Never Said Goodbye
Standard Disclaimer: DBZ is NOT mine, I am not making any money off of it. This fic IS mine, so do not take it.
AN: This is kinda long, and it's a Trunks/Juuhachigou romance. It takes place in the MIRAI timeline, so all you T/P or even K/J lovers, don't flame me! Again, if you need titles, please don't be afraid to write in a review, I will try to answer reviews weekly or almost weekly at the end of this fic. There will be a sequel, and the title will be The Past I Never Knew, or at least that will be the fic title. The doc. Title will be either Unknown Emotions or The Past I Never Knew. I don't know which yet. I'm almost done with it though, so it should be out in a week or two.
I never really told you
I guess I was scared to
Know you. You killed
Everything I loved.
Everything important
To me. Everything.
You never even gave it
A moment's thought.
The sky was a clear, cloudless blue. The entire world was happy, enjoying the silence before they resumed working on repairing the towns that had been destroyed, either by the rampaging Androids 17 and 18 or by Cell. The jinzouningen and Cell had been destroyed by Trunks when he had come back from the past. Or so they thought…
A pale, thin hand shot out of the rubble where the androids and Cell lay, followed by the mangled, badly beaten body of a stunningly beautiful young girl of about 18. She struggled to pull herself out of the rubble, losing consciousness several times from the pain before she finally managed to get her entire body free. Slowly she levitated off the ground as far as she could and took off to find the nearest hospital, barely managing not to scream at the movement.
Several hours later, near dark…
After losing consciousness several more times, the youth found herself outside a half-rebuilt hospital. With her energy level down to almost zero, she dropped to the ground, hoping that they would treat her.
Once I would have
Killed you on sight
I hated you for being
Alive when everything
I ever loved was killed
At your hands. I never
Would have thought
To say
Goodbye.
One week later she woke up in a hospital bed with bandages wrapped around almost her entire body. She tried to shift her self to get a better look at where she was and screamed with pain. All at once about 5 doctors came rushing into her room.
"Are you all right?"
"What happened?"
"You shouldn't move for a few days."
"Why did you treat me?" came the reply. "I didn't think you would."
"They treated you because I asked them to." said a figure, standing over the heart monitor. "And because before I asked them to, I looked over your programming. The programming that made you want to destroy humans was erased by Trunks' blast. Not completely-you could still destroy us if you wanted to if you really wanted to-but only because you still have the power you had before, not because of your programming."
"Thank you." she said. "For treating me."
"You're welcome." replied Bulma, startled. She hadn't expected the android to say anything except 'When can I leave?' "But you'll have to stay in the hospital for five days, then come home with me. You'll have to stay in bed for three days after that, then wait three weeks before you can get your stitches out, and another three weeks before you can go back to regular training. During the first few days before your stitches are out you can't train or lift anything even remotely heavy. Then, until your stitches are out, you can lift some heavy things, but no training. For the first week after your stitches are out, you can lift semi-heavy things and do some very light training. During the second week, you can lift heavy things and do medium-light training, and during the third week you can do medium-heavy training."
"All right." she said, too exhausted to say any more. She then quickly fell back to sleep.
I destroyed you,
At least I thought
I did. But here you
Are in front of me
Everything I once
Thought I hated
I have another chance
To destroy. But as
You stand here, I
Ask myself 'Will
It help? Will it ease
The pain in my heart?'
No. Nothing can
Ease the pain.
Two weeks later, Trunks just gets home from making sure the androids are really destroyed…
Juhachigou was in the kitchen making dinner when Trunks came in. "Kaa-san, I'm back." What smells so good? Kaa-san can't cook this well…
"Trunks, I'm glad you're home." Bulma says as she walks into the room to greet her son. "I have company. You know her and don't like her much," ( 'Much' is an understatement) she thought as she continued, "but DO NOT go ballistic, understand?"
"Sure, Kaa-san, who is it?"
"I'm warning you, Trunks, don't go ballistic." Bulma said as she led him into the kitchen. "Besides, she's the one who cooked dinner."
"It smells good." Trunks said as he followed his mother into the kitchen. He stopped dead as the android turned around.
Juuhachigou jumped and began to run towards the door fearfully when she saw him but Trunks, already in Super-Sajin form, jumped in her path and had his sword at her throat within seconds. "What are you doing in my house, with my mother?" he hissed.
