"She said shoot the skeets not cry at them!" Exclaimed the taller of the two youth, bluish purple hair swept away from lanky shoulders as he grappled with his partner for her rifle. "If you can't even shoot a ceramic ball then don't force yourself to use guns!"
"I can do it! I can do it!" She cried, gripping the stock and barrel for dear life as the boy tugged, doing his darndest to worm that rifle out of her grasp. Quitting was not necessarily in her nature, but being stubborn and not liking something, that was another story. If there was even the remote possibility that she could succeed, you would have the fight of a lifetime on your hands. "Let go let go let GO!" Her voice rose up to a shriek.
"Kaz!" He snapped, taking a solid hold onto the stock, "Stop fighting me!"
"NO!"
It was not until the only adult present on their shooting venture found her way back to camp, that the two kids were relieved of firearm custody. Her shoulders ached with the weight of the water buckets she carried when she came upon the scene; she nearly dropped her cargo in horror.
"Trunks! Kaz! What in Kami's name are you doing!?" The woman screamed. Letting the heavy buckets down, she rushed to the accidental suicide in process. "Trunks - !" Her voice cracked with emotion as she came between the two children and ripped the rifle from their desperate clutches. "- what are you thinking? I know I've taught you better than this. Handling a weapon deserves more respect than you obviously have. What in your right mind made you think it was a good idea to jerk on a gun like that?" She demanded, face thunderous.
The two children were equally ashamed of themselves, but somehow Trunks managed to look even more abashed than usual, hefting a large chunk of the responsibility on himself. It was hard not to notice, even as they both stuttered forth their versions of the tale, which, was overall very childish. Milky brown eyes held each of them accountable with little room for discussion.
"I am very disappointed in you two, both of you. It doesn't matter who did what or why, what matters is the fact that either of you could have died if someone's finger had slipped." She lifted the rifle, which was quite light, and slid the chamber open. A long, round bullet popped out with a 'kchk', dropping easily into the palm of its waiting master. "It's loaded. Not one of you bothered to remove the bullets before starting a cock fight. I can't believe you two!"
"I'm so sorry mom, I- I won't do it again." Trunks sputtered, eyes watering.
Silence, not even the birds dared make a sound. Something shifted in the air as Trunks turned to glance at his companion, silently begging her to apologize, if only to make up for getting them into this whole mess! Instead she merely stood there, trembling from head to toe, her whole face a bright shade of red as she struggled not to explode.
"Kaz, don't yo-"
"I just wanted to shoot the bird!"
(The bird…)
Cold water exploded against her face as Kaz stared blankly at the porcelain sink. It was a beautiful sink, deep, wide, and ornately carved with pretty designs, designed for an elegance beyond her meager years. In fact, the whole bathroom was compromised to fit the liking of a much older person, even now as she 'freshened' up she felt miniscule compared to what this whole space must have cost to build. The whole room was like this, and she was struggling to find the best way to tell Bulma that it was too much.
Every time she walked into the room it was like a punch to the gut, a gentle punch. But that… was not the root of her current dilemma. No, her issue revolved around the people waiting downstairs, or more, one specific person waiting downstairs. She could almost feel his belligerence from the bathroom, sending shivers down her spine.
And that was the precise reason they had all been roped into this adventure, or that is Bulma's word for it. Not two days ago she had scoured the room of every building in search of both Kaz and Vegeta. Kaz could still recall the horrifying encounter with utmost clarity. Being forced to sit down right next to the man on the couch while the blue-haired scientist ranted and raved about harmony and good sportsmanship, it was not until she finally suggested going on vacation that they realized the whole conversation was about them. Needless to say it had been an incredibly awkward situation for Kaz, being dragged out and put in the spotlight like that.
It served for a good discussion after the fact, or as good as one could expect a total meltdown to get. Vegeta had bluntly refused, informing the scientist that she could "shove it up her ass!" before disappearing. Now he seemed to have changed his mind, for he too was present in the lower living room. How Bulma managed to convince him to go on a vacation with them was inconceivable. The man had made it blatantly clear that he hated anything to do with family interactions; he was there for the tools and the food. Nothing more.
(So why is he coming?)
