Three Weeks Later Chapter 1, a super sentai fanfic

Balance was way more excited than he should have been. He's explored and searched so many places, but for some reason, finding a cave... was way more exciting that any other place. He's been to mansions, haunted houses, deserted ships... but there was just something about a natural place, not made by a person, that made him feel alive. And at that moment, with Naga, he was feeling complete bliss.

When Balance and Naga walked in, they realized they had no light, but they didn't even care. A kyutama would have come in handy then, but it didn't matter. They wouldn't always have one, anyway. Balance brightened up his eyes, and the two walked as close as possible.

The cave itself was dusty, and crawling with bugs. Balance had told Naga he could back out, but if Balance was going, so was Naga. No question.

For awhile, there was nothing really to see in the cave. Balance figured this had been a good idea, but felt they'd probably be let down.

Finally, Naga spotted a doorway. It was covered in stones, but it wasn't something that either one of them could pull out of the way. Naga began uncovering it.

"Oh, I wonder what's back there?" Balance said. He was so excited. "Hurry, Naga, let's see, let's see!"

Naga laughed. "Be patient, Balance." Despite saying that, Naga had the door open in a flash. He hurried right in.

Balance laughed. "Wait for me, Naga! How can you even see?"

"Balance!" Naga cried out. "There's a trea-"

Suddenly, the door slammed shut. It made the absolute worst noise. It was partially a slam, but part of it sounded like a female screaming. Balance knew it wasn't Naga.

"Naga?" Balance yelled out. "Hey, Naga, you ok in there? The door's stuck. I'll have it open again!" Balance couldn't hear Naga, but figured he was probably just on the other side of the door. "Naga? If you can hear me, I'm almost there!"

Balance managed to open the door, but it was a terrible process, as that door had been shut air tight. Balance freaked out at the thought of Naga not having any air.

"Naga?" Balance figured that with the door partially open, that Naga should have been able to hear him by now.

Still no answer.

"Naga? Naga! Answer me!" Balance called out, finally opening the door wide enough to get in, and he hurried through it. "Naga, say something, you're scaring me!"

No answer.

"Naga!"

Balance heard a small groaning noise. He wasn't entirely sure if it was Naga or not, but he wasn't taking any chances, and he made a direct beeline for the noise.

Sure enough, Naga was there, clutching onto a small, but almost seemingly lit up, tiny treasure chest. Naga had somehow managed to find a treasure chest? In this cave?

Balance could almost feel the chest pulsating, but wasn't sure if that was the chest itself, or if there was something else in the room that could be causing it. Balance also noticed that his chest was feeling kind of weird. It wasn't painful, but it was kind of numb, maybe, with a hint of soreness, and something else, that he couldn't really put a name on.

But way more importantly than that...

Naga was unconscious.

Balance knew for a fact then that the pulsating was real at this point, because he was now able to hear it. The tone was completely low and soft, but he was able to pick up on it.

What was going on in here?!

Whatever it was, was managing to completely freak Balance out. He knew he needed to get Naga out of here and fast.

"Naga, come on, wake up." Balance put his hands on Naga's shoulders and tried shaking him. "Naga... Naga, please, baby, wake up!"

Naga barely stirred, but did it enough that Balance knew that Naga was still alive and breathing. Balance needed to get that treasure box and whatever was in it, away from Naga.

"Naga, baby, if you can hear me, we're not taking this home, ok?" Balance whispered gently to Naga. "Ok, Naga? Whatever it's doing to you, I can't handle it. Please... wake up. Please, baby. I need you!"

Naga stirred again, this time more than he did earlier. Balance grabbed the chest from him. Before he could put it aside though, he stopped dead in his tracks. He could feel the chest pulsating. Out of pure curiosity and definitely not thinking it through, Balance opened the chest.

It was empty.

Did Naga have the actual treasure on him? Balance threw the chest on the ground. He turned back over to Naga.

"Naga, please wake up. I can't... I can't even imagine living without you. Please don't do this to me!"

While shaking Naga again, Balance felt around to see if Naga had the treasure on him. He didn't seem too, but then again, Balance didn't want to touch every part of him.