"Trunks, what the hell do you mean 'your house'? This is my house with my rules, and I say turn it off right now."
"Kaa-san…"
"RIGHT NOW YOUNG MAN!!! I MEAN IT!!"
Trunks growled, but his hair quickly turned from gold to its normal lavender. His sword, however, stayed at the android's slender neck.
"Now sheath the sword."
"Kaa-san!!"
"Trunks…" Bulma said in a warning voice.
Trunks glared at the android, but sheathed his sword and sat down in a chair at the table to wait for dinner, keeping a watchful eye on the android all the while.
Bulma shook her head. "As stubborn as his father." she muttered as she placed the pans on the table and served the three of them.
Nothing can ease
The pain I feel.
But maybe, now,
I can let some of
It, at least a little
Of the pain out
So it won't hurt
So much. And
Then, maybe, I
Can learn to say
Goodbye.
Three weeks later…
Trunks' pure hatred at the android gradually turned to a grudging tolerance as the weeks wore on. Juuhachigou had had her stitches removed that past week and was lifting things, training, and helping rebuild some of what she and her twin had destroyed. At the moment, she was in the middle of a sparring match with Trunks.
Trunks threw a punch at the android, barely remembering to power it down before it reached her. She ducked and low kicked him, knocking him off-balance, then delivered a punch that solidly connected with his jaw. Trunks had to continuously remind himself that he was only sparring with her because she had already destroyed the rest of the people on the planet that could even hope to give him a half-decent workout. He rubbed his injured jaw and had to force himself not to glare at her.
"Are you all right?" she asked, helping him to his feet.
"I'm fine." he said, again having to force himself to remember that they were sparring, not in the middle of a battle.
"Trunks!" Bulma called from inside Capsule Corporation. "Can you come here for a moment?"
"Coming, Kaa-san." Trunks called back, and walked into the house.
"You're not working her too hard, are you Trunks?"
"No, Kaa-san."
"Good. Lunch is ready. Don't worry, Trunks." Bulma said as she saw the look on her son's face. "I didn't cook it, I just timed it for Juu-chan."
"Hew." Trunks breathed a fake sigh of relief.
Bulma hit him on the arm, knowing it wouldn't hurt him in the least. "Don't you start with me, young man, or you won't get any." Bulma said in a scolding tone, her smile giving her away. She then disappeared into the house with Juuhachigou to serve the meal. Trunks followed, keeping an eye the android.
I still hate you,
I won't except
You, but I can
Learn to tolerate
You in my house.
I can't forgive you
For what you've
Done, but I can
Learn to let at
Least a little of
The pain you've
Caused go. And
Maybe, just maybe,
I can say
Goodbye.
One week later, Trunks followed Juuhachigou to a mountain…
"I came here to be alone, you know." Juuhachigou said, the first sign that she had felt his presence the entire time he had been following her.
"I can't be sure that you won't go on another rampage and kill everything in sight." Trunks replied simply.
"You still don't trust me, do you." she said, more of a statement than a question.
Trunks shook his head anyway. "No, not a bit. I only tolerate you because of Kaa-san. If it weren't for her, I would have killed you the first time I laid eyes on you."
"Figures." she said, but as she spoke, she could feel Trunks' steady gaze fixed on her back, following every curve of her thin body.
Quickly, so quickly Trunks thought he'd imagined it, Juuhachigou turned, kissed him on the lips, and flew off.
Trunks sat there, dazed, before he got himself together and followed her.
You stand here,
So close to me,
Everything I hate.
Then you lean
Over and kiss me
With a gentleness
I never knew you
Possessed. With
Your body so close
For just moment
It's like a dream.
Then you are gone
Without even saying
Goodbye.
0ne hour later, in a small cave…
Trunks stood, puzzled, outside the entrance to the cave. He didn't know why he had followed her. I should probably leave before she notices me, he thought.
"Trunks?" said a soft voice from inside the cave.
Too late, he thought grimly, and stepped inside.
"Why did you do that?" he asked the jinzouningen.
"Why didn't you resist?" she shot back.
"Don't answer a question with a question." Trunks said, but the hostility and anger were gone from his voice. "And to answer your question, I was surprised."
