Author's Note: I'd like to thank the reviewers who have liked this story so far. I would also like to personally thank Coy Fish, for helping me with this chapter. Just one more slow chapter before the major conflict that's been hinted at before.
All DBZ characters portrayed are owned by Toei.
January 8th, Age 777
Cilan was flying through the air in his combat suit; his destination was for Kami's Lookout. The previous month passed by in a blur for him. After the beach party on Roshi's island, Cilan continued his training in his super form. By the end of the month he and 18 decided to end their sparring matches when it became clear he had surpassed her. However, he still visited the island on the weekends. Apparently they liked his company and asked that he stop by.
Kei finished her semester and aced her finals, then had hung out with Cilan for a week. However her father asked for her to stay with him for the holidays. She was conflicted on either going or staying in West City, but Cilan told her to visit him. He never said it, but he envied her for the fact she still had family that cared for her. She was gone for two weeks, and leaving him alone in the apartment. He thought it would be nice to have the place to himself again, but found that it felt different without her around.
Earth's holidays were different from the ones celebrated in the western galaxy, but even there Cilan never celebrated them. To him they were just another day and if he was lucky a day off. The Son and Briefs family had each invited him over to their homes for their own celebrations, but he declined them as he felt it was a time for families and he would feel out of place. Instead he focused on his training, and made extensive use of the Gravity Chamber.
Bulma had told him that at beginning of the New Year she was going to upgrade the power source in Capsule #3, with a new one based on what she learned from the Arkbird's reactor. Which meant it would be decommissioned for some time. The blue haired scientist had promised if her design worked it would double the gravity chamber's output. Once January rolled in, Cilan went back to training in the desert, but decided to train his mental powers. Piccolo had offered him to help him, so the saiyan felt he should finally take that offer.
He spotted Korin Tower in the distance and changed his trajectory to fly straight up. Once he was above the clouds he caught sight of the red underside of the floating temple. He sped up and landed gracefully on the floor of the ancient palace. It was the second time he saw it, the first was from the cockpit of the Arkbird when he first arrived.
The saiyan was surprised to find flowers and various plants growing on the grounds. He did a double take when he saw butterflies among the plants. Before he could look closer the sound of footsteps interrupted him.
"Cilan," greeted Dende from the temple entrance. "What brings you by here?"
"Looking for Piccolo," he replied gruffly before turning back to the edge of the lookout.
Dende stood next to him, "He'll be out in a few moments."
Cilan said nothing and just observed the planet below, silently marveling at how blue it looked from this height.
"So you finally decided to show up," Piccolo's voice reverberated from the temple. "You got bored of fighting 18?"
Cilan turned back to him, "She wasn't a challenge anymore, and with the gravity capsule out of service, I decided to drop by."
"Makes sense," Piccolo crossed his arms. "How far along are your mental powers?"
"Not much improvement since the last time you saw me."
Piccolo rubbed his chin, "Sounds like you need to work on your focus. We can fix that."
The saiyan shrugged, "If you say so. We'll be training here?"
"Are you kidding? I've finally been able to fix this place after the damage Super Buu did to it, so I'm not going to let you wreck it."
"Where then?"
"Break Wasteland," the namekian said before he walked to the edge of the lookout and took off.
Piccolo was sparring with Cilan. Unlike normal sparring matches, he could use physical and telekinetic attacks, but was barred from using his ki. With those stipulations, it made their fight interesting for Cilan; he was still in his super form though.
Piccolo had hundreds of years of experience in fighting and used it effectively against the saiyan. Cilan on the other hand didn't have the same years of knowledge, but his youth and tenacity helped him in blocking and parrying the namekian's attacks. He tried to use his mind powers to create opening for an attack, but Piccolo used his own telekinetic powers to block them.
Cilan tried delivering an uppercut with his right elbow, but Piccolo easily moved his head out of the way and left the young saiyan open to get a left hook into his ribs. Letting out a grunt, Cilan jumped back trying to ignore the pain, but the namekian pressed on the attack.
Piccolo's fists were coming at him at a lightning pace, but Cilan noticed a pattern to them that he memorized. When a left cross punch was moving towards his head, Cilan didn't dodge it; instead he deflected it with his right forearm, then immediately jumped up and delivered a flying knee to Piccolo's chest.
If Cilan was in his base form, the strike would not have hurt. However, because he was in his super form, it was many times stronger. Piccolo staggered back as one hand clutched his chest. His other hand wiped the purple blood from his mouth.
He looked at his hand then back at Cilan before smirking, "Cute." He fired eye laser blasts at him.
Cilan's first instinct was to dodge the attack, but instead he forced himself to stay put and put his palms forward. He created a mental barrier which caused the twin beams to impact the shield and bend around him harmlessly.
"That all you got old man?" Cilan taunted. Instead of getting angry, Piccolo just threw his head back and laughed. Then he fired multiple ki blasts from his palms. The saiyan again used his barrier to deflect or absorb the spheres of ki, and was able to send some of them back towards the namekian.
