiosity now and he did feel more obligation to provide protection. although Bardock didn't look as amused, he wouldn't dare say anything, frieza still had so much over him

"R-right" Bardock said through somewhat gritted teeth, still he didn't show much emotion to it" a-anyway so your just here to watch then? alright we can absolutely work with that"

shima then started crying, the only time she seemed to be loud "oh dear, she's hungry, I'll tell you sometimes our ability to eat our own body weight in food is a curse-" Gine said before getting her bottle

"she's certainly got some powerful lungs on her" frieza mentioned, to Bardock's surprise, frieza did not seem irritated at all with her wails

'that's new, he typically avoids saiyan children for that reason alone, maybe it's because Shima is only doing it out of true need rather than being like that constantly...' Bardock thought remembering his son's and they were still very loud. but at least raditz was very good with his little sister, kakarot was still a little too young but he was protective at the very least, he had been sent off world before shima's birth due to a rumor that never came to fruition, it was thought that frieza would destroy the planet based on king vegeta's recent fallout with the emperor, but it never happened. still frieza playing nice could only last so long, and her parents were always prepared. shima went quiet again happily drinking the filling milk

"yes, despite her drawbacks she's still relatively healthy, unfortunately she's chronically anemic and her genetic disorder effects more than her vision" Gine mentioned in response to frieza's words

"it does? that i haven't heard yet, i wonder why no one had yet to tell me up until now" frieza growled in anger but stopped after shima started hiccuping, tiny squeaks emitted from her body "that's so c-" frieza stopped himself from saying what he really wanted to say "er so odd, her voice will probably be high pitched later on...ahem...anyway you were saying about her health with this defect?" he quickly switched topics

"oh right, well she is extremely sensitive to light, but especially Ultraviolet Light, it gives her burns very quickly when exposed. her sight is the most obviously effected but the sensitivity to our own star is already bad enough" Gine sighed

"i think i have an easy solution, i can simply put an order for a special and easy to move in suit that protects from the radiation." frieza said as he crossed his arms and tilted his head gently, he wasn't even sure why he just suggested that, but nonetheless he figured it would make her life quality better which was what he needed to happen. shima would have to be the healthiest she could possibly be before any real training began

"ah, that's a wonderful idea" gine said holding shima closer, she finished her food and nearly immediately fell asleep

"see what i mean? she's always so tired...but her power only seems to be stronger by the day" bardock stated proudly, he didn't care that his daughter was different, all he cared about was all of his children's well beings very equally although, lately he was disappointed in raditz for picking fights that he wouldn't win, mainly with Prince Vegeta, but regardless he seemed to be doing just fine anyway

"I see, it could be her power increases alone taking a toll on her body...I'll have to watch that...besides lethargy i assume nothing else is wrong with her persay?" Frieza asked, he actually sounded a little concerned, not a ton but it was definitely there

"yeah, she's fine otherwise besides some lowered immunity concerns, but we were advised to wake her is she sleep longer than usual, it hasn't happened yet" bardock explained

"ah yes, being born earlier than expected would leave her more prone to illnesses...well nonetheless im honestly glad to hear she's doing better" frieza flashed the smallest amount of a smile. after this the day went on as normal. shima played around soon after she woke up fully fixated on the tyrant, she was so incredibly interested in him that she tried to float over a few times, at some point Frieza relented and caught her before she fell out of the air

"you need to be more careful" he said as he poked her nose softly earning some giggles from the tiny saiyan Frieza simply rolled his eyes but then started swaying a bit while holding her getting her to relax again. she didn't fall asleep but chose to play with a small toy she had been carrying within her tail. her parents were confused but grateful immensely for the break, no matter how short it may become

"you're quite a handful- but you seem to at least calm down in my presence" Frieza said basically talking to Shima at this point "Yes, your giving your parents hell...as any child does" the smile this time lasted longer and frieza went quiet as if thinking of something "tell you what, Gine, you two relax for now...i have an idea, i won't leave your residence with her but I'll never figure out what really makes her tick without being more hands on" frieza sighed hating his idea already, he had never had any experience with children her age, he usually found them annoying and messy, shima was less so. but that's why he didn't choose to leave either, frieza becoming frustrated was a dangerous game with someone so helpless.

"are you certain?" Gine stated, the most exhausted looking, she was doing more despite bardock attempting to get her to relax

"yes, besides, you cannot be your best if your exhausting yourself...you should sleep in fact and that is my order...bardock i know will still be awake to assist if things go awry" frieza shrugged pretty nonchalantly, now feeling more confident. after all this would be a test on his composure and he was never willing to fail something like that, he would force himself to get used to shima at least.

"alright, but please if something is very wrong wake me up" Gine said concerned before going into the next room to lay down, falling asleep rather quickly. bardock knew what the emperor wanted, he would only intervene when needed so he sat down writing down some things in a beat up old journal