Author's Note: Anyone want to be my beta reader? I try to find and fix all the errors myself... but sometimes you read what you think you see, and not what is actually there because you know the story by heart!
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z, or any of the characters that reside in the Dragon Ball universe. They were created by the masterful Akira Toyiyama, and belong to him and whoever he sells them too. Any character created by myself are mine, however I don't really care if anyone, for whatever reason, has the desire to use them. I doubt that will happen, but still! ^_^
An Unlikely Love
The sun was rising by the time the two of them had reached the "Now Leaving Satan City, Please Come Back Again!" sign. Kiyoshi had long since fallen asleep, his body like dead weight in Marron's aching arms. She wanted nothing more than to sit down and rest, to let the burn in her arms seep away even if just for a few minutes, but she knew she didn't have the time for such pleasures. She had to put space between Satan City and herself, and she had to do it now. She didn't just have herself to think about, she now had Kiyoshi, and if that man was to show up and try and kill her, with him in her arms, she wasn't sure she would be able to protect him. It was in her best interest to continue walking, and so Marron did, her feet dragging against the pavement, her body fatigued. She needed to eat, and she knew the child in her arms also needed nourishment. If they continued on like they were, she was afraid they would perish not at the hands of the devil, but because they had simply wasted away from starvation. She had not eaten in two days, and as for Kiyoshi, she had no idea when he had last filled his belly.
She was passing the sign when she noticed the bottom of it was covered in papers. Drawing closer, she realized they were all different. Some of them were posters of families looking for their lost loved ones, others letting people know which towns had been completely destroyed and which ones were trying to rebuild, and the others were posters offering shelter and protection. It was one of these posters that caught her eye. All the others had been done in pen or pencil, hastily written as they were passing through, but this poster stood out amongst the rest. It was a picture, like the ones she had seen in magazines, of a huge building – larger even then the one she had grown up in – with families standing outside it, smiling, waving, and looking as if they were happy. She stared at it for a moment, wondering if such a place truly existed, or if this was something left over from the world before it had been destroyed. It was offering the chance to rebuild, though, to find a new start, and Marron couldn't imagine that they could be talking about anything else other then the android attacks.
The directions on the flyer were easy to follow, and Marron turned to face east, wondering exactly how far away this place would be, and if it was far enough away that perhaps the devil wouldn't find her. Looking one last time at the flyer, making sure she read the directions correctly, Marron shifted the little boy in her arms, prayed for strength, and started toward a place called Capsule Corporations. If luck was on her side she would find at place to rest for a while without having to worry about whether she or Kiyoshi would go hungry, at least until she felt the need to run again.
I am going to fall, Marron thought, as she tried desperately to keep standing, to keep walking. Kiyoshi had awakened nearly an hour ago, and though she didn't want him walking bare foot as he was, she simply did not have the strength to hold him any longer. It was taking everything that was left inside her to simply keep walking, and her pace had slowed down considerably. If she was attacked Marron knew she would die. She might have the will and the want to fight, but she didn't have the energy. She couldn't even imagine trying to call forth a solar disk in a weak attempt to protect herself. The only thing that was keeping her walking at the moment was the small hand in hers, which was gently pulling her along as he walked. She didn't know how he managed it, as she knew he couldn't have any more energy than she did. He had to be starving, and thirsty, but somehow Kiyoshi kept walking forward, and so Marron kept walking forward with him.
"Building!" Marron nearly stumbled when she heard the words, her heart jumping into her throat, and it took her what felt like several minutes to come to her senses and realize they were still alone and that Kiyoshi himself had uttered the spoken words. So fixated on him, she didn't register, or see, what he had been saying. Her hand slipped from his, and as soon as the contact was broken, he turned around and stared up at her with wide eyes. Marron wondered absently if he would always carry that worried look in his eyes.
"You can talk?" She muttered dumbly and knelt down before him. She was trying to smile, and she might have been, she wasn't sure. She truly couldn't tell as her body had nearly gone completely numb. She had not been able to stop and nurse the wounds she had received the day before, and much of her body she had simply stopped thinking about. It was as if she didn't even have limps.
Kiyoshi stared up at her with those big worried eyes for a moment before a smile tipped his little lips and he nodded, "Kiyoshi talk." Reaching for her hand once more, he gave her a gentle pull and Marron didn't have the strength to resist, or the urge, so she simply followed after him. Once they were moving again he raised his small hand into the air and pointed, "Building!"