"To answer yours, I honestly don't know why. I've never had emotions before. At least, not that I can remember."
"What do you mean, 'Not that you can remember'?
"Gero told my brother and me that we were once humans. He erased our memories, though, so we didn't remember. I still don't, and my brother is dead. I should be, too."
The silence in the cavern was awkward and devastating.
"I'm sorry." Trunks whispered.
"It's not your fault. We did terrible things, and you had to stop us."
"I could have found another way."
"No, you couldn't have. You know that." She said, walking over to him.
"We should get back. I don't like leaving Kaa-san alone for too long." Trunks said nervously.
Juuhachigou nodded, and they took off together for Capsule Corporation.
I follow you without
Knowing why. You
Seem to hypnotize
Me. I can't seem
To resist. Again
You come so close
You scare me. I
Don't know what
To do. But I hope
I never have to say
Goodbye.
Juuhachigou is helping Trunks gather supplies from a city that she and her brother had destroyed…
"Trunks?"
"Yes?"
"Do you still hate me for what I did?"
"No, not really. It wasn't your fault. Gero's programming was controlling you."
"I'm glad. You don't hate me." she added quickly.
Trunks slowly approached the android, his eyes meeting hers. When he was within inches from her face, he took her head in his hands and kissed her. Startled, she kissed him back. Slowly, he put his arms around her waist. She did the same. When they finally stopped, she asked breathlessly, "What was that for?"
"Now we're even." he replied, cradling her soft body in his arms.
As much as she hated to let go, Juuhachigou said, "We'd better get back. We've been gone for several hours; your mother will worry.
"You're right." he said, but didn't let go. Instead, he lifted the startled jinzouningen into his strong arms easily and flew towards Capsule Corporation, not losing speed even with the added weight.
I return the kiss you
Gave me. I don't
Understand the
Feelings I get when
I look at you. This
Can't be love, can
It? You return my
Kiss and I cradle
Your soft body. If
I didn't know better
I'd say you were human.
I never want to say
Goodbye.
A few days later, at Capsule Corporation…
Bulma was beginning to get suspicious. Trunks was acting not only civil to Juu-chan, he actually seemed to like her! What happened when I sent those two off together? she wondered.
"Kaa-san? Is dinner ready yet?" Trunks asked, appearing from around the corner.
"Ask Juu-chan, Trunks. You know I don't cook. Juu's in the house."
Trunks disappeared through the doorway.
"Smells good, Juu-chan."
"It's not done, so you'll have to wait a moment, Trunks." Juuhachigou replied, laughing. "And since when did you start calling me 'Juu-chan'?
"Since the night I kissed you."
Bulma was listening outside the door. When she heard that statement, she gasped.
"Kaa-san, why are you listening to our conversation?" Trunks asked.
"Old habits are hard to break, Trunks. I used to do the same thing with your father and Goku. They never caught me, either."
"You listened in on Dad's conversations?! Trunks cried in surprise.
"All the time. It was the only way to get information about things that they could sense easily."
"Um, excuse me. Dinner's ready." Juuhachigou said tentatively.
"All right, Juu-chan. We'll be right there. I need to speak with Trunks."
"Kaa-san…" Trunks said, eyeing the table. His mouth was beginning to water with the delicious smell.
"Now, Trunks. It will only take a minute." Bulma said firmly.
"Yes, Kaa-san." Trunks answered, hanging his head in defeat. Bulma and Trunks walked out of the room while Juuhachigou set the table.
You are not the
One I knew. As
You stand here
I see a person I've
Never seen before.
I don't know you.
But I want to get
To. And I will
Never say
Goodbye.
One week later, Trunks and Juuhachigou are getting closer every day…
Trunks and Juuhachigou were sparring in Vegita's old gravity room, which Bulma had renovated.
Trunks threw a power beam at the android, who redirected towards him. He barely managed to dodge it in time. The explosion of the power beam gave Juuhachigou just the cover she needed. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of Trunks, throwing a punch that caught him off guard and almost sent him crashing into the far wall off the gravity room. Right before he hit, Juuhachigou caught him.
"Thanks."
"No problem. We are just sparring, after all. I'm just not used to powering down my attacks."
"That's okay."
"I'm going to go start lunch."
