CapCor | Old Faithful Eyes

Old Faithful Eyes: A Soul Survivor Sequel

"You're gonna fight those ugly monsters, atouchan?"

"Hai, hai. I'm gonna teach them a lesson for trying to scare you."

The little girl giggles, her tiny voice full of innocence and happiness.

"Look, atouchan!" She yells in excitement as she spots out a candy store on the opposite side of the street with her tiny, chubby finger. Her blue hair flutters up and down, then it keeps still as the approaching scene comes to a halt. She looks down at the headful of lavender hair, which is now bending slightly backward and a pair of blue eyes, browed by the same lavender lines of hair, narrow, muscular arms leaning against the buffed chest, and big strong hands grabbing the two small and delicate ankles.

"Hmm... have you been good?" He asked.

"Uh huh," she nodded and giggles ingenuously.

"Well, your oukassan won't like it, but you're with me now... Ah... what the heck!? How will the dentists survive without cavities?!" The deep voice pleases his small daughter as she chuckles happily.

Trunks carefully holds his daughter up above his head, removing her from his shoulders, then with loving care, he puts her down.

"Okay, now. Why do we have to be careful when we cross the street?" He asks as he crouches over and warns her.

In a playful voice, she answers, "Because there are cars and people in the street and it's dangerous."

"Yoshino!" He praises and kisses her on the forehead.

He stands up, holds her tiny hand, and checks for traffic. He then looks straight ahead at the candy store and gets an instant shock as he notices a woman, about in her late 30s, who is talking to a little girl. All at once, the scene appears familiar, perhaps too familiar for him... a piece of lost memory comes back at an instant. His nervousness causes Trunks to walk quickly, not noticing the incoming cars, which beam and then honk desperately as they come to a sudden and vigorous stop, just feet away from him. He snaps and quickly picks his daughter up. He looks, bows his head repeatedly, and apologizes to the angry drivers, which in seconds, have already caused a massive traffic jam.

With his daughter in his arms, Trunks jumps to the walkway, right by the woman and the little girl. He curiously, yet nervously, looks at her. She looks back and smiles at him.

"Sumimasen," he bows and says, realizing it's not whom he thinks it is. The woman politely nods her head and leaves with her young daughter.

Trunks doesn't think it is that simple... to meet a person - who he is not even sure exists - again. Life is never simple for him after that faithful trip to the past which he took 20 years ago to save the world. Even to this day, the feeling still rings up sometimes -- especially when he sees Juuhachi-gou (even though she is now very nice and a close friend) , the time machine (now carefully put away as a souvenir), the old and abandoned Buddhist Temple in East Capital, ...and even when he sees his wife and children, he thinks about that very day of great loss, about that very person.

"Touchan! Touchan! Atouchan!"

He wakes up at his daughter's voice, "Hai, hai... we're gonna get you those candies, ok?"

"...and lollipops!" She says excitedly.

"Nah... we've gotta save those for later. If kachan notices the new cavities you'll soon get, either you or I will ever see the lollipops or candies again." He tries to scare her.

After buying candies for his daughter, Trunks takes her to the supermarket and gets the things his wife has asked him to. On the way home, he keeps thinking about 20 years ago, and the "what ifs..." that would have happened if his life were not with his wife. Then he feels guilty for thinking that... the feeling is almost an unfaithful one. But it's hard to judge really. He once promised himself he would always take care of "her", but obviously that was only an undone promise. But then, what was he to do? He couldn't wait forever for someone who he wasn't sure was real. He swears to himself - then and now - that if he had the chance, he would take care of her forever, he had loved and still loves her.

Too caught up in past memories, Trunks doesn't even notice that he's reached the front gate of the Capsule Corp. building, the place where he, his wife, his parents, ...his entire extended family have always lived. His daughter runs inside, calling out for her grandma as he, too, walks in the kitchen and greets his mother and wife.

"I've always felt guilty about toussan and myself having such a big appetite," he says and kisses his wife. "And only if there's something we can do."

"Well, feeling guilty isn't going to do us any good," Bulma complains in the most loving way. "What you can DO is get off your butts and help us with the dishes after the meals."

Trunks's wife looks up, only to find him gone. She shakes her head, smiles to herself and at her mother-in-law's remark.

