"HAAA!" Luna shouted while punching a huge tree, watching in satisfaction as it shattered.
She had been at this for a while now, almost clearing out a whole section of the forest as she tried to distract herself from how bad she felt. Finally she stopped, catching her breath as she surveyed all the damage she had done.
So much for controlling my emotions... She thought, wincing in pain as she looked down at her knuckles, noticing they were torn apart and bleeding. Luna sighed, not even bothering to heal them while feeling completely physically and emotionally exhausted.
Why can't I do it? Why can't I use my powers?! She thought angrily, walking away from all the destruction as she found a tree that was still intact before sitting under it. What am I going to do if I choke up during a real fight?
She reflected on what her mother had said... About needing to train her powers before she could control them properly.
I wish you were here to tell me what to do... I really need your advice right now... Luna thought, remembering the happy times with her family. Ever since she had gotten to Earth, she was surrounded by people who had all those things that she so desperately wanted.
Whenever she spent time at the Son's house or Capsule Corp she was only reminded of what she didn't have. Family... Friends... I mean sure, she had friends. All of Goku's friends and acquaintances seemed to like her well enough... But she longed for a deeper connection with someone. She missed her family and her friends... And they were all gone forever.
Luna felt a wetness on her cheeks, not even realizing she had been crying as she reached up to wipe her face. "What the hell is wrong with me..." She scoffed, knowing she had to become tougher emotionally.
I should go apologize to Piccolo too... She realized, grimacing at how she had reacted. I know he's just trying to make me stronger... Maybe I'll talk to him tomorrow...
Luna yawned, still pretty tired since her nap earlier had been cut short as she leaned back in the grass, noticing it was starting to get dark. She put her hands behind her head, using them as a pillow as she watched the sun set before drifting off into the land of dreams...
...
The next morning...
...
Luna woke up to the sound of birds chirping, feeling rather warm and comfy as she realized something was on top of her. "Huh? What's this?" She mumbled, sitting up while holding some sort of soft white fabric in her hands before a deep voice made her jump.
"Finally... I thought you were going to sleep forever." Piccolo smirked, watching her from a few feet away as she looked over at him in surprise.
Did... Did he stay out here with me? Luna thought sleepily, staring at him in confusion for a moment before remembering what she had wanted to say.
"Hey... Piccolo....... About yesterday-"
"It was my fault." He said, cutting her off as he frowned while getting up from his meditation. "I shouldn't have pushed you that hard. You obviously weren't ready... So, I... I'm sorry." He finished quietly, apparently not used to saying those words very often as Luna smiled, noticing the uncomfortable look on his face.
"I was going to apologize as well..." She said, getting up and picking up his cape before handing it back to him. "I over reacted for sure... I know I need to work harder on keeping my cool when we're training..."
Piccolo nodded, glad she was back to her cheery self as he remembered there was something else he had to do. "Gohan asked me to tell you about the get together at Kame House today... You should go."
"Are you going?"
"I don't know."
"I don't think I want to spend more time around Master Roshi than necessary..." Luna said, thinking back on their last encounter with a frown. "He's a dirty old man..."
Piccolo coughed, the slightest bit of purple gathering on the tops of his cheeks. "I didn't need to know that."
"Well it should be obvious!"
"Look, Gohan just asked me to ask you to show up! I'm sure he wants to spend some time with someone other than his overbearing Mother..."
Luna thought about it for a moment, quickly feeling sorry for the boy after she had gotten to know Chi Chi a little better. She was a nice lady but strict as hell. It's like she doesn't understand that being able to defend yourself and those you love is more important than 'school work' or whatever she had called it...
She sighed, knowing she couldn't say no.
"Hmm... I'll go. But Bulma better have some of her delicious Earth cake!" Luna finished, clasping her hands together as she envisioned her favorite treat, which she had her new aqua haired friend to thank for.
Piccolo just shook his head, chuckling at the strange girl before they both went their separate ways.
...
Later on, at Kame House...
...
"Happy Birthday!" Everyone cheered, clinking their glasses together before staring down at the birthday boy himself.
"Thank you! Thank you all so much for remembering my one thousandth birthday!" Turtle said happily, a few tears gathering in his eyes as he looked around the room at all his friends.
Luna, Gohan, Krillin and Maron, Bulma, Yamcha, Puar, Oolong and the dirty old man himself were all there, smiling back at him .
