Dragon Ball Z/ Sailor Moon/ Ranma ½ fanfic.
"Past, Present and Uncertainty."
By Julian Soullard (e-mail: jnsoullard@hotmail.com)
Warning: All characters from this fanfic are copyright from Akira
Toriyama (Dragon Ball Z), Naoko Takeuchi (Sailor Moon) and Rumiko Takahashi
(Ranma ½) so don't sue me. By the way, also worth mentioning, this story is
a sequel to my other fanfic "Boy meets girls". In other words, there will be
a lot of things you won't understand in this story if you haven't read "Boy
meets girls" (and its side stories) first. If that's the case... then what
the Hell are you doing here still reading this? Go to
http://lavender.fortunecity.com/flamingos/122 instead, and start at the
real beginning of the story like you're suppose to!
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AND NOW ON WITH....
Chapter 2:
Decision making process: first predicament.
Ukyou Kuonji took a moment to sit back and relax. Rush hour was finally over
so she didn't had to attend the grill so urgently.
Even if she loved cooking okonomiyaki more than anything else, she did
deserve a rest from her work.
She undid her ponytail and shook her hair loose.
"Hey, Ucchan." said a voice by the entrance.
The okonomiyaki chef turned around and spotted a girl with long brown hair tied
up in a ponytail. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans, white shirt and
green jacket. She also wore a green baseball cap on top of her head.
"Hey, Mako-chan!" Ukyou responded joyfully, "Come in, girl. What brings you
all the way here?"
"Visiting a friend, what else?" she responded with a smile. She then
extended a lunch box towards her. "Here."
"Ahhh... what have we here? The famous Kino cookies?" Ukyou declared as she
opened the box. "Thanks a lot. And what would you like on your okonomiyaki,
little sister?"
"I know better than to refuse an okonomiyaki from you." she said.
"I guess you had the chance to work an appetite on your way here."
"Hmmm... how about a sea food special." Makoto responded.
"One sea food special coming right up."
Ukyou took two spatulas and began preparing the order. Makoto took a seat in
front of the grill, so she could carry on with the conversation.
"So, how's life?" Ukyou began.
"School's okay. Health is good. Basically everything is calm." she briefly
commented. "Quite boring, huh?"
Ukyou just let out a little chuckle.
"Summer isn't that far away, any plans for your vacations?"
"Nothing really. I think I'll start college hunting." Makoto responded.
"Oh, that's right. This is your last year in High School" her friend told
her. "Where are you planning to study?."
"I'm still not sure." she responded. "Maybe I'll go to your college so I can
become a great cook and have my own restaurant just like you, 'big sister'."
That last phrase was said in a rather joking way, but even so, Ukyou knew
that Makoto was telling the truth. Same as her, cooking meant everything.
That was certainly why they understood each other so well.
Both began to talk about everything and nothing at the same time. As time
went on, they were already telling each other funny anecdotes since the last
time they met. Moments later, several customers began to show up and a crowd
began to form for dinner, forcing Ukyou out of her chat with Makoto.
Although she would've like to keep on talking with her friend, she had to
attend to her business first.
Makoto decided to stand up and put on an apron once she got rid of her
jacket. She then joined Ukyou by the grill.
"You know you don't have to do this." Ukyou told her, apparently already
knowing what was on Makoto's mind. "I can handle it."
"Don't be so territorial with your grill, sis." Makoto declared jokingly,
as she took a pair of spatulas. "There's people waiting for their food, so
we can't keep them waiting."
Ukyou decided not to insist. She already knew that her brunette friend
wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.
"If it was anyone else, you know I'd say no." the okonomiyaki chef pointed
out, "Besides, I guess there's more chances of Ryouga not getting lost than
you containing your cooking impulses."
"You can keep the grill away from Mako-chan," her friend quote, "but you
can't keep Mako-chan away from the grill."
**********
"Trunks, when were you going to tell me about all this??" Bulma asked rather
upset.
Right now, Sailor Pluto, Trunks and her were sitting at the kitchen's table.