He has been married to Ciara for 14 years and since they have two children, a boy and a girl. Cassava, whose name Vegeta has given, is 13 years old and looks very much like him, but has Vegeta's quality of a fighter. His daughter, Jade, is six years old and also inherits his looks, but has her mother's personality, which he greatly appreciates and is somehow relieved she is not much like him. His wife, Ciara, is not a fighter, Trunks thanks the great Sama for that, she is a bright programmer and recently has received her doctorate in Computer Science. Since she lives under the best technological roof, she's been helping Bulma and Gohan with many projects for commercial use.

When he met Ciara, which was only five years after he came back from the trip, he felt the need to be with someone badly. In the five years he waited for "her", Trunks was described by his family and friends as "a mad Saiya-jin". He can still see why they gave him that alias.

[ Now, rewind your clock 20 years back -- to "Soul Survivors" time ]

Capsule Corporation, one afternoon, four months after Jade disappeared, a knock on Trunks's room.

No answer...

Again, the knocks were heard.

Long pause...

Bulma finally opened the door to her son's room. She walked in with a great concern. He had been acting strange and even self-destructive sometimes after his trip back from the past. Everyday, she asked him what the problem was, but he always kept quiet. Well... even when he did tell her, it was hard for her to understand. She always thought that the effect and risk of the trip had caused him to hallucinate somehow... as much as she hated thinking her son was crazy, it sometimes was the only reason that made sense to her.

Bulma walked in further, to her son's bed where he was lying still with angry eyes staring at the ceiling.

"Trunks," she called gently, but he lay still, as if not hearing her. "Trunks-chan," she called again.

Trunks irately closed his eyes, an uncomfortable and painful look appeared on his face. He swallowed, but didn't say anything. Bulma sat down beside him, she brushed her hand on his hair. The lavender streaks were still as shiny as ever despite the mood of their owner.

"You have to eat something. You've been lying in bed for two days now," Bulma spoke in a soft voice, sad to see her only son act that way. She was helpless and even felt more pain when she knew he was heartbroken. She carefully looked at him; his face and body were visibly thinner - it would be ridiculous if he stayed as equally fit as before after he skipped many meals, even when he did eat, it was only a few spoonful of rice or a couple of sushi rolls and with an appetite of a Saiya-jin, that amount wasn't even enough to calm the growling. She then stared at his hair, it got much longer now. He was clean-cut when he came back from that trip, and now four months had passed, it looked like it had been left to grow for a long time. And his body, the young warrior body had toned down, his frame became lean, not as muscular.

Couldn't stand seeing him suffer silently, she pleaded, "Please son... say something, anything. Let me help you."

Just then the door opened, she turned and saw Vegeta walk in. He had shaved his mustache and was now looking like the old Vegeta, only his personality changed. He walked and stood next to Bulma, looking at his son, also a Royal Prince by blood, and as if he could read his [son's] mind, he told Bulma:

"Let's just leave him... He needs his own time. He'll come out of it when he's ready." Then the Saiya-jin Prince turned and walked out, his wife looked after him, confused, but followed his advice and left the room.

On the bed, Trunks could hear his parents speak, but couldn't make out what they were saying. He was still in a daze, trying to figure out how to get out of his fate. Under his closed eyes, Trunks saw her... Jade... the girl he vowed to protect for as long as he lived. Her image appeared vague, he's been trying all his best to grasp and store it in his mind. His heart felt like it had been broken into a million pieces. He began to hate his fate. His belief in certain things had also degraded itself, and his hope...?! It had long been shattered. Forever, his throat kept a grudge against everything he could think of, making him want to scream and crush whatever was in his way. He had whispered and called her name when he slept, during the painfully long nights he spent wide awake... whenever he did anything. Suddenly, he felt his eyes dampen. No! He would not allow himself to cry! He quickly opened his eyes, intending to prevent the tears from escaping. However, the sight of the uncrying eyes were worse than if he had let himself cry; for they were red from restless nights. He sat up lazily, looking around for his clothes. Then he stood up and dragged himself out of the bed. He put on a black tank and combat trousers and boots. He walked to the window and pushed the doors open. He looked down three stories below at the street, everything appeared small and insignificant, but even that didn't make him forget her. He glared up all at once and flew out the window and disappeared instantly.