This time Marron followed his tiny hand to where he was pointing and drew in a quick, surprised breath, her eyes going wide. She hadn't been able to see it because she hadn't been looking up, but hidden behind the trees in her path stood a large building. Only the top was visible over the trees and the fence, but what she could see was like nothing she had ever seen before. She had seen tall buildings in all different states of ruin, but never had seen one shine as this one did. This was not a building that had simply been converted into a shelter. Someone took care of this place, loved this place, and Marron found herself wanting to know what the inside looked like. She followed behind Kiyoshi, their footsteps a little quicker than they had previous been. Marron felt as if she was being propelled forward, as if something stronger then the little boy who held her hand was pulling her along. They rounded the fence and Marron was caught in the full effect of the building. The domed top, the glistening windows, the well kept lawn; these were only things she had ever seen in pictures.
She would never know where the strength came from, but she scooped Kiyoshi up into her arms and her stride quickened even further until they were standing directly in front of the building and could see the people through the windows moving about. She stood there for a moment, cuddling Kiyoshi against her chest, the both of them filthy and wearing rags and she suddenly felt shame. She knew she shouldn't, knew it was hardly her fault for the condition of her clothing, for the condition of Kiyoshi, that she didn't have many options when it came to clothing in the first place and that she took what she could get, but still she felt the hot burn of shame. It was a feeling, however, that was not going to keep her from going inside and asking for help. Begging, if she was honest, and if that's what it came down to.
Taking a deep breath, Marron walked up to the doors and pulled one of them open; she was instantly met by the warm air inside. She let go of the door and let it swing close behind her, basking in the warmth. It had been a long time since she had felt the warmth of a heated home. Several people glanced at her from the corner of their eyes as they passed, but no one stopped to ask her questions, to wonder why she was here, and Marron supposed that they already knew. Looking around, Marron ran a soothing hand down Kiyoshi's back as she tried to figure what exactly she was supposed to do first. She noticed a front desk with a 'Weclcome!' sign in front and decided this appeared to be the best choice. Collecting her emotions and her thoughts, she headed, and stopped, in front of the desk. "Hi," Marron said, uncertain, a small smile on her face.
"Hello, and welcome to Capsule Corporation." The woman behind the desk smiled pleasantly, and Marron suddenly felt at ease. She thought, maybe, that they saw a great many of people that happened to look exactly like Kiyoshi and she did at this minute. "Are you looking for a place to stay, or do you perchance need assistance in any other way? We offer assistance with food, clothing, and job training."
"Oh," Marron thought for a moment, looked at Kiyoshi, and then back at the woman. "We would love a place to stay," she paused, frowned, and wondered if perhaps it was asking for too much if you asked for more than one of those choices, "but, well, we could also really use food and clothing…" Marron blushed.
The woman smiled widely at her and nodded, "Of course, anyone who is given board here at Capsule Corporation will also receive food, clothing, and job training."
"Oh," Marron said lamely, nodding. "Then please, we would love to come and stay."
"Of course," The woman stood and walked behind another desk, pulling out several forms of paper and bringing them back. Adding a clipboard and a pen to the pile, she handed them over to Marron and pointed to a row of chairs along the wall. Several other people were sitting down, filling out paperwork, and Marron could see a few were dressed no better than Kiyoshi and herself were, though perhaps they were a bit cleaner.
"Thank you," Marron inclined her head before starting toward the row of chairs and taking a seat. Sitting Kiyoshi down in one beside her, she arranged the papers on the clipboard and clicked the pen. She wrote 'Marron' where it asked for her name, and 'Unknown' where it asked for her last name, repeating the same for Kiyoshi where it asked if she had any children. If Marron had a last name, she certainly didn't know it, and as for Kiyoshi, well, she didn't even know his given name. Whether Kiyoshi was hers or not, Marron wasn't sure if she was supposed to say, but there were no lines to list anyone that wasn't in your family. She finished the application quickly, as there were very few things that she could actually fill in. She did not know her birthday, nor did she know his, and she did not know whether either of them was allergic to anything. When she returned the application to the woman, most of it had been left blank. After apologizing the woman told her that it was fine, that many people did not know all of the information asked. While her data was being entered she was asked to return to her seat and that when a room could be readied, someone would call her name.
"Excuse miss, are you Marron?"
Marron wasn't sure how long they waited, as she had fallen asleep in her seat with Kiyoshi in her arms, but she was stirred from her dreams by the sound of someone calling her name. Groggily she forced her eyes open despite the fact she wanted nothing more than to keep them closed and muttered something rather incoherent. She felt Kiyoshi shift in her arms and slowly she realized where she was. Rubbing her eyes with the hand that was not wrapped around Kiyoshi's stomach, she stood slowly and nodded. "Yes, sorry, I am Marron."
