Diamond in the Rough
Much can change in seventeen years – for good and for ill. What could happen to a child growing up in the middle of it? Future Trunks side-story of A Wondrous Place.
You wanted it, so here it is – a separate Future Trunks spin-off. Before we begin, I have a few things you should know before going in.
First of all, this story makes absolutely zero sense without the rest of the saga. This universe is pretty different from the one in the anime. I recommend you read all of the previous entries so you can get caught up - that's A Thrilling Chase, Somebody's Got Your Back, and at least the first several chapters of A Wondrous Place.
But on that note, please note this contains spoilers for the main story, so if you don't want to be spoiled at all, maybe hold off on reading this until later.
And this goes without saying, but because this is a Future Trunks story, it's gonna get a little heavy. So please be cautioned, if you're sensitive to stuff like death and violence. Nothing in this story is going to be any worse than what you see in the anime, but it will be present. And since I rarely put these kinds of content warnings in front of my stories, you know that I mean it.
But that's all the preamble. Enjoy the story.
Trunks was a happy boy – living out in a cottage in the countryside with his loving mother and grandparents without a care in the world. Though he was the grandson of the Earth's most revered scientist, he was not pressured or forced into anything he didn't want to be. He wasn't expected to be a brilliant scientist, and wasn't forced to read scientific theory as soon as he could read. His mother wanted him to have as happy of a childhood as he could. He was still left to run around and horseplay as he wished.
One day, he was running along outside, playing with a baby bear. He was chasing them around in the tall field of grass, with his home behind him. He tripped and fell on his face, but quickly got back up and continued his chase. The bear cub quickly climbed up a tree, onto one of the top branches. Trunks tried to follow them up, but the trunk was smooth, and there were no branches to grab onto. He tried to steady himself on the bark of the tree, but he just fell onto his back.
He pouted, as he sat back up. The cub was still sitting in the tree, laughing at him. "You're no fun," he shouted at them. "That's not fair, and you know it."
Trunks tried to get up the tree, but he couldn't get off of the ground. When he managed to get a few inches off of it, bracing his feet on the bark, he slipped and fell back down. He was getting really frustrated – he didn't want to stop playing, now. Stopping now would mean he didn't win, and he didn't want to lose to this bear.
As Trunks looked up and down the tree, his fists were clenched at his sides and his eyebrows were furrowed. He started jumping up and down, trying to grab onto the tree, again. Maybe if he got high enough into the air, climbing it would be easier. Each jump became higher and higher. The bear cub's eyes widened, and tried to scramble higher on the tree. It quickly realized that he might actually get up the tree.
Trunks smirked. "You won't get away that easy!" His jumps kept going higher and higher off of the ground. One last time, he bent his legs and jumped into the air.
In its frantic struggle to get higher, the bear's paw slipped, and it fell from the tall branch, letting out a cry. Trunks' heart lurched, and he swung around, just in time to catch it, mid-air. The bear hugged him, tightly, nuzzling its face into his cheek.
"You should have been more careful," Trunks said. "You could have fallen." As he stood there with the bear, he thought that it was weird that he hadn't felt himself fall back down, yet. He still felt like he was floating in mid air.
When he looked down, his eyes widened. He really was flying in mid-air. He looked left and right, frantically. He didn't know how he got up here, or why he hadn't fallen, yet. As he realized what was happening, he smiled. Maybe he was a superhero, like all those cartoons he watched. That would be awesome.
"Trunks, dinner's ready!"
He grinned, wider, when he heard his mom calling for him. He slowly managed to get his feet back onto the ground, though his descent was rocky and uneven. The baby bear jumped out of his arms and ran back towards the nearby forest. The bear's mom came sauntering out of the trees, bunting her head against her cub. The cub turned around and waved back at Trunks, before it left with its family.
Trunks waved back at the cub. "Bye!" He ran back towards his house. His mom was standing on the back porch, calling out for him. He nearly tackled her in a hug, when he reached her.
Bulma staggered backwards, as she caught him. "You're getting too big to do that now, Trunks," she gently chided.
He jumped down, looking at the ground, sheepishly. "Sorry, mama…"
She tossed his hair, making him smile. "Oh, it's alright. Just be more careful, next time."
"Hey, can I show you what I learned, today!"
"Your dinner will get cold, if we wait…"
"I promise I'll be fast! It's really cool and awesome! Pretty please?"