The young girl sighed, looking up from the porcelain to the mirror. There was no way for her to get out of this, short of running away, and she would never dare after everything Bulma had done for her. It was still a difficult concept to think of this place – this world – as home, knowing that somewhere her mother waited, her brother studied hard, and her best friend sat betrayed. It was hard not to start crying, acknowledging the pudgy cheeks and wide, brown eyes looking back at her, misty with unshed grief. With a sharp pat of those pinchable cheeks, Kaz shook her head and left, leaving behind whatever depressing thoughts might have been come.
It felt like that was all she did, wish for what she could not have while such good things stood right in front of her in the present. Bulma really tried her best and Kaz knew it, heck, the woman had even offered to adopt Kaz if it 'would mean anything'. To be honest… she had even considered it.
It was an uncomfortable subject for the longest time, but she had finally worked up the confidence to say yes. That is until she found out that Vegeta was Bulma's lover, after which she had retreated right back to her tiny corner of Capsule Corp. That had only been two weeks ago, and Kaz believed it was the real catalyst behind this insane maneuver.
Did she really have to go?
xxx
"My God! I was starting to think you'd fell in the toilet!" Bulma exclaimed as she shuffled down the stairs, gripping the straps of her fancy new hiking pack like a life-line. Bulma had dressed in handsome shorts and a signature tube shirt, topped with a jean jacket, and finished with a cap. Trunks was geared up in matching camouflage pants and shirt, sporting a smaller version of Bulma's jean jacket. Vegeta leaned against the far wall and looked ready to kill someone, more or less. Dressed in tight spandex and donning a rare pair of jeans overtop, it looked like he had some new boots too. He looked just as thrilled as Kaz did, having decided on a pair of knee-length cargo shorts and a light tee-shirt.
"Are you ready to go? Did you pack everything?" The woman probed as she shooed Trunks away from the plant he was trying to gnaw on. Vegeta sniffed and was the first out the front door, leaving Kaz to hoist the woman's several belongings, including her own. Kaz grunted under the weight, fixing Bulma with a disbelieving glance.
"What d'you have in these things? I thought we were going camping." She complained.
Trunks gurgled and laughed, chasing awkwardly after Vegeta through the front door. Bulma grabbed the rest of her things and laughed as well.
"Oh you know, just a few changes of clothes and some make-up. Just 'cause we're going wild doesn't mean we get to slack you know!" She explained, giving one of the smaller totes an affectionate tug. "A woman never leaves the house without her glory bag!"
Vegeta was nowhere in sight, but Trunks had smooshed himself against the West side of the outside wall, which meant the man was not too far. Kaz watched in rapt amazement as Bulma retrieved a capsule from her dino-pac, gasping excitedly as it flew through the air, and erupted with a 'POOF!'. The dino-capsules were one of the few things that Leera had kept hidden from prying eyes, claiming they were a precious invention, and "she deserves that much". Kaz never quite understood what it meant, only that they were something to be sought after and now… Bulma used them en masse!
Watching those tiny little pods just 'BURST' into existence felt like opening a Christmas present, every time. Trunks clapped giddily as a large, bright yellow jumbo jet appeared from within the resulting cloud. This jet was tall rather than long, fat instead of thin, designed to carry several people with room to move. And probably plenty of storage space for the amount of crap its creator dragged everywhere. Kaz eyeballed the totes and suitcases in dismay.
"Alright! Let's get 'er loaded up and get outta here!"
With Vegeta still missing, it was left – mostly to Kaz – to the two girls to do the dirty work. Rolling it all outside was nothing compared to stacking it 'just the right way' for Bulma's tastes. Would not want any of her precious cargo damaged would they? It took nearly an hour before the scientist was satisfied. By the time the young girl fell into a plush seat, she was ready to claim some shut-eye for the trip.
Bulma however, was flying, therefore Trunks needed to be supervised.
Kaz groaned and set to chasing the adorable toddler throughout the open bay area, trying her best to forget about the worry that knotted in her gut.
A/N: So this one's a bit shorter, wanted to get this story arc introduced! In case anyone was wondering, there is a plot to this story and it is going somewhere. I've tried to design it with a good lump sum of realism and traditional Toriyama style put together. It is a slow burn, I've got a lot planned out and I wouldn't expect anything less than 50+ chapters. Neither should you! :D For anyone that would like to see a picture of Kaz, I've got her design up on my DA. Feel free to note me, unless I see some interest I'll wait until I have nicer, more established art before posting links :) Thanks for reading! R&R!
