*First of all, I'd like to thank those who expressed interest in this story so far. I'm extremely flattered that it seems liked. Hopefully, I can keep this up ;-)*
Since I didn't put it in the first chapter, let me say I own nothing of DBZ. A few movies, some taped episodes, and a copy of Budokai, but that's about it. Thank you…
Now, without further ado…
Chapter 2
Where the Stars meet the Sky
They flew in silence for a while, general weariness setting in for both the city's saviors as they neared the end of what they hoped would be their last late night for a while. Eventually, Gohan slowed down his flight. Videl slowed as well, turning back. She smiled as Gohan worked the helmet off his head, sporting a smile she hadn't seen in what seemed a long time.
"Hey Videl, you want to see something?"
"Sure…" she said hesitantly, not too sure what he was planning, but thinking it couldn't be any stranger than what he'd already revealed.
"Follow me," and, with that, he bolted straight up.
Videl struggled to keep up. Flying was still relatively new to her, but she was improving. Now she'd learned to manipulate ki to help buffer the wind screaming around her, keeping it from blowing in her face and stinging her eyes as badly. It helped her to reach speeds that birds and some small aircraft would envy now. Not as good as Gohan, but she was improving…
He vanished into the clouds above. She followed suit, a little scared once she found herself enveloped by the darkness, but, adding speed, she tore through the heavy cloud in seconds. The view awaiting her was breathtaking… along with the atmosphere. She struggled to calm herself, to breath deeply and evenly in the thin air; difficult, but not impossible. Once she got her bearings, she looked around, marveling at the sight of bright stars in a perfect sky. Searching for Gohan, she drifted toward him, whispering, so as not to break the mood…
"Amazing. Is this what it looks like from your house?" Quietly, he replied.
"Not quite. The air is thinner up here, so the stars don't twinkle as much, and you can make out some of the fainter ones a bit better. If you stood on the Lookout, though, the view's pretty much like this. I like to come up here sometimes. Sort of a getaway, I guess…"
And he's sharing it with me, now. Oh… her heart melted a little. Hugging him tightly (not the easiest thing to do when you're both floating), she whispered, "Thank you."
She stared in wonder for a moment, until Gohan broke the silence.
"You did really great out there tonight, Videl. You're really getting the hang of using your ki when you need to."
"What do you mean?"
"When you dashed to stop that guy. You probably caused some confusion when you disappeared. They expect that from me, not from you," he chuckled as he said that last part.
"What?" she asked, flabbergasted. "You mean I was moving? Like you do?" She remembered now how it felt. Like the world slowed down, and everything stopped, except her and Gohan. She must have been using super speed like he and his other friends do. She couldn't believe it! She was finally getting the hang of what they did. Maybe she could talk him into teaching her energy attacks now.
"I can't believe it," was all she could say. "Thank you, Gohan."
"For what?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"For teaching me. For helping me. For being my friend." As she said this, she reached for his free hand, the one not holding the Saiyaman helmet.
"I can't help it, Videl. I… I love you," he tightened her hold.
"Oh, Gohan. I love you, too…" They stood that way (so to speak) for some time, oblivious to the night sky above them…
* * *
Meanwhile, as Gohan and Videl truly began their life as a couple, another pair was enjoying each others company, too. On the beach of a small island in the middle of the ocean, far, very far from any real civilization, they sat in silence, the man sitting back, leaning into the woman, the woman leaning into a palm tree, providing comfortable and quiet support for them both. It was late at night, the other residents of the house having gone to be hours ago. An upstairs window was open, letting the warm sea breeze in, and, more importantly, the noises of the little girl asleep inside to waft out to her parents below.
The man stirred in the woman's lap, dozing. The woman slowly stroked his thick, dark hair, a faint smile on her face. She indulged in this for a few moments before nudging him awake. "Wake up, sleepyhead," she said, chuckling slightly. "We're out here for a reason, you know…"
"I know," slurred the man, obviously awakening from a nap. He stretched, cracking several joints in doing so. The woman winced. She hated that sound. The man got up, sitting in front of the woman, and seizing a hand.
"I love you, Eighteen," he said.
"I love you, too, Krillin. What's your point?" Still sporting that slight smile, the one she only used for him. Krillin often wonder what it was she saw in him, but when he saw that smile, so slight, but barely detectable, he knew there was something there. It inspired him to be the best man he could be for her and their daughter. He fell in love again every time she did that. And he never got tired of it.
Pulling himself from his reverie, he spoke in a low voice, lowering his head as he did so. "I'm so sorry."
