How Marron Got Her Nose

A young pair of innocent blue eyes stared, unfazingly forward.
An older pair of serious blue eyes stared, frustratingly forward.

Krillin sat back, chewing on his dinner, watching his wife and daughter. It had been a dinnertime tradition for 3 years. Every night, #18 and Marron would have a staring contest before they ate.
He chuckled softly, the thing was, Marron always won! And she was a little kid!

#18 stared down at her daughter. "There is NO WAY I'm losing to a 6 year old," She thought. "Not again!"
Marron looked up at her mother. "Hehe, I'm gonna win again!" She thought, happily.

#18 was starting to lose her concentration. "Every night we've done this, for 3 whole years! WHY does she always beat me? Why? Why? WHY?!!! Maybe because she looks like Krillin." She thought. "Wait a minute! She really doesn't look that much like Krillin, except that she's short, has a round face and had no nose. NO NOSE???" #18 blinked rapidly.
"Yay!!! Look papa! I beat mama again!" Little Marron stated proudly.
"It looks like you did M-chan! That's great!" Krillin grinned at his daughter. "Next match tomorrow right?" Krillin asked #18. But #18 didn't answer; she just kept glancing from Krillin, to Marron, to Krillin and back to Marron.
"Uh..honey?" Krillin leaned forward and asked her.
**BANG!**
Krillin and Marron jumped three feet in the air, as #18 slammed the table with her fist, breaking her dinner plate. They both stared at her in shock.
"THAT'S IT KRILLIN!" #18 yelled. "I CAN'T STAND IT! MARRON DOESN'T HAVE A NOSE!"
And with that #18 grabbed Marron's wrist and flew out the front door.

#18 just stared ahead as she flew to Capsule Corp. headquarters.
"Mama! Where are we going? I'm scared! And cold!" Marron whined, from her position on #18's back.
"We're going to see Bulma-san." #18 stated.
Marron instantly brightened up. "Am I going to get to play with Trunks-chan? Yay!!" Marron chirped happily.
"No." Was all #18 said.
"Nani? Mama!! Why??" Marron continued her barrage on whining.
"Oh shut up!!!" #18 wanted to say, but she could never say that to little Marron. Instead, she just kept silent.
After a while, Marron got the hint and quieted down.

The Brief's family had just sat down to dinner.
Vegeta and Trunks were both eyeing the biggest piece of steak on the table and eyeing each other while they were at it.
Bulma groaned as she saw them. "You two BETTER not fight at the table again! Or I'm shutting down your 'precious' gravity room!!"
Both Vegeta and Trunks's heads popped up. "But okaasan!!!" Trunks whined.
"Woman!" Vegeta gasped. How could she threaten him with that????
All of a sudden, they had guests over.

"Ahhh!!! Kuso!!!" Bulma swore as #18 flew through the window and landed in front of her. "You scared me! Why couldn't you just call if you wanted to join us for dinner today? What's up? Where's Krillin?"
#18 set Marron down. Then she motioned to Bulma. "I need to ask you something."
As Bulma and #18 chatted away, Vegeta silently praised #18. Because now Trunks was distracted, his friend was over. That steak was HIS! Vegeta licked his lips in delight.
"Konnichiwa Trunks-chan!!" Marron piped up, looking happily at her friend.
"Konnichiwa!" Trunks smiled at Marron. "Why are you guys visiting?" He asked her.
Marron's little face scrunched up as she furrowed her brow. "I dunno! Mama got really mad afta' I beat her at a staring contest. Den she said sumfin about a nose, grabbed me and flew off!"
"Nani? She reminds me of my mom, they're both very very weird!" Trunks laughed. So did Marron. Then the two started talking about their favourite show, Sailor Ramna ½.

Meanwhile, Vegeta was creeping, slowly, to the big steak in the middle of the table.

"Arigatou Bulma!" #18 said enthusiastically. "C'mon Marron." She grabbed her daughters' wrist and was JUST about to fly off when....
Vegeta was inching closer and closer to the steak, not paying any attention to anybody all around him. His fingers could almost grab the luscious meat when....

Bulma reached over with her fork and grabbed up the steak. She put it in a container and gave it to #18.
"Here! It's this new amazing recipe I came up with. These two love it." She pointed at a smiling Trunks and a shocked Vegeta.
"Mmm....looks good!" Marron drooled as she accepted the gift from Bulma.
"Glad I could help." Bulma smiled as #18 flew off, with a little Marron clinging on to the steak and her mother.
Bulma turned around, only to see Vegeta with his jaw open, staring at her. She looked at him quizzically before he spoke up.
"Woman!" Vegeta slammed his fist on the table, breaking his dinner plate.
Bulma groaned and turned to Trunks. Then she made a disgusted face. Trunks laughed.
"Woman!!!!" Vegeta yelled again.
Bulma sighed, "What Vegeta?"
"Where's the beef?" He demanded, with a perplexed look on his face.

