Time Skip II -- Sisterly Bonding II
When Sarada and Ishtar returned to the Lookout, after the former spent some time showing the latter her oral dexterity, Parsley was waiting for them. Her face, her face made Sarada chuckle.
[img]http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/041/283/5e1.jpg[/img]
“You're late,” her sister stated simply.
“Sorry. I was giving Ishtar a wake-up call. Heehee.”
Parsley disgusted look persisted, even as Sarada placed a hand on her shoulder. She promptly slapped it away. “Don't touch me. I know where that hand has been.” She took a moment to remove her armor, then tossed it off the side of the Lookout, leaving her in her tights. “Hmph. Now, then, if you're done being a depraved pervert, can we finally begin?”
Sarada grinned knowingly. “Of course. Luckily, I already ate before we got here, so there's no more reason to delay.” Without warning, she dashed forward and buried her fist in Parsley's torso. “The key to getting stronger is fighting stronger opponents. Therefore, you aren't allowed to increase your power, in order to maintain the gulf in power.” Her grinned increased as the punches rained down on her older sister.
Unlike a few days ago where Parsley was able to take her punches without much trouble, she was already bloodied and bruised. She struggled to keep up, and was thus taken completely off-base by a knee to the midsection that was followed quickly by an elbow to the back of the skull.
Sarada disappeared then quickly reappeared in front of her to deliver a jaw-rattling uppercut. Rather than let her fly into the air, she reappeared behind her and caught her around her waist. She then slammed her back on her head, just like she did to Sarada when they fought in the woods.
She wouldn't admit it, but then she didn't need to admit to enjoying this more than she should. Beating the hell out of Parsley served two purposes. One, it knocked her off her high horse so she would actually listen to what Sarada intended on teaching her. Two, it worked out a little of the animosity she carried toward her older sister that would have hindered their growth. Despite how much she disliked her, she still wanted her to be as strong as she possibly could in the fight with Jagam.
“Is that it?” she taunted. Parsley was sprawled out on the ground, barely able to rise to her knees without falling flat on her face. “Is [i]this[/i] the best a Super Elite has to offer?” When she didn't answer, she tsked and hoisted her up by her tights. “Just so you know, if I decided to go all out, I'd max out at around 220K. If you don't believe me, ask Ishtar. She can't lie, and she's seen me in my Hitozaru form.”
“...w-what?” She looked away to the floor. Her eyes quivered with an emotion she never thought she'd live long enough to see in her.
“That emotion you're feeling right now? It's not fear. No, that'll come when Jagam arrives. It's inadequacy. Now you realize beyond the shadow of a doubt that you can't measure up to me. I've surpassed you. Heh. I bet you've never been in this position before, have you? I'll admit you pick your battles well. You've always been stronger than your opponent. You also fight battles you can win. Until today. Until Jagam arrives. Once you get it into your skull what it's like to fight for your life against a stronger opponent, you'll be ready. Until then, you'll come up short.”
She punched her in the face hard enough to knock out several teeth, then dropped her. “That's enough for now. Get healed up, then we begin for real.”
Parsley sat there, eyes seeing two Saradas and two Ishtar's stepping toward the Lookout to speak in private. What they were saying, she didn't know. She didn't care.
No one, [b]no one[/b] treated her in that way. No one put their hands on her and treated her like she was a common slave. No one called her inadequate. She was Parsley, strongest of the Super Elites! She was only a step below Mato and Toma. Just because Sarada was currently stronger didn't give her the right to behave in such a disrespectful manner.
Soon.
Soon, she would be strong enough to fight with Sarada and Ishtar evenly, then she would show them both that the error in their thinking. They assumed that touching Parsley like this, actually making her bleed her own blood would not have repercussions. That just because this was “training”, she would just let such a gross affront slide.
No. Such assumptions were as dangerous as they were foolish. They were going to pay, the both of them. She would surpass them both, and flaunt her power as she destroyed Jagam with ease, by herself. Once that was accomplished, then she would decide what to do with those two depraved perverts. Clearly, destroying them was out of the question. The wrath of Maiz was still the only fear she held in her heart, and she wanted very much to avoid it at all costs.
Hm. Perhaps humiliating them by allowing them to fight Jagam first – and fail – was the right way to go about it. Well, she had six months to think it over.
After stumbling – literally – into the human named Chuan, she received much needed healing, then returned to the plaza. This time, she went about it with something resembling a modicum of humilty. She listened to the instruction given to her by her younger sister and Ishtar. She didn't learn much more than she already knew, but what she did learn was vital.
As the weeks ticked by one by one, both Saiyan sisters felt themselves increase in power. After a while, they could fight even without either one increasing her power, though they both knew that Sarada had a much higher ceiling. That was going to change once Parsley finished developing and testing her new techniques.
As the weeks ticked by, the sisters found out – rather reluctantly and very much to their chagrin – that they had much more in common than either was willing to admit. One of those things was a certain Saiyan female on Vocado. Sarada realized that Avoca had finally managed to move on from her at some point during her month long sojourn across space. The fact that the person she moved on to was Parsley sickened her. It still did, but that feeling of sickness was lessened when she caught some snippets of a video call Parsley and Avoca were engaged in while the former thought she was alone.
The expressions shared by the two were eyebrow raising. She hadn't ever heard her sister show something resembling affection for anyone, yet... she heard it with her own two ears. And it sounded genuine. And while Avoca was her usual gruff self, she reciprocated that affection with some of her own, playfully poking fun at how Sarada kept kicking Parsley's ass up and down the Lookout.
The fact that her sister's retorts were half-hearted made her eyes widen. [i]Could...could Parsley actually be in love? No. That's completely impossible. She doesn't love anyone but herself. This is all an act. It has to be.[/i] Even though the sexual aspect of their relationship had faded away, she still cared deeply for her best friend. She was going to protect her at all costs, even if that meant breaking her heart.
Weeks turned into months, one month into two, then two into three. In that time, Parsley and Sarada had made a lot of progress. Learning each other's fighting styles as intimately as they had allowed them to synchronize their offense for devastating combo attacks.
In the end, Sarada was pleased with where her sister stood. While she was still well above her when all things were considered, their base forms were almost equal, which allowed them to have back-and-forth spars that were actually fun and not at all one-sided.
Dare Sarada say that training with her sister had been... fun?
Nah.
At least, not out loud.
At the end of three months, Sarada told Ishtar – who had been in and out of training while dealing with her own business – that it was time for her to take her to Vocado. A ping of excitement resonated in her chest, as well as a healthy bit of nervousness. Her homeworld had made strides in regards to relations with other races, but the Saiyans of that planet still weren't at a place where they could look at a non-Saiyan as anything other than inferior. Though, she was sure that once Ishtar flexed her power, then they'd either back off or keep pestering her for fights. Either one was acceptable, so long as the women kept their hands and tongues to themselves.
Parsley claimed she was going to Ruco for a spell. She suspected she was going to meet Avoca there. When she stated as much, the blush and embarrassed cough from her sister proved as much. Much to the older sister's chagrin and annoyance.
“Goodbye, Parsley. I'll see you in a few months.”
“Oh, you'll be seeing me far sooner than that,” she replied cryptically before entering her pod.
Well, what an unnecessarily ominous departure.