She sighed, and shook her head, though she was still smiling. "Oh, I don't see why not…"
Trunks grinned, and ran backwards. Once he made sure his mom was watching him, he jumped into the air. He started to drop back down, for a moment, losing his balance. Bulma panicked and tried to catch him, but Trunks quickly regained his footing and stayed floating in the air.
He waved his arms in the air. "Look, mama! I'm flying!"
Bulma's jaw dropped. She was positively bewildered by his new skill. "Well, I'll be…"
"Isn't it awesome! I'm like a superhero! Maybe I can get really strong and fight bad guys, too!"
Bulma hesitantly laughed. "Maybe someday, Trunks." She hopped into the air, and pulled him back down to the ground. "For now, you should get something to eat: superheroes shouldn't go without an empty stomach."
He nodded, and hummed, before running past her into the house. Bulma stood outside for a moment, staring at the door. Trunks had so much energy, for such a little boy – always running around and playing. He always wanted to know new things, or try things out for himself. And now he was talking about being a hero and stopping bad guys.
Her smile faltered. He really was just like his father.
She tried to keep that thought in the back of her head, as dinner persisted, faking smiles and nodding as her parents and Trunks talked about their day. They didn't need to be burdened with her worries and angst – her parents had enough of that, now, and she didn't want to give Trunks any reason to worry. She did her best to forget about her thoughts for a moment, and attempt to enjoy a quiet moment with her family, even as she knew that something was missing.
That evening, she went down to her lab, and turned on the machine. She adjusted the microphone, testing the sounds until it sounded as she liked it. She flipped a switch and hit the record button, pulling up a chair and sitting in front of it.
"Hi, Vegeta," she said, with a sad smile. "Trunks learned how to fly today. Well, I didn't teach him anything. He learned it all by himself. You should have seen the look on his face: he was just so happy he had done it. He's getting so big now." She paused and sighed. "I wish you were here, to see it…
"Please, if you get this message, we're still here. I don't care how long it's been since I last heard from you: come home. I can only do so much, when it comes to his strength: he needs his father. I know he would be so happy to meet you. Even if you've been ignoring me this entire time, I don't care: we need you. I need you. Please… come home. I love you."
Before she could get choked up again, she turned off the microphone, and covered her face. How many more times was she going to do this, before she finally gave up? If Vegeta had been listening, he would have come home by now. He wouldn't abandon them. Maybe there was a communication error, again. If she didn't keep doing this, then she'd surely never get through. It was times like this that she wished she could still cry. She desperately needed some sort of emotional release, but that was stolen from her years ago.
After much deliberation, she finally managed to send the message out into space. Maybe this one would finally reach them. All she had left was hope. Maybe they could finally put an end to all of this, with the Saiyans' help. She was tired of hiding out in the middle of nowhere. She longed to go back to living a normal life: one without any androids hunting her family down.
Raditz slammed his fist down on the table, shaking it violently. Bulma scrambled to keep her cup from falling off. "Who made this?! This is delicious!" He shoveled another spoonful of frozen yogurt into his mouth. "You gotta find a way to bring this stuff to Planet Vegeta!"
Bulma laughed. She had never seen anyone get this excited about frozen yogurt before. "If you like this, just wait until you try ice cream!"
"Man, this planet has everything! I can get used to this!"
She smiled. Having Raditz around made the separation a little easier. She did still miss Vegeta. She hoped this whole thing would get sorted out soon. It was a shame her research hadn't gone as planned. She hadn't been able to find anything more about the Red Ribbon Army, after all of her digging and talking. The scientists demanded she find more, but she couldn't. She just hoped they were having more luck than she did.
Her internal monologue was cut off, when something flew down from the sky and crashed into the small shop. Bulma fell out of her seat, ducking her head from the wind and debris. The crowds began to gather, trying to figure out what was going on. When the smoke cleared, a large marble pillar was sitting in the middle of the ruined shop.
A man jumped down from on top of it, with his hands behind his back. He wore a long, lavender changshan, with the words "KILL YOU" printed in bold, red letters on his back. He flicked his braided hair over his shoulder, letting it hand behind his back freely. He paid the onlookers no mind, as he examined his surroundings. His eyebrows were pointed downwards into a permanent glare.
His hardened, emotionless gaze focused on her. "You must be Bulma," he said. She froze. How did he know her name? She hadn't seen this guy before. He took a step towards her, and she scooted backwards. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way – your choice. You can either come with me willingly, or we'll have to make a scene."
Raditz marched up to him, standing in between him and Bulma. The man stopped. "I'd like to see you try, asshole. You're no match for a Saiyan warrior."