"Wonderful. If you could please follow me we've got your room ready." Marron nodded and followed the woman, whose name tag read Beth past two large double doors which closed soundly behind her. While they walked, Beth talked, telling her about the building, about the rules, and how things were done here at Capsule Corporation. Marron listened intently, not wanting to unintentionally cause problems, and stumbled over her feet when Beth said, "Groceries are delivered every Thursday at noon, so we ask that someone always be in the room to answer the door." Groceries were delivered rang over and over in Marron's head as she followed her. When they suddenly stopped and the woman opened a door, Marron thought perhaps she should have been paying attention to exactly how they had managed to get here. Beth entered, but Marron hung back for a moment. 237 read the numbers on the door. Her heart lifted, Kiyoshi and she had a room, a place to stay for a while. Taking a deep breath, she crossed the threshold and made a prayer. Please, Kami, just let us be safe for a while.
"All rooms on this floor consist of single family units," Beth said once Marron had joined her in what appeared to be a small dining area. "The front door opens up to a small dining area and kitchen, and straight beyond that," Beth pointed toward the adjoining room, "is the bedroom. That door leads to the full bath." She turned to face Marron, smiling. "The phone book on your nightstand lists the numbers to reach should you need anything, so please do not hesitate to ask. The dressers have been filled with the correct clothing sizes you listed on your application, and the fridge as been restocked. Do you require anything else, Miss Marron?"
Marron, a bit shocked, could only shake her head.
"Alright then, I will leave your key here on the table. It was a pleasure to meet you." Beth turned and left the room, closing the door behind her, and Marron could only stand there and take everything in. The room, though not the largest by any means, was wonderful. She felt tears sting her eyes and blinked furiously, trying to keep them at bay.
Sitting Kiyoshi down on the floor, Marron crossed into the small kitchen and, holding her breath, pulled open the fridge. The tears she had been trying to withhold came spilling forward at the sight of its contents, and her stomach gave a knowing growl. "We eat?" Kiyoshi asked, peering around her leg into the fridge just as Marron did. The sound that escaped her lips was not a sob, but a gleeful laugh.
"Yes Kiyoshi, we eat!" She set about looking through the cupboards and locating a frying pan and a rice cooker. In her search she had stumbled upon the pantry, which had forced another happy sound from her lips, and from it she pulled a bag of rice from the shelf and set it to cook. Turning toward the little boy who had sat down on the floor to watch her, nibbling on a piece of celery, Marron grinned. "Rice takes a little while, so why don't we go and look at the bathroom?" When he stood up, she took his hand and lead him into the other room, and then to the door that lead to the bathroom. With a deep breath she twisted the knob and pushed the door open, and a wide grin took over her face. It had been so long since she had had an actual bath. "What do you say, kiddo, should be take a quick bath before we eat?"
Kiyoshi shook his head no, which made Marron laugh, but she picked him up anyways and walked into the bathroom. "The rice really does take a while, little one, so why don't we clean up a little bit first while we wait?" She sat him down on the toilet as she started the bath water, testing it to make sure it wasn't too hot for him. Once it was filled, she turned around and stripped him first of the jean jacket, and then his under pants. She blobbed him into the tub with a small splash. Getting undressed, she climbed in beside him and begun scrubbing the dirt from his tiny body as he splashed and kicked about. Filling her hands with soap, she washed his hair, and was careful not to get any in his eyes. When she deemed him clean enough she stood and wrapped a towel around his tiny frame and then, dripping water as she walked, she set him down on the bed.
"Give Marron a few minutes and then I will finish cooking, okay?" She quickly returned to the bathroom and let the water out of the tub before starting the shower. She pulled the ponytails from her hair and brushed it out with the hairbrush that was set to one side of the counter, with all sorts of other personal hygiene items. Once she had finished she stepped under the spray of the shower and began to thoroughly clean the layers of dirt off her body. It had been so long since she had been able to actual shower that she had forgotten what it felt like to feel completely clean, and she relished in the feeling as she switched off the water and wrapped herself in a large towel. Closing the bathroom door behind her as she existed, she smiled as she found Kiyoshi, butt naked, looking out the window. "Silly guy, you can't run around the house naked! There is probably a rule against that." Sweeping him up off the ground, she set him back on the bed just as the rice cooker began to steam.
"Oh, rice is done!" She tapped the tip of his nose before walking back into the kitchen and turning off the burner. She hummed as she moved the pot to the counter and was unable to remember the last time she had felt so happy cooking. Stirring the rice so that it wouldn't clump, she put the lid back on and turned back toward the oven, flipping on the burner under the frying pan. She found a bag of precut mixed vegetables in the fridge as well as several sliced chicken breasts pieces. Dumping a quarter of the vegetables into the pan, she stirred it once before adding the chicken and heading back into the bedroom.