"Naga! Please! I love you, baby!"

Well, that seemed to do it. Naga stirred again and finally opened his eyes.

"Naga?" Balance asked.

"Balance?" Naga quietly replied back.

"Naga!" Balance gave him a giant hug. "Naga, you scared me, baby! I thought I had lost you!"

"Baby...?" Naga trailed off, still not fully conscious.

"We need to get out of here," Balance said. "Do you think you can walk?"

"I'll try," Naga said. Balance helped him stand up, but Naga immediately fell to the floor again.

"Naga, we need to go," Balance said, as he helped Naga climb onto his back. "Drop the treasure you're holding. We are not taking this home."

"I don't... I don't have anything," Naga managed to say. "There was no treasure in the chest."

Ok, that was weird. What the hell was causing this? Whatever it was, it was time to get the hell out of there. It took awhile, but Balance managed to find the exit to the cave.

Ah, there is was. The beach, the winds, the waves, the sound of seagulls. Balance wasn't sure how long they had been in there, but the sun was already beginning to set, so it must have been awhile.

Balance carefully put Naga down on the spot they had earlier, where their seiza blasters were still laying. He got down on the ground and sat next to him.

"Baby, are you ok?" Balance asked. "You scared the hell out of me."

"I... I think so," Naga said, breathlessly. "But... why do you keep calling me baby?"

Balance paused. He had barely realized he had been doing it. "Oh, you know," Balance said. "I was scared, I wasn't thinking straight, I guess? I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Naga said. "I'm freezing."

Ah, there was Balance's chance! Balance scooted over to Naga, and took him in an embrace.

"If I had a jacket, I'd give it you, baby," Balance said. Then he realized what he had just said. "I mean, I'm not cold at all. Let me help you warm up."

Balance brought Naga in and snuggled. Naga, feeling a little weird at first, hesitantly obeyed, but after a minute or so, he managed to relax.

Even though Balance knew they had to find their way back to the ship, he didn't move right away. He could have sat there holding onto Naga forever. In fact, this was the longest time they had ever been that close, and Balance... well, he was loving it.

"Balance?" Naga finally whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I'm not comfortable anymore."

"Oh!" Balance said. Guess he should have thought about Naga's comfort before his own. "Sorry, baby." Balance released his grip on Naga.

Naga sighed, then laid himself back into the sand, making sure to have a good view of the sunset.

Balance tried to watch the sunset, but his focused remained solely on Naga. He positioned himself right next to Naga, barely leaving any room between them.

For a few minutes, Balance sat there and watched Naga breathe. There was a slight breeze blowing Naga's hair into his eyes. Balance never realized how... beautiful... Naga actually was. Balance secretly wished he had a camera so he would never have to lose this moment.

Naga had his eyes closed, and Balance wasn't sure if he wanted to sleep, or to relax. He still didn't know what had caused the pulsations, or the explosion, or even what had specifically knocked Naga unconscious. Naga's breathing had been really light since then, and with him laying there with his eyes closed, Balance thought that... maybe... he should check to see if he was breathing. Just as a precaution, maybe?

As carefully and as gentle as possible, Balance rolled over onto his stomach, and moved his hand and placed it directly on Naga's chest, which Balance now knew was actually rising up and down. Balance knew he should have lifted his hand up, but... he didn't. This was too good of a feeling. Naga must have been asleep, because he didn't react to it at all.

Balance took his other hand and placed it on Naga's hand.

"I'm going to keep you safe, baby," Balance whispered. "I promise you that."

Balance closed his eyes for a moment, taking in only the smell of the beach. When he opened them up, he turned his focus back to Naga... and... without thinking it through...

...leaned over...

... and gave him a kiss. Well, as much of a kiss as he could without lips.

Still didn't respond.

Balance did what any other curious being would have done. He did it again.

A bit longer this time.

Still no response.

So, one more time, and then he'd-

"Hey, lovebirds!"

Balance jumped at the sudden voice. At least Balance knew now that Naga was only sleeping, because he was just as startled, and sat up straight. Ah, it was Hammie, followed by the Commander, Spada, and Raptor.