It wasn't hard for Bulma to tell that the new visitor had something to do
with Trunks. Her son's expression was easier to read than an open book for
her to make that out.
In order to make things more clear, Pluto explained exactly *where* she knew
Trunks from, although Trunks apparently didn't knew about her.
Needless to say that Bulma was upset, not to mention hurt at some point, for
her son not telling her about his 'little accident' six years ago.
"I... I didn't want you to worry. Since in the end I actually did made it to
the past, I thought I could just skip the explanation and spare you the
preoccupation." the Saiyanjin hybrid tried to explain. "I'm sorry."
"You should be!" his mother added. "For crying out loud, Trunk! When you
came back from your first trip, you told me you spilled some soda on the
Hope, but you never told me anything about getting stuck in another dimension!
How could you hide something so important from me?"
"I'm sorry..." Trunks said again, "But at the moment it seemed like the best
option. I eventually forgot about it."
With a light ahem, Pluto managed to cut into the family discussion and get
her two hosts' attention again.
"Forgive me for interrupting, but I didn't came here only to spread the word
on your son's past actions." she said.
Both mother and son left their little dispute for later and paid attention
to the dimension traveling woman. If she came all the way to their
dimension, it was quite evident she had something important to tell.
"You earlier told me you came here to ask something from me." Trunks
recalled.
"Yes." she validated. "I am here to ask for your help."
"My help?"
Pluto just nodded.
"You see," she began, "like I told you before, back in my dimension, I am
known as the guardian of time. I have the ability to see into the future and
my primary mission is to make things unfold the way they're suppose to."
"Excuse me for cutting in." Bulma interrupted, "But if your job is to keep
things in order, how come you didn't show up when Trunks accidentally
entered your dimension and fix the whole thing?"
"When your son 'crashed' in our world, it wasn't the right time for me to
show up." Pluto explained simply.
"Right time?"
"If I would've interfered at that moment, it would have affected the
timeline severely." she went on, "As troublesome as your son's interference
was at that time, it was for the best for me not to appear."
Trunks felt uncomfortable with that remark. Even though Setsuna was right
about him being responsible for the monsters that showed up, a little tact
when explaining things to his mother would be appreciated.
"Anyway," the dark haired woman continued, "back to what I was about to tell
you, one day, I felt a new presence approaching our world. Immediately after
that, I sensed how the fabric of time and space was ripped open. I tried to
investigate the source of the problem, but a strange energy kept me at bay.
The only thing I know is that a new enemy has arrived."
"Did they entered the same way I did six years ago?" Trunks asked, taking
Pluto's story very seriously.
"I suspect these 'visitors', shall we call them, entered our dimension
through the hole you formed in the past."
"But I thought if I just went back to my world, the hole would be fixed."
the Saiyajin hybrid pointed out.
"It was fixed." Pluto pointed out. "But just the way broken bones can be
healed, they become fragile and can't endure pressure like they did before.
In other words, although the damage was repaired, the barrier separating our
world with the other realities just isn't as strong as it used to be."
"That means there are monsters from different dimensions invading your world
again." Trunks stated, as he put the pieces of the puzzle together.
"That is incorrect."
Trunks just traveled his hands along his face in frustration. This was
getting complicated.
"The reason why we're not experiencing the same events we did three years
ago is due to the same energy that kept me at bay while wanting to
investigate. It appears to serve as some sort of door for the exclusive use
of our 'visitors'. I suspect it's a direct passage between their world and
ours, not like last time where it was just a hole, open to everyone who
happened to wander through hyperspace." Pluto explained.
Trunks raised an eyebrow.
Three years ago?
Has it only been three years in that dimension?
He made a note to ask Pluto more about that later on.
"What I don't understand," Bulma cut in, "is what makes you think these
'visitors' mean any harm."
"As I told you before," Pluto began, "As a guardian of time, I'm always
able to sense ahead any change in the timeline, no matter how insignificant
that change is. However, I can only sense changes that occur in *my*
dimension. In other words..."