He came about the physical world when he heard noises down below. He looked down and noticed he was above a forest. He lowered himself and spotted the noisy sources that broke his concentration. Immediately, he saw a lion roaring and chasing after a deer. He powered up and discharged a ki blast directly at the lion, killing the carnivorous animal almost instantly. He landed and stood next to the barbequed creature. The deer that was stopping to observe his predator being executed stared at his savior, but suddenly ran away rapidly when he saw his eyes, which were glaringly green like a cat's eyes at night. In minutes, parts of the forest turned into ashes after a series of ki blasts was fired.

* * *

Trunks came home after disappearing for weeks. Bulma was upset at his behavior, but Vegeta told her not to say anything. She felt she had lost control over her own son, who once was such a polite and dutiful son. But she knew her husband was right... that she should just leave him alone. It would be useless to reason things out with him when he was in a grouchy mood.

Trunks went on with this behavior for about another half a year before he decided to go look for Jade again. He wanted to be sure he really didn't find her... only then could he go on and let the past slip. Then the search began with more distress when he didn't get any results - even though that was the goal he set out to prove in the first place. He literally went to every town on Chikkyuu to look for her, but there were no signs of her anywhere. He became tired of asking himself "why" and felt like he would be better off giving up on her - yet, he always wished he could honestly do that. A part of him was tired, yet the other part was still sparkled with hopes, thus he nearly went insane over the whole thing. Again, this "search" prolonged and lasted for almost three years.

* * *

On the day when Satan City was celebrating the fifth anniversary of Mr. Satan's saving the world, Trunks thought that maybe out of luck, he might find her among the thousands of people there. He had a feeling that that particular chance was thin, but heck, anything could happen and he`d rather try it and be able to know for a fact that he was unlucky, than to completely omit the chance.

"Sumimasen, Sir," a young man apologized as he tried to walk past him. Trunks made way for him to thread his way through when he caught a pair of eyes stare at him. He stared back at them, at the same time, tried to recognize her, but she appeared to be a stranger.

He continued walking and scrutinizing for the one that had been missing in his life in the past years. He began to feel stranded by the hope to find her, even though he kept telling himself to keep looking. There, he felt it again. Someone was following him. He stopped and turned to look. The same girl. She was obviously a student, with a backpack on her back and books in her hands. He could see her try to squeeze her way through the crowd. Looked like she forgot she was following him for a moment. He waited and when she looked for and found him, she blushed and stopped, feeling embarrassed; nonetheless certain he was looking at her.

"Kuso!" She swore and looked down, trying to hide herself from his cruel eyes. Moments later, she looked up to check if he was gone, only to feel more mortified this time because the lavender man was still there.

Trunks waved her over with his finger, his eyes looked somewhat pitiless, and she feared that. She slowly walked to him and in just a few steps, they were face to face. She looked prettier up close, he'd thought. She wasn't beautiful, but rather cute. Her dimples expressed her happy being; and she looked as if she had never been sad or had any misfortune in her life when she smiled.

"Come with me, .........Jade," he whispered in her ear, sounding careless. The young lady was perplexed, but glad otherwise that he didn't punish her by asking why she'd followed him.

"Good guess, but my name's not Jade," she replied, sounding a bit flirtatious.

He looked at her, displaying an as-if-I-didn't-know-that-already face. "What's your name, then?" He started pacing.

"You can call me 'Jade' if you want," she told as she followed him.

"What the hell does that suppose to mean?" He felt annoyed. "I don't like calling people what they're not."

"Well, you did call me 'Jade', didn't you?" She snapped right back at him.

"Don't be a smart-ass," he stopped and turned, looking at her. She looked scared.

"Okay!" She replied as he continued walking on. "Sheesh! First he called me what I'm not, THEN he tells me he doesn't like doing that!" She mumbled.

"Look here, Missy!" He suddenly retorted at her, "Aren't YOU the one who was following me in the first place?"

"... Well, fine! Then I'll leave you alone!" She said.

Trunks ignored her and kept on walking. A few minutes later, he could still feel her presence behind him; he was certain it was her and not anyone else.

"Hmm! You're still here?" He mocked, only looking sideward at her.