"How about we see about some clothes, least someone comes up to check the 'no walking around nude' rule, huh Kiyoshi?" She grinned when he came running over to her side. It had been a long time since she had felt so at ease. Picking him up, she twirled him around on her hip before crossing to the dresser on the other side of the bed. Pulling open a drawer, she found clothing she suspected was for her, and quickly rustled through it until she had found a pair of cloth pajama's. She tossed them on the bed and kept searching; she found underwear and socks for both of them before she came to the set of drawer's set aside for Kiyoshi. She found a pair of blue pajama's with rocket ships on them and offered them to him for inspection, "What do you think, little one, do you think these will make you look handsome?"
"Kiyoshi very handsome," He said with a quick nod, and Marron laughed.
"Yes, he most certainly is, especially when he is so clean!" She quickly set about dressing the both of them, and when she had finished she picked him up off the bed and carried him into the kitchen. She sat him down in a chair, ran her hand through his wet black hair, and then crossed to the kitchen. She stirred the veggies and chicken, and though she noticed she had taken too long dressing them and the vegetables were slightly over cooked, she didn't really care. They were clean, dressed, and were about to have a full stomach. She truly couldn't have asked for more. Spooning rice onto two plates, she covered them with two generous helpings of stir fry, though hers was slightly larger, and then returned to Kiyoshi at the table, setting the plate down in front of him with a spoon. He immediately sat to work about eating, and Marron, sliding into a chair beside him, followed suit.
Marron finished off her plate, surprised she had managed to eat the entire thing. She felt full, completely, utterly full, for the first time in a very long time. Sighing contently, she glanced over at the little boy beside her and smiled. Most of his food was gone as well, and his head was lolling slightly to one side as he desperately attempted to stay awake. "I think its bed time, Kiyoshi. Why don't you go lay down while I put this all away, okay?" Picking him up out of his chair, she set him on the ground and watched as he walked tiredly into the bedroom. Marron smiled before turning back toward the table and collecting their plates. She placed them in the sink before turning back to the left over's of their dinner. Putting the rice in a sealed container along with the remainder of the vegetables, she put it in the fridge. Looking at the dishes, she truly did not have the strength to do them tonight. Soaking the rice cooker, she placed the two plates inside of it, and then the frying pan on top, and filled it with water as well. That would have to do for tonight, she thought with a tired shake of her head, and flicked the lights off as she walked back into the bedroom.
"Go potty Kiyoshi," Marron said, as her mother had often said to her before putting her to bed. He followed her into the bedroom, and she could tell he was running on low. She helped him with his pants and set him on the toilet. While she waited for him she turned to the mirror and glanced at her reflection. The right side of her face was bruised where she had been punched yesterday, and, lifting her shirt, she noted several bruises to her stomach and back as well. No bruising around her ribs, however, so she noted this as a good sign. She had other scraps and cuts, mostly from rocks that had nipped her here and there when he had elbowed her in the back and practically buried her in the ground. There was no point in trying to doctor any of the cuts, she noted, as they had already scabbed over and were trying to heal.
"Done," Kiyoshi muttered tiredly, and Marron stood him up and set his pants back to rights. Picking him up, she carried him from the bathroom, stopping only to turn the light off as they left. She would leave the door open in case he had to pee in the middle of the night. Laying him down on the bed, she pulled the covers over him and watched as he rolled onto his side, finding a comfortable spot. She looked down at him for a moment, happy that he was happy and clean and full. She hadn't known this little boy very long but somehow he had crawled into her heart and set down roots. She glanced once more around the room, trying to figure if there was anything else that she possibly needed to do. Then, suddenly, she walked quickly into the dining area and flicked on the light, snatched the key off the table, and locked the door. She doubted that would keep her devil out, but it somehow still made her feel slightly better. Turning off the light, she walked back into the bedroom and, turning that light off as well, climbed into bed beside Kiyoshi.
Trunks rolled his shoulders, feeling the stiffness creep into his muscles. He had spent the entirety of last night and today searching for the damn offspring of the blonde android. She had been in his grasps, there had been no way for her to escape, and then that damn blinding light, he didn't understand. He hadn't been able to see right for several minutes afterwards, and when he could finally make out enough around him, he realized she was gone, along with her ki. He couldn't feel her, had no idea where she had disappeared to. He had searched that entire city over and he had found nothing, absolutely nothing. His only thought was that she must have left Satan City, and tomorrow he would begin looking for her in the surrounding areas. He would find her, and kill her, before she could continue where her mother and uncle had left off. Then, and then only, could they truly begin to rebuild this world.