Dodging his own attacks, Piccolo flew up into the air and held both hands in the air, gathering yellow ki in his palms.
"Masenko!" He shouted before thrusting his palms forward at Cilan and unleashed the blast. As the yellow beams raced towards the ground, Cilan was thinking fast. His mental barrier couldn't deflect that blast. He couldn't cancel out the blast with a Kamehameha as that would mean he'd lose the match. If he dodged it, Piccolo would hit him with another. 'Unless….'
The blast impacted and exploded in brilliant light. Piccolo had thought he might have blasted the saiyan, but then noticed a black clad figure a few yards away from him in the air. He disappeared then reappeared before Cilan.
"You cheated," Piccolo said with his arms crossed but with a knowing smirking on his green face. "You used your ki to fly."
"Nope," Cilan mimicked his posture. "I used my mind to fly which didn't expend any ki."
"Good, you're learning quickly." The namekian went back to his fighting stance, "Let's go for round 2."
They had a few more sparring matches which ended in draws. Piccolo wasn't seeking to win against Cilan, only to make him use his mental powers in different ways. By the afternoon, Piccolo began to push the saiyan's limits of his telekinetic powers. Both were standing at the base of a rock structure that was the size of a three story apartment building.
"So what are we doing here?" Cilan asked with his mask and balaclava removed.
"I want you to lift that," Piccolo pointed his thumb at the rock formation.
"What!?"
"You heard me."
"That's impossible," Cilan eyed the top of the rock warily.
The namekian crossed his arms, "I saw Freeza lift a mountain with ease. Are you telling me you're weaker than him?"
That drew a glare from the younger man, who then glared at the rock and held his palms out. Closing his eyes, his mind focused on the image of the structure. He stood there gritting his teeth for several moments. A crack began to form at the base of the rock, spreading around it. After a few more moments, the structure began to slowly lift.
Cilan's eyes turned red as the blood vessels in it burst. When the rock was ten feet off the ground, his breathing was heavy and blood trickled down his nose. It floated there for a full minute, before it fell back to the ground with a thunderous thud. His knees grew weak and fell onto them.
"How was that?" The saiyan asked between breaths.
Piccolo looked unimpressed, "Do it again, but this time lift it higher."
Cilan looked at him incredulously while his nose continued bleeding.
February 3rd, Age 777
Cilan stood in his room, wearing his old royal blue dress uniform and looking at himself in the mirror. Piccolo couldn't train him today as he and Dende had business to attend to in the afterlife with Lord Enma. Capsule #3 was still out of commission when the new reactor Bulma designed exploded, so that would mean another month without the gravity room.
He had contemplated going on his own to the wasteland, but without Piccolo there to push him to his limits it wouldn't be the same. Instead he decided to take the day off. When he looked through his clothes he found his uniform hanging in the back of the closet. It still fit him, and he realized it had been almost 7 months since he last wore it. Between then and now, he looked the same.
His thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on his door. Kei popped her head in, "Cilan…"
She stopped talking when he faced her, and she caught sight of him in his uniform. The door opened further and she stood in the doorway looking Cilan over. He was uneasy under her gaze, "Is there something you need?"
Shaking her head, she stopped gawking at him, "Just surprised to see you were still here. What's with the uniform?"
"It's been a while since I wore it, wanted to see if it still fit."
Kei stepped up to him then she ran her hand down his sleeve feeling the uniforms material, "It certainly looks like it does."
He said nothing as he tried to ignore her warm hand. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Do you miss being in the GF?"
Cilan raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Are you a telepath?"
She laughed at that, "No, but my Dad was the same way after he retired from the royal army."
"Yeah?"
She nodded, "So do you?"
"Yes," he answered. He didn't miss taking orders from bureaucrats, but at times he did miss the sense of purpose that organization gave him.
"Well don't worry, you're still young, so you'll find something to do." She smiled warmly at him. Kei turned away from him and went for the door, but she stood in the doorway and looked back at him, "Are you going to train today?"
"No."
"Would you mind coming with me to the hospital?"
"Hospital? What's wrong?" His voice took on a worried tone.
"Nothing, I'm just scheduled for a procedure."
"What procedure?"
She rubbed her arm, "It's called a cerebral angiography; basically they inject barium into my veins then put me in an x-ray."
"Why?"
"It's to see if I'm bleeding in my head. My mom died of an aneurysm in her brain, and it might be genetic."
"Oh," Cilan frowned. "Why isn't your family going with you?"
"I haven't told them because they would fuss over me. I have a friend that usually goes with me, but she had a family emergency. If you don't want to, that's fine, but it's too late to reschedule…"
"I'll go," he interrupted her.
"Really?"
Cilan nodded.
"Great! My appointment is in two hours," She turned back to the hallway, but looked over her shoulder at him. "I suggest you change out of your uniform, unless you want the nurses to swoon over you." She winked at him before closing the door.
He just looked at the door before he smirked and shook his head.