"If something 'happened' without you noticing it first," Bulma continued,
"It means the source of the change came from another dimension. Am I right?"
Setsuna nodded.
"You still haven't answered my question though." the president of Capsule
Corp. pointed out. "What makes you think your visitors mean any harm?"
"As I told you before, another one of my 'skills' is to travel through time."
she carried on. "Concerned about the current situation, I decided to take a
look into the future... I saw nothing."
"If nothing happened in the future then it's probably nothing serious."
Bulma remarked.
"I'm afraid I didn't make myself clear." Setsuna said, "There was *nothing*
in the future. No future, no nothing. My world ceased to exist."
The two hosts shared a preoccupied look.
The conversation had sunk in one of those uncomfortable pauses.
"You came here to ask my help." Trunks began, braking the silence. "I assume
you want me to go back to your world and help the Senshi with this new enemy."
"Even though brining someone from a different reality into our world is
something that goes completely against the things I stand for... yes. I came
here to ask for your help. If I recall correctly, you posses an incredible
power. Strong enough to destroy an entire planet without any effort. If the
enemy I fear is somehow related with this reality, I'm afraid your strength
will be decisive in this battle."
Bulma analyzed the situation carefully.
Could an enemy from this dimension be the cause of all this?
It certainly would explain why they used the same 'door' Trunks did in the
past. Not to mention that all the enemies they had encountered so far had
enough power to blow up the Earth, which would add up to Pluto's vision of
the future quite nicely.
She turned around to look at son. He seemed to be thinking very deeply about
this dilemma as well.
"If I go back..." Trunks started, "I'll cause an unbalancement on your world
again."
"The reason you caused an unbalancement the last time, was due to the way
you entered our dimension." Pluto explained, "If we do it my way, there
won't be any trouble."
"Still..." the Saiyajin hybrid went on. "Just by the fact of me *being* there,
I'll affect the timeline."
"Yes, that can not be helped," Pluto affirmed, "But in order to have a
future, it is a small price to pay."
Another uncomfortable pause had risen.
Trunks had his arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed.
Bulma was surprised at some point in how her son was hesitating on his
decision. She knew him well. Maybe even better than anyone. This behavior
was definitively not the usual one. Trunks was always willing to help if
asked to. Most of the times without even being asked. Right now he should be
packing his things and telling her not to worry, that he would be back after
taking care of things.
Something about all this was fishy. Something surely happened to her son on
his stay on that other dimension in order to make him hesitate this much.
But what could that be?
Trunks let out a big sigh.
All of this was happening too fast. He still hadn't recovered from the shock
of seeing a Sailor Senshi at his doorstep, and now he was being asked to
return to the world he'd thought he'd never return to.
He had long ago abandoned the idea of going back to Tokyo. After all, he had
first crashed there (literally speaking) due to some stupid accident.
A *very* stupid accident.
The possibilities of repeating that event was probably one in a million, if
not more. Not to mention that the thought of putting that dimension in
danger by his mere presence, was quite enough to convince him he'd never
return there.
And now, this woman was asking him to come back.
But things were different now.
Things had changed.
He had changed.
And most probably, Makoto and the others had gone through some changes as
well.
How was he suppose to behave in front of the Senshis, and mostly Makoto,
when showing up after so long? How was Makoto suppose to react?
He could say no... but that would be turning his back on the ones who needed
him.
That would be cowardice.
That would be ignoring his responsibilities, since he did feel responsible
for the dimension hole he caused in the first place.
And most of all, that would be going against everything that he was.
Everything his mother taught him to be.
Everything *he* learned to be.
First thing was first. He was responsible for that dimension hole which was
being used by the enemy. Therefore, it was up to him to clean up his own
mess, especially since the lives of others were involved.
Trunks got up from his seat and looked directly at Setsuna. His eyes filled
with determination.
"I'll help." he said simply.
Bulma let out a small smile.
He had her worried there, for a second. It was good to know that in spite of
the problems her son had left behind in that dimension (which ever those
were), he remained firm in his decision to help others.
