Six – Her view
She felt the soft fabric of her bed around her. Humming she snuggled into the pillow and hugged it close. It was warm, and she felt relaxed. Everything she thought of was just an illusion, she was safe and sound. Nothing was wrong, nothing was not the way it should be, everything was just…perfect. Rolling from one side to the other she pushed herself into the warmness right beside her, only to feel a tight embrace. She smiled. What a nice dream she had….
Wait a minute!
Opening her eyes abruptly she sat up and looked at the sleeping face of Goku. With a red head she backed away from him, forgetting that she sat on the bed, until she landed with her butt right on the ground.
"Ow…" The sound of her falling let the alarm bells ring inside of Goku's head and he was wide awake, already looking at the door, his heart bumping like crazy! Looking to his right, he saw Chichi was missing. Panic crawled down his spine.
"Chi?" he asked for her only to see a hand waving. A sudden relieve overcame him and he breathed out hard. Standing up he walked around the corner of the bed and looked at her lying on the ground. He lifted his eyebrows.
"What are you doing down there?"
She smiled a little, embarrassed, and tried to stand up. "Oh well, I was…uh….I was…" she looked into every direction except to him. Goku just laughed a little, shaking his head.
He had not even thought about the fact that it actually might surprise her if he slept right beside her, had he? And that he might be responsible for her falling from the bed. A slight anger crawled through her, but she quieted it down. Looking at both of them she realized that he was probably just as tired as she was. Both of them still had the same things on like yesterday.
Seeing him stretch his back she felt her own muscles. All the running from the last day was making itself noticeable. She had a muscle ache…basically everywhere.
Not really knowing what to do now, she flopped down on the bed again and sighed. The situation they were in came back to her like a wave crashing right in front of her, taking her with it. The dream she had had was a fake and reality was here again, painfully clear.
She still didn't know exactly why they were running away and where to, although Goku promised her over and over again to explain everything to her in detail. Yet nothing of that sort was possible to happen, because either way she was sleeping, they were running, he was too occupied into something else or he just wouldn't answer her questions! But then she remembered something…
"Uh…Goku?"
"Hm?" He was about to change his shirt and Chichi almost choked on her own saliva when she saw his muscles flex right in front of her. Shaking her head in order to ignore the fact he was just standing before her half naked she tried to ask what was on her mind.
"The other day when you had this phone call…you talked with someone about someone….a girl…" she looked at him with big and worried eyes. "The one you were talking about was….that me?"
"…Hn." His torso was covered again when he looked at her with an apologizing gaze. He always had this look when she wanted to know something related to her.
"And…" she played with her fingers, thinking if it was wise to even ask. "…who was the one asking for me?"
Without answering her question he just went over to his bag and took out a red file. Of course he wouldn't answer that question, Chichi thought to herself frustrated. When she suddenly saw some papers wave before her vision she looked up again. He was handing them to her. She took it with a questioning look. "What is that?"
"Everything you need to know is inside." He said to her with a sad voice before he turned around again and put on his shoes. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes. I'll be checking us out downstairs and get us something to eat. When I'm back we're going to head off. Until then you have time to read it."
Looking from the documents between her fingers and back to Goku she frowned. Everything she needed to know? Inside this? She felt her finger shake. She wanted to ask him something again and opened her mouth, but when she looked up the door closed with a click.
Now she had it. She desperately had wanted to know what was happening around her and now she had the answers in her hands. She gulped. Did she really want to know? She was not so sure anymore. Maybe the answers weren't what she wanted to hear or read. Could she even handle them? What if not? What if she didn't understand? What if….
Closing her eyes and breathing in and out she opened the first page. She held her breath when she saw her father's face looking at her. Another picture was attached to it. When she slowly pulled it out she saw a face that surprisingly looked like her, yet more mature…Chichi knew who that was immediatly.
The last picture she saw from her mother had been the one their chimney in the living room. It had stood there ever since she had died. Chichi choked down some tears. Just what was this on all about? Putting the pictures away she saw some information about her father: from his birth to his career, wedding date, various copies of some contracts….just as if his whole life was investigated. Overflying this one she continued with the next page.
A name she couldn't place was standing on the file.
"Meimei Sato" Chichi muttered to herself. Meimei was the name of her mother….but she always had thought her surname was Tagashi? Sato…she had never heard any of this! Maybe this had to be a mistake?
Looking on the next documents she hurriedly read over the titles: Wedding certification, hospital stay, birth certification and….an adoption request with her name written on it? Sitting there as if she just got hit by lightning she let go of the files and looked with an empty gaze to nowhere. The documents were flying down lazily to her feet but she didn't care. She suddenly had other things circling around her mind. "What is the meaning of this?"