Landing softly on the balcony outside his room, he pushed open the glass door and silently closed it behind him, not wanting to wake his mother, let alone face her wrath. She hated it when he stayed out all night without checking in with her, but he had been so close to that damn girl! His fists balled, and he could feel his power rising as his anger rose. He didn't know how she did it, but somehow she always managed to get away from him, to better him somehow. It made no sense… he had taken Juuhachi and Juunanagou quickly when he had fought them at their mountain retreat after returning from the past. Once he had managed to go SSJ, over powering the both of them had been easy. The only reason that girl had gotten away in the first place was because he had been so shocked to learn the android Juuhachi and given birth to a daughter. He hadn't even know it was possible, but when he had informed his mother, she had told him the androids had once been human, and still remained a great deal of their human parts. They were enhanced, but not changed completely. He had wondered idly if they had retained their hearts, but doubted it quite thoroughly. There was no way they had hearts with what they were capable of doing.
Lost in his thoughts Trunks didn't hear Bulma open his bedroom door. She stood in his doorway, her hand resting on the knob, and took in the sight of her son. He has grown so much over the years, she thought, especially after he came back from the past. He had come back a changed person, more grown up, more certain of himself and who he was. Drawing in a deep breath, she forced the smile from her face and fixed her son with a glare, "Trunks Briefs! How dare you not come home last night, you know it is the one that I ask of you! Sitting at home, wringing my hands together, worrying that my only child might be out there, hurt, and that there is nothing I can possibly do to help him!"
Trunks turned at the sound of his mother's voice, merely lifting a purple eyebrow at her heated speech. He knew his mother far better than anyone else. "You're not the type to wring your hands together, mom," Trunks muttered as he slid out of his jacket and tossed it on the bed, "and you're most definitely not the type to sit at home and do nothing. I'm sure if you thought I was in any actual danger you would have came looking for me, even though it would be extremely foolish of you. You know I can take care of myself."
Bulma harrumphed, her arms crossing over her chest, "You listen to me Trunks, if I wanted to help you, you had better know I would be more then capable to do so. Just because I'm not some highly conceited Saiyan like your father was doesn't mean I don't have my worth. You wouldn't have even gone back to the past if I hadn't of built the time machine, and while you're out there doing only Kami knows what, I am here at home, trying to rebuild this world. I have put everything we have into trying to help these people, to try and help them find some type of normal life after the android attacks, and Kami knows I could use your help here rather than chasing some girl around the world!"
"She's the daughter of an android, mother," Trunks growled, pulling the ponytail from his hair out and giving it a shake, "if I don't find her we have no idea what will happen, no idea what she is capable of."
Bulma frowned, shaking her head, "Well, tell me how she got away this time."
Trunks frowned, his brows furrowing, "Some type of light… solar flare or something…" He wasn't thinking about that anymore though, his mind was racing. He could feel her ki. He had never been able to feel her ki this close before, not until he was within range to see her… Could she have possibly come here, looking for him? Trunks thought of all the innocent people that were living here, the families that were simply trying to build a future. His muscles bulged as he powered up, his anger and his power level rising at the same time.
"Solar Flare?" Bulma said, her eyes going a bit wide, "Didn't you say her last attack was Destructo Disk…?" She glanced back to her son and was snapped out of her thoughts. "Trunks, what's wrong, what are you doing?"
"She's here," was all he said, and rushed past her out the door way, running down the hallway toward the other end of the compound that housed the families, Bulma chasing him the entire way.
Marron awake to the sound of a heated argument outside her door, her heart beating at a dangerous speed as panic welled in her chest. That voice. She knew that voice, had grown to fear it, and could pick it out of a hundred people speaking at once. The devil had found her. Panic ripped her, rendering her motionless, her head half off her pillow, her mouth open in a silent scream. She didn't know what to do, didn't know what she could possibly do to change the situation in her favor. They were three or four stories up, and the only exit was the one he was standing outside of. She felt something move against her side and jerked back, then suddenly seemed to remember Kiyoshi. She looked down into his sleeping face and her heart broke. She didn't know what to do to protect him.
Standing, she reached down and gathered him against her chest, her heart aching when his small head nestled into the nook of her shoulder and he snuggled closer to her. I'm so sorry, Kiyoshi, Marron thought with a bitter taste in her mouth, so sorry I got you in this mess. She glanced around the room, trying to think of a plan, but there was nothing – there was nowhere in this small room to hide, and she couldn't fight him with Kiyoshi this close. She did the only thing she could possibly think, and quickly she moved into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She knew this was no safer than being out there, but somehow she simply needed to be behind the extra lock. With nowhere else to go she slid down between the counter and the toilet and turned her body so Kiyoshi was protected, shielded, and prayed that he would be sheltered from the worst of the onslaught by her body.