"But I just want to ask a favor in return." Trunks added, taking the two
women by surprise.
"A favor?" Setsuna asked, managing very well in hiding her preoccupation
about this.
"I want my stay on your dimension to remain a secret from the other Senshi."
he explained. "The only persons who should know about my presence should be
you... and one other."
**********
Makoto finished washing the last set of plates.
As she walked out of the kitchen, she saw Ukyou putting away her broom.
Apparently she was done too.
All of the customers had left and the 'close' sign was already up. The only
thing left to do was cleaning up the place, thing which was already taken
care of.
Both girls sat down, letting out big sighs. They laughed shortly after
seeing how they so spontaneously mimicked each other's actions.
"That was a lot of work." Makoto commented.
"That's every Friday for ya." Ukyou responded. "Thanks for the help."
"Don't mention it. My pleasure." her friend stated. "What time is it anyway?"
"Late enough for you not to find a ride home." the okonomiyaki chef declared,
as she consulted the clock near the kitchen.
"Aww, man... Ten o'clock? I completely lost track of time."
"I think you should better stay here for the night." Ukyou suggested. "You
look too tired to make it home in one piece."
"Won't I be a bother?" Makoto asked. Although she already knew what was
Ukyou going to say.
"You know you're always welcome here. Mi casa, es su casa (*)." Ukyou told
her, as she got up. "Com'on, I have a spare futon upstairs."
Ukyou's place didn't exactly count with a lot of space, since the entire
first floor was used for the restaurant. Not to mention that she also lived
by herself and only needed what was necessary. However, her room was large
enough to guest another person.
After unrolling the futon next to Ukyou's bed and turning off the lights,
both girls were ready to get some sleep.
"Thanks again for everything." Makoto told her host, as she rested her head
on the pillow.
"Don't mention it." her friend said from her bed, "Anything for my little
sister."
"I'm flattered." Makoto declared. "Does that mean that I can crash in here
at any time?"
"Any time."
"No matter what time or day?"
"No matter the time or day."
"Really?" Makoto asked, in a joking tone.
"Yes. Really."
"So, if Ranma suddenly knocked on your door in the middle of the night,
confessed his feelings towards you and took you upstairs to make passionate
love, wouldn't I be a bother?" the girls asked trying to sound as innocent
as she could.
She didn't wait long before Ukyou gave her an answer in the form of a pillow
hitting against her face.
"You little pervert!" she said, although her words didn't sound insulting
in the least. "I'll show you to tease your big sister."
Makoto couldn't help laughing even though her host was still hitting her
with her pillow. She managed to curve into a ball to protect herself from
the ongoing attack until she finally took her own pillow to defend herself.
Both girls kept on laughing until they got tiered and laid down again.
"You're incorrigible." Ukyou declared, as she finally calmed down. "But
still..."
"What?" Makoto asked as she calmed down as well.
"*If* Ranma showed up at my doorstep proposing me that," the okonomiyaki
chef went on, "I wouldn't chase you out."
Makoto couldn't help to blink. Surprised at some extent that her friend put
*her* before Ranma.
"What I would do..." Ukyou continued, "Is ask Ranma if he wouldn't mind a
threesome with you in it."
This time Makoto was the one who used her pillow as a weapon and hit Ukyou
directly in the face.
"You pervert!" she stated, unable to hide her laughter. "How dare you make
fun of your little sister like that??"
"Takes one to know one!" Ukyou declared, as she took cover. "Now we're even!"
"I hope you learned some martial arts pillow fighting, because you're really
going to need it now!" the tall brunette teased, as she kept her assault.
Both girls went on with their little friendly fight until they eventually
got tired and fell asleep.
In spite of visiting her friend only once or twice a moth, Makoto just
couldn't feel happier about her relationship with Ukyou. The two of them
shared some sort of complete mutual understanding.
This didn't mean that Makoto put her Senshi friends aside. Each one of them
had a place in her heart and she would gladly risk her own life for them
(thing she had already done when fighting Sailor Galaxia.).
