Call me a Sinner

Call me a Saint

Tell me it's over

I landed smoothly out of the transportation in the yard of the Capsul Corp. building, standing until the swirl of my hair and cloak fell limply at my back. What ought I to do now? I couldn't very well give up these people to be attacked without any warning, and to have me as their betrayer. Though I held myself to no obligation to fight for them and their planet, either. Any action that benefited them would directly hinder Revan in executing his plan. Without doubt the three years I had served under him overruled the paltry week I had spent on this planet. Had it really only been that long? Their ready acceptance of me into their household made it seem as though we were past friends.

I could neither assist one side or the other, yet even inaction would harm the Saiyans by enabling a surprise assault. A thoroughly impossible situation.

The most I could do at this point would be to alert the Saiyans to the possibility of an attack. That way both parties would be prepared for a confrontation. Revan would have the advantage of knowing the time and place he would strike, but the Saiyans themselves outnumbered their opponents. By too great a number, now that I considered it. Jin would be a fair match for any of the Earthling warriors, but simply wasn't up to the level of competing with a Super Saiyan. I myself had no idea how great their strength was in such a state. Revan and Roukin would be facing four such beings by themselves. They would be outnumbered, and likely immensely outmatched in sheer strength. Revan had greater strategy on his side, being more inclined to teamwork in difficult situations than I suspected the Saiyans were. But strategy could only take him so far. And where would I rest when the time came? If one of the warriors, on either side, was injured too greatly I would be compelled to heal him. Out of debt to the Earthlings and a sibling relationship of a sort with Revan and his crew. But by healing any fighter I would be increasing the force of one side over the other. A force that had been rightfully beaten down. What right did I have to interrupt the natural way of battle? Shouldn't the warriors alone determine their fate, without my interference?

To save one I would betray the other. Something I was not prepared to do.

Enough. I had made the decision to inform the Saiyans, and I would have more time to meditate on this. Knowing Revan, he would take days to make his decision and finalize his plans. Possibly even weeks. That I had chosen not to return with Jin would have disrupted his group. If he chose to attack the planet despite my protest, he would first take on a brief mission to plunder another planet, to test how effective such attacks would be without my assistance. A test that would take several days in itself, with a few more to mull over his actions. He was certainly ruthless, but calculating at the same time. Regardless of the betrayal he may feel at my decision, he would not act on that anger. Rather, it would motivate him to execute the most efficient invasion ever, if only to prove that I was not a necessary member of his group, and my threat of abandonment would not disrupt his plans. Spite could be a powerful force.

Reaching up to grasp my necklace, I reluctantly made my way inside, looking for the nearest person to inform of this turn of events. I hadn't been away long enough for anyone else to arrive at Capsul Corp, so it seemed my only confidant would be Trunks. At least he seemed a fairly level-headed person to receive such news.

I found him reclining with a book in the primary living room downstairs, one of those strange baby-monitoring devices on the floor transmitting the soft breathing of a sleeping infant. I still found it strange that anyone but the most inexperienced could need such things, however I had to accept that Earthlings would naturally have different parenting methods and mental abilities than my own people. They seemed to lack the deeper connection with their family members, the ability to instantly recognize whenever the well-being of one of their own was disrupted. The Vash may lack the nurturing instinct that seemed to arise naturally with women of this planet, but we were still bound to protect our families, and mentally equipped to sense unrest with any of its members. Such devices would be useless to my people. However, I had no right to judge. If a household as caring and accepting as the Brief's trusted their children to such machines, then they must be adequate.

Trunks looked up as I entered the room. "Back already? That business of yours certainly didn't take very long."

I still detected the somewhat veiled curiosity of what my errand had been, but I appreciated his attempts not to pry. There wasn't a very gentle way of leading up to this information, so after a moment of reflection I softly announced:

"There is a strong chance that Revan will arrive for the dragonballs of this planet. Possibly within the week."

To my surprise, there was no outburst. He became very still as he absorbed this information, signs of silent tension appearing in his hardening eyes and clenched jaw. His face was the picture of deadly seriousness.

"He's the leader of the ones who attacked Namek, right?"

I nodded.

"The group you were with."

At this I stilled as well. I could tell there was more than a confirmation in that statement. There was accusation. The news of this invasion arriving after I had left for a mysterious errand, unsupervised by anyone of this planet? I could see the reason for his suspicion. Now knowing if any refutation I offered would be believed, I stayed silent, forcing myself to keep eye contact with him. As badly as I wanted to look away, that would convey a false sense of guilt. One that I neither felt nor deserved.

After a long silence, he finally looked away. "I can't leave the baby here by himself. I can take him with us to Goku's and explain this whole thing. ChiChi wouldn't mind looking after him until mom gets back. He can find my father and Krillin, and let them know."

At this conclusion he rose and walked past me, leaving me alone in the room. My eyes drifted down as the weight of his words fell upon me. Whether he meant to or not, he had clearly let me know I was not trusted as I had been earlier. He had taken full responsibility of the infant, despite how uncomfortable he was with such a task. He had never considered having me watch him, either at this house or Goku's. Leaving him to my care was no longer an option. I was not trusted with the life of an infant.

I understood he was suspicious. He may not have even realized the message he was sending. But what would I have done? Poison a child to assist a planetary invasion? I had no place to be offended. Yet somehow I still was.

Within an hour a small group had assembled at Goku's house. All of the Saiyans, of course, along with the Earthling Krillin. All except Vegeta had been present on New Namek for the initial confrontation, and so would be more familiar with the force they were dealing with.

"So," Goku began, casting his eyes thoughtfully up at the ceiling, "The guys that tried to use the dragonballs on Namek are coming here to try ours. So that's…three people, right? That shouldn't be too bad. I know the one I fought was a pretty good match for me, but I didn't go Super Saiyan. How about you guys?" he asked, looking between Gohan, Trunks, and Krillin.