Bulma had rounded on her son the moment he had stopped in the hallway, grabbing his shoulder and yanking him as hard as she could to face her. She knew he could have very well ignored her, could have simply shrugged off her hand and broke the door down, as he very much wanted to do right now, but she was trying to avoid a catastrophe. "Just hold on a moment while I bring up the file," She muttered as Trunks glowered at her, his anger practically seething off him in ripples. "Just busting into someone's home isn't going to solve anything, and if you had been wrong, you could scare those poor people to death, Trunks." She was holding a ten by seven flat machine that looked like a miniature computer screen, and was typing into the small keyboard at the bottom, bringing up several files.
"Room 237 is occupied by a Marron, approximately age 20, and a Kiyoshi, approximately age three. They came in this evening, Trunks, and from the look of these photos, I can't possibly see how you could think this was the girl you were looking for. They look practically starved." Bulma held out the tablet to her son, her face stern. It was in the middle of the night and most of the people staying at Capsule Corporation had already lived in fear. She did not need her son going around blowing up units and causing her guests to panic.
Trunks took the tablet from his mother and tried to force himself to calm down, but despite what is mother said, he was sure he could feel her ki, and that it was coming from somewhere within that room. He flipped through the information quickly simply because there was very little to actually read, scrolling down until he came onto the pictures that were taken of each resident so that Bulma could keep track of everyone. When you were constantly moving in and out people, she had learned photos were the easiest way to keep track of who was who, especially when so many people had only first names. It only took once glance at the picture, however, to know he had been correct. The girl he had been chasing was in that room, and somehow along the lines, she had picked up an innocent child. Kami only knew what she was doing with him! Trunks let the tablet drop to the ground, completely forgetting it and the fact that his mother had personally made that for herself. This time he didn't give his mother time to stop him, he simply kicked in the door to 237 and entered the darkened room.
"Trunks!" Bulma screamed, following her son into the room.
"Get out of here, mother!"
"Don't you dare try and boss me around—"
"Mother!"
"This is my home, Trunks, and I will not have you going around terrorizing innocent people. I don't know what you think you're doing, but you can't possibly think that this young girl is the same one you're chasing." Bulma flicked on the light when her son did not, illuminating the dining area and kitchen so that she could see.
"I don't think; I know she is." Trunks turned around to his mother, his eyes narrowed, "Get out, mother, get everyone out of here. I don't know what she's capable of!"
Just then a child started to cry, loudly, obviously frightened, and both Trunks and Bulma turned toward the darkened bedroom. Trunks took a step, hesitant, wondering if he could be wrong, if somehow he was wrong, and Bulma took that chance to rush into the room ahead of him and flick on the fight. She heard him curse behind her, but she ignored him, her eyes frantically moving around the small room. The bed was unmade but she could still see the impressions they had left on the mattress. Following the soft crying, she was about to open the bathroom door when Trunks pulled her away and jerked the knob, breaking the lock. It swung open as he let go, and Bulma reached inside and quickly flicked on the light.
Trunks saw them first, huddled together beside the counter, the woman's blonde head bowed over the crying child, both of them shaking. He should have felt shame for scaring these people, but Trunks did not. Reaching down, he grabbed the woman by the back of her pajama shirt and yanked her up off the ground as Bulma gasped.
"Trunks, you can't just—" Bulma shut her mouth at the glare he gave her, but crossed her arms over her chest to let him know she was extremely displeased with his behavior.
Marron felt a scream lodge in her throat when she was jerked backwards. She had been trying to shush Kiyoshi when the two people behind her had broken into the bathroom. He had heard them screaming and had awoken, scared and unsure why he was not safe and snug in the bed he had fallen asleep in. Forced back so suddenly, her arms around Kiyoshi slipped, and the little boy dropped from her arms and landed on the floor where the two of them had been hunched a moment before. Scared, though not really hurt, he started crying even louder, his large dark eyes welling up with tears and spilling over his soft cheeks.
Marron's eyes went wide but she couldn't scream, the air having been sucked from her when she had been jerked, no better than a rag doll, into the air. She was suspended by the back of her top, the neck of it digging into the soft skin of her throat. She tried to draw in a breath, tried to force her mind to focus through the panic. She couldn't just stand here and let this man kill her, not while she had Kiyoshi to protect. "R-r-rrrunnn, Kiii—" Marron couldn't finish her sentence because she was suddenly sent flying back through the doorway of the bathroom, crashing into the wall beside the bed they had only moments ago been sleeping in and crumbling to the floor. She hoped, as her head ricocheted off the wall, that he had understood her.