Oh, fuck. Hammie.

"Oh, no, please," Hammie said, "don't get up. Don't want to disturb your honeymoon."

"What's a honeymoon?" Naga asked.

"What are you talking about, Hammie?" Balance blurted out.

"Oh, please, Balance, you were k-"

"I didn't do anything!" Balance shouted, scrambling up. "So zip it!"

"That's enough," the Commander said. "Listen, we lost contact with you seven hours ago. There was no communication with your seiza blasters at all... not even to scan for your whereabouts. We haven't been able to track you down until about fifteen minutes ago, and we got here as soon as we could."

Seven hours ago? They had to have only been in that cave for, what, twenty minutes, tops? And not long on the beach, either. Balance looked down at his seiza blaster. For some reason that Balance couldn't remember, both he and Naga had removed them before going into the cave. But, what was even weirder... fifteen minutes ago would have been around the time they had finally gotten out of the cave. Not that time made any sense at that moment.

"What happened to you guys?" Spada asked.

"Nothing," Balance said, as he helped Naga up, and Naga was able to stand on his own this time. At the same time Naga said, "We were exploring a cave."

Balance quickly added, "Just must have lost track of time. No big deal. We're sorry."

"Lost track of time doing what?" Hammie asked. "We interrupted you, didn't we? Should we get you a room somewhere?" Hammie looked around. "Don't see any hotels, sorry!"

"Shut up!" Balance shouted out.

"Oh, it'll be a beautiful wedding!" Hammie exclaimed.

"A wedding?" Naga asked, more confused than ever.

"We'll decorate, and buy Naga a dress, and-"

"I'll bake the cake!" Spada said, surprisingly playing along.

"You're going to buy me a dress?" Naga asked.

"I could go for a cake, actually," Balance said, half trying to calm Hammie down, and half trying to be a smart ass.

"Consider it made!" Spada said. "Should I make you a bachelor party cake, too?"

"Not unless Hammie jumps out of the cake," Balance replied, wondering if anger would quiet her down. "All bachelor parties have a stri-"

"Balance!" Hammie was at full capacity with her anger now. Balance had no idea why he thought that was a good idea. "You'd better watch yourself tonight, or I'll-"

"Ok, ok!" the Commander said. "I've heard enough. I see you guys are fine, right? Head back to the ship. Now."

"Okyuu!" the team responded.

Balance quietly took Naga back to his voyager.

The ride home wasn't awkward at all, or at least, not to Balance. Naga just sat there, looking out of the window, with kind of a ... wistful, maybe... look on his face. Balance didn't want to ask him about it. So he just kept quiet until they got home.

Balance and Naga had missed dinner with the team, and by the time they had finished eating dinner, it was nearly time for lights out. Naga didn't seem upset by that at all, but Balance... well, he felt like he was on some kind of high. He felt... happy, to say the least, but there was more to it. He felt... fulfilled? Satisfied? He didn't know. He didn't quite understand it.

Balance did know one thing. When Naga went to his own room and shut the door, Balance was disappointed. He disappeared into his own room, locking the deadbolt, just in case Hammie went crazy and tried to wake him up.

Balance just laid on the bed, staring up into the ceiling. He wished Naga was in the bed with him. He sighed, as he rolled over and fell asleep.

When Balance woke up the next morning, his head was killing him, and he was incredibly thirsty. He sat up, and it must have been too quickly, because he was lightheaded as well.

What the hell had happened yesterday?

Balance painstakingly got himself out of the bed, and somehow, got himself stood up. He walked over to the mirror, and boy, he was a sight to see. He looked like he hadn't be polished in days. Normally, this was something Balance did every morning, and he remembered doing that the day before, but... this was freaking him out.

As quickly as he could, he got himself polished and looking like an actual, mechanical being again. He was a bit groggy, but he tried not to think about it. He headed down the corridor down to the bridge.

As soon as he walked in, seeing everybody but Naga, everyone turned to him.

"Balance!" Lucky cried out.

"What happened to you?" Garu asked.

"What's going on?" Stinger asked.

"What do you mean?" Balance asked. "I'm not late for breakfast, am I?"