Gohan scuffed his feet along the carpet before replying. "The guy I was fighting did a number on me, Dad. I tried, but he was just too fast."

"Even as a Super Saiyan?"

"…well, I didn't think I would need to transform at first, but by the time I realized he was too much for me…it was kinda too late." He admitted.

"Ah, I see. No problem, then. This time you'll know what to do if you get put up with him again. But what about you two?"

Krillin grinned broadly. "That must have been my lucky day, Goku! Me and Trunks got one that wasn't a ridiculously strong fighter. I can take him!"

Trunks nodded in agreement. "Yea, I actually left to go help Gohan, but by the time I got there they had disappeared. The third one shouldn't be a problem."

"Haven't you idiots realized you're letting a perfectly good informant go to waste?" Vegeta demanded suddenly, looking to me from the corner he stood in. "Tell us what the names of these warriors are so we'll at least know who we're fighting against!"

I paused a moment, realizing that this could lead to more questions I wasn't prepared to answer. This one, at least, was harmless. "Goku fought against Revan, the leader of the three. Gohan faced Roukin, and Jin is not the born fighter."

"And you traveled with these men, correct? Long enough to know how they fight?"

"...Yes."

"Good. Then you know of any techniques they possess that could pose a problem in battle. Explain their fighting techniques, and I'll dispatch of the entire group without wasting time waiting for these fools to play at being warriors!"

At this Goku opened his mouth to whine about Vegeta's unfairness, and I felt Trunks radiating frustration at his father's impatience. If I waited for the room to lapse into argument, I would not be able to work up the courage again to announce this.

"No."

The room was suddenly quiet.

"What do you mean, Kiori?" Gohan asked quizzically. "You won't help us?"

"Of course she won't, you fool! Haven't you figured out that she's working with them?" Vegeta snapped. "She disappears and returns with news that the planet is to be invaded within the week, and no one thinks to question exactly where she went? You know we can't track her energy signal, she could have been meeting with her leader ever since she came here, and you would never know!"

Goku blinked. "But..if you thought that, why did you bother asking her to help you?"

"I was testing her, Kakarrot! Did you honestly think I would accept help to win a fight? I can crush this enemy all on my own!"

"Kiori wouldn't do that! Not after that man abandoned her! He hit her!" Gohan burst out. He turned pleading eyes to me. "Tell them, Kiori. Please."

I smiled sadly at the look on his face, the absolute faith he had in me. "I have spoken only with Jin, and only on today. I told him nothing that would assist Revan in his fight against you."

"See, Vegeta?" Goku exclaimed brightly. "You were reading too much into things. Kiori's still our friend!"

His only response was a snort. "What does that tell you? Do you honestly believe she would come out and say she's deceiving you? Fine. Believe what you want. It won't matter in the end. Anyone who stands against me will be finished! And if you- " he directed this comment towards me " think that you've established any sort of 'friendship' with me that will save you, you're sorely mistaken."

I bowed my head lightly in agreement. "Of course not. I expect nothing else from you."

"At least you're not a fool like the others." His final comment as he turned and strode silently from the room. Likely he felt he had already wasted enough time from training by coming here. I wondered if his distrust would increase his desire to fight with me, or give him a greater aversion to my presence. It would be an interesting thing to note.

A momentary silence filled the room, broken by Goku's excited shout.

"Hey, this means we have an excuse to train again! Gohan, you won't be stuck doing homework all the time! Come on guys, why am I the only one that's excited here? Let's go spar! There's plenty of daylight left. ChiChi, Gohan's coming with me for a while, okay? We'll be back for supper!"

"What!? Goku, you can't just take my son away from his studies whenever you- Goku, get back here!" She cried, emerging from the kitchen just in time to see her husband and son's rapidly retreating form. She glared around the room at the rest of its occupants. "And just what are you looking at? Expecting me to entertain you? Out! I know you're all just dying to go join him in corrupting my Gohan! Turning him into a delinquent! Is that all men really think about? Fighting and violence, all the time! Out!" She cried, brandishing a broom at the room in general.

"Of course, you can stay, dear." She added to me, quite calmly after she struck Krillin's shining head with the broom. "You can help me with dinner if you feel like staying."

The remaining men had by this time fled from the house. I glanced at the infant sitting on the couch, placidly surveying the turmoil in front of him.

"Oh, don't worry about him. I called Bulma, and she's coming to pick him up. She hates when she has to work this often that she can't spend time with him. I keep telling her that family's more important, but that woman just can't slow down! But what am I saying? Come, sit. I'll have to start now just to feed those two. Particularly if Krillin and Trunks are staying over. Do you know how to cook, dear? It's never too late to learn." She concluded, nodding decisively.

"I know how to make a few things. I don't know if they would go well with tastes of this planet." I offered, seeing that I wouldn't have much of a choice in helping her anyway.

"Wonderful! Something new for supper! We'll try it. If no one else likes it, we'll just give it to Goku."

Why not? For the next week it seemed I would be surrounded by fighting. I could at least take this night to escape from it. And from my eventual decision. The Saiyans didn't seem immensely threatened by the imminent fight, which could mean Revan would be horribly outmatched. I hated to think what he would do if the situation turned desparate.

The clinking of pans in the kitchen reminded me. I had other matters to worry about tonight.

Just so everyone knows if you hadn't guessed already, I finally merged the last two chapters together.

And I realize the end of the chapter got lost in dialogue, but maybe once it sits a while I'll come back and edit it. Nothing major, and I'll put a note in the next chapter if there's a significant change. Reviews are always appreciated!