Ice cold rain began to pour down on Lace and Seth from a torrential storm. Thunder boomed while Seth shivered in Lace's arms. She wanted him to tell her what was wrong, but she could already feel that it was something buried deep inside of him. She could feel his loss and his devastating anguish pulling on her heart.
Unsure of what else she could do, she clung to him and stroked his hair, praying that he would snap back into his usual composed self, but he only seemed to be getting worse.
"Lace!"
Lace's eyes jolted up quickly to find Hakosu running towards them.
"C'mon, bring him inside. I thought he'd make it home, but…"
He stared down at his friend and stopped talking. The scene appeared to be far worse than he'd expected. Lace clutched onto Seth even harder.
"I don't know what to do!" Lace cried.
Hakosu sighed and leaned down, placing a hand on Seth's shoulder.
"Buddy, c'mon…we gotta get out of this rain."
"No! Don't fucking touch me, Hakusu!" Seth snarled.
"Hak…usu?" Lace asked curiously.
"Uh, it's nothing. He's having a panic attack, Lace. It just happens sometimes with him. You've just gotta pick him up and drag him if he won't stand up."
Lace frowned, but nodded. She dug her hands into his back and hoisted him up. He was reluctant, but stood up shakily. She placed his arm around her shoulders and began to walk forward, sloshing towards an apartment building in the wet grass.
Once they made it inside of the apartment, Hakosu handed her a towel. She wrapped it tightly around Seth and laid him down on Hakosu's bed. He curled up into a ball and took a few slow breaths. The worst of the attack had passed. He started to drift in and out of sleep rather quickly. He'd completely exhausted himself. Lace kissed his forehead and went out into the living room, shutting the door quietly behind her.
"How is he?" Hakosu asked from his kitchen.
"I've never seen anything like that and I have a cousin back in Japan with epilepsy. He has panic attacks before his seizures that are scary, but nothing like that. It was like Seth's heart was exploding…"
Hakosu shook his head and sighed. He stirred some sugar into a mug of hot tea in the kitchen and brought it out into the living room. Setting it down on the coffee table, he motioned for Lace to take a seat on the couch where Seth had been sitting only a short time earlier.
She stayed by the bedroom door for a moment, listening to make sure Seth was sleeping. She was genuinely worried. Hakosu smiled and again waved her over to the quiet living room. She approached him and sat down, but she hesitated to take the tea. She felt awkward being in a strange apartment belonging to someone she barely knew. Somehow she decided that if Bibii could trust him, she probably could too.
"Hakosu…" She began quietly, "How do you know Seth so well? He…just moved here, didn't he?" She asked quietly.
"It's kind of a long story, but we were neighbors when we were younger. Man, I miss those days…sure was a hell of a lot nicer house than this dump."
Lace looked around. The apartment was dingy and old. He didn't have much furniture, only a couch, a chair and a tv along with the coffee table. Even the light that hung from the ceiling was dim. She sighed. How was it that these two guys lived alone yet she was stuck with her parents for at least another year?
"So…neighbor? You knew him when he was a kid?" Lace asked nervously.
Hakosu smiled warmly, "We're still kids, Lace."
Lace scoffed and blushed. She sure didn't feel seventeen most of the time, but he was right. She glanced towards the bedroom door again, wishing she could curl up beside him instead of sit and talk. Hakosu noticed her pained expression and scooted forward in his chair.
"Look he's been through a lot. I'm not sure if it's my place to tell you about it…I'm sure you're curious."
Hakosu seemed sincere in wanting to keep Seth's secrets, but Lace had to know. She sat up on the edge of the couch and interlaced her fingers. Her Vegeta-like frown proved most difficult to say no to. She wasn't leaving without answers.
"Why'd he call you Hakusu? I've always thought your name was Hak-o-su."
Hakosu paused. It wasn't long before her intense glare was enough to break his reserve.
"Alright, fine...I'll tell you, but you've gotta understand this isn't exactly easy for me…" Hakosu sighed.
Lace relaxed. She reached forward and took the mug of tea into her hands and sipped it slowly.
"I guess I should warn you, though…Seth's never outright told me every little detail of his side. I know what happened because I remember the fire…I remember the hospital…but most of all, I remember…her."
"Her?" Lace asked.
"His twin sister."