"And for this marvelous cake..." Turtle added, nodding his head towards the massive piece of desert that had one thousand candles blazing on top of it.
"Make a wish Turtle!" Gohan said excitedly, looking at the giant cake in the middle of the room with wide eyes as Luna did the same.
"Heh, yeah, we should probably blow that fire hazard out!" Roshi laughed, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his forehead as he watched the flames from one thousand candles licking the ceiling of his house.
"Kami, have mercy on an old man..."
Everyone cheered again as Turtle made his wish, all of them getting comfortable as Bulma began passing out plates.
"I hope I make it to one thousand..." Luna commented casually, smiling at Turtle before noticing everyone was staring at her strangely.
"Ehehe, yeah... Me too!" Roshi laughed, slapping his knee while realizing she must be joking. "I feel like I can do it!"
Everybody, including Luna, laughed at the old man, enjoying and relishing these times of peace in the world. Time seemed to fly as everyone caught up, talking about their new training or plans in their life. Luna mostly listened to Gohan tell her about his studies and everything he was learning as she smiled and nodded, not understanding most of it but trying her best.
"What a day... This is great!" Bulma said happily, washing a few dishes for Master Roshi as she turned around from the sink to for a moment to smile. "All of us here together..." She went on, glancing at all her friends that were gathered around the small table behind her enjoying their drinks.
"Yeah, really..." Yamcha agreed, smiling at Bulma before turning around to face Krillin and Maron. "Hey, speaking of 'together'... Are you guys officially dating?" He asked as Krillin's cheeks turned pink.
"W-well, sort of..." Krillin stammered, looking down at his drink while Maron ate the fruit off hers playfully. "We're not boyfriend and girlfriend..."
The blue haired girl stopped, looking over at him in surprise before speaking. "Oh! So we're still free to date other people?" She asked innocently, before turning towards Yamcha as her voice became more sultry.
"Well then, what do you say we go out?" Maron purred, leaning towards him as he laughed nervously.
"Uh, yeah... S-sure... Why not?" Yamcha choked out, his cheeks turning red as he stared at Maron who was only inches away from him before a hard tug on his ear made him wince in pain.
"Say what?!" Bulma interrupted, glaring down at him angrily before releasing his ear and crossing her arms.
"My goodness..." Puar squeaked, sipping his soda before floating over to sit on top of Luna's head as she continued eating, enjoying her second slice of cake while watching the interesting situation in front of her.
"Come on Bulma... We were joking, right? Tell her Maron!" Yamcha chuckled anxiously, staring at the blue haired woman for support.
"No, I'm serious..." Maron said innocently, oblivious to the fact that she was causing such a huge problem with her thoughtless words.
"Oh no..." Krillin mumbled, watching as she continued to flirt with Yamcha.
"Enough kidding around..." Bulma interrupted, pushing Yamcha out of the way as she moved to sit in between them both. "Maron, you haven't said much about Krillin... What makes him so special to you?" She asked, hoping that this girl was more than just some tease.
"Gosh... That's a good one..." Maron mumbled, looking confused for a moment as she tried to think. She looked towards Krillin, blinking a few times before turning back to everyone who was looking at her, waiting patiently for her answer.
"Well, he's bald!" Maron said happily as everyone fell over.
"Oh, love is in the air and it's gonna crash and burn, yeah..." Oolong sang under his breath as everyone tried to recover from Maron's comment.
"It's beautiful!" Puar squeaked as they all couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Hmm... I wonder if one day, maybe I'll have someone special... Luna thought, laughing along with the others as she imagined what that might be like.
The party continued, everybody talking and sharing stories before Luna decided she wanted a moment to herself. She remembered she still had to give Turtle his birthday present as she headed over to where he was sitting, handing him a flower crown that she had made. Turtle smiled, thanking her as he slipped the chain of flowers over his head, wearing it like a necklace as Luna told him how good it looked on him before heading outside to take a little walk on the beach.
She walked down to the water, listening to the calming sounds of the waves as she enjoyed the feeling off having her toes in the warm sand.
I could get used to living somewhere like this... Luna thought, the corner of her lips turning up a bit as she scanned the horizon. It's so peaceful here...