Cilan took her advice and changed into his usual gray button shirt, and black pants. He drummed his fingers on the armrest of the hospital chair, while he sat in the lobby. He hated hospitals; the smell of antiseptic reminded him of the infirmary on the Ark Royal, where he saw Milla's corpse. Kei was admitted a few hours before, and in that time he had waited while his mind had thoughts about what Kei was testing for. After she left he looked up information about aneurysms on his phone.
'She didn't show any symptoms,' was his first thought. 'But sometimes there were no symptoms.'
'They could treat it…. But there was a 50 percent mortality rate,' he clinched his fists. 'If she did die, then the dragonballs…. Would be useless.'
Death by an aneurysm would be considered a natural death, so the dragonballs wouldn't be able to bring her back. It also made him remember that she had already died once; when she and the rest of the human race were exterminated by Super Buu three years earlier. That made him frown deeper, knowing that had Goku's and Vegeta's plan against Kid Buu failed, then Earth and the human race wouldn't have been brought back and Kei would have stayed dead.
The nurse working the hospital desk noticed his deep brooding, "Don't worry sir, I'm sure your girlfriend will be all right."
Cilan looked up and was about to correct her when the doors opened and an orderly wheeled Kei out in a wheelchair with her right leg lifted. Dressed in red sweats and a white t-shirt, she looked paler than usual, and her locks of auburn hair were tied into a pony tail.
"You ok?" He kept his voice gruff.
"I'm fine, I just want to be out of this chair," she said tiredly.
"Sorry Ms. Mizuno, but you'll have to stay in the chair for a little while longer," the orderly told her.
"But I can walk," Kei whined as she crossed her arms.
"Hospital regulations, you'll have to be wheeled around until you're discharged. Besides, I don't think he'll mind escorting you around," he motioned to Cilan.
The saiyan nodded, "How long will she need to be in the chair?"
"About 4 hours, then she'll be able to stand," the orderly handed the wheelchair to Cilan. "We'll have the results ready by then."
The orderly left them to go back into main hospital. Before anything was said, a stomach growled loudly. Surprisingly it wasn't Cilan's, but Kei's.
"So I take it you're hungry," he tried hard not to laugh.
Her face went several shades of red, "I haven't eaten since last night, because of the test."
"I'll take you to the cafeteria, anything you want?" He began to wheel her.
"All I want right now is a big greasy burger," she paused, "With fries."
He chuckled at that, "Good choice."
The door to the apartment opened and Kei walked in with the help of Cilan. She had been discharged from the hospital with her tests coming back negative for any complication. Obviously she was relieved, but so was Cilan.
"I can walk on my own now," she shrugged out of his arm.
"The doctor said to take it easy," he went into the kitchen.
"I know, I was there," Kei sat down on the couch. "I just need to rest for a bit, and I'll be fine."
"You want some water?" He asked from the kitchen.
"Yes, please," she grabbed the remote from the coffee table and tuned to the news when a glass full of water floated to her. She looked at it before she shook her head and took it. "Thanks!"
Cilan said nothing, and then Kei heard noise from the kitchen, "What are you doing?"
"Making a sandwich," he replied. "Want one?"
"Sure, no mayo please."
After a few minutes a plate with a sandwich floated to her. When she took the dish, Cilan sat next to her with a plate holding two submarine sandwiches and his other hand holding a beer bottle. She took a bite and liked at how it tasted, "This is good, thanks."
Cilan only grunted while he ate, which made her smile. Kei raised an eyebrow when she saw Cilan drink his beer, "You're not crushing the bottle, are you learning to control your powers?"
"Yeah, I'm becoming more relaxed in my super mode. Another month and I can go back to my base form."
"Aw, really?" She pouted, "You look cute with green eyes. Maybe you can wear contacts?"
He snorted, "Yeah, that's not happening."
She pouted again, "Spoil sport."
"Anyway, all I need now is the gravity chamber up and running again."
"I've been helping Bulma on that reactor, but it won't be ready until at least next month," Kei felt bad that she couldn't help him more.
Cilan only shrugged, "Oh well."
"How's the training with Piccolo going?"
"Good, but that crazy bastard really pushes me to my limits. I was able to lift a mountaintop the other day."
She looked surprised at that, "Really? Wow! What's he going to make you lift next?"
"Nothing, he's saying now that I can lift something that size, I just need to work on getting complete focus. He's teaching me some meditation techniques for that."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll get that down. You seem like the kind of guy that can do anything if you put your mind to it," she offered him a smile.
He only nodded before he ate his second sandwich. They ate in silence as they watched the news; when it went to a commercial, the remote that was sitting on the armrest floated to Cilan's hand, and then began to channel surf. He stopped on a documentary on Cell. Cilan was told about all about him by Goku and the other fighters, but he still wanted to know more about that bio-mechanical monster.
Cilan was listening intently to the broadcast, until he heard a sniffle next to him. When he looked over to Kei, he saw there were tears in her eyes. "What's wrong? Do you want me to change it to something else?"