Hakosu's expression grew serious and grave. He shifted around nervously in his chair, tugging on the neck of his still-wet, red hoodie. Lace felt a horrible tension and dread in the air. He was truly struggling with whatever he was about to tell her.
"Seth's family…was pretty normal. It had its problems, but even so it was pleasant in his house. We used to play outside together and then go inside and watch tv with his sisters. There were so many girls in the house that I got pretty comfortable around girls in general because of them."
"I saw a picture of his family in his apartment." She admitted.
"There was only three girls in the picture, right? She wouldn't have been in it…"
"Why not?"
"Long story short, she was in an insane asylum."
Lace's eyes flew open as wide as they could. She choked on her tea.
"Why? Oh, God…was she a murderer or something?" Lace gasped.
"Not…exactly…"
Lace stared at him. He seemed like he didn't want to answer that particular question. Quickly, he continued with the story and avoided explaining the sister further.
"Anyway, the night we lost our parents…there was a fire. Seth was sleeping over at my house, but when their fire alarms went off, my parents rushed over to help. My mom kept Seth and I outside while my dad ran in to save whoever he could. The fire was bad, though…real bad…"
Lace leaned forward.
"There was an explosion. It killed everyone in the house on impact, including my father. The blast was so powerful that it sent the three of us flying across the street. My mother…she hit her head. She died on the way to the hospital. For whatever reason, both Seth and I survived even though we were both knocked out at the time."
"God…" Lace whispered, "Seth didn't really go into that much detail about it with me…"
"Well, that's probably because of what happened to us after that…"
Hakosu took a moment to compose himself. It seemed the story was weighing on him heavily. She wondered if he'd told Bibii about it yet, but assumed he probably hadn't. He was having trouble finding the right words, like he'd never had to explain it before.
"My uncle was the only relative I had that would take me in at the time. Seth had no family, and to keep him out of foster care, my uncle adopted him as well. He is a building manager for a few apartment complexes…we moved here a while ago, but Seth was always unhappy at my school. He entered some scholarship competition to get into Ramison. He's actually really smart. He won the contest and got a full ride to go to your school for free. Maybe you've noticed he is a little jealous of the rich kids?"
Lace shook her head and held up her hand. She took another sip of tea.
"It all makes sense. All of it…"
"Yeah..."
"So what happened to his sister?" Lace asked curiously.
"Well…she escaped from the asylum."
"What? When?"
"The same night that his house burned down."
"What?" Lace gasped, choking on her tea, "Did she do it?"
"They never determined the cause of the fire. We've never seen her again, either, but Seth has "sensed" her. It's creepy. It happens every now and then. Sometimes he even goes out to look for her, but he never finds her. We don't know where she is and quite frankly, I'm kinda terrified of her. She's not right in the head, obviously."
Lace sat silently staring at Hakosu with her mouth hanging open. She remembered the first time she kissed Seth at Hakosu and Chai's tournament. He'd mentioned losing someone close to him, but he didn't mention that "someone" was his entire family back then. Could he have been referring to his twin sister? This new information explained so much. It explained why he lived alone, why he didn't talk about his family, and why he was so reserved and snarky. He was in pain and grieving over a loss no child should have to feel. Lace felt horrible. Back then, she'd tried to compare Cody losing his memories of her to Seth losing his entire family? What a terrible person she was.
"And about my name…My real name is Hakusu, but since it's so unusual, a lot of people mispronounced it when I was a kid. It drove me crazy. Obviously, Seth loved that and used to call me Hakosu just to frustrate me even more. After the fire, though…it didn't bother me anymore. It began kind of like a nickname. Bibii knows my real name, but she only calls me that in private. I…asked her to keep it to herself. Now I ask you the same. I guess I'm so used to people calling me Hakosu that hearing my actual name…the name my parents gave me…it just…"
He grew quiet. Lace stared at him, waiting for the next word, but he appeared to be done talking. She finally felt the need to speak.
"Hakosu…I mean…Hakusu…you have no idea how much this helps…it all makes sense now…"
She started to get up. She planned to go back into the room and wake Seth. She wanted to take him home with her to her house and wrap him up in her family's love, but Hakosu held up his hand and shook his head.
"Since I oh-so-graciously told you everything…I have a few questions of my own now."
"Oh…o-okay." Lace answered, sitting back down awkwardly.