"Yeah, I'm starved."
"I'm only preparing it for you and Bulma." she reminded him gently. "I don't need to eat."
"Oh. Sorry."
"No problem. It's not your fault, it's that idiot Gero's."
"I got my appetite from my dad."
"Now I'm sorry."
"That's not your fault, either."
"You're right." She breathed a heavy sigh, then forced a smile. "Well, if you want to eat this afternoon, I'd better go start lunch. That is, unless you want to eat your mom's cooking."
"Yuck. Okay"
Trunks followed Juuhachigou into the kitchen and watched her get out the ingredients for lunch. ""How do you cook so well, anyway? Kaa-san can't cook worth shit."
Juuhachigou laughed. She was doing that more and more these days and Trunks was glad. "I guess it somehow got into my programming. Other than that, I really don't know."
"You think you could teach her?"
"I could try if she asked me to, I suppose."
"Juu-chan…"
"Yes?"
Oh, great, now what?
Tell her how you feel.
I can't.
Yes, you can.
No, I…
"Trunks?" Juuhachigou said, interrupting his train of thought. "Are you going to tell me what you wanted to tell me or not?"
"I-It smells good."
"You always say that, but thank you." She walked up to him and gently kissed him. Surprised, he kissed her back and cradled her in his arms. She put her arms around his waist. They were still standing this way when Bulma walked in.
"Ahem!" she said as she saw them. "And just what are you two doing?"
They broke away from each other. "Uh, well, you see, Kaa-san…"
"It's my fault." Juuhachigou interrupted.
"No, it's not. I should have just told you what was on my mind."
"Ugh!!" Bulma said, throwing her hands in the air. "I should have known better than to ask that to Vegeta's son!! Let's just eat!!"
The one I knew is
Gone and in her
Place here you are.
You are different
From her. You are
Kind, gentle. And
I never want to
Have to say
Goodbye.
Two days later…
Trunks and Juuhachigou walked into the room where Bulma is watching the news and suddenly…
"And now, a special news bulletin. A strange figure has been seen destroying cities all across the globe. No reports on who this strange man is, however, victims from the recent similar attacks of the androids say that the figure is android number 17." (Shows picture of a figure moving so fast it is blurred.)
"Juunanagou!!" Juuhachigou gasped.
"It can't be!! I destroyed him!!" Trunks exclaimed.
"Did you make sure to destroy the head?"
"No, I didn't think it was important."
"Baka! The head is where the main regeneration information is stored! If even a small part of the head remains, he can regenerate himself! It's the same with me." she added, seeing Trunks' doubtful look.
Bulma left the room quietly. When she came back, she spread a map from her father's study out on the table. "He's attacked here, here, and here." she said, pointing to various points on the map in a more or less straight line. "So the next stop would be here." she said, pointing to another spot on the map.
"No, the next stop is here, in Hope City. He's following the same pattern we did before." she said calmly.
"How can you be so calm?!" Trunks shouted.
"Because I can destroy him." she said evenly. "I've always been the stronger of the two of us. He knows it, too."
"Then why would he attack Hope City when you're so close?" Trunks asked skeptically.
"He loves challenges, and has an amazingly large ego. It's almost as big as Vegeta's was, no offense."
"Vegeta had so big an ego, I thought the only one who could even get close to matching it was Piccolo." Bulma said.
"Believe me, modesty was not included in his programming. Neither
was practicality. He despises the fact that I, a woman, am more powerful than he is."
"You'd think that if you were stronger than him and knew his weaknesses,
he'd be smart enough to avoid you."
"You would, wouldn't you? In any case, lets just go stop him."
"Right." replied Trunks as he turned Super-Sajin, and flew out the door behind Juuhachigou.
You are no longer
My enemy. You are
My friend, maybe
Even closer that.
Maybe I love you,
But how can that
Be? I've hated you
Ever since I knew
You existed. You
Stole my childhood
And my dreams,
And in their place
Left nothing but
Misery. Yet now
I never want to
Have to say
Goodbye.
Two hours later, in Hope City…
Screams erupted from the center of the city. Seconds later, Trunks and Juuhachigou were at the scene, and Juuhachigou was face-to-face with her twin brother.