Hammie ran over to him and gave him a tight hug. "Balance, I was so worried!"

"Worried about what? I thought you were mad at me." Balance loosed her grip, but didn't push her away. "Sorry I'm late. I needed some extra polishing this morning."

"Balance..." Tsurugi said.

Balance looked over at him, still fighting the hug from Hammie.

"It's been three weeks since we've seen you," Tsurugi said, with a very, very straight face.

"Hey, where's Naga? Still sleeping?" Balance asked.

Everybody in the room exchanged confused, concerned looks.

"What is it?" Balance asked. His head was still pounding, and he was getting irritated.

"Balance," the Commander said. "Did you not hear what Tsurugi just said?"

"Huh?" Balance replied.

"It's been... three... weeks... since we've seen you," Tsurugi said.

"And we just had dinner," Kotaro said.

Balance looked at the kid. The kid was young, but he knew how to tell time, right?

"Balance, you've been in your room the entire time," Raptor said. "But you locked it from the inside. We couldn't get in. When the deadbolt was locked, not even Champ could pry it open." She glanced at the Commander. "Maybe something that needs to be, oh, fixed?"

"Oh, yeah," Balance paused. "I locked it before I went to bed last night. Why didn't ya ask Naga for it, he has the deadbolt key."

Hammie finally dropped the hug... and began staring at the ground. Everybody went silent.

Balance, yeah, this was a good time to start freaking out. "Where's Naga? What happened?"

"Naga's ok, physically," Raptor said, "but... emotionally, he's very unstable."

"What do you mean, emotionally unstable?" Balance asked. Did Naga even know how to be emotionally unstable without the help of Jark Matter's brainwashing?

"He was down here a little bit ago to eat, but he's in his room right now," the Commander said. "Maybe it'll help if he sees you."

Balance was still extremely confused, and now worried about Naga. He raced to Naga's room and let himself right in.

What he walked into, he was not prepared for what he saw.

Naga was curled up on the end of his bed, sobbing uncontrollably. The room was a mess, as if somebody had been in, ransacking it. There was a blanket taped over the window, blocking Naga's view of outside. It looked like the walls had been drawn all over, and punched in a few spots. There was trash and clothing everywhere.

"N-Naga?" Balance whispered.

Naga looked up and wiped a tear off of his face. "Balance! You came back!" he cried out, jumping up, tripping over some clothing on the floor, and going in for an ever bigger hug than Hammie had given him.

"Hey, hey!" Balance said. "I'm right here. What's wrong?"

Naga didn't answer. He continued sobbing and wouldn't let go of the hug.

Balance loved the hug, but why was Naga reacting the way he was? Why did the team react the way they did?

"What's going on, buddy?" Balance said. "I'm right here. I never went anywhere."

"But you were gone for three weeks."

"Is this a practical joke or something?" Balance paused for a moment. "I haven't been gone. Is this why you're upset, because you think I was gone?"

"No..."

"Oh," Balance said, a little offended. "Then... why... are you crying?"

Naga squeezed Balance even harder. "Balance... you're the only one... who..."

"Who what?" Balance said. He didn't even try to release Naga's grip.

"... that... that I can..."

"That you can what?"

"Balance..."

"What? I'm right here, buddy. Can you breathe, though? Try that first."

Naga loosened his grip on Balance, and pulled away, still holding him, but right in front of Balance's face, trying to catch his breath.

"Right... breathe..." Balance told him. "I'd show ya how, but I can't. I have no lungs."

Even though there was a tear running down his cheek, Naga managed to calm down a little.

"That's better," Balance said, smiling. "Are you ok now? Do you need water? When was the last time you ate?"

Naga frowned. "Feels like days. I'm starving."

"Ok. Let's get you cleaned up and go get Spada to make ya something delicious, ok, buddy?"

Naga stood there, puzzled for a minute. "Buddy?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"No, I mean," Naga paused. "The last time I saw you, you called me baby. But you're calling me buddy again?"

Balance stopped for a moment. It was true, Balance had spent most of "last night" calling him baby. Slowly, the memories of all of the events that took place, suddenly came back to him.