She was…adopted? Her parents weren't her real parents? But…what about the birth certification? Could it be that it wasn't about her? It wasn't her certification? But what happened to the one being born then? Did it die? Was she, the living Chichi, actually just a replacement?
So everything she had was nothing but a lie?
Her life up till now had been a lie?
"No…" she swallowed. "It can't be…" This couldn't be true!
The tears that fell from her face shook her out of her self-pity, and she tried to brush them away. She didn't want to be even more of a hassle to Goku then she already was. Scattering the documents she put them into the red cover again and placed it into Goku's bag herself. She still didn't really understand at all why someone searched for her in order to harm her, but she thought it must have to do something with her….real family, maybe? She once again had no idea what she was going to do now…or more important: what was Goku going to do?
Why was he helping her anyway? The one question out of all questions….
Just then in perfect timing the door opened and Goku was back again, looking at her red eyes. "You alright?" he wanted to make sure and she tried a smile and nodded eagerly. "Oh yeah, I'm just fine! I….uh….just have to understand anything standing in there. And I questioned myself why you are helping me. You know, everything that stands inside this file is kind of confusing and I just can't guess why you are helping me? I mean…maybe it was just an accident I got to you, you know? Read a wrong number, the note wasn't really for me…" she thought about the daughter her father might have meant…not her. New tears filled her eyes but she held them back. Goku smiled at her tenderly.
She played strong for his sake, didn't she? He could see her struggle with her inner self.
"Well at first I asked myself too why I was sacrificing my own life in order to help you." He said with a soft voice. The truth hurt her….hard. "But honestly, what kind of guy would I be letting a young girl handle all of this herself."
"But…"
"AND…" he continued as soon as he stood before her, bringing her head up to meet his eyes by lifting her chin up gently. "…what kind of guy would I be letting someone dear to me getting hurt?"
Her eyes widened. Dear to him? Was she really?
"But…you don't even know me." There she went again, always protesting and arguing. He chuckled and shook his head. "Don't think too much about something as trivial as that. This is not about knowing or not knowing. This is more like….behaving on instinct. And my instincts tell me to protect you." He ruffled her hair. "And now stop thinking about it and get yourself ready. We have a long way to go. We're leaving the city today."
"Leaving the…city? Where to?"
"You will see once we're there. There is someone I want you to meet."
xXx
She had her cap back on her head and fidgeted with her fingers as usually. They were checking in for the next express train leaving the city as soon as possible. Booking a compartment for both of them Goku smiled at the one who gave them their tickets before he grabbed Chichi's hand, tagging her along.
Leaning over he whispered into her ear. "Once when we're inside the train you'll only hear of the name Mio, understand?"
"Uh…why?" her hand got sweaty. She was more than just nervous since he told her he cared for her...she still couldn't believe what she had heard. She wasn't even sure if she just imagined it…. The news she was somehow special to him even let her forget the fact that her parents weren't her real parents and such… although it still depressed her to no ends…Yet the feeling of her hand in his made her legs wobbly. He accepted her for who she was, although he didn't really know who she was.
She felt at peace…with him.
He took her out of her thoughts. "Because I told them we were a married couple, and if anybody knew your real name it could be easy for them to follow our tracks."
Huh? Married?
"B-b-but what about my passport? You had to show it while booking, didn't you?" Chichi stammered, the word Married couple echoed through her brain permanently. Why was it that her heart still had the urge to respond to every little given chance although she was in a rather disastrous situation? Could it be that she didn't think of her situation that bad because Goku was beside her? Because it gave her the opportunity to get close to him? Oh well, she couldn't deny that he had something on her that interested her since she had met him, but…did her hormones really have to respond now?!
A small card suddenly appeared in front of her face. "I already took care of that. Took me the whole night to make you this."
Chichi gasped. "You…faked my passport? And…where did you get that photo from? Don't tell me you…."
"I'm sorry, your real one had to sacrifice its life…"
She groaned. "Oh, I can't believe it!"
"I'm sorry." He grinned, and didn't look as if he was sorry at all! How come he could still be this…this…calm and cheeky while she was a nervous bundle from head to toe! Her face was red when he gave the tickets to the ticket inspector who told them the way to their compartment. "Have a nice stay, Mr. Son…Mrs. Son."
And she felt like a teapot ready to pipe. Her heart beat to the rhythm of her quick footsteps and she was as stiff as a needle. "Relax…" he whispered into her ear and she tried to breath in and out….in and out…
"Relax, Mio."
"I'm trying!" She hissed hysterically and earned a confused look from her…husband?
"Why are you so nervous?" he asked her with one eyebrow lifted up. He really didn't know, did he? She wanted to respond that it was a first to be called a wife, of course! And she never was with a man alone in only one room – last night didn't count at all, that was involuntarily!