"No, don't." She wiped the tears away, "It's just that seeing Cell again reminds me how scared we all were during that time. My father was on active duty then, and the only person with me was my mom. When she was with me, I always felt safe with her.
"Now that she's gone, I can't get over how much I miss her, and I'll never feel as safe again." She looked at him, "You never get over it do you?"
"No," his voice was low. "You try to live your life and move on, but you can't ever forget about them. You just have to learn to live with it."
Kei nodded and went back to eating, while Cilan drank his beer. He wasn't paying attention to the television; instead he was thinking that he still needed to say something more to her. After setting the beer bottle on the coffee table, he looked at her from his peripheral vision and came to a decision, "I still dream about the day my mom died."
Kei looked at him surprised, "You do?"
"Yes," he closed his eyes and forced himself to reveal more. "Usually I'm back as a ten year old arguing with my mother before she knocks me out; or I'm an adult and seeing it from a third perspective. In both cases I can't stop her, and the ship blows up with her in it. Then I wake up."
"Is that why you're up early sometimes?"
He only nodded while he reached for the beer bottle. Kei scooted next to him and placed a hand on his stopping him. "Do you blame yourself that she died?"
Cilan said nothing, so she continued, "She sacrificed herself because she loved you and didn't want you to die."
"I know," he remembered her last words to him. "But I guess I still miss her."
She offered him a small smile, "I guess we're two messed up people."
Cilan smirked, "I don't know about you, but I'm well adjusted."
"Oh sure, Mr. Gloomy alien ex-soldier that likes to dress up in black and skulk around at night," she retorted with her own smirk.
"Completely normal," he tried keeping his face neutral. That only caused her to laugh and punched him lightly on the arm.
She was going to say something else when she let out a loud yawn, "I guess I'm really tired."
"Go get some sleep. I'll wash up," Cilan picked up the dishes, and went back to the kitchen. He was at the sink about to clean, when he felt Kei behind him. He looked over at her and before he could say anything, she wrapped her arms around him.
"I just wanted to thank you for coming with me today."
Cilan turned himself around and wrapped one arm around her to give a light squeeze He tried to ignore how warm she felt pressed against him, "It was nothing, just paying you back when I got drunk."
"No," she drew back enough to face him. "It meant a lot to me for you to be there."
He was going to say something else to play it off, but then he saw the look on her face. Her big green eyes were warm, and she smiled sweetly at him. It was then he felt something tugging in his chest and his face inched closer to hers. She didn't move away and held her breath.
When his face was a hairs breath away, the phone in his pocket rang. He stepped back, snapped out of his daze, and reached for his phone. Recognizing the number as Capsule Corp., he answered, "Yeah?" A short pause, "She's here."
Cilan handed the phone to Kei, "It's your aunt."
"Hello? What? I'm fine. I just went there for a check-up," she covered the mouthpiece and whispered to him, "A friend of hers works at that hospital."
She put the phone back to her ear, "No, there's nothing wrong. No, I'm not pregnant!"
He decided at that point to make himself scarce.
April 15th, Age 777
Cilan sat cross-legged on the floor of his room with his eyes closed. His mind was trying to concentrate on every object within the apartment building. Piccolo had told him that he could focus his telekinetic powers to a point where he could sense anyone and anything; his only limit would be his mind. The namekian had also told him he could also use his powers in the microscopic field, meaning if he concentrated enough, he could affect things at a molecular level. That was still a ways off, but he did try at times.
At the moment however, his mind couldn't attain focus. Someone was distracting him, that person being Kei. Ever since February, she had managed to get into his thoughts when he let it wander. She was also appearing in his dreams. He used to dream about being with Milla again on the Independence. This time instead of Milla waiting for him, it was Kei. He rationalized it that it was just his primal urges affecting his subconscious, as he hadn't slept with a woman for a long time. Kei was just a natural substitute.
He could have trained away all this frustration, but the minute Bulma finally finished getting the reactor working on Capsule #3, Vegeta laid claim to it, stating that the strongest saiyan should use it first. Cilan had naturally disagreed, and the two decided to spar for it. That resulted in the saiyan prince getting first dibs on the machine and the ex-soldier earning three bruised ribs and ego. Bulma had promised that she would put another reactor in the other gravity room, so Vegeta could use that instead; that left Cilan training out in the desert again and letting his mind wander to Bulma's cousin.
That was another problem, he recognized the desire on her face when he was about to kiss Kei. He was wrong about her; apparently he was her type, as he caught her looking at him sometimes, though she didn't catch him when he looked at her. It was hard not admit she was beautiful, but he convinced himself what he felt was just purely based on lust. Cilan wasn't sure on what she wanted, because a relationship wouldn't work out. He still planned on leaving the Earth after his training was done. Though his mind kept reminding him he had nowhere else to go. Even if he did decide on staying permanently, he wasn't sure what he could offer her.
Cilan shook his head; he couldn't concentrate and decided on taking a break. He stood up and went to the kitchen to get a beer from the fridge. When he reached the living room, he found the source of his distractions.