The cold air hit Marron full in the face as #18 flew faster and faster through the sky.
It had been a few hours since they left Capsule Corp, and ever so often #18 would stop flying, land on the ground and go looking for something.
Marron was perplexed. Her mom had barely said a word since they left Bulma-san's house.
"Aha! The last one!" #18 looked at an object she was holding. "Hold on Marron." #18 warned as she flew quickly to the ground. She landed on the ground, put down Marron and ran off into the woods.
Marron looked around in fright. She was right on the outskirts of a forest, it was very dark and cold. Marron shivered as the wind went right past her. "Mama? I'm really cold!" Marron whined, as usual.
#18 came back from the woods with a round object in her hand. She placed the object in a Capsule bag and turned the bag back into a capsule so it could fit into her pocket.
"C'mon Marron! We're going home." #18 smiled as Marron jumped for joy, and climbed onto her back.

#18 sat with her arms crossed over her legs on the beach. She had put Marron to bed right after they had come home. She'd been sitting here for about an hour now, just thinking about things. The cool wind passed over her and made her blond hair fly around her face. She could smell the ocean air and she smiled.

Krillin walked out of the Kame house and peered at her. He still had no idea why she had left so many hours ago with Marron, and what they'd done. He'd even asked Marron, after #18 had put her to bed.
She had no idea, the only thing she knew was that they had paid a visit to Bulma and got a "Nummy steak." As Marron had called it. It'd been an hour now, and #18 STILL sat on the beach, practically unmoving. Like a statue of some kind, and she had a faraway look in her eyes.
Krillin took a deep breath, and he walked over to talk with her.

#18's head popped up as Krillin sat down on the beach beside her. She glanced over at him, silently, and then focused her attention back to the ocean.
Krillin started the conversation, "What happened tonight?"
"What are you talking about?" She asked.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. What happened tonight?" He asked again.
#18 sighed. "I remember so little of when I was...normal..before Dr. Gero and Cell and everything." She said sadly, and very softly. "I don't even know what my name was! My real name! Can you even imagine how hard that is? Not even knowing your real name!" She made a fist and hit the sand, making a deep crater.
Krillin took in a breath. She'd never talked about her past much before at all. She usually kept quiet about it.
"I remember how everything, sorta changed. After you guys. I was feeling things I've never felt before. It was exhilarating! I loved it! The thing that made me most excited, and scared, was Marron. I never even KNEW I could get pregnant. Even after you wished me human." She smiled at Krillin. Krillin blushed.
"I wanted Marron to be perfect in every way. Smart, pretty, charming, clever, everything." She looked down, embarrassed. "I never told you this before, but the fact that she had no nose, like you, bothered me so very much! The reason I kept losing the staring contest is because of her nose. I mean, lack therof."
Krillin looked down, hurt. 'She'd had this feeling for 6 years and hasn't told me? We aren't good enough for her?' He thought angrily.
"So." He said, clearing his throat. "Marron's not good enough for you?"
She looked like she'd been punched in the face. "No!" She yelled. "How could you accuse me of thinking that? After I've been sitting here for an hour thinking about how selfish I'am?"
She got up and started pacing in anger. "Tonight I went and collected the Dragonballs' so I could wish for you and Marron to have noses ok?? Then, when I got back here. I started thinking about how selfish and vain a wish like that would be! It would be a waste of a wish!"
"What?" #18 demanded.
"Er...nothing." He replied quickly. Then he looked at her. "I don't want a nose you know."
#18 nodded. "I know, I just thought....well anyways. So now I have all the dragonballs. But I could never wish for Marron to have a nose. I would feel like Dr. Gero. Trying for perfection! I would feel disgusted with myself, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did that."
Krillin grasped her hand. "Let's save them for a rainy day. Maybe, another day, you'll change your mind?"
#18 nodded, and looked away. She couldn't do it, no matter how much she wanted Marron to be normal.

The next day, #18 woke up to hear Marron's cries of joy.
"MAMA!" Marron bounded into her parents' room. "Mama!! Look! I have a nose!!!! See? Look!"
Marron sniffed, to show off her nose. "I can smell Mama! Look!!!"
#18 just stared in wonder. Then she knew how this came about.
She walked out to the dining room, where they had left the Dragonballs. They were gone. But she wasn't surprised. She looked outside and saw Krillin sitting on the beach.
She smiled at him.
Krillin turned around to see #18 smiling at him. He smiled back.
"Papa!!!!" Marron shrieked. "I HAVE A NOSE!!! Looks like you're the only weird one now!!"

***The End***