Day One: Morning

[Bra]

?Dad!? Bra exclaimed, rushing out of her makeshift shelter, and into the warm embrace of her father. She nestled against his chest for a moment, before looking back to the cave she had come from. A dejected groan slipped between her lips. ?I hate this place.?

?Already? The game?s hardly started.? Reijin spoke from the side. His presence, for some reason, prompted the cyan haired empress to break away from Vegeta. She looked him over for a moment; he hadn?t changed much since the last time they?d met.

?Does that make a difference? If a place sucks, then it sucks. You don?t really need to study the level of suck-age too much to make up your mind about it, y?know?? came Bra?s retort, coupled with a sly smirk across her visage.

The younger of the two saiyan men grunted in response, though it was hard to tell if he was agreeing with or arguing against her point. It hardly mattered; to continue the conversation in that direction would be a waste of time.

?So, how have you been, then, Bra?? questioned the prince. His eyes never fell away from his daughter?s, giving him ample time to watch the mood change as fast as the lightning flashed overhead.

?How have I been?? she parroted, though her voice hardly sounded amused. ?Yeah, I guess you would have to ask that question, considering you and mom never gave a shit when I was actually growing up. But I guess the hired help was good enough for me and Trunks, right??

?What-?!? came the reply, one of utter confusion.

?Oh don?t fucking play stupid. It took me a long time to figure it out. Do you know that the whole reason I started training, and got as strong as I did, was for you? I wanted to make you proud my whole fucking life, and only lately have I figured out it didn?t matter anyway. You?re a deadbeat and mom never gave a rat?s ass, either,? Bra ranted. ?You swing by every now and again- for what? To play dad until you decide you?ve had enough and then ditch me again?!?

?Bra, you?re-? Vegeta began, his voice far more authoritative than before. Still, the cyan haired hybrid was bold enough to cut him off again.

?Don?t!! Just don?t start thinking y--? the girl stopped abruptly. ?Dad!! You?re hurt!?

?Huh?? the raven haired regent cocked an eyebrow. He raised his bloody hand up, and flexed it for a moment. ?No, it?s... fine.?

?No, it isn?t. You know better than that. Wet weather is a great time for infections to spread. Come on; do you have anything I can bandage your hand with?? the blue eyed girl insisted. Her sudden shift from anger to concern was hardly something Vegeta could even begin to understand, but he treated it with a great deal of patience.

?Yes,? he replied, sinking his good hand into his backpack. He rummaged about for a moment, before withdrawing a white, metal case with a large red cross painted on it. ?This should be good enough.?

Taking the med-kit, Bra set it onto a rock in front of her. Dropping to her knees, the cyan haired heiress popped the container open, and withdrew a small handful of items. She returned to her father, and insisted he took a seat against a nearby tree.

?Okay... this is gonna sting a bit.? the girl warned, before pouring alcohol onto Vegeta?s wound. The cut was ragged and seemed to stop and start over and over again, as though he had been bludgeoned with something extremely heavy. The saiyan king didn?t even wince against the alcohol, either because it honestly didn?t hurt, or because he refused to lose face in front of Reijin.

Putting the alcohol away, Bra finished by placing a strip of cotton over Vegeta?s knuckles, and wrapping it and the wound with a thin layer of gauze, to retain most of his hand?s flexibility, before closing it with a safety pin.

The girl closed the kit and returned it to the eldest warrior in the group, who returned it to his pack. By now, the trio had become rather thoroughly soaked, and only the demi saiyan seemed adversely affected by it.

To distract herself, the girl pulled her ?weapon? out of her belt. ?Hey, Reijin!? she called, tossing the object to him. ?Check that out!?

The raven haired youth caught it with one hand, and took a glance at it, unable to figure out what it was, or what it did.. ?...What is it? Some kind of teddy bear?? Bra nearly collapsed.

?No, dumbass. It?s you.?

?...What?? Reijin spoke with absolute skepticism.

?I mean- damn, you don?t catch on,? the girl laughed. ?It?s a doll of you.?

?It doesn?t look anything like me. It?s too short, and too fat.?

?Well, d?uh! It?s supposed to look cute. Like a chibi-Reijin doll.?

?A what? Does it... does it do anything?? the warrior demanded, his voice actually sounding as though it carried a hint of concern.

?Uh...? Bra was going to tell the truth, but then, she realized, she could have so much more fun screwing with him for at least a few more minutes. At the very least, her father seemed slightly amused by their banter. ?Yeah. It?s... a voodoo doll.?

?I thought you said it was a chibi doll.? Reijin countered.

?It is. It?s a chibi... voodoo Reijin doll,? the cyan haired girl grinned. ?Pretty freaky stuff, eh??

?How do you mean...?? the Gaean-trained fighter demanded. Bra stared at him blankly, utterly floored.

?You... you don?t know what a voodoo doll is?? she asked.

?No?? he answered. Oh, this was too good! Reijin was sure to kill her after this.

?Voodoo?s a kind of magic. They use these dolls as representations of real people. Whatever happens to the doll, happens to real people,? the girl explained, doing her best to hold back her laughter. Could she really convince him?

?What do you mean??

?Here, toss me the doll, I?ll show you;? Bra requested. Reijin seemed... unsure of himself, to say the very least, but he did as he was told, and threw the object back to the girl. ?Basically, if something happens to the doll, like if I tickle it, you?ll feel it. And if I cut it in half, you?ll die.?

?What?! That?s impossible!!? the raven haired combatant roared. Vegeta burst into laughter, though Reijin didn?t seem to clue in. Either that, or he took the meaning of the laughter differently.

?Oh, please. I can summon shadow monsters from a dimension that sort of doesn?t technically exist, and I can shoot pillars of magical energy that can strip flesh from bones. You honestly don?t think I could make some kind of contraption that can cause people suffering? Magic?s a very dangerous tool, Reijin,? the princess spoke with a very forced-yet-convincing seriousness. She formed a tiny dot of ki on her forefinger and pointed it at the doll. ?I take his head off, and you die. You?re linked through an invisible, magical bond.?

?Wh-what?! How did you-!!?

?We?ve met before. I had tons of time to make the doll, especially since it doesn?t have to look exactly perfect.? Bra retorted.

?What are you going to do?!? Reijin exclaimed as perspiration ran down his face. Thankfully, it was hidden by the rain, but his fearful expression certainly was not. ?You?re not thinking about shooting that ki blast!!?

?Nope,? the girl replied, allowing the ki to fizzle out. ?Even if I did, it wouldn?t do any good. Voodoo dolls aren?t real.? she couldn?t finish before bursting into laughter at Reijin?s expense.