She ignored him at first then couldn't stand letting him humiliate her, she declared, "Hey, it's a big city, just because I happen to walk in the same direction as you, that doesn't mean I'm following you."

For a while, he did forget why he was there. Then he stopped and said to her, "Well, I guess this is 'goodbye' then."

Without waiting for her to say anything, he took a quick turn at the corner and disappeared.

Confused, the young lady searched for him in the crowd, wondering where on Chikkyuu and how he could disappear so quickly. "Where the heck did he go?!" She burbled.

"Well, well," Trunks taunted behind her, startled the poor girl. "Are you sure you aren't following me?"

"Dende!" She jumped back and hissed. Just then Trunks pulled her to him by her waist and...

* * Swoosh!!! * *

A biker went past them, missing her by a hair-wide distance.

"Watch where you're going next time," he advised as he released her and walked away.

Realizing he`d just saved her life, she took a deep breath and ran after him.

"Hey, thanks," she said, but he ignored her.

"Hmph!" She looked at him in detest, but he didn't seem to care. "How crude!"

Yet, she kept following him. They looked like they could be mistaken for a couple who were trying to mend their daily fight. After a long silence, she said:

"I'm Ciara. What's your name?"

No response. Trunks kept his face straight. For one thing, he wasn't over his act yet. Several minutes without any conversation, she intended to give up for good.

Then, "You don't have to know my name. Just come with me!" He looked at her and said, sounding like a command,

"Hmph!" she hated his gut already, but then followed him nonetheless.

Trunks grinned furtively at her behavior as he led a few steps ahead of her. The whole time, he was quiet. Ciara hopped a few steps forward to catch up with him. She tried to make him talk by asking simple, everyday questions. He looked like he could care less, but indeed he was listening. Inside his head, he tried to visualize her as Jade. Then he snapped out of it when he heard her ask.

"So," she said, "who is Jade?"

Trunks stopped abruptly, making Ciara bump into him. He turned his head back to face her, "Just why are you so nosy?!"

"Okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Sheesh!" She replied in annoyance and looked at him as he walked on.

They began to walk in silence. Ciara didn't know why she kept following him after how he treated her. But she had to admit he was one cutie-pie! He might seem to be tough now, but he could be a gentleman deep inside, so she comforted herself.

Trunks stopped in front of a cafe and looked back to check on her. He was surprised she was still there. He did feel a little guilty for scolding her after meeting her for no more than 10 minutes.

He opened the door and signaled her to go inside. She looked at him, thinking he was a strange son-of-a-gun.

"Go in, ...please," he told her.

She went in, but her eyes were still set on him. She found a table at the corner and came to sit down. He followed and sat down across from her. She looked at him, but quickly looked down when his eyes stared fixed at her.

"Would like to hear today's specials?" The young waitress asked as she set two menus down.

"That's alright. Two green teas, please," Trunks said.

"Same for me," she said, causing both Trunks and the waitress to look at her.

"Alrighty, four green teas coming-,"

Trunks looked at Ciara again and interrupted the waitress, "just make that two green teas."

The waitress looked at Ciara to make sure, but she wasn't making eye-contact with neither her or Trunks. The waitress then looked at Trunks, he nodded.

"Okie doke," the waitress then roller-bladed away with the menus.

* * *

They sat in silence for nearly half an hour. Now both of them suddenly became conscious about the situation. Instead of annoyed, they felt awkward and foolish. They were practically strangers.

Seeing that it was close to impossible for him to start a conversation, she initiated, "So, do you work at Capsule Corp.?"

He was surprised at first, but then figured she must've gotten the idea from the jacket he was wearing. He took a sip of the tea and looked at her.

"Why? Do you want me to get you a job there?" He responded sarcastically.

"What a pain!" She thought. Then, "Iie," she said, "just trying to start a conversation, that's all."

How could she say anything else after only a simple question? They sat again, in silence, for another hour and she finally stood up, understanding that there wasn't anything good in it for her. Yes, he was drop-dead fine looking, but his cut-throat personality just didn't do it for her.

"Welp," she took her backpack, "thanks for the lovely time and flattering conversation, but I've gotta go."

She turned away, starting to pace herself when she heard him.

"You forgot to pay for your tea."

"Baka!" She mumbled as she lowered her backpack. She took her wallet out and searched for the money as she looked at him in repulsion. He was still and cold as a rock. "Kuso!" She swore when she realized she'd just used up all her money to buy books.