The nights they spend together in his apartment were also involuntarily…somehow…and either way he never was home actually, so it just didn't count! Plus did they have separated rooms! Opening her mouth to just say that to him aloud, she felt the courage inside of her subside and kept silent instead. What a great courage she had….
"I'm sorry, this is all….too much for my head. You know, the things I….got to know." She really didn't want to say again that she was adopted only after two hours knowing herself. And either way, he knew too. So she didn't need to tell it to him, right?
Goku just pushed her inside their compartment softly and closed the door behind them. Letting go of the bags he flopped himself into the next chair standing there, closed his eyes and sighed. Chichi followed in doing so after she took the cap off.
"It's not easy for you understanding all of this, isn't it?" he questioned her while looking at the ceiling, his head on the backrest.
"The last few months were so turbulent; I don't even know which date we have today…and…"She looked to her hands and fumbled with the cap unable to finish her sentence.
"And what?" she felt his eyes on her.
"I'm sorry I went out that day…I know it's because of my stupidity they are actually after you too now." He looked out of the window absentmindedly when he heard that.
"I think sooner or later it had to get that way." He stated.
"But!"
"Listen, Chi." He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "Don't blame yourself for something you didn't do. It's not your fault your father died. It's not the fault of your mother either. The blame should be on nobody. It's just…. It could have happened to anybody. But it happened to you. So…we shouldn't think about the things that were, but the things that are going to be."
"You're not really motivating me…"she pouted. He chuckled.
"Come here." He demanded softly and she walked over to him obediently as always until she stood right in front of him, right between his knees. Taking both of her hands he looked up into her face. "You trust me?"
A nod.
"And you believe me when I say everything's going to be alright?"
A very, very slow nod.
"Then there's nothing for you to worry."
"…Except one thing?" he frowned when she made it sound like a question.
"And what might that be?"
"What is your role in all of this?" she looked directly at him. He evaded her gaze and let go of her hands before he stood up and walked to the window. The train hadn't moved yet. He knew she wouldn't let go of that question now and she had a right to know the truth.
"I'm investigating in the "Sai Corp Issue" since about five years now." His hands vanished into his pockets. " It was my top priority to catch the head right in the middle of one of his….plans. I got myself into the organization of Vegeta Sai. You met him already; it was that guy with the flame-like hair." Goku glanced at her. Chichi's eyes widened and she had to sit down.
"Why was he investigated?" she wanted to know, as she knew the Sai Corp. Their logo was almost everywhere.
"For blackmailing, cheating, counterfeit, probably murder but there was never any proof….he was inculpated for various things actually. But that's not what interested me." He turned around and let go of the tension inside of his body. "I wanted to know what his motives were for bringing every business down that had some kind of success. I saw him overtaking businesses and I know how he's doing it but I still didn't know why! That is…until you appeared"
"M-me?"
"Yeah…" Goku stepped forward kneeled right in front of her and looked at her with a desperate look while grabbing her hands again, squeezing it hard. "Chi, you read that your mother's real name is Sato, right?"
"Hn…" she nodded, not able to look away, his black eyes burning themselves into her iris.
"Have you ever heard of the Sato Corp?"
"I..think."
"Well…obviously was it the Sato Corpthat denied financial help to the Sai Corp twenty years ago. Vegeta wants to take revenge on them because his father committed suicide right after the denial. And your mother….was the only daughter from the headmaster of the Sato Corp. Chi, do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"
Her face got snow white when she finally understood the whole problematic "I'm the only person left having a relationship to this headmaster?"
But what about the adoption…no…was she probably only adopted to shield their….real daughter? Was she only a decoy? Was that it? But that would be…Chichi felt her heart shatter to little pieces.
Goku continued explaining, taking her face into his palms as he always did. "Vegeta wants to emotionally destroy the Sato Corp. and take the business over by force! And I'm the only one who knows the details, I'm the only one who knows Vegeta! Only I can protect you from him, Chi. Do you understand that?"
She nodded, her tears were already falling free from the corner of her eyes. Clasping her arms behind Goku's neck she embraced him tightly while she shivered to her bones. He brushed her head, not really understanding what he said to make her cry. Maybe it was the pressure she felt?
"I'm sorry for stressing you out, Chi. But just as you said, you have the right to know the truth…"
"I..know…" she hiccupped heavily. "But…it's just…too much…I'm sorry for…asking you about…it."
Softly loosening the grip around him he brought her face to meet his and brushed away the tears from her face. "You don't have to be afraid. As long as I'm here, nothing of Vegeta's plans are going to happen."
Little did he know that it wasn't the thing Vegeta had planned that made her grieve…
Kissing her forehead in order to calm her down even more he hugged her tightly again. And although Chichi had the feeling her world shattered to little pieces, right inside his arms she felt safe…and a small world on her own was created.
It calmed her down until she fell asleep again.
She didn't let go of him until the next morning.