Kei had pushed the coffee table to the side and was on the floor in front of the television laying flat on her back, doing leg lifts. She was dressed in a light blue tube top and matching yoga pants. The tube top exposed her taught tummy and was tight around her chest, both of which he couldn't stop looking at.
She smiled when he stopped to look at her, "Good morning Cilan."
"Morning," he glanced away from her to the television which was showing a program he recognized. "Wide-Thigh Aerobics?"
"Their exercises keep my body in-shape." She smiled coyly at him, "You should know, you stare at it every chance you get."
That caused the saiyan to blush, "Uh..."
"It's ok, Cilan. I don't mind," she winked at him. He said nothing and went straight for the kitchen. All she could do was giggle, her aunt was right; the gloomy saiyan did look cute when he was flustered. She couldn't catch him, but she felt his eyes on her whenever she was dressed for a workout. Normally, she would have been disgusted by that, but she didn't mind with Cilan. Unlike the perverts she's dealt with before, he always gave off as being uninterested in anything. So if he found her that desirable, then maybe there was more than he let on.
Kei was surprised when he almost kissed her on the day of her exam, but she was disappointed he didn't try again. Cilan didn't talk about it afterward, and she didn't want to ask. Whatever that was, it was something Cilan would have to open up and talk about. In the meantime, she'd still playfully flirt with him.
Cilan reappeared a minute later with a beer in hand and making a beeline for his room. She called out to him, "Bulma called me earlier. She said she needed you down at CC for some guard work today."
"Great," he muttered. "Have to wear a suit again."
"She said you can dress casually."
"Well that's good," he replied before emptying the bottle in one gulp and it floated away to the recycling bin.
Cilan was in hell, or what felt like it. The 'guard duty' turned out for him to chaperone Bulma to the mall. She had invited Kei to go along as well, and had met-up with Gohan and Videl there. He should have known something was amiss when Trunks looked at him sadly at CC; he only began to suspect something when Vegeta grinned at him. He at first thought it'd be a quick trip and they'd be done in under an hour. Instead it stretched into several, with Cilan growing impatient by the minute.
"They'll be done soon," Gohan tried to reassure Cilan. Both saiyans sat on a bench just outside one of the numerous department stores the girls had visited.
"You said that an hour ago," grumbled Cilan as he sat back on the bench.
"You could just leave."
"Thought about it, but if anything happened to Bulma and I wasn't there to stop it, Vegeta would kill me."
Gohan was about to disagree when he thought about it for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, he would."
Cilan checked his watch for the umpteenth time, wondering when the madness would end. It wasn't enough that he was wasting time being stuck there, but that the girls kept asking him for his opinion. He barely had enough sense to dress half-way decently, let alone know anything about fashion.
"How's the training with Piccolo been going?" Gohan asked after checking his own watch.
"The guy is a brutal bastard," Cilan smirked. "But he's helped me tremendously."
"Yeah, when he trained me for the fight against Vegeta, he was completely ferocious. I'm still surprised I survived that year. It did help me become a fighter though."
Cilan only nodded in understanding, he then saw that the girls were in line waiting to pay for their clothes. Gohan caught sight of Videl and waved to her, "I'm thinking of finally proposing to her, it's been three years since we met. I'm just not sure if she'll say yes."
"She will," Cilan replied as he was on his phone finding something to occupy his time with.
"You think so?" Gohan looked at him his face hopeful.
Cilan nodded not looking from the phone screen, "Any woman that's willing to dress up in that Saiyaman costume and do those stupid poses will likely not refuse to get married."
"Very funny," he replied while rolling his eyes. He then caught sight of Kei looking at Cilan. Gohan smirked, "So what's been going on between you and Kei?"
The ex-soldier put his phone down to frown at Gohan, "Nothing's been going on. I told you already, she's just my friend."
"Is that so? What about last week, when we were at the club and you were scaring off any guy that tried to approach Kei?"
"For her safety," Cilan replied with his arms crossed. "Bulma wanted me to protect her, so I had to make sure nobody potentially dangerous would get close to her."
"Uh-huh," Gohan replied in his most disbelieving tone.
Inside the department store the girls were near the front of the checkout line while carrying various clothes. Kei looked over to where the guys sat, before she looked back to the other two, "Are we going to be done soon? Cilan looks pretty frustrated."
"He'll be fine; it's his job to be here." Bulma answered in a dismissive tone.
"If you say so, but maybe we can go for lunch after we're done here? That should ease his mood."
Videl had been watching her, and finally decided to ask her what she had been wondering, "Kei, do you like Cilan?"
Kei jerked her head back to the brunette, "What? No, he's just my friend."
"Then what about last Friday? When we were at the Starlight, you kept showing up at Cilan's side whenever a girl showed any interest in him and drove them away."
"I was doing it for his own good," Kei huffed. "Most of those girls were skanks. He needs to be with a nice girl who'll treat him right."