Ukyou was a little different. Not in terms of if she liked her more or less
than her other friends, but mainly because she was very much like her.
Independent. Solitary but yet cheerful around her closest friends. Had the
soul of a real fighter. They had more or less the same wounds in what
boyfriends were concerned. And they both shared the same passion for cooking.
In general terms, Ukyou was like her soulmate.
Or 'big sister' like she put it.
After all, even when their age difference was by merely two years, Makoto
looked up at Ukyou for being able to handle her business and college at the
same time. So in a way she did look at her as her big sister. And Ukyou in
return had 'adopted' her as her little sister.
**********
Eron sat back on his chair, arms crossed behind his head.
This lair was definitively not as complete as his lab, but he expected that
when he took the job. It would just have to do until they manage to expand
further in this world.
Everything was set.
It was just a matter of time before this mission entered the next phase.
In the meantime, the only thing Eron had to do was wait.
With a heavy sigh, the scientist got up from his chair and took a few steps
towards the window in his office.
The city was covered with lights and crowded with activity in spite of the
time it was. Eron was very unimpressed by this view.
Arlakk and Sorine had already finished with their investigation and had
found nothing relevant.
This place was dull.
[Looks like once again, our Lord will be the only one to gain something out
of this.] Eron though, as he traveled his sight around the streets
underneath him.
Still, even if his two coworkers had found nothing of interest concerning
Magic or Hi-Tech, Eron was far from being pessimistic. His experience with
previous missions had shown him that 'the best' didn't appear when you
looked for it, but when *it* came looking for you. Arlakk and Sorine, not
surprisingly, thought the same way. It was still too soon to tell what this
world had to offer.
"I have very high expectations in you, Tokyo," he said softly, "Be sure not
to disappoint me."
A knock on the door broke the silence which reigned in Eron's office.
"Come in." the scientist said, without taking his view off the window.
A short girl with curly blond hair entered the room. Wearing a white
lab robe and spectacles, she gave the clear impression of being someone
more into the intellectual area than physical. Her slim body pointed that
out as well.
"Master Eron," she began, "I'm back."
"Did you had an interesting evening, Arna?" this last one asked, as he
finally turned around to see her.
"Yes." the girl stated, "This world has an interesting history and culture.
I believe the Lord will be satisfied with what we'll bring him."
"Very good." Eron acknowledged. "I assume it only took you a couple of hours
to learn everything we need to know."
Arna just nodded in response.
"Although I'm afraid I failed in finding something of interest for you,
Master Eron." she went on. "These humans hold no special attributes that
could serve your research."
"Don't be troubled by that." the scientist told her.
He then came closer to the girl and put his hand on top of her head, unaware
that this caused his assistant to blush.
"You're still new with the way we work," he continued. "But believe me when
I say that we shouldn't judge this world by the first look."
"Yes, sir..." she said shyly.
"In any case," Eron brought out, "We have to report to our Lord now. I'm
sure what you learned will interest him."
"Yes, sir." Arna acknowledged. "By the way, Master Eron..."
"Yes?"
The girl pulled out some sort of small pendant out of her pocket. After
close examination, Eron realized it was more like an inscription hanging by
a little sting. The writing of the inscription was unknown to him, but he
assumed it was one of those Japanese characters the inhabitants of this
country used to express words or thoughts.
Arna's face had turned deep red when she extended the item to his superior.
"I... I wanted to give you this..." she said nervously.
"And what exactly is this?" Eron asked, as he took the object in his hand.
"It's some sort of talisman, popular within the Japanese culture," his
assistant explained, "It... it's suppose to bring good luck on the one who
wears it... I thought... I thought you might like it."
"humph A fetish." the scientist interpreted. "Arna, you should know by now
that the success of our mission doesn't depend on luck."
"I... uh... yes, sir..." she said ashamed, as she lowered her head.
"Still..." Eron went on, "I have to admit that the idea of using a talisman
from this world to grant us luck in our conquest is rather ironical. I have
to give you credit for that. Nice touch."
