Tomato Fields

Disclaimer: So, I don't own DBZ, you know? That really cute author does. Oh, but I guess I do own OCs.

A/N: The story skips between the past and present, it reads smoothly though, I promise! And I've marked when the scene is taking place for easy convenience. Oh, and you have my word my character is definitely not a mary sue. Please enjoy and thank you for reading!

-Past-

An eerie breeze slithered through the air, caressing the hairs at the back of her neck. Her hand jerked to the spot, slapping it violently as her face cringed and distorted in spazztic motions.

"This power…" she spoke to herself with worry. A silence laid itself thick over the grass field, not even the rolling winds making any sound over the tall weeds. "Urgh", she grunted before falling to the ground, clawing at the raw dirt in frustration.

"Ms. Pruna! Ms. Pruna!", Tomoto paced inside the wooden shack, scouring its area for Ms. Pruna in even the most ridiculous of places such as the backs of cabinets. She heaved heavily, there was nobody there. Suddenly her hands clasped at her chestnut head, gripping her short hair roughly.

"The buzzing…It won't stop…."

"Yuri?" a scream bounced from behind the withering boards of wood.

"Ms. Pruna?", the girl exclaimed with jubilance as she rushed out the front door and to the backyard.

"Yuri?" the old woman repeated again, squinting her eyes nonchalantly.

"Pruna, that's the dog's name!" Tomoto screamed back, quickly wiping away the tears of relief from her eyes.

"Toto?" the old woman tried again.

"That's the dog from a Wizard of Oz!"

"Oh…Oh-Ah! Tomoto!"

"Nice of you to remember my name after I've been living with you for two years…"

"Eh? What was that? You don't want dinner?-

"Wha! No! Wait, a minute, look I just came here to make sure everything was okay."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Pruna said as she wiped the sweat away from her brow, before taking another long slug at block of wood.

"So, you mean, you don't feel it?" the girl felt her body tense up more.

"Feel what?"

"That…that buzzing…and the cold feeling," she spoke gingerly as her arms wrapped around herself, "It's so sharp, Ms. Pruna," a shaky breath followed, "it feels like a knife."

Ms. Pruna stopped her work, looking back at the small girl in front of her. Her fuzzy white eyebrows furrowing as she watched the small child tremble.

"Let's have dinner early today."

"No, I-" was all that Tomoto managed to get out before her quivering lip gauged open a pool of cries and tears.

The morning light shined through the glass panel and onto the lump on the hay bed. It grunted as the rays reached its eyes, triggering the wake up response. Slowly, black eyes started to open.

"I can hardly remember yesterday…" the figure faintly observed as she began sitting up. A moment later, an intense pain shot through her head. The pain was enough to send shivers down her spine as she lurched forward in fetal position. "Wha-What is this…", the corners of her mouth twitched into a piteous smile, "You've…gotta be kidding me, this pain..it's unreal."

"Be grateful you have today's pain instead of yesterday's.", an old woman stood in the open door way. She looked like a stump, too wide for her height and rounded. Her hair was in a limp pony tail, stray hairs framing her wrinkles to give off even more of a crazy witch stereotype than normal.

"Ms. Pruna?", the girl asked in an innocent tone, "What do you mean…?

"Eh? You don't remember it?" the old woman faced back with a flabbergasted expression, "You were practically giving childbirth yesterday. I had to go all the way down to town to get you some leaves to chew on and those still didn't ease you up that much."

"Ch-Ch-Childbirth?"

"It's a metaphor, calm yourself, girl. Here," a small, water filled tin basin landed in Tomoto's lap, complete with a sponge, a mirror and bar of soap floating inside of it, "Wash yourself up, then we'll have breakfast."The girl stared back at her with a 'you've-got-to-be-kidding-me' stare as she squeezed out the splashes of water from her clothes and hair.

"And look at that, your head's all better!", the old woman screeched from behind the shack.

"Well, she's right about that…", Tomoto muttered to herself as she held up the mirror to her face. She frowned at her short, shaggy hair, barely making its way past her chin. "That power from yesterday…there's no doubt about it, it was Raditz…", her frown deepened before she reached for the soap. "It's strange, but…shouldn't I still feel bad?", she questioned no one as she splashed water on her face. "Maybe I've just gotten used to it…", her thoughts faded off as she dried herself with her tank top.