As soon as she had begun to speak Trunks had flung her into the other room, not giving her the time to summon whatever attack she had been about to say. He was not going to allow her to best him this time, not going to allow her to get away. He heard his mother gasp as the girl hit the wall, but he ignored her and the fact that she screamed his name, ignored everything but the android child that had eluded him for far too long. He started out of the bathroom after her when something small shot past his legs. Looking down, he saw the child run into the room and reached out to pull him back, but the little tyke moved faster than Trunks had anticipated and his fingers only brushed the back of his pajamas.
"Marrooo, Marrrooo!" The child wailed as he fell to the floor in front of the woman and tried to climb into her lap, burying his face in her chest. "Marroooo!"
In her son's moment of hesitation Bulma too tried to rushed to the young woman's side, but Trunks flung out his arm and held her back. "Trunks," she said furiously, "let me by!"
Before the two of them could begin another argument, however, Marron regained what little was left of her mind and tried to sit up despite the pain in her head and back. "I'm so sorry," she muttered, picking up Kiyoshi and hugging him close to her, "I'm so sorry for whatever it was I did to you! I truly didn't mean to, but please don't hurt him. Please, I promise not to fight if you will please just… just don't hurt him!" She buried her head in the small nook of his shoulder, muttering incoherent soothing words to him as he clung to her, crying. Running her hand along his back, she tried to stand, slipped, and then finally regained her footing. Trying to stand as straight as she could, she set Kiyoshi on the bed, having to pry his small hands from where he clung to her shirt open, and then turned toward the two who waited on the other side of the room.
He could feel Kiyoshi's hand reach out for her own, and it took everything inside her not to take hold of it. Lifting sad, blue eyes, so much like her mothers, she gazed at the two people before her. "I'll do whatever you want, so please…"
Trunks had never actually taken the time to look at the person he was chasing. To him, she had neither been male nor female. She had simply been the offspring of an android, of someone who had murdered and terrorized his world for as long as he could remember. Looking at her now, with his mothers arm wrapped around his own, as if she was trying to hold him back from attacking her, he gave himself just a moment to take it all in. She stood no taller than his chin, perhaps his shoulder, he could not be sure, and looking at her now, he could tell she looked a great deal younger then the supposed 20 years of age. She was tiny, he realized, in just about every way. He didn't know what it was he was feeling, but he had a sinking idea that it might be shame, and he had no idea why. He had the right to hunt down and kill this girl after what her mother had done, after what her mother and uncle had taken from him and this world.
"You are Juuhachi's daughter?" Bulma spoke into the silence, feeling her son's muscles flex and grow under her very hands. She didn't know what it was, but something about the girl in front of her was so familiar. She couldn't place it, but it was as if she had seen her before… somewhere, and it wasn't because she resembled her mother.
"My…mama?" Marron could feel her body shaking, and she wasn't sure if it was from pain or fear. "Yes, but… but why does that matter?"
"She was an android!" Trunks all but roared, and Bulma tightened her arms around his, trying to desperately hold him back even if she knew she would never be able to. If Trunks wanted to attack this young girl, she would be unable to stop him.
Marron jerked back as if she had been slapped, her eyes going wide. Her mother was not an android, she was not one of those things the people she had met feared, one of those things that had literally destroyed most of this world. "No! My mother was not what you're saying she was! She would never have hurt anyone, she was… so loving and she cared for me! She read to me and taught me and protected me, my mother would never have done any of those horrible things those… those things did!" Tears stained her cheeks and she shook her head venomously, refusing to believe them.
"Your mother murdered hundreds of thousands of people, she destroyed lives, villages, and towns… everything her and her brother touched were ruined. They were monsters." Each word was like a physical blow to Marron.
"How dare you! How dare you talk about my mother like that!" Marron could feel her ki rising, but she couldn't control it. She felt like she had no control over her emotions. She was scared, and sad, and upset, and so angry…
"Trunks, please," Bulma pulled on her son's arm, trying to get him to listen to her, "Please let me try to calm her down. Let me explain everything to her, you're not helping the situation at all yelling at her, throwing around accusations. We have no idea of how she lived, we did not even know she existed until you, well," her gaze flickered to Marron for a moment and then back to Trunks, "Until you came back from the past." She had been about to say until he had killed her mother and uncle, but Bulma thought perhaps she best not mention that fact. Though everyone in the room knew Trunks had taken their lives, she didn't believe it was a good idea to remind the girl of that fact right now.
Trunks pulled his arms from his mothers grasp, but instead of going after the woman, he crossed them over his chest and waited for his mother to do whatever it was she thought was necessary. He didn't want to make a mistake and kill an innocent person, and he wasn't so sure of himself that she was evil any longer. The fact that her ki was rising was alarming to him, but he would simply watch for now. If she made a move, he would end her life without so much of a second thought. His mother was worth more to him then finding out whether this girl was a monster like her mother or not.