"If you insist on playing this game, you'll discover that your skills are quite inadequate." His voice held no sign of fear or anger – only a cool indifference. "In fact, I will defeat you with my tongue, alone."
Raditz laughed. "Sure. We can play your game." He put a hand on Bulma's shoulder. "Don't worry – I've got this."
Bulma nodded. She wanted to have faith in Raditz, but there was something off about this man. He might look old, but there had to be more to him. She feared to see what that would be. "Be careful," was all she could say.
Raditz crouched down in front of him. He ran towards him, charging an attack in his hand. The man did not move away, as he got closer, staring at him with indifference. Right as Raditz was about to attack, his opponent vanished, reappearing next to him, still keeping his hands behind his back. Raditz's eyes widened – he was so fast. Not one to give up easily, Raditz tried to knock him in the ribs with his elbow. It was no use, as it was caught with one hand.
The man smirked. Without any warning or preamble, he stuck his tongue against his forehead. Raditz froze, when it made contact. His pupils faded from his eyes, and he fell forward, hitting the ground with a loud thud.
"Raditz!" Bulma crawled up to him, taking his face into her hands. She touched his neck, but could not feel a pulse. As she looked at him, she realized he wasn't breathing. She sat there, stunned by what she had just seen. She took in a shaking breath. She didn't want to think that one of her best friends was dead. It wasn't fair. Raditz – one of the best men she had ever known – didn't deserve something like this. She shut her eyes tightly, as tears went down her face.
"Pathetic. All bark and no bite."
She glared up at his killer. "You monster! How could you?!" She stood up and got into his face. "How could you be so cruel?!"
"If he was so weak to fall to my skills after acting so brash and bold, he deserved to die. Now, as I was saying before I was interrupted, I'll be collecting you." He roughly grabbed her arm.
She tried to squirm out of his grasp. "Let me go! I'm not going with you, after what you did!" She scratched, hit, and kicked him, but it had no effect. He was only annoyed by it. He squeezed on her arm, and she let out a cry of pain.
A gun was cocked. "Freeze!" A police officer pointed a loaded pistol right at him. "I order you to stand down now!" The civilians were trying to push past the barricade, to get a better look.
He sighed. "I had hoped not to make a scene," he muttered. He extended his arm out towards the crowd. From the palm of his hand, a bright yellow ki blast was fired, flying toward the officer at top speed. The impact killed him and all of the surrounding pedestrians. The surviving civilians screamed, as they ran around, trying to get away.
Bulma watched in shock, feeling the hot wind and ash hitting her face. Her jaw dropped seeing the destruction that had occurred. She had never seen this kind of carnage first-hand, before. She was shaken to her core, and her knees began to wobble, wanting to fall to the ground. She felt sick to her stomach, when the smell of charred skin hit her nose.
The man pulled on her wrist, dragging her away. "I shouldn't have to tell you it would be wise to do as I say. Now you've seen me, when my hand has been forced."
"Please," Bulma said, trying to push herself out of his grasp. "What do you want? Is it money? Name your price, and I'll get it to you. I can get you anything you want, just please let me go!" Her anger had been forgotten, replaced by fear and sadness. She desperately wanted to stay alive.
"That would be a conflict of interests with my partner. And not nearly as satisfying, to be honest." He smirked. "I already made a deal for your collection. Who am I to not fulfill my end of the bargain?"
She dared to ask. "Who's paying you?"
He glanced down at her. "All of your snooping should give you that answer."
He tapped onto the pillar of a building with his foot. Then, he kicked it hard, breaking it off entirely. He threw it into the air with one arm, and it flew like a bird. He hauled Bulma over his shoulder, and jumped after the pillar, landing gracefully and riding it through the air. The sudden whiplash had been too much for Bulma, and she fainted.
Bulma closed her eyes and shook her head. She couldn't keep thinking about the past, like this. She couldn't go back and undo it, no matter how much she wanted to. These were the cards fate had dealt to her – she had to deal with it. Besides, there were bigger problems to deal with. Gero was still out there: looking for her and her family. They managed to stay hidden for this long, but how much more luck did they have? They could have been discovered tomorrow, for all that they knew. And she still hadn't received word from Planet Vegeta. None of the Saiyans had responded to her calls and pleas: not even Vegeta.
She sighed. She could worry more about that, once they figured out what to do about Gero. She pushed her chair across the room, over to the lab. The one slim silver lining to this whole thing was that she no longer needed sleep. That meant more time to focus on finding a solution. Maybe she could have finally got back to some normality.
Why was she kidding herself? After everything that she'd experienced, normality was dead and buried.