"And that would be you?" Videl asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes... I mean someone like me." The redhead's face tinged at her slip-up.
The brunette only smirked, "Just admit it. You're not fooling us."
"Even if I do, it doesn't mean he feels the same way."
"What makes you say that?" Bulma had been listening to the other two and decided to join in. She had been on the sidelines watching her cousin and Cilan and wanted to let things go on their own course.
"Well, he hasn't said anything about wanting to be in another relationship."
"So? Guys like him won't say what they really feel; you have to go by his actions."
Kei thought about that for a moment, "He does seem to like to look at me at times."
"So he finds you attractive, what else?"
"He's more relaxed when he's alone with me. He doesn't act all cold as he does in public."
"That means he trusts you enough to lower his guard around you," Bulma hid a smile. "There has to be more."
"Well..." Kei was hesitant for a moment, "Two months ago, after I came back from the hospital."
Videl interrupted, "Hospital?"
She nodded, "It was for a brain scan. My mother died from an aneurysm, and I've been testing myself yearly to prevent it from happening to me."
The brunette nodded in understanding, having lost her own mother years before.
"After we got back home, we were talking, and he helped me when I was feeling down about myself." Kei smiled remembering, "I gave him a hug to thank him, and then in the next moment he was going to kiss me."
"Did he?" Bulma asked.
The redhead shook her head, "No, my aunt called right before he was able to. He didn't talk about it later, and I didn't want to push the issue."
"That answers that, he likes you," the blue haired scientist said with a triumphant smile.
"Are you sure? Cilan could just be looking for a pure physical relationship."
Bulma shook her head, "Kei, I'll let you in on a secret. Thirty percent of Capsule Corp.'s employees are female. Half of them are single, and some have been doing their best in getting Cilan's attention since I hired him. So far he's rejected every single one of them. "
"Really?"
She nodded, but her face turned solemn, "But Kei, what do you really feel about him?"
Kei looked down, her face unreadable as she thought about that question. She didn't have regular relationships when she was younger, as she was moved from base to base due to her father's deployment schedule. When she was able to date, her preference had been to guys similar to Gohan; smart, but sweet. In college she was able to date regularly, but never really seemed to connect with the men she went out with. She decided to put dating on hold so she could focus on her degree.
At first she saw Cilan as some muscle head, though she realized he wasn't training to be superior to everyone else. He was a soldier who wanted to be prepared for any form of danger. The saiyan was also not dumb, he didn't fall asleep when she explained things about her career path, and he knew how to pilot a spaceship. He also knew how to cut a deal with her cousin to get a cushy life on Earth. Cilan did have his faults; he didn't like sharing his feelings, and had a stubbornness streak at times. Though he was a good listener, and didn't seem to mind helping her.
Kei then thought about what she really felt for the introverted saiyan. Despite his gloominess, she did find him handsome. She also knew underneath his melancholy persona, he was actually nice. The redhead also had to admit to herself that she actually felt a flutter in her heart about him after he almost kissed her. She could also admit she did get jealous when other women were trying to get his attention. Finally, she thought about her life so far with Cilan. Despite some rocky moments, she actually liked being his friend, and would like to see how a relationship would work with him.
She looked up and smiled at Bulma, "He's not Mr. Perfect, but that's why I like him."
"Good, all you need to do now is tell him."
Kei frowned at that, "What if he doesn't feel the same?"
The blue haired scientist smirked at her cousin, "Then you can move on and make him regret that decision."
Before Kei could respond, the cashier called them up.
Outside Cilan sat by himself on the bench, Gohan went to the restroom. He looked up into the malls skylight and into the blue sky above. He was contemplating his power since attaining full power of his super saiyan form. His ki had jumped considerably, which Piccolo and Goku commented on. There was also something else Cilan felt, when he powered up to his full power; he felt a barrier that was stopping him from going further, but something was compelling him to push himself beyond it. Goku had told him it might be the second level of super saiyan that he was trying to break into.
If that were the case, he needed to figure out a way to break that barrier. Gohan did it by unleashing his rage after Cell destroyed Android 16; Goku did it in the afterlife from extensive training. He wasn't sure how Vegeta did it; he hadn't asked him as he was still pissed that that prince took Capsule #3.
'I have plenty of time anyway', he thought before getting up. The girls were done and leaving the store, and he made his way to them, hoping it would be the last store they visited. That was when he heard a feminine voice call out to him.
"Well hello again handsome."
Cilan turned to see a young woman dressed in a white mini dress and black stilettos shoes. Standing at 5'8'' she had shoulder length blonde hair, light brown eyes, tanned skin, and long legs. The dress was tight and showed off her hips and large bust. She was carrying small black purse.
"Candy?" He almost didn't recognize her. She looked different in natural lighting and wearing something other than just panties and glitter.
That made her smile, "That's just my stage name. Call me Stacey."
"Stacey, what brings you by here?" He was on edge with her around. The saiyan wasn't sure how Kei would react to her.
"Just finding new things to wear for my act," she stepped up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why haven't you called or come back to the club?"