"You're a saiyan, too, aren't you? How is that possible? Seth thought his family was the only family left of his kind. He thought he was alone in this world…and then you appeared in his life. How is that possible?"
Lace turned bright red and panicked, "What? Who? How? How could you possibly know that?"
"I assumed, but you just confirmed my assumption."
"Dammit! But you're just a human…did Seth tell you about saiyans?"
A deep frown appeared on Hakosu's face and his eyes narrowed.
"I am not a regular human, Lace. Remember that."
Lace gulped and looked at the floor, scolded. Hakosu continued.
"Now, my second question is…how did you know where Seth was just now? You've never been to my apartment before…only Bibii has. I get that you flew here, but how did you find him?"
Lace blinked and realized she wasn't exactly sure how to answer to his question. She thought for a brief moment and decided to give the most honest answer that she could.
"I…felt him. I closed my eyes and felt everything he was feeling. I started flying in the direction he was pulling me in…next thing I knew, there he was. It was like something was calling to me through him. I…c-can't explain it."
Hakosu's face relaxed.
"The mating bite." Hakosu said bluntly.
"Oh! He t-told you about that, too? Um…" Lace blushed violently.
"It's just conversation between two guys. Don't take it personally. It's cool for him. He deserves someone he loves. Now I have a favor to ask of you..."
Lace nodded awkwardly.
"Please don't look at Seth differently now that I've told you these things. It's not that I think he'd be angry, but it'd make him feel…I don't know how else to put this, but less manly. He's very prideful if you haven't noticed."
Lace's nodded nervously. She stood up, intending to put her mug into the sink, but she accidentally kicked the edge of his gritty, old coffee table and squealed.
"This fucking table!" Lace growled.
Hakosu laughed, "Yeah, Seth tells me that all the time, too."
Just then, the bedroom door flew open. Seth was standing in the doorway with wide eyes, panting slightly.
"Lace, I heard you yelling! Are you okay?"
"I'm fucking great!" Lace answered, clutching her toes.
"Oh, did you hit your foot on that damn table? I've told you that you should get rid of that stupid ass thing, Hak. I've done that at least five hundred times over the years." Seth groaned.
Hakosu laughed and began talking to Seth about random subjects. Seth approached them and took a seat on the couch as though nothing had happened. The two were like brothers, instantly happy and connecting even though Hakosu had just seen Seth at his worst. Did Seth even remember what happened? He seemed completely fine.
"Well, we should get going. I'm gonna make sure Lace gets home safe…looks like the rain has let up a bit." Seth yawned, "Besides, I'm getting hungry. You never have enough food here."
Lace hobbled over to the front door, followed closely by Seth. Hakosu bid them farewell and waved from his chair as Seth let himself out with Lace. She followed him down the dark staircase and out into the light again. Seth wasted no time in kicking up from the Earth and taking off into the sky.
"Woah!" Lace gasped.
"Keep up!" Seth snickered playfully, back to himself.
Lace blushed and kept ahold of his hand. She loved the feeling of flying through rain, but flying hand-in-hand with Seth made it even better. Something about the tiny droplets in the clouds hitting her skin was so refreshing, even if they felt like little needles sometimes. She peered over at Seth who was focused and looking straight ahead. He must've felt her gaze upon him and opened his mouth to speak.
"I'm sorry you had to see that. I gotta say…I'm really fuckin embarrassed right now."
Lace felt awkward again. She stared ahead, trying to say the right thing.
"It's okay, Seth. It's what I'm here for. I'll always be here for you." Lace answered quietly, gripping his hand tighter.
"It was the bond right? How you found me? I wanted you so badly…next thing I knew, you were there…I wonder if it will always be like that…" Seth wondered aloud.
"Of course it will! We're like…super magnets. I can find you wherever you are!" Lace joked, giggling.
Seth smirked and sped up, pulling her next to him in midair. She felt her heart swell with love. She was relieved he was feeling better so quickly.
The two saiyans reached the Son household in a matter of minutes. Lace made a split second decision to introduce him properly as her boyfriend to her family and headed for the front door still holding his hand. He deserved that much from her after such a horrible experience. He seemed impressed by her courage and let her drag him along.
"I'm home!" Lace called, opening the front door.