She sat back down, hoping he'd say something comforting, or at least offered to take the check. Only he was quiet. She waited... half an hour passed by, nothing, no conversation, no offer. She yawned, bored. She called the waitress over.

"Can I have another green tea and a taro pearl tea, please?" She ordered naturally.

Trunks looked at her, laughing at her behavior secretly. Quite a girl!

* * *

Throughout the next two hours and two extra taro pearl drinks, Trunks was quiet, and Ciara was a little more talkative, in fact, she did all the talking. At times, he imagined her as Jade, again... even though Ciara was much more expressive than Jade, and her voice was louder, he still managed to keep on listening. Once in a while, he would look at her at the base of his eyes, altogether he wished she were Jade. When Ciara caught him look at her with dimmed eyes, she blushed and stopped talking, looking down as she smiled nervously. At an instant, her expression matched that of Jade's, and Trunks couldn't help it, but called out:

"Jade-chan!"

"Huh?!" Ciara hissed, feeling a glint of jealousy, but she controlled herself, "Sorry, darling, I've fallen in love with someone else already."

"Be quiet!" He told her harshly, his hand stomping on the table. Everyone around them was staring, also startled. She looked, scared. He calmed down and apologized, "Gomen ne..."

"Hmph!" Ciara just looked at him, a little annoyed. But just seconds later, she was a happy girl once again. Trunks was glad she was that way; he didn't need anyone who would make him feel worse than he already felt not just that moment, but all those times. They sat and she talked some more until it was time the cafe closed. After that day, they both would purposefully pass by the same part of the city again, as if they'd secretly told each other about the unspoken rendez-vous. They spent the days going through, doing almost the same thing as the first day they met. After three months, Trunks almost knew every details that happened in her life, from her childhood until the moment he last saw her. Eventually, Ciara also came to know a lot about him; that he was the future heir of Capsule Corp., that he was a half-bred Saiya-jin, she even knew about his trip to the past to save the world, but one thing she didn't hear him talk about, nor could she make him tell her... it was Jade. Every time when she mentioned Jade's name, he would get upset and whenever she said something that he thought sounded negative about Jade, he would defend her vigorously. One thing she learned for herself when the subject involved Jade: It was to never compare or ask him to compare her and Jade. From his tone, Ciara found that no one, of course not even herself, could ever replace Jade. She realized that after three short months "going out" and talking with him, she had fallen for him. When Trunks brought Ciara home to meet his mother - Vegeta could care less whom his son lived with to his dying day with, let alone whom he was dating - Bulma instantly liked Ciara. She thought Ciara was so charming that anyone would be lucky to have her as a daughter-in-law... moreover, she was also the one that could make her son return to his old, normal self. From Bulma, Ciara learned about the relationship between Trunks and Jade. Bulma told Ciara that even though no one remembered who Jade was after history was changed, Trunks was always waiting for her. From then on, Ciara never mentioned Jade again in front of Trunks; for one thing, she respected his feelings and it was his past and she had no right to judge it. Even though occasionally, she did feel jealous of his past love, there was nothing she could do to win the battle; not with Trunks.

After nine months of their meeting, Trunks and Ciara got married, and nine months later, Cassava was born. Although sounding like a perfect romance, it was anything but! The loneliness, the desperate feeling to be with someone and to not think about Jade gave Trunks the idea to ask Ciara to be his wife. And Ciara, simply because she was in love with him and wanting to help him get over his waging past, she agreed to marry him with no remorse. But even with the birth of their son, Trunks still felt the emptiness. He loved Cassava dearly, but couldn't keep the mother of his child happy. When his son was three years old, he and Ciara split up. She unexcitingly told him she could no longer stand his acts - although he treated her and their son with respect, he never seemed to want to unwrap his heart for anyone. Trunks didn't stop her from leaving him; he didn't even try to ask her for an explanation for he knew too well the reason why himself. He only wished her the best.

They met again a year later. After his mother, sister, and friends told him how lucky he was to have Ciara for a wife, that he shouldn't let his past get in the way of his future, and especially he should be thinking more about his son, Trunks asked Ciara to give him another chance and their marriage rekindled. Trunks returned to his old self almost completely after realizing that Jade wasn't going to come back in his life - not now, not ever. Not until three years later that he and Ciara had another child, a daughter. He asked Ciara if it would be okay to name their daughter "Jade". To his surprise, she smiled and told him she liked the name.