Arna raised her eyes again. Somehow, she felt better after her superior made
that comment. Eron put the talisman inside his pocket and then placed his
hand on Arna's shoulder.
"Come." he told her, "We mustn't keep our Lord waiting."
Before leaving by the door, Eron took one last look through his window.
[I'm going to hit you hard, Tokyo.] he thought. [So make this interesting.]
**********
The Capsule Corp. turbo jet flew trough the sky with both Sailor Pluto and
Trunks as it's passengers.
The purple haired Saiyajin hybrid had told his mother he wanted to see
Karin-sama and get some senzus for his trip. He also insisted in taking
Sailor Pluto with him for the ride so she could fill him in on the details
of his mission.
Truth be told, Trunks wanted to ask Setsuna about matters he didn't want
Bulma to find out.
At least not yet.
Ten minutes after they both took off, Trunks finally manage to form a
question.
"Sailor Pluto," he began, "I'd like to know how much I altered the timeline
when I last entered your dimension."
His passenger paused before answering.
"There were some changes, but fortunately I managed to keep things under
control." she said simply. "Even though your coexistence with the Sailor
Senshi was noticeable during your stay, no major disturbance in the
timeline was done."
"But there *was* a change."
"Yes, but minimal."
A few minutes passed in silence then after.
"And how are the Senshi doing?" he asked. "Are they okay?"
"The Sailor Senshi have passed through many tests these last three years."
she responded. "Their determination and mutual friendship has helped them a
great deal in obtaining victory. Aside from that, their lives have been
rather calm."
"So, are they happy?"
"Yes, you could say that in general terms they are."
"And... uh..." Trunks continued, "How is Makoto Kino doing?"
Setsuna was already expecting this particular question. Actually, she saw
it coming a mile away and was certain that was the main reason why Trunks
wanted her to tag along in the first place.
"Makoto Kino, or Sailor Jupiter, is doing well." she said simply.
"That's... good to hear."
Trunks didn't knew what to ask then after, not to mention that his passenger
wasn't very talkative either, which made things even more difficult. Still,
he did want to learn a little more about that particular senshi.
"Did the minor changes you mentioned earlier are somehow related to her?" he
asked a second time.
"Everything we do now will somehow affect the people near us tomorrow."
Pluto declared, while making a great job in not answering the question
directly. "In any case, do not be worried. As I told you before, Makoto is
doing fine."
Trunks just remained silent.
"There's Karin-sama's tower." he stated, changing the subject.
Up ahead, the Senshi of change could see an enormous pillar rising
majestically towards the heavens and with several engravings going from
bottom to top. She was unable to see where the column ended though, but she
assumed that the engravings kept on going till the top of the pillar, which
was probably above the clouds or maybe even higher.
Trunks pressed a few buttons, making the craft slow down and moving
vertically like a helicopter.
After finally reaching the top, a big oval shaped chamber, he set the craft
in auto-pilot which kept it hovering in mid air. Once the cockpit opened, he
helped Pluto out of the jet and turned it back into a capsule.
"Karin-sama!" Trunks said out loud, "Are you here?"
"Where else could I be?" said a voice approaching from the stairway.
Pluto couldn't believe her eyes.
A cat? The so called *Karin-sama*... was a cat?
A human looking cat?
A human looking cat with a cane?
The most logical thing to do right now was sweatdropping. Thing Setsuna did
quite well in spite of not being familiar with the technique.
"Karin-sama," Trunks began, "I wanted to ask you something."
"I know." the cat said, "Remember I can read minds. You're going on a trip."
"That's right." Trunks nodded.
"And this lady must be the reason you're leaving, I suppose." Karin-sama
pointed out, as he turned towards Pluto.
"Pleased to meet you." the tall senshi said politely, "My name is Sailor
Pluto."
"Charmed." the owner of the tower added, he then turned towards Trunks again,
"I sense you're in a hurry, I'll get you the senzu seeds."
"Thank you very much." the purple haired man replied. "But I'd like to
ask two other things from you as well, if it's not too much trouble."