"Lacey! Looks who's here!" Gin squealed from the top of the staircase.
Lace looked up happily, but her face quickly fell into horror. She panicked. What was she going to do? She went rigid and covered her mouth. Not now. Not here. Why?
"Hey, Lace." Cody said confidently with a cocky nod.
"Cody…" Lace whispered.
Seth peered up at the white-haired, hazel-eyed saiyan and smiled.
"Sup, man? I'm Seth. Nice to meet you."
Cody smiled, eyeing Seth in a slightly jealous manner. Lace found it strange. Up until this moment, he'd acted like Lace was no one to him. He really didn't have a right to judge Seth right off the bat.
Below in the foyer, Lace could hear her uncle Trunks and grandfather Vegeta talking. She couldn't believe what she was about to do. Not only had she just introduced Seth to Cody of all people, but now her terrifying uncle and grandfather at the same time? That must also mean that her father was home, making it just that much harder.
"Gin, did I hear you say that Lace was home?" Brie called from the hallway upstairs.
"Yeah, she's down there with a guy."
"A guy?"
Brie bounded to the staircase and peered down.
"Oh, look. Doucheface." Brie frowned.
"Shut up." Lace answered.
"Hey, what's goin on out here?" Trunks asked playfully, walking into the foyer.
Lace and Vegeta made eye contact instantly. He quickly shifted his glare to Seth and then back to Lace. His expression said it all.
"H-hi…" Lace began.
"Hey, I'm Seth, Lace's boyfriend."
Seth walked forward confidently and held out a hand. Trunks happily took it and shook hard, like a typical businessman, but Vegeta refused.
"Tch." Vegeta growled, looking away and refusing Seth's friendly gesture.
"Look who's back! Hello, Seth!" Bra chirped, skipping down the hallway.
"Hey, Mrs. Son." Seth answered warmly, giving Bra a friendly hug.
"Why were you two out in the rain?" Goten asked, finally emerging as well, "Don't you have a car?"
"Dad!" Lace gasped.
"Hey…what's that on your neck?" Goten asked, narrowing his eyes and pointing.
Lace panicked. She quickly reached up to cover her neck. She'd completely forgotten about the bite. How could she possibly have forgotten about it?
"I…well, I…um..it's…" Lace stuttered.
"Lower your hand, Lace!" Vegeta roared.
Lace let her hand fall, ashamed. Vegeta quickly examined her neck and looked shocked. His eyes traveled over to Seth's neck and then back to Lace's. A huge frown grew on his face. He seemed to be boiling with anger. He turned red. Lace started to back away, more afraid of Vegeta than Goten, but she knew better. It was better to face Vegeta's wrath than run from it.
"You idiot!" Vegeta exclaimed before slapping Lace across her face with force.
"Vegeta!" Goten exclaimed.
"Dad!" Bra gasped.
Before anyone could reach Vegeta, Seth lunged at him and burst into his super saiyan form. He landed a punch on Vegeta's cheek so powerful that it knocked him right through the adjacent wall. Bra grabbed Lace up and looked at her cheek while the rest of them stood in complete shock. The reveal was complete.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on her again!" Seth growled angrily, burning yellow.
"I knew it!" Cody gasped, "I knew I felt something off about him!"
"Wait, what's happening right now?" Brie demanded, "I'm like…okay what…"
Vegeta stood up angrily and gritted his teeth. Lace was shocked that he didn't strike Seth back immediately.
"What…what does this mean?" Bra asked quietly, completely pale.
"It means that they mated. There's no going back now. Like dejavu, Goddammit." Vegeta shouted, "You're just like your mother!"
"Lace…what were you thinking?" Bra begged in an exasperated plea, stepping in front of her father, "You have no idea what this means! You're only seventeen!"
"I wasn't…I didn't know what I was doing…it just happened…you never told me that it could happen!" Lace whined, fighting back tears from the slap.
"That's because I thought it was a saiyan thing, so why would I need to tell you? I thought you both had to be saiyans, and I had no idea there would be a random saiyan guy for you to hook up with in this stupid city!"
"Not true, sis. It still happens with saiyan-human couples…" Trunks admitted, looking at the ceiling.
"Ew." Brie groaned, "This is so gross!"
Finally, Vegeta re-entered the foyer after pacing around in the kitchen for a few minutes. He marched up to Seth, who was still standing tall.