But... why...? Guess Naga asked a pretty good question.

"I... I don't know," Balance said. "Sorry about that. I guess I had just-"

"I don't like it," Naga said quickly.

"You... you don't?"

Naga shook his head.

"Well, ok then, Naga!" Balance said, forcing a laugh. "Whatever you want. But let's wash your face, ok? You can't go to the bridge like this."

Naga nodded, and headed off into the bathroom.

Balance awkwardly waited for him. A few minutes later, Naga came out, his face was red and puffy, but he sort of looked like himself.

"You ready?" Balance asked.

"Yeah," Naga said quietly.

Balance led the way back to the bridge. When he walked in, all eyes were now on Naga. Nobody said anything.

"Hey, Naga here says he hasn't eaten in a long time. Can we get something for him, Spada?"

"But... we just ate breakfast. You're hungry again, Naga?" Spada asked.

"I'm not hungry," Naga said. "I just ate an hour ago. Thanks anyway though."

Balance looked over at Naga. "But you just said-"

"I'm fine," Naga said, a bit too casually.

"Ok, buddy." Balance had never been more frustrated and confused in his life.

This was getting... way too weird. Balance was afraid to ask what the time and the date were. How could it have possibly been three weeks later? What was wrong with Naga? And why wouldn't Naga just come right out and tell him?

Balance looked over at Naga, who was just standing there, with the same blank expression that Balance first saw him with. Balance could no longer stand not knowing, so he pulled Naga aside to ensure some privacy.

"Naga," Balance said. "Can we find some place to talk?"

Naga looked at Balance but said nothing.

"Come on, Naga," Balance asked. "Do you want to go outside? There's a nice little beach on the planet. And nobody will be around to hear us."

Naga looked at him. "You promise... no one will be able to hear?"

"Of course I do. Gotta protect ya, am I right?"

Naga nodded.

"So let's go," Balance said, taking Naga by the arm. Balance skipped down the corridor, and the two headed to the Tenbin voyager.

"Commander, we're taking off. We'll be back shortly," Balance said into his seiza blaster.

"All right, we'll see you soon," the Commander said.

"Yes, sir!" Balance said, looking at Naga. "Ya got my full attention now. After we land, we'll be good to go."

Naga nodded. Balance got them back to that beach as quick as possible. It was completely empty, like it had been the last time. Balance actually liked it, he could allow Naga to speak freely without anybody in the universe hearing him.

Balance took Naga a little down the beach, before deciding on a spot. The sun wasn't quite setting yet, but it should work for a decent view.

Naga sat in the sand. Balance sat next to him. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Balance said. "I'm right here. We're the only ones here. Nobody can hear you, not even the crew. Please tell me what's wrong."

Naga hesitated. "Balance... please promise me something first."

"Of course, Naga. Anything you want."

"Please... don't laugh at me."

"Of course I won't, Naga!" Balance said. "We're best friends... you're my partner. I'm here for you! Go ahead. I'm listening."

Naga paused, and starting crying again.

"Naga," Balance said, putting his hand on his shoulder. "You can trust me completely. I won't repeat a word of this."

Naga paused, but this time nodded. He took a deep breath in.

"Balance... there's something I want," he finally said. "And I can't have it. But I want it."

"Hey, if there's something ya want, I'll do everything I can to-"

"No," Naga said. "I can't have it. And it makes me feel... weird... physically... it's hard to explain. It's like... a craving... but it's a physical feeling... in my stomach... that I can't get rid of... it's eating at me, Balance... I'm so frustrated... and confused..."

All right, this was weird. What could Naga possibly want that he couldn't have? Balance wondered if there was a way, and Naga was just overreacting.

"Is that why you were crying and you destroyed your room?"

Naga nodded. "I can't do this anymore," he whispered. "I'm ... so frustrated... and humiliated that I even feel this way. And you are the only one I feel like I could talk to about it. And you weren't there!" His tears started up again.