"Wah! What is that thing! That white tank top has dirt stains all over it! The navy shorts are almost all the way covered by the shirt! And the red scarf truly shows a lack in fashion judgement! " A screechy voice pierced the outside. Tomoto stared back blankly with a deadpan expression. "Since when did you adopt a little boy, Pruna?"

"Eh? Why is the old man here?", Tomoto answered back with equal audibility, but half the emotion.

"Old man? Why, you little brat."

"Figgins was the old man that gave me the medicinal leaves, so you should thank him, Tomo."

"Thank you, museum artifact, for the crumbling into the soil that would cultivate weeds.", Tomoto responded with a deep bow earning Pruna's laughter and Figgins' fuming.

"Now, sit down both of you, I've made fresh prairie bread and dinosaur eggs just for today.", Pruna finally composed herself after her hearty bursts of laughter. The eggs were sunny side up and the yolks were huge and goey. The bread was thickly sliced and it crumbled when you tore it apart.

"It's delicious!" The man and the girl rejoiced in union.

"Well, there's something the two of you can relate!", the woman chuckled.

"I mean, for an old hermit, this-

"I am no hermit, you old hoot! And I'm still young enough to carry more wood than half the young folks in town!", Pruna replied by pounding a fist into the old man's side.

The youngest of the trio stared back at the duo with a simple smile. She loved this life. She loved the carefree days. She loved the gentle breeze from the valleys and the hills. She loved how the biggest worry was the weather. But, deep down inside, she knew she'd have to give this up. She'd known this for a long time.

"Eh, Tomo? Why do you have a sack on your back?"

"Are you taking a trip into town, kid?"

"Actually, I…" Tomoto's face darkened as she tried to phrase her thoughts into words, her knuckles turned white as the grip on the sack straps tightened. A heavy feeling tugged at her heart as the seconds ticked and the suspense built up. She felt sick and lowered her head to avoid the anticipating faces of her loved companions. "I have to go!", her head shot up as tears swelled at the corners of her eyes. "I-I-I love you so much Ms. Pruna, and Mr. Figgins, even though you're mean, I know you're only teasing, and, and-"

The sound of dishware crashing on the table echoed through the air.

"Does this have something to do with yesterday? Tomoto…I don't understand…" The brown haired girl nodded her head quickly as tears poured down her cheeks.

"What, but, you've been with me for so long. Two years, remember?"

"An-and those years have been wonderful! I've loved every second, but there's someone I've got to meet, and I've known ever since I've came here that I'd have to meet him."

"Who? Who, Tomoto, who?", the old woman shouted back, her own voice shaking as tears started to form.

"My-my father.", the girl spurted out between sobs and sniffs. Pruna quickly quieted herself and only the pathetic sounds of wet, sloppy noises sounded throughout the atmosphere.

Mr. Figgins who had been silently observing the situation, finally responded with his feedback, "Why don't we all go meet him? Isn't that the best solution? We can't let a young girl like you out by yourself. What are you, five? And that way you won't have to part from us. Let's just be logical about this."

"Yes, yes, Tomo, How 'bout-

"No! That's horrible! I'd never let him come near you two!," The elderly pair stared back at confusion, "He…He's the most horriblest man in the universe, and I have no idea why he's here. But, but maybe he wants to claim me back or something, a-and, th-then maybe he'd just leave and never come back!", she shouted her loudest breath before dashing off and away into the horizion, familiar voices yelling her name, fading behind her.

-Present-

"Ah, west city, you're beautiful!", a loud voice yelled to the towering buildings. The sunset was fire red and its colors blazed and danced across the metropolis. Tomoto stood in front of the seaside railing, her past shoulder-length hair being blown beautifully by the sea breezes.

"Mommy, that lady looks really dirty…her clothes are all ugly!"

"Hush, Danny, and don't make eye contact."

"She looks like she hasn't showered in weeks…"

"What an obnoxious girl!"

'Oh city people, how I've missed you all so…', she cringed to herself with a smile before picking up her knapsack. "Geez, I know I'm a bit banged up, but still…now…how do I find bulma…", she looked back at the giant city, instantly dwarfed by its size. "I don't suppose asking the people on the streets would help.", she nervously laughed to herself, bumping into another body as the result of spacing out.

"Hey, watch it!"

Oh, sorry-" She stopped in her tracks. An average-height girl stood in front of her.

'Black hair, blue eyes….I'm so jealous.' An internal fire of jealousy burned at the sight of the combination.