"Hello, Sis. Glad you survived. Too bad now I have to use this." Juunanagou pulled a small, black controller out from behind his back. "Then, when I get you back to the lab, I'll have to reprogram you."
"You really shouldn't have shown me the controller."
"Oh, really? Why not?" he replied in a mocking tone.
"Because now I'll have to take it away." She said in a mock babyish, mock regretful tone. She threw a high kick that sent him flying through the walls of several houses before he finally landed, his back resting on the pavement. The controller clattered to the ground. Before he could retrieve it, Juuhachigou flew over and landed by Juunanagou's groaning figure, her foot poised over the black device. "Looks like you dropped something." she said flatly, and brought her foot down on it. Hard. The controller shattered under the pressure. "Oops." she said, looking at her brother's startled face with an innocent expression. "Was that yours? I'm so sorry." She began focusing energy into the palm of her hand, aiming the beam at her brother.
"Sis, don't do this. Sis!!!!!" he screamed.
"Sorry, brother." she said, firing the blast. "And this time, I'm going to make sure you don't come back."
His screams faded, then finally died altogether. Just then, Trunks landed beside Juuhachigou. "Juu-chan? Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Where were you?"
"I…uh…decided to check the other towns to make sure that everyone that survived was all right." Trunks replied quickly.
"Bullshit. I felt your power level the entire time. You wanted to see if I would join him and begin to destroy the city."
"Why do you ask questions when you already know the answer?"
"Because I wanted to see what crazy answer you could come up with. Lets go check on your mom."
"Okay."
As they flew off towards Capsule Corporation, Trunks thought he saw tears in her eyes.
You are not the
Heartless creature
I thought you were,
Yet how could you
Do that to your own
Brother and not even
Seem to care? But
Then, is that a tear I
See in your eye? You
Care about him. Is it
Possible you care for me?
Why do I care? Yet now,
As I watch you, I never
Want to say
Goodbye.
Two hours later Trunks and Juuhachigou arrive at Capsule Corporation…
Juuhachigou feels Trunks' eyes on her face. She turns away quickly, not wanting him to see her tears.
"Juu-chan, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." she said angrily, swiping her hand across her face.
"Juu-chan…"
"I said, I'm fine!!" she screamed, and flew off to the cave where Trunks had followed her after she had kissed him.
Trunks flew after her.
I follow you blindly,
Without a reason.
You just took off,
But I saw pain in
Your eyes, like the
Pain I felt when you
Killed those close to
Me; the kind of pain
I hoped you would
Never feel. And I realize-
You never said
Goodbye.
("Never Said Goodbye"- poem by Juu-chan)
Juuhachigou landed one hour later on the cave floor…
She sat down on a rock and sobbed into her hands. Suddenly, she felt Trunks' power level nearby. She looked up and saw him walking towards her. "Why did you follow me?!" she screamed.
"Because I was worried about you."
She got up and walked towards him. "He was the only thing from my past I had left." she sobbed quietly, "And now he's gone, too. I have no reminders of my human life left."
Trunks put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Who you are now is all that matters, Juu-chan." he whispered in her ear. "You are a good, kind person, and that's the person I love."
She looked up, startled, and stared into his face. "I love you, too." she whispered back, and kissed him softly, tears still rolling gently down her cheeks. When they finally stopped kissing, he gathered her into his arms and carried her back to the rock. He sat down, her still in his arms. They stayed like that for a long time. When they set off for Capsule Corporation, Juuhachigou was asleep in Trunks' arms.
Two hours later…
Juuhachigou woke up in her room at Capsule Corporation. That's funny. she thought. I don't remember flying home. She then spotted Trunks sitting on the edge of her bed, watching her every move quietly. "You brought me back here." she said.
It wasn't a question, but Trunks nodded anyway. "You were asleep, so I carried you back." he said.
"Why?"
"I told you in the cave."
"Because you love me?"
"Why else?"
"I don't know. Why do you love me?"
"I don't know. Why do you love me?"
"I suppose it's because you're kind to me."
"I suppose I love you because…because…"
"Sshhh." she whispered against his ear. "You don't have to tell me why. All that matters is that you do."
He kissed her deeply, passionately. He felt her tears against his face. Even without her telling him, he knew why she was crying. "We'll search for your past. Tomorrow, together, we'll search. I promise."