[ Back to the present ]

The sound of children running outside the Capsule Corp. garden wake Trunks up. He looks outside and sees Cassava playing with Cake, Goten and Marron's 11 year-old son. He stands up and walks outside after hearing Ciara call for him.

"I'm sooo sorry, Trunks-san... 10 kg of beef is still not enough - maybe enough for you and atoussan, but since Gohan-san and Goten-san are coming..." Ciara gives her husband a flirty look.

He walks over to her and kisses her hair, "All Saiya-jin owe their 'Queen' a kiss!"

"No, thanks..." she smiles at him, "but I'll take yours!"

Trunks calls chibi Jade in and together, they walk to the supermarket again. On the way home, they pass by a place where a clown is entertaining his crowd of children and chibi Jade won't move an inch away from the show. Trunks always has a soft heart when it comes to his children's wanting things - at which he is often scolded by both his mother and wife. He lowers himself and picks his daughter up, sitting her on his neck. Chibi Jade laughs at every trick the clown does at the same time Trunks tries to think of the excuses to tell his wife and mother why he'll be late.

"Oukachan, I want you to put me on your shoulders like that!" A small voice says. Trunks turns to look and sees a little boy of about 7 or 8 standing next to him, his hand pointing up at him. He looks around, but doesn't see the person whom the little boy was speaking to. Then he hears a woman's voice calling:

"Trunks-chan, where are you?"

Altogether, the voice sounds too intimately familiar - for sure, he has heard it before. The voice is soft and gentle, ...and it's calling "his" name! This makes him turn to check out who it belongs to.

"There you are!" The voice sounds happy.

Trunks moves his head around to locate the speaker. This time, he is sure he had heard the voice before, it's too real! He can't be imagining anymore.

The woman, who he believes to be the little boy's mother, grabs the boy's hand quickly, as if afraid he might be taken away from her.

"You have kachan worry there. Come on now, we have to go."

Trunks freezes. He can't have been hearing things now... her voice is within reaching distance. He knows he can't be mistaken, he is not dreaming! It is "her"!

"Kachaaaan..." the little boy begs in whining, "...but I want to see the clown!"

"I'll be your clown when we get to the hotel, ok?" The little boy begins rubbing his eyes, the woman feels guilty and picks him up.

Then...

Four eyes meet, all are so familiar, yet so strange, so close the distance, yet so far the memories. Trunks stares at her, his blue eyes still clear, his body suddenly feels cold and he stands agape. With a similar reaction, the woman stares her dark eyes into his... Both are now in their late thirties and early forties, yet not much has changed except for a few slightly grinned lines around his mouth and eyes... but her... she looks almost the same, her hair tied up, making her look more mature, but not older. Instead of a lean, muscular frame she used to have, she looks a little thin, her face doesn't show any sign of aging yet, but it somehow indicates she is now a grown woman, not a young and naive girl anymore. All at once, the two "strangers" stand motionless, facing each other, speechless. All that is lost suddenly find their way, rushing back; the anger and loss, the hope and desire, ...the love... all rise inside both of the now-retired-warriors. It has been 20 years -- 20 horribly lonely and painfully long years -- since the last time they saw each other, the time that would separate and torture them with grieves. Now so many years later, he is still able to recapture those same sad eyes, the pair that forever appeared so far away - as if they knew their owner would always face sadness and misfortune in her life, the pair that were so shiny and mysterious, so hypnotizingly beautiful, the pair of eyes that he could never forget or let go off once he has looked into -- not even for a minute as he silently confesses to himself. All that was lost has been found just by staring into those deep, dark eyes. Opposite from him, the woman -- always been known in his heart as Jade -- stares almost lifeless at him. Everything she has saved and kept all those years suddenly erupt, and then pieces of them gather back and concentrate again inside her. They stand in silence, complete silence... despite the noisy crowd surrounding them, they hear nothing, but each other's nervous breathings, their pounding heartbeats, and their yearning to share what was missed and lost. Their eyes silently speak to one another, unmasking the longing for a moment like this for years. But sadly enough, they also reveal the limitation to express their feelings; for they both belong with someone else now... all is too late... or perhaps... all has been a dream and only a dream.