"Uh, are you…okay?", the girl asked, scrunching up her nose. She'd obviously just actually taken notice of the brown haired girl's state. Ripped clothes, scuffed up hair, dirt everywhere. It was a real sight for sore eyes. Without any pause, a sly grin surfaced its way onto Tomoto's mug.

"Oh, what can I say! I'm not dead, am I?", she swooned back, clutching the fabric of her shirt, "my whole family might be, but I'm still here! I'm still living on!"

"Hey, woah, you lost your whole family?"

"Oh, yes, it was tragic!" she sniffled as she bit the corner of her collar, "Oh, but what am I doing, pouring my troubles onto a clueless stranger? I'm so sorry, please excuse me!" and this was the key part. Tomoto quickly raised her knee, ready to move, and then stop in a few short milliseconds.

"Wait a minute! Here, how about you come home with me?", the girl replied, putting a hand on Tomoto's shoulder sympathetically.

"No, I couldn't, I-

"Nonsense! I won't let you die out in the streets!"

Score. "Oh, how could I refuse such hospitatliy? Please, stranger, tell me your name."

"It's Videl, and there's no need to thank me.", the teen said with a smile.

-Past-

The town was small, seemingly held together by small vendors and elderly people. Everyone was more on the poor side than on the sufficient side.

"Oh, what am I doing here…", Tomoto quelled as she looked down at her beat up shoes, "I'm only five years old…", she sniffed at the ground, "Oh, I don't even know where I am!", she burst out with a cry.

Abruptly, her head jerked up to another cry which echoed in union with her's on the opposite side of the street. She quieted at the sight. A little boy was sobbing uncontrollably, huge globes of water streaming like rivers down his cheeks. His voice was loud with no restraint and a dolled up, aging mother finally stopped in his presence.

"Little boy, little boy, what's the matter?"

"My-my-my puppy! It-it Di-", he choked between sobs, not letting the last word out.

"Oh, my poor dear, here, have some sweets.", she cooed, heaping out a pile of small, glitzing candy drops and squares into the other's little and mangled hands. Without another heartbeat, the boy turned and started to run away, clutching onto the candy until he got behind an alley where a group of similarly aged boys stood waiting for him. He held his hands open for the others as they tore apart their pickings fervently and devoured them in their greasy chops.

"Liar.", Tomoto pointed at the group, void of emotion. Instantly, the group of boys tensed up, stopping with lollipops and gummies still in their mouths.

"What are you talking about?" one of them managed to gnaw out as he chewed his food.

"Liars. Liars. Liars!" Tomoto recited, pointing a finger at the gang as she jabbed her finger in their direction, each syllable getting louder after the other. The front row boys eeked and sprang into action, the first boy from before, his hair an ebony shade, bounced as he scuffled over to Tomoto.

"Hahah, what are you talking about? My dog really did die you know."

"That's unlikely.", Tomoto responded with a raised eyebrow and a pout.

"Look, kid," the boy started, placing an arm over Tomoto's shoulder, "You've gotta do what you've gotta do to survive, y'know. Welcome to the real world." Tomoto glared back at him with a disgusted expression before another shout interrupted her thought process.

"Hey, look! A tail!", a blonde boy pointed at her back.

'Oh no! I forgot to wrap it around my waist!' She thought in fright.

"H-Hey, don't touch it, it's sensitive!", She grabbed a hold of her tail, hugging in close to her body before wrapping it inside her shirt.

"Woah, is it real? Let's check it out!" She shivered as she watched the group of boys advancing at her, one of them slowly lifting her shirt.

"AHHHHHH! I'M BEING VIOLATED!", she shouted at the top of her lungs, startling about half of the gang.

"WOAH, YOU'RE A GIRL?", the black haired boy exclaimed as many others panicked and a police officer shuffled over.

"What's going on here?" the blue clad man demanded as Tomoto carefully slid past the officer's waist leaving the frenzy behind her.

A few days past and it was still hot and arid. The six year old girl was parched and scowled at the lack of clouds in the sky, but at the same time she was thankful for the lack of downfall. She sat, knees up, against a side of a saloon. She felt weak, and not only that, but incredibly hungry.

"I'm so stupid…I should have never left…", she whimpered, a black cat brushing up against her thigh. She stroked the cat's back, it was pregnant, but she could feel its bones. Its fur was dusted with the sand that was everywhere. This truly was a desert town.