"What line are you from?" Vegeta demanded.
"A damn good one!" Seth barked angrily.
"Seth!" Lace exclaimed.
"Show some respect, boy! Do you not know who I am?" Vegeta hollered.
"Dad, just stop!" Trunks sighed.
Seth smirked, "I know who you are."
Vegeta was beyond enraged. He stood his ground and gritted his teeth. Finally, Seth answered.
"My father was Leriac of King Vegeta's royal guard. My mother was Salsi, a high born saiyan. They were on a special mission from the King when Planet Vegeta was destroyed. They settled here on Earth…eventually started a family when they were older…but they're all dead now. It's just me."
Vegeta's mouth dropped in shock. He looked over at Goten and then to Trunks, who both seemed equally stunned.
"Leriac…he was the youngest captain of the special ops guard in saiyan history…h-he was a good man. A proud saiyan warrior worthy of his title. I respected him greatly. He and I were near the same age…"
"Yeah, they were older than the average parent, but it didn't show. As you know, saiyans age much slower than humans…" Seth stated flatly.
"I knew Salsi as well. She was also a valiant warrior. They showed such promise at a very young age. I wasn't surprised when they were chosen to conquer planet Earth, but I thought they were dead when I found out that it never happened."
"Regardless, this mating ritual…you've completed it?" Vegeta grumbled factually.
"Yeah, of course…you think I don't love her with everything I've got?" Seth answered in an annoyed tone.
Lace turned scarlet and stared at the floor.
"Well…that settles it. Pure blood, strong will…a good arm…I suppose we'll arrange the wedding soon."
Vegeta turned and started for the kitchen. Goten shook his head and laughed sarcastically.
"Whoa, Wait, wait, wait. First of all, this is my damn house, Vegeta! You don't get to decide to let this…this…kid that defiled my daughter just waltz around in my house like he owns the place!" Goten yelled.
Trunks nodded in agreement, but Bra looked extremely guilty of the same exact thing around Lace's age.
"We have no choice, Goten. You know it. I know it. The bond is forever…we've been through this ourselves!"
"Woah, now!" Brie squealed, waving her arms around, "Let's not go there, please!"
Bra took Lace's arm in her own and whispered, "Well…at least now I know where you've been sneaking off to..."
"What?" Lace squeaked.
"Lacey, baby…I invented your sneaking out methods. Your mom was way worse than anything you think you've done. Trust me."
Lace shook her head. She didn't need any more images in her head.
"So…does that mean I can…uh…stay for dinner?" Seth asked, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm like…starving."
"Dinner? Really?" Lace asked.
"Sure you can. Let's get to it then. I'm starving, too." Bra smiled.
Lace's mouth fell open, as did Trunks and Goten's. Goten stormed outside and took off into the sky. It was rather normal for Goten to blow off steam that way. At least Lace wouldn't have to deal with him for a while.
When everyone headed into the kitchen, Lace stayed behind. Cody stood alone and frozen, still dumbfounded by everything that just happened. He stared ahead blankly, breathing slowly.
"Cody?" Lace asked quietly.
"What?" He answered shortly.
"I…I'm sorry about tonight."
Cody broke his intense stare into nothingness and looked right at Lace. He noticed the pink rings floating around in her eyes and smirked.
"They tell me…that I used to have those rings, too."
"Yeah, well…yours were yellow."
"Yellow, huh…" Cody said, still awkwardly silent.
"Cody…you still don't remember anything? Nothing at all?" Lace asked, tired of being afraid of him.
"Not faces. Some things I remember, but then I wonder if it's just my mind trying to piece things together or a dream. I never know. I get so angry sometimes, like a caged lion ready to break down the bars, but I just fucking can't. It's like every ounce of anger just disappears. It's so...terribly unsatisfying."
Lace nodded, "I was having that same problem until…well…I guess everyone knows now."
Cody blushed, but quickly laughed awkwardly.
"So I have to...um…mate with someone to my powers back? Okay, well, that's a great pick-up line."
Lace giggled. Cody smiled. For a split second she remembered the old Cody. His warm smile and kind eyes seemed to return. She wanted to hug him and tell him that she missed him, but she couldn't. That part of her life was over. He wasn't the same person she loved once. This was a completely different Cody.