Moments later, back in Capsule Corps:
"Here's everything you'll need." Bulma stated, as she showed her son a case
with several capsules in it. "Since we're not sure how long you'll stay in
Sailor Pluto's world, I added a special kit that will allow you to forge a
new ID and all the papers you need."
"Thanks, mom," Trunks told her, "That will really come in handy. It'll save
me a lot of trouble too."
"There's also a few modifications I did on your wristwatch." she added,
"Asides from the map view option, I inserted a device which will allow you
to change into your body armor by pressing this red button. Just press the
blue button if you want to change back into your normal clothes."
"You always think of everything." Trunks chuckled. He then put on the watch.
"One last thing," Bulma declared, as she picked up a small artifact from a
nearby desk, "Here."
"What's this?" her son asked, as he examined the object in question.
It appeared to be a portable T.V, which he could easily hold in one hand. It
had a dark screen and a couple of buttons and switches.
"It's a communicator so I can keep in touch with you." she explained simply.
"You built a communicator to contact me in another reality??" Trunks asked
completely shocked. "How???"
"Hellooooooo, genius who created a time machine talking here." Bulma
responded sarcastically. "What else were you expecting from me? I wasn't
going to let you wander off to some alien reality without making sure you
were all right."
"But still, How did you manage to build it in such short notice?"
"I built it long ago," she made clear, "I always thought you might want to
go back to the past again and see Goku and the others. That's why I created
it in the first place, but I think it can come in handy for this occasion as
well."
"It really will." Trunks realized, "Although according to Pluto, time in
this reality passes twice as fast compared to the one I'll be in. I don't
know if that will have some effect on your communicator."
"Are you questioning your mother's genius?" glared Bulma.
"No, ma'am." her son responded, while taking a step back.
"Try to use it as soon as you get to your destination. I'd like to make sure
it works."
Trunks nodded and then put the communicator inside his briefcase with his
capsules. Before he closed it, Bulma pointed out something else.
"I almost forgot." she said, "There's a gravity room in there as well.
Actually it's the space ship dad built to go to Namekusei, but it has a
gravity room inside. I thought you might want that."
"It'll help to keep me in shape."
Bulma's son finished packing the rest of his stuff and then stood in front
of her to say good-bye.
He still couldn't believe he was actually going back to Tokyo. If five hours
ago someone asked him what was he going to do, he would have answered "Maybe
going to the movies" and not "Oh, I think I'll take a walk into another
dimension".
All of this was just too sudden.
Wait a minute... Tikka.
"Uh, mom," he started, "If by any chance Tikka calls, could you... er..."
"Don't worry, I'll think of something." she cut in. "Right now, concentrate
more in fixing that dimension business."
"I'll try to solve it as soon as possible." he told her.
"sigh Listen, Trunks," Bulma began, "I don't know what kind of mess you
left behind in that dimension, but I *know* it's more than just a silly
hole in the fabric of time and space."
"You're still angry at me?"
"You're too old now to be lectured." she responded, "What I do want, is you
to tell me everything that happened once you come back. I also want you to
promise me to be careful out there."
"I will."
"Okay, then." she said, "Let's not keep our guest waiting."
End of chapter 2.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's notes:
(*) "Mi casa es su casa" means "My home is your home" in Spanish. I'm not
implying that Ukyou knows Spanish, this is just one of those common phrases
everyone knows without even the need to learn Spanish.
BTW, I know I *may* have startled some of you folks with that little sex
joke Makoto and Ukyou made. Please keep in mind that Ukyou is now 19 and
Makoto is 17. I'd really like to think that it's a healthy age to talk about
sex, whether as a joke or not.
Don't worry though, I think all of you already know I'm not into Lemons, so
don't worry, this will NOT be a Lemon. But I also ask of you to keep an open
mind with what I wrote at the beginning of this paragraph.
One more thing. I herd that High School in Japan takes two years only. This
means that the senshi are about to go to college in this fic. After summer
that is.
See you in chapter 3...
"Past, Present and Uncertainty."