"Argyle?" A black mop head popped up from the corner of the saloon. It was the child con artist,

"Hey, it's you! The tomboy! Why are you stealing my cat!"

"You can't steal what comes to you.", she said weakly, but with venom, a bit insulted at being accused of stealing a pet.

"Jeez, she's gotten so skinny. If you're gonna steal my cat, you might as well feed her.", He teased back, scratching one of the cat's ears. Tomoto glared back, the grumblings from her stomach serving as a much better response than vocal words ever could.

"Here," the boy stretched out a handful of bread. Tomoto waivered her hand in yearn of the food until she realized he was offering it to the cat. The boy looked up, smirking giddily.

"I-I don't need your help anyways!", Tomoto crossed her arms, turning her back to the boy,

"And that cat's pregnant, it's gonna need a lot more food than bread."

"What? Really? How can you tell? There's no bump.", he cooed as he lifted the car by its underarms.

"I'm good with animals."

"Yeah, well, have fun with that skill while you're starving.", the boy laughed before skipping away, the cat under his arms.

"Jerk," The girl mumbled before putting her face down on her knees, ready to take a nap.

The next day was equally as hot, but with the long nap taken yesterday, Tomoto felt more replenished despite her gnawing hunger. She was walking down the main street when she saw a lavishly clothed man. He looked worn and maybe in his seventies. His jacket was a deep brown tweed and he had a golden pocket watch hanging out of his pockets. Despite his formal attire, his face looked homely and soft, like a grandfather's. She hesitated, just staring at the old man as he walked slowly down.

"If you say you're an orphan, nobody will help you." Her head jerked to her right, the hooligan was leaning against a wall in a side alley, hands crossed over head.

"I'm not gonna try that."

"They think that since you don't have parents, you'll latch onto them instead."

"I wasn't even thinking about it."

"It's much better to say small stuff happened that gets small stuff in return. That way they don't feel suffocated and by helping out a little bit they'll make themselves feel better."

"Are you even listening to me?"

The boy turned to the girl, giving her a grin before pushing off the wall and heading deeper down into the alley.

"Jeez." She muttered to herself, before turning back to the old man. He was practically limping now, but his pocket watch seemed to glow even more intensely under the desert sun. Her stomach was flipping with anxiety and hunger. At last, she couldn't take it anymore and started to whimper. Soon enough, the whimper gradually evolved into sniffling and then at last full blown bawling.

"My dear, what ever is the matter?", the man rushed over to her, his full, gray mustache stifling his proper manners of speech.

"I'm so hungry!", she cried, hiccupping in between. Suddenly, a realization hit her and before she could think through it, words were spilling out of her mouth. "Mommy won't feed me because I always give food to the strays. B-b-but, I don't want them to starve! And now, I'm gonna starve wit' them!", she gushed out.

"Come, little girl, I'll take you to a buffet. Your mother is probably just short on money and wants you to grow up big and tall. But I respect your kindness towards nature, come, I'll pay for the meal.", he replied, taking Tomoto by the hand. She trailed on behind him, not believing how easy that was.

"I just saw you two hours ago and you're already being chased by a mob? How many people did you manage to swindle?" the boy snickered as he ran up alongside Tomoto, his small gang of underlings following before the mob of townspeople.

"Sh-Shut up, as if I'd resort to your methods." she retorted back, flustered.

"Then why is the entire town chasing you?",he asked as they jumped over a boulder angry hoard of people was carrying pitchforks and torches. It was so classic it was almost cliché.

"You monster! You monkey!"

"Demonic eating machine!"

"How am I supposed to know how much the town's entire supply of food is.", she drawled on, exasperated, "Besides, it's their fault for relying on a buffet for meals." The boy tried to suppress his laughter.

"Listen, I was really just looking for you. I just wanted to say thanks."

"Saying your last words so eagerly?"

She snorted, "No, it's just, you helped me back there, and now I'm full enough to travel again."

"That's good."

"You're okay, I think. Take care of the cat."

The group of kids slowed as they reached the edge of a cliff, the mad mob not too far off.

"Um, it'd be kind of cool if we met later in life, I think.", Tomoto muttered as she looked down at her feet. The boy smiled worryingly in response as they stared at each other over the edge of the land.

"So see you!", Tomoto lifted up her head, punching his arm as a sign of friendship before jumping off the edge.