Balance started freaking out. "No, Naga! I'm sorry! I don't know what happened to me. I know I'm physically capable of sleeping for weeks at a time, but I haven't done it in forever, and those times I did it on purpose. Really, I'm sorry. You've been going through this for three weeks? By yourself?" He pulled Naga in and gave him a hug, making sure not to let go until Naga did. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you! Are you sure I can't help you with this? I mean, sometimes I can be pretty helpful, ya know."

Naga shook his head. "There's no way."

Balance was frustrated now. It was a physical feeling that Naga was dealing with, and it was so overwhelming, and so strong, that he couldn't even function anymore.

"Naga, will you tell me what it is, please?"

Naga was silent.

"Naga, I know you said you were humiliated, but I can't help you until you tell me what it is. I can't fix the problem if I don't know what it is."

Naga hesitated again. Balance saw the tears in his eyes. There was a look on Naga's face that he never thought he'd ever see. It was a mixture of absolute fear, shock, and humiliation. Balance grabbed him again, giving him the biggest hug he ever had.

"Balance..." Naga said. "I want to have a baby."

"You... want a baby, Naga?" Balance backed off just a little bit. "You're pretty young, you have your whole life ahead of you... Are you sure about this? I mean, maybe we can find you a girlfriend or-"

"No!" Naga shouted, practically into Balance's ear. "You're not listening! I want ... to have... a baby!"

Balance stopped for a minute. Naga didn't mean what Balance thought he was meaning... did he? "You mean, you... you want to be pregnant, Naga?"

"Yes!" Naga shouted, as frustrated as Balance has ever heard him.

"Ok, well," Balance started, "um... I mean... do you even... have the parts for that?" Balance figured, with all of the millions of species in the universe, that there must have been some whose males could get pregnant, but he never figured that Naga could, but then again, he never asked. He had zero reasons to ask, up until now.

"No, and that's my problem!" Naga screamed. "I can't!"

"But, why? Why do you want to be pregnant, Naga? I don't understand."

"I don't, either!" Naga's volume wasn't going down at all, and Balance was secretly glad he had gotten him off of the ship to talk. "I don't know what to do! This feeling... it won't go away!"

"But how did this even come about? If you know you can't, then why..."

Naga gulped and finally lowered his voice volume. "I don't know," he said, a lot more calm than he had been. "I remember once, when we were still living on Jigama, that I saw a pregnant lady walking around. You probably didn't even notice her, but I did. I remember wondering to myself what kind of emotions she'd be experiencing, and for a moment I wondered what kind of emotions I could learn if I could get pregnant. But then you started talking about something else, and I let it go. I still think about it sometimes, and I've even daydreamed about it. But I never thought..." Naga trailed off as another tear slipped down his cheek. "I'm so sorry. You probably hate me now, right? You probably think I'm pretty stupid. Or weird. I'd understand if you just left me here-"

"I'm not going to do that!" Balance said, bringing his voice up to the shouting range. "You're my best friend. I'd die for you. I do not think you're stupid. I am here for you. Got it?" Balance paused. "Wait, was this my fault? I called you baby and it triggered you?"

Another tear slipped down Naga's cheek as he shrugged his shoulders.

Balance leaned back a bit, having no clue how to even solve this problem. If it was a physical issue, it couldn't be solved by talking it out. Or even trying to use logic.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, until their seiza blasters started going off. Balance figured there was probably trouble somewhere, but he removed his blaster, set it down on the sand, and ignored it. Naga was more important, and there were ten other people who could handle trouble. He also grabbed Naga's arm and removed his, as well.

"Why'd you do that?" Naga asked.

"Because you're more important than them," Balance said, giving him a squeeze. "Besides, with Don Armage beat, between the ten of them, they can handle it. Give the Kyulette a breather."

Naga smiled for the first time that day. He allowed Balance to just hold onto him.

After a few more minutes of silence, Balance noticed something off in the distance.

"Naga, look, there's a cave over there," he said. "You want to explore it with me? Maybe there will be something good in there. Looks like nobody has even touched this place in a long time, so I doubt anyone will bother us. You up for it?"

Naga thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes," he said. "I'll go with you."

"Let's go, then!" Balance said, standing up rather quickly. He gave a hand to Naga, and pulled him up, and the two ran to the cave.