"Genki, Gyoku? How are you, Jade?" He sadly asks her, sounding as if she is still his.

She smiles -- the familiar, sad smile he had loved and protected so many years ago, "Hai, atashi genki..... and you?.........Trunks-san?" She asks, finally her voice audible enough to say his name. She has longed to call his name in front of him for years, she never thinks it is possible to do it in this lifetime again.... and now... she's glad her thought has betrayed her.

Trunks nods his head, indicating he is also doing fine.

"Touchan? I want to get down..."

He lets his daughter down. "Now... be a good girl and fold your arms, bow your head and say 'Konichi wa'." Trunks leads his daughter in the greeting and she does what he asks.

Jade puts her son down and lowers herself and extends her arm, asking Trunks's daughter for a handshake. "Hhhh.... Sugoi! What a good-mannered little lady you are. Anta no namae ha... what's your name?"

"I named her 'Jade'," Trunks tells her, his voice gentle and low.

Jade looks up at him, not sure how she would describe her feeling. She looks as if she can cry, but she knows perfectly well she has long been free from tears... She stands up erectly, and in her soft voice, she says:

"Trunks-san..." she swallows in the air and reaches her hand back for her son, who is hiding behind her, "I named him after you, too."

He notices and smiles, a smile that is both happy and sad. "Say 'konichi wa, ojisan', Trunks-chan," she told her son and with a polite and good manner, her young son folds his arms and bows to greet Trunks.

"Yoshino..." Trunks praises the little boy, rubbing his hair slightly.

Trunks asks Jade for a short walk around the park and she agrees to. His wife will understand him and her husband won't mind, they both think to themselves.

"How've you been all these years, Jade-chan?" He asks, then realizes he has just called her in an intimate way.

Jade hesitates, not wanting to tell him the truth -- it would only break her - and his - heart again if she does; this she knows.

"Jade??? .....Please tell me you've been okay..." he begs.

Jade hears the same, loving voice in him. Her eyes suddenly feel like they have welled up, but no... there are not enough tears to flow out of her eyes. She finally speaks:

"Has it been 20 years already, Trunks-san?" Her voice still hasn't lost its innocuousness. Along with the innocence, Trunks also hears sadness, but then there is something relieved in that voice.

"Hai... and in those 20 years, not a second went by that I didn't think about you." He confesses.

Right away, Jade feels his words and her thoughts have eclipsed somewhere. They walk side by side, both holding on to their children's hands. Then Jade begins, wanting to hear him fill in everything she has missed about his life.

"How is Bulma-san?"

Trunks feels his heart bleed hearing Jade ask about his mother.

"She's doing well... my father is with her... thank you."

Jade smiles, glad to find out such kind news from him. Trunks continues:

"Jade?" She looks at him. "No one remembered you.... Doshite?"

Jade feels a little sad, but she manages to control herself. She shakes her head and honestly replies, "I don't think anyone will ever know the answer to that, Trunks-san. After a few years of waiting-" she looks at him and notices he has his head down, "I began to think it was me who had been crazy for thinking about someone that might not exist."

Trunks's feeling rises again. He feels altogether the regret of leaving her back years ago.

"I should never have taken that trip! I've regretted it everyday of my life, thinking I could've been with you... until this moment, I still feel that regret..."

"I forbid you to say that!" Jade jokes, yet she is serious about what she says. "I thank you for being so brave then. You saved the world, Trunks-san. We all owe it to you. If you didn't take that trip, our children wouldn't be here now." She pauses and Trunks is not at all surprised at what she has just said, at how selfless she still is; perhaps she is more mature, more understanding, and more accepting than he is.

Then she goes on, "Comparing the two risks," he listens attentively -- apparently, he knows well what those two risks are, "the risk that we took is nothing compared to that which would prevent our children from being born into a peaceful world. I was proud of what you did for humankind -- have always been, and will always be proud of you!"

And those words come from the bottom of her heart.

There is a long pause.

"So how is your family?" Jade asks.