-Present-

She awoke at ten o'clock. 'Pinch me, I'm dreaming.' She scuffled about in the fluff of the comforters and pillows on the bed. 'I'm living in a kingdom.' She giggled to herself and she dug herself into the mount of pillows, "..hehehe, I really hit the goldmine with this one, didn't I?" She felt like she was floating on a cloud. There was a canopy over her head. Everything in the room was ornate from the gold pens to the jewel speckled ceiling. And this was just the guest room.

"Oh, Tomoto?", Videl popped up from behind the doorway, a towel behind her neck like she'd just been working out, "I'm sorry to leave you but I promised a friend I'd visit him today. Please make yourself at home."

"Gyah! V-videl, oh hi. Oh, no, I was just about to leave, really." Two days of mooching would be too much for her pride.

"What! But, your family just…passed away."

"Oh, right, but I probably should go to a family friend's instead of troubling you. I feel so guilty" she chuckled nervously, "Can I please use your directory?"

"No way! It's no trouble at all, really! C'mon," she walked up to the bed, staring straight into Tomoto's eyes, "I lost my mom a long time ago and I know how hard it is. You can stay as long as you'd like, we'll even help you get back to normal! Here, you can even go to school with me on Monday. It'll help you get back on your feet." Tomoto twitched under Videl's intense and determined gaze.

"Oh, well…okay," she said feeling she had no other choice.

"Good, that settles it ," Videl gleamed before walking out.

Tomoto stared back at the doorway, wondering what she had just gotten into.

"Hm, I wonder if anything's changed over the past seven years."

'It's really nice having somewhere to go home to," Tomoto reminisced as she wandered throughout the streets. It had taken her some time to get out of Satan county. There were so many different rooms and doors that it was hard to navigate out of.

"Hiya! Ice cream!" Tomoto squeeled when she saw the cool food vender. It was a little cart right on the side of the city park, guaranteeing refreshment and joy. "Oh, man, I haven't had ice cream in so long!" she rejoiced to no on ein particular as she started to advance towards the seller. However, before she could get within a foot radius, she was knocked down by a yellow blur in front of her.

"One chocolate please!"

"Ohh! Ohh! I want chocolate too!"

"Goten, why do you always get the same thing I do?" the taller one asked.

"Do not," the smaller one pouted.

"Hey, you brats! Don't you have any courtesy! You just knocked a lady down!", Tomoto screamed from the ground, still sprawled in reaction.

"I see no lady here," the older one motioned with a raised eyebrow as the shorter one simply looked back and forth between the two.

"You…you…", the girl winced as she trembled with a mix of embarrassment and fury. 'How uncool, being knocked over by two feet punks.' She sobbed inside.

"Where are your parents? I'd like to have a word with them," she started standing up, brushing off the dirt in the process. She stopped in her tracks when she heard laughter. Looking up, she found the taller one laughing boisterously and the smaller one giggling along with him.

"You…little blonde rats…", she fumed, her expression getting darker and darker and energy starting to build up with the anger. The two boys stopped laughing and looked back at her with mildly interested faces, before a burst of energy force exploded from the girl.

"Woah, Goten, time to ditch!", the taller blue eyed boy said as he grabbed the other's collar yanking both of themselves up into the sky.

"Wha! But I dun-"

"Huh? No way…they can fly?", the girl stood dazed on the ground as she watched the two float in the air aimlessly. She squinted, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. "Blonde hair…blue eyes…" she felt cold sweat at the back of her neck, "No, that's impossible. They're just kids.", she mused. "Well, anyway, that's interesting…but," Tomoto smirked, "It won't get you away from me!" she yelled triumphantly as she soared into the air to be beside the two.

"What? You can fly too?"

"That's not all I can do!" She yelled back, swinging her leg before stopping abrupting, "Wait, what am I doing, you're just kids."

"Heh, too bad you stopped," the cocky one smirked before turning to the other, "right, Goten?" to which the smaller one replied with a nod, "Right, Trunks."

"…Trunks?" the girl was stricken with shock before two punches landed into her gut sending her spiraling towards the ground.

"Tch," she grunted as she shifted in the rubble. Looking up, she saw that the two boys had already retreated. "That kid…no, no, but, he really did say 'Trunks', didn't he?" she said as the dizziness started to fade. "Urgh, what a punch." She mumbled as she flopped back into the hole.