DBZ X-Readers, Vol. 2

Cell x Reader Pt. 9 'Rattle'

Author's Note: Obligatory TFS reference. If you haven't guessed by now that's the Cell I'm going with. Marked mature for mention of blood.

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*The Past, Er, Future*

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"I don't see why you keep those in all the time. Can you even hear me?"

"Yes, Cell, I can hear you. And besides, it's music, and these flights are getting pretty long. I can't just stare at you the whole time."

Then he gave you one of his infamous looks.

"Well, I could," you said quickly, "But it ruins the effect."

"What are you even listening to?"

"Just songs, like I used to play for you." You shrugged, "It's hard to say any particular kind of music. I listen to a lot of different stuff."

The look he gave you then was...indistinct. But from the way he moves closer, you can almost tell what he's thinking. Maybe he missed it?

You took out one earbud and offer it to him. It was odd, how...comfortable you'd gotten. You were still afraid of him, but as he never actually hurt you (on purpose, anyway), things were evening out.

He held the earbud up to the side of his face, near that shape that you assumed contained the equivalent of ears.

And you remember the jingles used to go...oh a oh...you were the first one...oh a oh...

It seemed to amuse Cell, because he'd produced a chuckle. Your face went a bit red, but before you could move away his tail had curled loosely around yours.

You were the last one

And for some strange reason, after that, the song was a daily request. There was, you presumed, some kind of scientific explanation--perhaps he associated it with his time back in the tube, when you looked after him, and he remembered.

Oh well. Maybe there was still a chance to work on him. Maybe it wasn't too late.

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*Present Day*

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Little memories wandered in and out on a near-constant basis, and each time you had to remind yourself that he was still around, just...burrowing. He'd be underground for a while, but he'd be back.

He'd be back, and you'd be safe.

After that period, you were both massively relieved and just a little bit worried.

The thought of him was no longer urgent, but it ran in the back of your mind like a series of little impulses, like malware attached to the recovery program...

You shook your head at that thought. Even after everything you were still a little too nerdy. Maybe it was just your brain's desperate attempt for decent stimulation.

Today, you'd managed to get lucky enough to find a rather large buck, and he'd made a fairly decent meal. You found that you were quickly getting used to eating this way--it was far less strain on your teeth, and in any case you weren't being exposed to any of those preservatives that everyone was always so worried about.

In my mind and in my car, we can't rewind, we've gone too far...

You were so glad you'd thought to bring your iPod back with you. Aside from wringing out the boredom, it was comforting to have your favorite music around. You were still trying to figure out a course of action regarding taking a look around the nearest city, but to be honest, the idea was...well, you just weren't sure that it'd be such a good idea.

The song practically blasted in your earbuds as you were heading home--you'd moved the Capsule house a little farther up the river, but that was it--you heard voices along the same trail that the hunter from before went down. You paused the music and then looked down at the trail.

"I'm telling you, he said he was going to go check something out and then he never called back."

"He probably just went off the grid. You know him, he does that now and again." a second one said.

"Yeah," said another voice, "And he might've been drunk, too, for all we know, and you know the crazy shit he says he sees when he's drunk."

"Look, I just want to make sure, okay?"

This was bad. Very bad.

Well, it's not as if you couldn't take care of them too, but...still...you'd prefer not to. As long as they didn't get too...adventurous.

Unfortunately, after investigating the usual spot (and with several remarks about it) they started to search up and down the river. The closer they got to it, the antsier you got.

If they found it, you'd have to...no, no, you didn't have to do anything...

You didn't have to.

But they moved all around the area, until finally, they did stumble across the place where you'd put the house.

"Is he in there?" called the first one, as the second and third men walked inside.

"Nope. It's his place for sure but he's not here. It looks like someone's been using it," the second one said.

"Look, he's probably out setting up a trap or he's in a deer stand or something," the third added, "He's fine."

You leaned down a little bit more in the tree, and suddenly, your footing shifted on the branch that a moment ago had felt perfectly solid.

Snap.

"What the hell--"

You stood up quickly, but they turned around--the second one had drawn his gun. "Who are you?"

"I'm--I was seeing your friend in there. Except he's not here, he went out--" you talked quickly, but felt yourself panic when the first man glanced into the gun cabinet. You'd put the man's rifle back into it until you could think what to do...

"He never goes anywhere without this," the first man said, taking out the rifle.

"He said he was going fishing." You spoke it just as quickly, and with a little horror you realized that they all looked immediately suspicious.

"No, I mean it. He never goes anywhere without it when he's out in wild bits like this."

You had to do something.

Before you even knew what you were doing, you'd lunged the the second one, dealing a blow to the side of his head that sent him into the wall. As your tail jabbed roughly into the third's neck (enough to cause a spray of blood), the first one raised his gun--

--the bullet went right through the right side of your abdomen, but the blood, aside from making you nauseous, seemed to enrage you as well. You turned, striking him hard across the face. There was an audible crack, and he didn't move again.

You clenched your hand over the wound, and took a deep breath. Well this was a hell of a way to die!

But you found an overwhelming urge to focus on the bloody area, and as you did, a tingling sensation spread over it and the surrounding area. Your racing heart began to slow after nearly a minute of agony. For a moment, you were afraid.

You looked down to see how bad the blood was...

...and though your shirt was stained red, all that was under it was perfectly smooth skin.

It was as if you'd never been shot.