"Everyone's fine," he answers, then looks at her. He knows she specifically meant to ask about "his" family. Trunks continues, "Her name is Ciara. She's a great person -- doesn't enjoy martial arts much, but that's only good. I don't want to risk losing her in the way that I lost y-"

He notices Jade look away when he mentions their past again. "Hmmm... what about you, Jade-chan? Does he treat you well?"

Jade hears concern and caring in his voice, "You don't have to worry about me anymore, Trunks-san... He's kind and caring... an understanding husband and a good father."

"Is chibi Trunks your first?"

"Hai... my first... my only... he's great! ......................I don't suppose chibi Jade is your only child?"

"Hmmm... no," he smiles, shaking his head, "I have also a son, Cassava, he's 13 now." Then he realizes revealing his son's age might make Jade notice how short it took him to go on after losing her. He wants to tell her that his son resulted from being desperate and the longing he felt for her... but he doesn't dare say it... anyway, what good does it do now? In fact, it might have only sounded cruel to his son...

Jade looks at him, then smiles to herself, "So, now there is an heir for the Saiya-jin race after all."

Trunks swears he will protect her now to make up for lost times if she lets him. She is still the same, understanding Jade! He thinks in his head that whomever she married has to be one heck of a guy... and he better take good care of her!

"You don't live around here, do you Jade-chan?"

"Iie... Glenn, my husband, has an assignment here in Satan City for a week now - today will be our last day here. Unfortunately, we don't even live in the Dragon World anymore. After we got married, I went with Glenn to live in his home planet, Myce."

"A businessman, your husband?"

"No... he's a bounty hunter... He's here to investigate on the Zeiram case. Fortunately, it seems like Zeiram is unheard here."

"How's your life like in Myce?"

"Very simple and peaceful... well, lately that is! A few years back, I was able to help Glenn and his sister fight to keep Myce a better place to live... Things have been much better now. Glenn - hm... I have to admit, Trunks-san, that he is very much like you - he takes care of me and our son well."

"Sweet old Jade! Still doing good deeds for others' sake," Trunks thinks to himself. He then tells her, "I'm glad you're taken care of."

"Arigatou. I hope you're okay, too."

"Oh, I'm okay. Ciara is very understanding."

There is another pause.

"I'm very happy for you, Trunks-san," Jade says honestly.

" ...I'm glad I had a chance to see you again in this lifetime... I thought I can never see you again."

The feeling suddenly becomes grief and relief -- grief because they will soon part again and there is no guarantee they'll ever meet each other again... and relief... well... after 20 years of waiting, wondering, longing... have finally come to a closure. They can now go on with their lives. Jade takes a good look at her 'old friend', thinking it might be the last time she can do this.

"I wish you well, Trunks-san."

Trunks smiles back at her, "...and you take care, Jade-chan."

"I'd better get going now."

"May I walk you and chibi Trunks back to your place?"

Jade smiles and nods, "Please do. Let's prolong this meeting for it may be our last..."

They walk in silence.

While walking, Trunks notices a tall, blond man run toward them. Jade tells him it is her husband, Glenn. When he approaches, Jade's husband greets her with a kiss on her forehead and then picks up their son. Jade introduces her husband to Trunks and the men shake hands, exchanging pleasant words with one another. After a few minutes chatting, Jade and Glenn excuse themselves and walk to their hotel.

Trunks stands and with his hand holding chibi Jade's hand, he watches after Jade and her family.

"Sayonara, Gyoku-chan," he utters quietly. He has a good grasp of Jade's face and her image will at least retain in his mind for as long as he lives, he thinks. From now on, he can sleep well, knowing that the woman he has always loved is okay and well. The missing chapter in the book is finally written down, and he can now put it down to rest.

On the way home, even though he is already more than two hours late buying groceries for his wife, Trunks feels there is no need to hurry home. With a renew feeling within himself, he [finally] promises himself he will take better care of Ciara, an act he never seems to take into consideration unless he is sure of the official closure of his feeling for Jade.

With chibi Jade on his shoulders, Trunks walks toward Capsule Corp., taking his steps moderately.

"Will you buy me ice cream tomorrow, touchan?"

"I'll buy you ice cream, I'll buy you candies, and lollipops... anything you want..."

"Honto?!?"

"Honto!!!"

"...and you'll................."

"Yes, I'll..................."

The chapter is now officially closed.