She'd half expected something like this, ever since they'd been brought back to life again. She took the initiative. "What for? That you couldn't stop Buu? News flash, he beat all of us. Not one of us were enough to beat him."
His face fell. She knew him well. He'd been quiet these few months since they were reunited. Rejoicing, yes. Spending a lot of time with wife and daughter, certainly. He put on a happy face, but Eighteen could tell he was worried inside. Something had been eating him. She'd caught him outside in the mornings sometimes meditating, an activity she hadn't seen him do since he gave up fighting. He was training again, too. His energy was higher now than it had ever been, but he was doing it silently, in the mornings or late at night, when no one watched. She had already decided to confront him about it soon, but, then, he'd suggested this late night meeting, just man and wife, Roshi and the others asleep inside. It seemed he'd bring it up on his own. That saved her the trouble of doing it herself…
Knowing her words had been sharp, she squeezed his hand, causing him to look at her. She knew she wasn't the emotional type, but somehow she melted every time he looked at her like that. Not just as a woman, but a human being. Not a cyborg, not a fighter, not a monster. Just a person. She ran her other hand down his face, blushing as he leaned into it. She spoke, then, softly.
"I don't remember so much that we were killed by that bastard. That really sucked, yes, but that's not what I remember most. What I remember was a brave man who tried to sacrifice his life to save us all. You offered yourself to that… monster so we might get away. It's not your fault that it didn't work out the way it should have. You just weren't powerful enough." Ouch! Should have stopped while you were ahead, Eighteen. Oh, well, it's too late now.
Krillin sighed. "That's just the point. I wasn't powerful enough. Not by a long shot. Not me, and from what I hear, neither was Tien, and I know he's probably trained ever since Cell. And we're the most powerful humans on this planet." Eighteen wasn't offended by his hidden assumption that she wasn't human. She knew what he meant. And she felt in her gut where this was going, and didn't like it. "I mean, what if the Saiyans had never known of this world? What if Piccolo had never found this place? Where would we be, then? We've given our destiny away, Eighteen. As much as I love Goku, Gohan, and the rest, I'm beginning to feel that we've been cheated out of something here."
Eighteen began to get a little angry with that. "You call having a wife and child being cheated? You call having a world safe from evil and filled with peace being cheated? What, exactly, do you feel cheated about, Krillin? I feel more than a little hurt by that."
He looked, askance, "I know, and I'm sorry. That's not what I mean. I feel blessed beyond compare for you and Marron, and I hope you know that. I wouldn't trade you for anything. I was speaking more for my race than for myself, personally. I just think that, maybe, it's time we pulled our own weight around here, instead of letting Goku take care of the problems all the time, and just watching from the sidelines."
He sat quietly for a moment. Then, abruptly, "I'm going to go for a while…"
"What for?" Eighteen asked, a combination of fear and sadness choking the words out.
"I need to train. I think I'll try to find Tien. See what he thinks would be a good idea. If anything ever comes along again, I don't want to be a no count."
She didn't argue. She desperately didn't want him to go, but she knew his mind was made, and, moreover, he needed to do this. She merely asked, "How long?" His reply was slow in coming. "I'm not sure. Surely not more than a few months, at the most. Basically, I just want to get an idea of what my real limits are. I'm sure Tien wants the same thing, so we might be able to help each other a bit. Hopefully. Who knows, maybe we'll find out the human equivalent of a Super Saiyan. Then you wouldn't have to hold back when you spar with me anymore." He said this last part with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.
She never gave her approval, at least, not in words. They simply resumed their position from before. She leans on the tree while he lay over her, her hand returning to his head, slowly stroking. Eventually, she dozed, as well, awakening in the first light of the sun. He wasn't there. She panicked for a moment, fearing that he'd left in the night. Looking around, though, she could see that was unfounded. He stood in the sand by the water, doing basic stretches for a warm-up. She'd awakened at feeling the steady rise of his ki as he prepared for the morning.
Of course, he wouldn't leave without telling. He might do it to me, but he'd never do it to Marron. It'd break her heart. She smiled at knowing that she had at least one way to keep him around. Rising, she walked down to him. He heard her coming, and turned around. They stood in silence for a moment, until he broke it.
"How are you feeling, today?" A simple question, deserving a simple answer, "I'm fine," she replied. Accepting that he had to do this with a sigh, she approached him closer. "You know, if you're planning to make yourself stronger, it might help if you had some idea what you're aspiring to." As she said this, she got into a stance, her enhanced body having little need for stretching or tiresome preparation.
"Are you serious about that? We haven't sparred since before the Budokai."
"I know that. Are you saying you don't want to?"
He didn't answer. He simply came at her.
