03-29-2010, 02:44 AM
The weight of the bike disappeared from beneath her, and a moment later, Belle's entire world was consumed by darkness as she fell. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the inky blackness was replaced by the bright lights of the carnival, warming against her face and skin.
And she was still a girl.
Belle let out a short, violent "Shit!" and grabbed herself to make sure. Although they were heavily strapped down - uncomfortably so, - the ... growths ... were still there. Now that she came to think of it, Wess had never promised that she would be able to reverse her condition once she had done as the robot had asked.
The smell of popcorn teased her nose as she lowered her hands. Her belly rumbled greedily - she had not eaten in quite a while. "Serves me right for trusting someone," she grumbled. There was a trashcan nearby that was vaguely reminiscent of the ones the monster truck had repeatedly pancaked. Belle kicked it over, spilling paper wrapping across the simulated dirt. The release felt good, and she started towards the smell of food with a lighter scowl than before, the burning anger starting to fade.
Of course she had trusted him - that was her way - but even if she hadn't, she still would have helped him. It wasn't in Belle's nature to turn her back on someone who needed help, no matter how she felt about them personally. Most of her fights had ended with her showing mercy to her opponents, even if doing so threatened her life. To her, there was nothing great about killing. Often, victory was enough.
Master Akiha sometimes said she was a ridiculous idealist. Belle didn't know what that meant, but it sounded like something someone had to decide on - to think about. Belle didn't think; she acted. On gut, on instinct, and on heart. Those were the things that Belle counted on, the things that she trusted above all else.
And where had it gotten her?
The tents opened up into a small clearing filled with picnic tables. Belle made her way to one of the nearby stands and ordered a 'ham buhrgair,' a city delicacy that Sayana had introduced her to, and went to sit at one of the unoccupied benches. There were a handfull of people scattered around the others, talking in low tones or else minding their own business. Off in a far corner, a young man and woman were pressed together, their lips locked in a kiss.
Belle had to cover her mouth to keep the gagging to herself. The very idea of kissing a girl was so revolting that she almost lost her appetite on the spot. It was funny, though; the experience had not been what Belle had expected. Menstu Ration had not yet made an appearance, and she had been able to do almost everything she had done before. She was a little more awkward with the extra weight on the front of her chest, to be sure, but nothing crippling. And more importantly: no witchery.
Maybe Menstu Ration wouldn't be able to do anything to her because this was all a simulation? The thought was comforting, especially since she knew that her current form wasn't real. After the game was over, if she understood things right, she would be dumped back into her proper body. However, that knowledge didn't make her current situation any more distracting - or unnerving.
The couple was still going at it. "Could you do that somewhere else?" Belle demanded loudly as a particularly loud smack reached her ears. The couple looked up, then at each other, then giggled as they headed off together. The laughter was not kind, and they glanced several times in Belle's direction before vanishing.
Several of the other patrons had paused in what they were doing to look at her. Some looked annoyed, while others carried what could be called a veiled, passing interest. "What?" Belle demanded gruffly. "They were being loud!"
The customers returned to their meals. Some rolled their eyes before doing so, and Belle had to wonder just what it was about what she had done that had been unusual. It was almost like it didn't bother everyone else - that a boy and a girl kissing in public was perfectly natural and nothing to be afraid of. Belle had always known that her view on women differed from others - Kaden associated with more of them, it seemed, than men - but she had always assumed that a fear of intimacy with them was natural.
Could it be that she was the odd one?
She shook her head.
No; there was nothing normal about women. They were too different. Too mysterious. It was impossible to know what was going on inside their heads or what they were planning. They couldn't be trusted. When you did, the only thing they could do was betray you and let you down. She knew it; she had seen it.
And yet here she was, a girl who thought nothing of extending a hand to help another person in need, the same as she had always been, and always would be. Could it be true that she had been wrong all this time? Could it really be that they weren't all that different?
Belle felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, tensing as if something enormous were rising up behind her. Her half-eaten hamburger stared up at her from the plate, apparently choosing not to offer up a suggestion either way.
She slapped her hands down on the table and stood up, meal forgotten. Bullshit, she thought; it was a stinking lie. The only reason she wasn't having trouble was because she was trying to act like a boy. If she acted naturally, she'd probably start acting like Sayana, or some kind of scarlet woman, or a hangar - that's what Belle thought they were called.
Her stomach was still growling, but Belle didn't care. Stepping away from the tables, she made her way towards the tents. She was just about to round a corner when she abruptly stopped, a tingle at the back of her mind, and a second later a boy rounded the corner ahead.
He had short, black hair that hung down in messy locks, with onyx eyes that seemed perpetually bemused. Belle had a fleeting memory of someone similar being in Central City, but she couldn't place him exactly.
Juno smiled at her. "Hello," the young man said amiably, "something wrong, miss?"
In truth, Juno hadn't really done anything wrong. Like so many that had run afoul of Belle's temper, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Belle knew that he didn't mean it, and knew that he had no way of knowing who Belle really was, but at that moment she didn't care. Instead of answering him, Belle hauled back her fist and drove it as hard as she could into the other half-saiyan's face.
Juno's feet shot out from under him as the force of the blow lifted him off his feet. The ex-fortune teller hit the ground on his back, wheezing and staring up at Belle in shock.
Belle put her bare foot on his chest. "I'm not a miss," she spat out, leaning over his prone figure and glaring holes into his eyes. "You got that?! Say something like that again, and I'll do more than pop you in the nose! I'll beat the shit out of you! I'm not a girl!!!"