"I've been busy."
"Oh, I thought you might have been avoiding me," she fluttered her eyelashes. "Want to catch up over lunch?"
Before Cilan could answer, Kei had walked up to him and placed an arm around him. "Who's your friend sweetie?
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow; she only smiled sweetly at him. When he was about to ask what she was doing, he noticed Stacey removed her hand off his shoulder and took a step back. Catching on quickly, he put his own hand around Kei's waist and pressed her close, while putting on a fake smile. "This is Stacey, dear. The dancer from the club I told you about."
If Kei knew he was talking about Candy, she didn't show it, as her smile never faltered. She struck her free hand out to the blonde, "I'm Kei, how nice to meet you."
Stacey gave the redhead a tight smile while she gave her a small handshake and scrutinized her. Kei was wearing a cream colored sundress, with matching shoes and handbag. Her long dark auburn hair flowed around her. The stripper looked back to Cilan, "She would be?"
"His girlfriend," Kei answered.
"Is this true?"
Cilan caught a look of hurt in Stacey's eyes, but nodded. "Yep, we met each other in August. That's why I haven't been back."
"Oh," the blonde voice was low then she turned her attention to Kei. "You're lucky."
"I know," the redhead put her head on his arm.
"Well I have to go," Stacey began to step away. "Maybe I can see you sometime at the club Cilan?"
"Maybe," he answered with a nod, while Kei pinched his sides. The blonde nodded and walked away.
When she was out of earshot, Cilan looked into Kei's frowning face. "What?"
"Maybe?" Repeating his answer.
"I was just being polite," he grumbled.
Her frown disappeared, "Good."
"How did you come up with the girlfriend angle?"
"I saw you when you mouthed the name Candy, and just assumed it was her. I could tell you were getting worried."
"Thanks. How can I repay you?"
Kei thought about for a moment, "Buy me dinner tonight?"
Cilan nodded, "Sure."
She smiled and took his hand to lead him back to the others.
It was around 9 o'clock when Cilan and Kei stepped out of the restaurant. It was a noodle house that Gohan and Videl recommended, as it had an all you could eat meal for the saiyan. It wasn't a formal restaurant, but one tailored to the college crowd. Cilan was dressed in his black jeans, a white button shirt, and a dark blue denim jacket. Kei wore a light red blouse, and a navy blue skirt.
Their dinner was pleasant. They talked mainly about how she was doing in her current semester. By the end of the term she would earn enough credits to get her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and would start an internship with Capsule Corp. in the summer. She wanted to talk about her feelings, but it didn't feel right to her to bring it up; she still wanted to be absolutely sure what Cilan felt about her.
When the cool spring air hit Kei, she shivered. Cilan noticed, "You're cold?"
She nodded, "I should have worn a jacket."
The saiyan shrugged out of his jacket, "Here."
"No, I'm fine." She began to protest.
"I can handle the cold," he replied and put it over her.
She decided to not argue further and wrapped around herself, "Thanks, you're such a gentleman."
"Don't mention it."
They walked down the sidewalk, going in no particular direction. Cilan looked straight ahead, while Kei stole glances at him. She had the capsule to her air car in her purse, but didn't take it out. "Hey Cilan."
He turned to look at her, "Yeah?"
"I don't feel like driving, do you mind flying us home?"
He looked at her for a beat, and then nodded, "Sure."
They looked around the street to be sure it was empty. Kei wrapped an arm around Cilan's neck, while he lifted her legs with one arm and supported her back with the other, and then they took off. Cilan flew over the city slowly so the wind wouldn't whip Kei's hair into his face. They flew in silence, with Cilan looking ahead in the direction of their apartment. Kei would glance at the city below, and to the sky above.
The light pollution from the city still blocked most of the stars in the sky, but she still liked looking at the ones still visible. She would also look at Cilan's face; at the angle she was at she could note his jutting jaw and stony face. She could also smell the scent of the aftershave he used.
Cilan's mind was thinking of the woman he was holding. All throughout the dinner he thought about the way she pretended to be his girlfriend to drive off Stacey. Even though they were acting, it felt right. It was then he noticed that his chest had the tugging sensation from before, and the feelings he had were the same he had for Milla.
That didn't sit well for him, as he wasn't looking for love again. After Milla, he never sought out another relationship and stayed alone. He wondered why it was different with Kei. 'Is it because she's my friend?'
Milla was his friend at first, before they became lovers. It was then he wondered if he should pursue it, he entertained the idea, but a part of him wondered if it would betray Milla. He mentally shook his head at that, he slept with other women after her death, but those were one night stands that only fulfilled his physical needs. Milla would tell him he was being a coward; she would have been right and she would have wanted him to move on and find some happiness. The only obstacle left was his fear that if he did have a relationship with Kei, that she could die. From an aneurysm or any other natural cause that he wouldn't be able to stop; he didn't know how he could handle it if that should occur.
Kei saw Cilan brooding, "What's wrong?"