Bulma stepped in front of her son and held up the minicomputer she had been using before they had broken into 237. "I invented this a long time ago, to store all the files I needed when I wasn't at home, and soon it became so useful, I started using it a great deal more than my actual computer." Her smile titled, tipping at the corners, a sad note entering her voice. "I have video footage on here from a long time ago, when the androids were first awakened. My friends," She had to pause to swallow a lump that appeared in her throat, "they tried to stop them, but no matter how hard they fought, they lost." She was fiddling with the machine as she talked, typing in commands and searching different folders. It had been a long time since she had been able to view these files. A video suddenly appeared on the small screen, and Bulma held the computer out for Marron, a small tremor in her hand.
Marron hesitated at first, not sure at what she was going to see, and not sure she wanted to see it at all. By this point Kiyoshi had crawled down from the bed and had wrapped his arms around one of her legs, refusing to leave her side. Glancing down at the screen, Marron finally reached out her own hand and retrieved the item. To her it seemed only like a picture and not a video. Confused, she looked back up at the woman with the teal hair and frowned, uncertain.
"Oh, I'm sorry, here. I forget sometimes not everyone remembers how to use these things, or that they were never taught to." She walked a little closer and reached over the screen, hitting the play button. The picture immediately came alive. Marron stared down at it for a moment, watching as people she had never seen before started powering up. She noticed most of them looked a great deal alike, with their black, spiked hair. Then suddenly the fight began, and it was hard to follow at first and… yes, there, she could make out the form of her mother; her blonde hair, her beautiful face, and her uncle, who looked exactly like her mother but darker. She watched as her family tore through the other fighters, leaving them broken and damaged. It became hard to see after a few moments, her eyes blurred with tears. When she couldn't take any more of the images she dropped the computer and covered her mouth with her hands, trying to stifle the gut wrenching sobs that tore through her throat.
Her mother had been a killer. She had been…she had been an android, one of those monsters that the people she had encountered feared. Her mother, who had tucked her into bed each night, who had bathed and cared for her with such gentleness, had terrorized the people of earth. She sat down on the bed because she could no longer hold herself up, and Kiyoshi, unsure as to what was happening but wanting to comfort her, climbed to her lap and wrapped his small arms around her stomach. "M-m-my mother…my mother m-m-murdered all those pe-pe-people?"
Bulma leaned over and picked up the minicomputer as she had once before this evening, deciding she was rather happy she had made it so durable, and turned back toward the young woman now sitting on the bed. "Yes," she said simply, thinking it best to be frank now then to try and soothe the young girl. Her mother had done horrible things, and it was time she begun to realize that. Only then could she truly understand her son's actions. "Your mother was created by someone seeking revenge. She had destroyed because that was what she was programmed to do. The fact that she was able to give birth to a child is nothing short of a miracle, the fact that she…that she raised you, well, I must say is quite amazing. I would not have thought it was possible for them to feel affection for someone other than each other. It is rather astounding."
"My mother loved me," Marron wrapped her arms around Kiyoshi, burying her face in his sweet smelling hair; "I know she loved me."
"Are you telling me," Trunks said between clenched teeth, "that you had no idea what your mother and uncle were? What they would just leave you up there in that house and go around killing people, and that you had no idea what they were doing?"
Marron stood up, anger shooting through her, her arms holding Kiyoshi to her, "They had been doing it since I was a baby! I never could have guessed what they were doing! How could I have ever known! They would leave and come back with food and clothes, I only ever thought they had left to go get them! I never left that mountain; I never even saw other people until you forced me to runaway!"
"I think," Bulma said, once more stepping into the fray, "that perhaps we had best call it an evening. It is rather late, or should I be saying early now, and I believe there are other families in this building that would like to get back to sleep."
Trunks seemed to remember where he was and backed down. This was his home, and he had come up here for the purpose of protecting the people his mother and him took care of, not to frighten them.
"We'll talk again in the morning," he turned to walk away, but suddenly he turned around, his eyes narrowing, "and if you try and leave, the next time we meet I will not be so understanding."
Bulma watched her son walk out of the room and clucked her tongue, "He's so much like his father sometimes and it truly worries me." Turning back to the girl, she offered a smile. "My name is Bulma Briefs, and that rather large oaf is my son, Trunks. Please don't think ill of us for our rude behavior this evening. A lot has happened, and I am afraid we're rather weary when it comes to the androids." With a sad shake of her head the woman followed her son out of the room.
Marron, shaking, dropped back onto the bed and sat, trying to understand her mother, trying to understand her past, and trying desperately to fight her urge to run far, far away.