And she was still a girl.
Belle let out a short, violent "Shit!" and grabbed herself to make sure. Although they were heavily strapped down - uncomfortably so, - the ... growths ... were still there. Now that she came to think of it, Wess had never promised that she would be able to reverse her condition once she had done as the robot had asked.
The smell of popcorn teased her nose as she lowered her hands. Her belly rumbled greedily - she had not eaten in quite a while. "Serves me right for trusting someone," she grumbled. There was a trashcan nearby that was vaguely reminiscent of the ones the monster truck had repeatedly pancaked. Belle kicked it over, spilling paper wrapping across the simulated dirt. The release felt good, and she started towards the smell of food with a lighter scowl than before, the burning anger starting to fade.
Of course she had trusted him - that was her way - but even if she hadn't, she still would have helped him. It wasn't in Belle's nature to turn her back on someone who needed help, no matter how she felt about them personally. Most of her fights had ended with her showing mercy to her opponents, even if doing so threatened her life. To her, there was nothing great about killing. Often, victory was enough.
Master Akiha sometimes said she was a ridiculous idealist. Belle didn't know what that meant, but it sounded like something someone had to decide on - to think about. Belle didn't think; she acted. On gut, on instinct, and on heart. Those were the things that Belle counted on, the things that she trusted above all else.
And where had it gotten her?
The tents opened up into a small clearing filled with picnic tables. Belle made her way to one of the nearby stands and ordered a 'ham buhrgair,' a city delicacy that Sayana had introduced her to, and went to sit at one of the unoccupied benches. There were a handfull of people scattered around the others, talking in low tones or else minding their own business. Off in a far corner, a young man and woman were pressed together, their lips locked in a kiss.
Belle had to cover her mouth to keep the gagging to herself. The very idea of kissing a girl was so revolting that she almost lost her appetite on the spot. It was funny, though; the experience had not been what Belle had expected. Menstu Ration had not yet made an appearance, and she had been able to do almost everything she had done before. She was a little more awkward with the extra weight on the front of her chest, to be sure, but nothing crippling. And more importantly: no witchery.
Maybe Menstu Ration wouldn't be able to do anything to her because this was all a simulation? The thought was comforting, especially since she knew that her current form wasn't real. After the game was over, if she understood things right, she would be dumped back into her proper body. However, that knowledge didn't make her current situation any more distracting - or unnerving.
The couple was still going at it. "Could you do that somewhere else?" Belle demanded loudly as a particularly loud smack reached her ears. The couple looked up, then at each other, then giggled as they headed off together. The laughter was not kind, and they glanced several times in Belle's direction before vanishing.
Several of the other patrons had paused in what they were doing to look at her. Some looked annoyed, while others carried what could be called a veiled, passing interest. "What?" Belle demanded gruffly. "They were being loud!"
The customers returned to their meals. Some rolled their eyes before doing so, and Belle had to wonder just what it was about what she had done that had been unusual. It was almost like it didn't bother everyone else - that a boy and a girl kissing in public was perfectly natural and nothing to be afraid of. Belle had always known that her view on women differed from others - Kaden associated with more of them, it seemed, than men - but she had always assumed that a fear of intimacy with them was natural.
Could it be that she was the odd one?
She shook her head.
No; there was nothing normal about women. They were too different. Too mysterious. It was impossible to know what was going on inside their heads or what they were planning. They couldn't be trusted. When you did, the only thing they could do was betray you and let you down. She knew it; she had seen it.
And yet here she was, a girl who thought nothing of extending a hand to help another person in need, the same as she had always been, and always would be. Could it be true that she had been wrong all this time? Could it really be that they weren't all that different?
Belle felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, tensing as if something enormous were rising up behind her. Her half-eaten hamburger stared up at her from the plate, apparently choosing not to offer up a suggestion either way.
She slapped her hands down on the table and stood up, meal forgotten. Bullshit, she thought; it was a stinking lie. The only reason she wasn't having trouble was because she was trying to act like a boy. If she acted naturally, she'd probably start acting like Sayana, or some kind of scarlet woman, or a hangar - that's what Belle thought they were called.
Her stomach was still growling, but Belle didn't care. Stepping away from the tables, she made her way towards the tents. She was just about to round a corner when she abruptly stopped, a tingle at the back of her mind, and a second later a boy rounded the corner ahead.
He had short, black hair that hung down in messy locks, with onyx eyes that seemed perpetually bemused. Belle had a fleeting memory of someone similar being in Central City, but she couldn't place him exactly.
Juno smiled at her. "Hello," the young man said amiably, "something wrong, miss?"
In truth, Juno hadn't really done anything wrong. Like so many that had run afoul of Belle's temper, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Belle knew that he didn't mean it, and knew that he had no way of knowing who Belle really was, but at that moment she didn't care. Instead of answering him, Belle hauled back her fist and drove it as hard as she could into the other half-saiyan's face.
Juno's feet shot out from under him as the force of the blow lifted him off his feet. The ex-fortune teller hit the ground on his back, wheezing and staring up at Belle in shock.
Belle put her bare foot on his chest. "I'm not a miss," she spat out, leaning over his prone figure and glaring holes into his eyes. "You got that?! Say something like that again, and I'll do more than pop you in the nose! I'll beat the shit out of you! I'm not a girl!!!"
![[Image: Bellesig6-1.jpg]](http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff137/catseye543/Bellesig6-1.jpg)