*Chapter Nine*

When everyone was gathered in Nemie's room, Trunks told them she had something important to say.

Nemie attempted to sit up, but in the end she needed Trunks's help. Once she was upright, she said, "Pichu and a small pack of hellhounds attacked me this morning while I was out in the woods. As you can see, they beat me pretty badly. I thought they were going to kill me, but Pichu gave me a message to give you all if I lived. She told me that Ryukin would be waiting out in the mountains in the East Valley tomorrow at two o'clock. He expects us all to show or he'll blow up South City."

"What?! That's crazy!" Goku exclaimed.

Anai nodded. "That's Ryukin. And he's true to his word, too."

"What do we do?" Gohan asked.

"The only thing we can do." Trunks answered. "We be at East Valley tomorrow at two."

"Are we ready for that kind of confrontation?" Gohan said.

"We'd better be." Vegeta replied.

"Well, if nobody minds, I'd like to talk to my sister in private for a minute." Anai said questioningly.

Everyone filed out of the room, dread now hanging where simple tension had. Only Trunks lingered, and that was just for a second.

"Anai, you and I both know this is going to be a disaster." Nemie said softly, staring at her hands.

"Nemie, don't talk like that. These people are a lot stronger than we anticipated." Anai sat down on the edge of the bed. "If we all work together and fight harder than we've ever fought before, we can beat Ryukin, Pichu and the army of hellhounds. Remember, in our history, Gohan was the strongest fighter in the world. And the ki energy I sense from him now is enormous."

Nemie rolled her eyes. "Oh please Anai, that's not the ONLY thing you sense from him."

"What was THAT supposed to mean, smart-alec?"

"Um, let's see...I'm not blind to everything between you two. Nobody is. We're not stupid."

"Oh really? Well, what have you got to say about this thing with Trunks?"

"There's nothing to say about it."

Anai snorted. "Whatever. You're being immature about the whole thing."

"Me? Okay Miss Hypocrite, what about your midnight conversation with the kid last night before the attack?" Nemie asked scornfully.

"What about it? It was just a talk. Civilized people do that kind of thing, strange as it may seem to you." Anai countered. "And I could mention your scuffle with Trunks yesterday."

Nemie gritted her teeth, then she suddenly burst into uncontrollable giggles.
Anai stared at her. "What on earth is so funny?"

"Listen to us, Anai! Here I am, lying on what very well could have been my deathbed, and we're about to run headfirst into a battle we have little hope of winning, yet we're arguing about GUYS!"

Anai thought about it for a second before she began to laugh too. "You're right, Nemie. Leave it to twin teenage girls to talk about relationships when the world is about to end."

They fell silent at that remark.

"Anai?"

"What?"

"I know this sounds cheesy, but I love you sis."

"You're right, it does sound cheesy. And I love you too kiddo." Anai hugged Nemie gently, then cringed. "Okay, enough mushy stuff. I'm going to go outside with the others; you get some rest."

Nemie shook her head. "I want to come too. I'm not that badly hurt."

"Neme, you can barely sit up on your own. Lay down and go to sleep."

"That's not fair."

"Don't argue with me Nemie, I'll MAKE you stay in bed."

"Okay, okay, don't get pushy."
* * *

Everyone, except Nemie and Bulma, spent the rest of the day training. They practiced well into the night before they all crashed into bed, utterly exhausted and unable to do anymore. Despite their weariness, none slept soundly. They all wondered if they had enough to defeat Ryukin and Pichu.

Finally, sometime after midnight, Gohan rolled over on his pallet on the floor to look at Anai. She was laying not five feet away curled up on her own pile of blankets, her eyes closed.

"Anai?" He whispered so as not to wake up Goku, who slept on the couch not far away.

"Hmm?" She didn't open her eyes.

"You weren't asleep, were you?"

"No."

"I can't sleep."

"So I see."

Gohan cleared his throat. "Um...can I talk to you?"

"I'm all ears." She opened her eyes to look at him and propped her head up on her fist.

As Gohan looked at her, the words died on his tongue. "I...uh...well..." He sighed. "Nevermind, it wasn't important."

"You sure? I don't mind listening to whatever you have to say." Anai's eyes seemed to sparkle in the dark.

"It's...nothing. I'm just going to go back to sleep."

Ten feet away, Trunks listened to the quiet conversation without really meaning to. He knew what Gohan was trying to say; they had talked about it earlier in the day.

Trunks waited until Anai and Gohan appeared asleep before he slipped out from beneath the covers and crept down the hall.

The door to Nemie's room was closed, and Trunks hesitated in opening it just a little so he could peek in.

He saw Nemie lying flat on her back (her injuries made it painful to lay any other way,) seemingly asleep. He stopped himself from going in the room.

I'm being stupid. I might as well go back to bed. He told himself. He backed away and started to close the door, but Nemie's voice caught him.

"You don't have to leave, Trunks."

He stopped short. "I...didn't know you were awake."

She turned her head to look at him. "Well, I am. If you can't sleep either, you might as well come in and talk to me."

Trunks hesitated again, but Nemie smiled at him and he went on inside.

Nemie managed to sit up by herself, and she scooted over on the bed. She patted the space next to her and said, "You can sit down, if you want."

Trunks sat down slowly, then sighed. "I don't want to keep you up."

"You aren't. Believe me, if I wanted to be alone, I'd tell you."

Trunks grinned. "Nice to see you're doing better."

"You didn't think a bunch of big dogs were going to keep me, a mighty Saiyan bedridden, did you?"

"I don't guess so." Trunks laughed.

They were quiet for a minute, then Trunks asked, "What do you think is going to happen tomorrow?"

Nemie chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't know, exactly. You all are more powerful than we thought you would be. The end to this battle is unpredictable."

"Listen, Nemie...if I don't come back tomorrow--"

"Don't say that!" Nemie hissed. "To talk like that is bad luck!"

"No, I have to get this out. If something happens and we lose, I want you to know how I feel."

"Trunks, we've known each other for a little over two days..."

"I know." Trunks persisted. "But it feels like longer than that. I just want you to know that I...care about you a lot."

"I care about you too Trunks." She squeezed her eyes shut. "But we live in two different times. We can't possibly be together."

Trunks nodded solemnly. "I realize that. I just had to tell you."

Nemie didn't say anything for a while. Finally, she sighed. "We both need sleep, Trunks. Please..."

Trunks stood up. "Okay. I understand. Goodnight Nemie." He leaned down, rested his hands on the edge of the bed and kissed her gently. Then, he quickly turned and walked out.

Nemie was left staring wide-eyed at the door. She couldn't believe what he'd just done.

"Goodnight Trunks." She whispered, even though he was gone.