He looked at her, and quickly masked his thoughts, "Just thinking about tomorrow's training."
"Oh," she said before looking back up into the night sky. Then she let out a, "Wow!"
He looked at her, "What?"
"I just saw a shooting star!"
"Oh?"
"Yeah! They say if you make a wish when you see one, it comes true."
"What did you wish for?"
"I can't say, or it won't come true," she smiled, not wanting to reveal that she wished for a certain saiyan to feel the same way she did.
"Convenient," he smirked. Things quieted down again, they were still a few minutes from home. During dinner Kei had a couple of glasses of wine and felt the effects of it, her eyelids were becoming heavy, but fought to stay awake, "Cilan."
"Yeah?"
"You remember what I told you about not feeling safe without my mother around?"
"Yes," he answered quietly.
"I feel safe around you now, I hope you never leave," she let out a yawn.
He looked at her, and found her asleep. When they arrived at the apartment, he tried waking her with no success. The balcony doors slid open and he landed in the living room. He carried her to her room, while the door to it opened by itself and the lights turned on. Her room was filled with bookshelves with various mechanical textbooks. She also had a desk with notes on it and pictures of her family and friends. What Cilan focused on was her bed, where he laid her down. He left the jacket on her, while he removed her shoes.
After tucking her in with her blanket he turned around for the door, that's when she called out to him softly, "Cilan."
He turned back to look at her wondering if she woke up. Instead she was just talking in her sleep.
'She's dreaming about me,' he concluded while he looked at her sleeping form. He crouched next to her bed so he could watch her; she called out his name again and wrapped his jacket around her tighter, a smile on her lips. The tugging sensation in his chest returned as he tucked away her hair from her face. He cupped her chin and ran a thumb on her cheek, feeling how soft her pale skin was.
Cilan drew his face closer to hers while his nose detected the scent of the perfume she used. When he was inches from her face, he was stopping himself from meeting her lips, afraid of the consequences of giving in. He closed his eyes and let out a breath, before he moved his face up and kissed her on the forehead. After standing back up and shaking his head, he looked at her one more time before he turned to leave. He turned off the lights and gently closed the door behind him.
Once it closed, Kei opened her eyes and sat up while she frowned at the door.
Hundreds of miles away from West City, in the forest, two hunters were climbing up a hill. Both were men, dressed in flannel, blue jeans, and wearing orange vests. The taller one carried a high-powered rifle, while the shorter one carried a shotgun.
"Do we really need to be out here at this hour, Dwight?"Asked the shorter man.
"Yes Steve," answered the taller man. "That meteorite crashed into the valley. We need to check it out."
"It's almost 10; can't we check it out in the morning?"
"Are you kidding? We need to see it now before everyone else comes to investigate. Where's your sense of adventure?"
"Back in the nice warm cabin," muttered Steve.
"We'll be back there soon."
Both men reached the top of the hill and looked down into the valley. The earth was scorched by a mile long track. At the end of it was a massive crater that formed on the other end of the valley. The two hunters raced down towards the crater. When they reached it, they found an off-white sphere with a red tinted circular glass.
"What the hell is this?" Dwight asked out loud while he looked down into the crater.
"It looks like one of those space ships that landed in East City 15 years ago," Steve replied with a slight tremor in his voice. "This could be an invasion, we should go back!"
"Really? If it was an invasion, there should be more of them," the taller man replied before he climbed down into the crater to make his way to the pod.
"What are you doing?" The smaller man panicked, "We should leave and call the authorities."
"Don't be so scared," Dwight was next to the pod while he held his rifle, and fished a flashlight from his pocket. When he turned it on, its yellow light illuminated the crater. He pointed at the pod looking to see if there was an opening. The hunter nearly dropped it when he looked through the red window, "Holy shit!"
"What!?"
"There's somebody in here!"
"It's an alien, come back up here!"
"Would you quit whining, and come help me," Dwight slung his rifle and ran a free hand around the sphere to find an opening mechanism. Finding none, he put the flashlight in his mouth, and raised his rifle again then used the butt of it to strike at the pod. On the third strike, the pod door opened enough for Dwight to pry it further with his rifle. By this time Steve reached the space ship.
"It's an alien, isn't it? We're being invaded?" Steve asked with his shotgun at the ready.
"Yeah, an invasion of alien bodybuilders," Dwight replied sarcastically as he shined his flashlight into the pod. Inside it was a man with black hair, and wearing nothing but white flowing pants, with a red sash around it.
"Is he dead?" The shorter hunter asked, his mind confused at what he was witnessing.
Dwight didn't reply, but placed two fingers on the mystery man's neck, "It's faint, but he has a pulse. Help me get him out of here."
"Shouldn't we call a ranger?"
"We can do that tomorrow," Dwight replied while he began to pull out the person from the space ship. "Now come on, this guy is heavy."
Steve slung his shotgun and helped his friend. When they managed to get the man out into the open, the person didn't open his eyes, but uttered a single word, "Kakkarot."
To be continued.