A gentle breeze rolled by, making the dress she was wearing flutter in the wind as a few birds started singing their daily songs. She tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear before finally sighing a few seconds later as she turned around to rejoin her friends.
"Oof!"
Luna coughed, bumping into something hard as she looked up to see Yamcha staring down at her.
"Hey Luna, what's up?" He said coolly, smirking down at her before giving her a wink.
Luna giggled as she stepped back a bit, smiling back at him before answering. "I was just looking at the scenery..." She said, glancing back in the direction of the vast ocean. "It's so beautiful here... On this planet..." Luna admitted, feeling a wave of homesickness wash over her as she continued.
"You're all very lucky to live in a such a lovely place..."
Yamcha frowned, noticing she seemed a bit sad as he suddenly got an idea. "Come on!" He said, motioning for her to follow him as he took off down the beach. "Hurry up!"
"Wh-what? Hey! Wait!" Luna stuttered, jogging behind him as she chased him around towards the other side of the island.
"Yamcha!"
"Haha! You gotta catch me to- Oh! Here it is!" He laughed, stopping to kick off his shoes before rolling his pants up as well as Luna finally caught up to him.
"Yamcha... What..." She panted, making the man in front of her hold a finger up to his lips before shushing her.
"You gotta be quiet so you don't scare 'em..." Yamcha explained, chuckling at Luna's confused face before glancing down at the bottom of her dress and her bare feet. "Good choice," He laughed, smirking at her before walking towards the water. "Follow me..."
Luna was still confused but she followed him anyway, bunching up the bottom of her dress in her hands as they waded out into knee level water. Suddenly Yamcha stopped, glancing down before a large grin swept across his face.
"Here it is!" He whispered, grabbing Luna's shoulder as he tugged her towards the reef.
"Yamcha... I don't see anythi-" She whispered back before gasping in surprise, finally seeing what he wanted to show her.
She was unable to speak for a few seconds as she took in the amazing sight below her. Hundreds of tiny multi-color fish were swimming around their ankles as they stood close to a huge section of the a coral reef. The light in their scales glowed a bright silver in the sun, making the whole area look like a sparkling underwater rainbow against the brilliant colors of the actual coral. Luna could only stare in complete wonder as Yamcha smirked to himself, feeling proud that he was able to cheer her up a bit.
"It... It's amazing..." She breathed finally, taking her eyes away from the water to stare back at the fighter next to her. "I'm going to live near the ocean for sure!" She said suddenly as they both laughed before Luna became more serious.
"Thank you for showing me this Yamcha..." She finished with smile, looking at him gratefully as she thought about how fortunate she actually was. I should quit getting so down about what I don't have any more and start being thankful for everything I do have... Luna realized, chastising herself for being so depressed, despite all the blessings in her life.
"Aw yeah, no problem!" The man next to her laughed, scratching the back of his head as Luna swore she could see a pink tint forming on his cheeks. Maybe it was just the heat...
"I just figured you would like it! It is pretty cool and if you want, we can go swimming sometime and-"
BAM!
Luna jumped as a lawn chair hit Yamcha dead on, knocking him back as he fell into the water with a splash. She looked in the direction of the beach wide eyed as she saw Bulma standing on the shore, looking a little more than pissed.
"B-Bulma! What the hell?!" Yamcha coughed, stomping over to where she stood as he dragged the lawn chair along with him.
"Oh, I see how it is!" Bulma snapped, glaring at the dark haired man as Luna walked towards the shore while watching them argue. "While I'm busy getting you another beer, you're over here hitting on Luna!" She growled, pointing an accusing finger at him as Luna spoke up.
"But Bulma! He wasn't hitting me!" Luna insisted, very concerned that they were arguing because of her. "We weren't even sparing!" She finished, staring at them both seriously as Bulma looked at her for a moment before bursting out laughing. Yamcha couldn't hold back anymore either as he joined her, both of them cracking up as Luna stared at them in confusion.
First they are screaming at each other... Now they're laughing? Are all Earth couples like this? She wondered, blinking a few times as she watched them continue to laugh. She shook her head in confusion, chuckling once herself before they all headed back towards the party.
"Your Earth customs are very strange..." Luna mumbled, making them both dissolve into hysterics all over again as she sighed in irritation.
...
A/N: I love writing these fun little interactions with all the Z Fighters and Luna :3c