Beauty and the Bandit

Theme 1: Forgetfulness

Mya's eyes narrowed as she heard a knock at the door. Rising from where she was sat in front of a burnt out candle and a stone cold dinner, she glanced at the time.

11:43pm

Needless to say, she was furious at Yamcha forgetting their anniversary. Again!

Flinging open the door, she felt her anger come to an abrupt halt. There stood Yamcha with most of his body parts in bandages. With a slightly unsteady hand, he held up a bunch of roses.

"I'm really sorry Mya. I had a small accident during training."

At first all she could do was sigh. Why could she never stay angry at this man?




Theme 2: Running Away

At first, Mya had thought that it would be exciting to leave the city life and her future responsibilities at Capsule Corp. To just drop everything and live in the wilderness with Yamcha instead.

They would go riding in the desert, make love in the cooling shade and all sorts of romantic things. And just think of the tan that she would get!

But then she had actually seen the place. Yamcha kept it tidy, she had to give him that. But the shower head was rusty. The chairs squeaked every time someone shifted in them. The freezer was stocked with dead animals. Whole dead animals!

Forgetting the romantic idea of running away, Mya had then decided that these, as well as a list of other small things that she had noticed, would annoy her to death. Picking up her suitcases, she had turned and left.

Yamcha had stared after her, still unsure how he had felt about this whole 'running away' thing in the first place.




Theme 3: Sunsets/Sunrises

Sunrise. Sunset. Living in the desert, Yamcha felt that he had pretty much seen them all. They were nothing special to him anymore.

But Mya considered watching them very romantic; sunsets in particular. With this in mind, Yamcha didn't mind sitting on the roof of Capsule Corp with Mya leaning against him, clutching his arm.





Theme 4: Make Believe

Like lots of little girls, Mya had loved to pretend that she was a princess, cause she was one.

For hours she would stroll through her beautiful rose gardens, (her mother's flower beds), ride her beautiful pony, (one of the many animals that her father had adopted) and would dream of the day when her handsome prince would come.

A desert bandit was certainly a long way from a prince. Yet Mya certainly couldn't deny that he had succeeded in sweeping her off her feet.




Theme 5: Blind

Whoever had said that love was blind, Yamcha had decided, was talking rubbish.

It was true that he wasn't the most experienced guy when it came to dating. Yet Yamcha was still fairly sure that he was right to feel a little uncomfortable when Mya was noticeably looking at other men.

Then again, he looked at other women too. In his mind, that made him lose the right to complain seeing as they were both doing it.

But, no matter how much their eyes strayed, at the end of the day they always went home with each other. Even with his lack of dating knowledge, Yamcha was certain that this was the most important thing.





Theme 6: Old Sayings

Yamcha's old martial arts teacher had been very fond of old sayings and stories. So fond of them, that now Yamcha was sure that the old man had made up a few himself. Day after day, the young student had listened to so many of them being repeated that he certainly wouldn't be surprised if someone told him that he had been reciting them in his sleep.

Back then he had hung onto each and every word. Now he found himself questioning and disagreeing with some of the things that he had been told. In particular, the view that a warrior should stay away from women because they were nothing but a distraction.

Mya was not a distraction. She was something that drove him on and was worth fighting for.





Theme 7: Weird

Try as he might, Yamcha could never understand the idea of Valentines Day. It seemed weird to have one day set aside for people to show their affection. What about all the other days?

Despite this, he found himself searching through the shops for a small love token to give to Mya. The trouble was that nothing really stood out.

"What about chocolates?"

"She's on another diet."

"There's a special deal on roses."

"They wilt. I want something that will last."

"What about that?"

Yamcha looked to where the furry paw was pointing. Sat on a shelf was a small blue bear. It held a pastel lilac heart with the words 'FOR YOU' neatly stitched on.

"A teddy bear? I don't know..."

*

"It's so cute! I love it!"



Theme 8: Song

Yamcha kept an old radio in his desert hideout. It came in handy for the rare occasion when someone important (and wealthy) was passing through his territory. At the end of the cracked news reports, a song would be played, which Yamcha often switched off before the first verse finished. It was usually just some sappy love song anyway.

But now he found that he was leaving them on for longer, sometimes even letting the whole song finish. He wasn't sure what it was, but now he was starting to understand some of those love songs. Starting to relate to the words that the voices sung about with such passion.

What had that strange blue-haired beauty done to him?






Theme 9: Crowds

Mya had always hated crowded places. When she had been a little girl going around the mall with her mother she had imagined becoming forever lost in the swarm of unfamiliar legs and it had terrified her.

That fear had stayed with her as she had grown up; evolving into dislike during her teenage years. But now, when the vast amount of people would start to agitate her, she would feel a comforting arm drape around her shoulder. Then she would look up at Yamcha and he would give her a reassuring smile.

Yamcha's smile always made the crowd fade away and take them to their own little world. It always made her feel better.




Theme 10: Wars

As she switched off the news broadcast, Mya let out a sad sigh. Different things happened in the world every day, yet in a way it always seemed the same.

Wars costing people their homes, their limbs or even their lives.

Murders and rapists vanishing without a trace.

Bodies of children being discovered by people walking their dogs.

Wasn't there anything good in the world anymore?

A hand gently squeezed hers. Mya looked down at it; a hand larger than hers. Tanned, with a somewhat dusty look to it from years of living in the desert.

A simple gesture, yet one that convinced her that, yes, good things were still around.


Theme 11: Done Away With

Mya had always thought she would feel something when a person she loved died. That was proved wrong when the strange creature exploded and Yamcha was gone.

All at once, she felt her body go numb. Her arms, her legs, her mind, her heart. Everything. Everything just stopped. In the fog of her confused mind, she became more and more aware that she was hoping to suddenly wake up from this horrible dream and everything would be okay again.

Then her mind became filled with many jumbled and distressed thoughts. Her heart sprang back to life and began to beat faster than it ever had done. The next part of her to break from it's numb-ness were her eyes as they filled with tears.





Theme 12: You and Me

"Look at them," Mya said with a dreamy sigh as she watched a couple walk past. The male bounced a happy child upon his shoulders. "That's going to be me and you one day."

Yamcha's lemonade came back up through his nose.

"We'd have two children. A girl first, of course, and then a boy. With Capsule Corp's profits we could get a great second house out in the country where we could take them during the summer and such. Then we'd retire there when we're old. Oh, I almost forgot. I found my mother's book of baby names last night and began to make a draft list. Want to see?"

"My... Mya!" Yamcha's face was now red. "One step at a time. Please? Let's at least finish lunch first."