By Julian Soullard (e-mail: jnsoullard@hotmail.com)
Warning: All characters from this fanfic are copyright from Akira
Toriyama (Dragon Ball Z), Naoko Takeuchi (Sailor Moon) and Rumiko Takahashi
(Ranma ½) so don't sue me. By the way, also worth mentioning, this story is
a sequel to my other fanfic "Boy meets girls". In other words, there will be
a lot of things you won't understand in this story if you haven't read "Boy
meets girls" (and its side stories) first. If that's the case... then what
the Hell are you doing here still reading this? Go to
http://lavender.fortunecity.com/flamingos/122 instead, and start at the
real beginning of the story like you're suppose to!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AND NOW ON WITH....
Chapter 2:
Decision making process: first predicament.
Ukyou Kuonji took a moment to sit back and relax. Rush hour was finally over
so she didn't had to attend the grill so urgently.
Even if she loved cooking okonomiyaki more than anything else, she did
deserve a rest from her work.
She undid her ponytail and shook her hair loose.
"Hey, Ucchan." said a voice by the entrance.
The okonomiyaki chef turned around and spotted a girl with long brown hair tied
up in a ponytail. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans, white shirt and
green jacket. She also wore a green baseball cap on top of her head.
"Hey, Mako-chan!" Ukyou responded joyfully, "Come in, girl. What brings you
all the way here?"
"Visiting a friend, what else?" she responded with a smile. She then
extended a lunch box towards her. "Here."
"Ahhh... what have we here? The famous Kino cookies?" Ukyou declared as she
opened the box. "Thanks a lot. And what would you like on your okonomiyaki,
little sister?"
"I know better than to refuse an okonomiyaki from you." she said.
"I guess you had the chance to work an appetite on your way here."
"Hmmm... how about a sea food special." Makoto responded.
"One sea food special coming right up."
Ukyou took two spatulas and began preparing the order. Makoto took a seat in
front of the grill, so she could carry on with the conversation.
"So, how's life?" Ukyou began.
"School's okay. Health is good. Basically everything is calm." she briefly
commented. "Quite boring, huh?"
Ukyou just let out a little chuckle.
"Summer isn't that far away, any plans for your vacations?"
"Nothing really. I think I'll start college hunting." Makoto responded.
"Oh, that's right. This is your last year in High School" her friend told
her. "Where are you planning to study?."
"I'm still not sure." she responded. "Maybe I'll go to your college so I can
become a great cook and have my own restaurant just like you, 'big sister'."
That last phrase was said in a rather joking way, but even so, Ukyou knew
that Makoto was telling the truth. Same as her, cooking meant everything.
That was certainly why they understood each other so well.
Both began to talk about everything and nothing at the same time. As time
went on, they were already telling each other funny anecdotes since the last
time they met. Moments later, several customers began to show up and a crowd
began to form for dinner, forcing Ukyou out of her chat with Makoto.
Although she would've like to keep on talking with her friend, she had to
attend to her business first.
Makoto decided to stand up and put on an apron once she got rid of her
jacket. She then joined Ukyou by the grill.
"You know you don't have to do this." Ukyou told her, apparently already
knowing what was on Makoto's mind. "I can handle it."
"Don't be so territorial with your grill, sis." Makoto declared jokingly,
as she took a pair of spatulas. "There's people waiting for their food, so
we can't keep them waiting."
Ukyou decided not to insist. She already knew that her brunette friend
wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.
"If it was anyone else, you know I'd say no." the okonomiyaki chef pointed
out, "Besides, I guess there's more chances of Ryouga not getting lost than
you containing your cooking impulses."
"You can keep the grill away from Mako-chan," her friend quote, "but you
can't keep Mako-chan away from the grill."
**********
"Trunks, when were you going to tell me about all this??" Bulma asked rather
upset.
Right now, Sailor Pluto, Trunks and her were sitting at the kitchen's table.
It wasn't hard for Bulma to tell that the new visitor had something to do
with Trunks. Her son's expression was easier to read than an open book for
her to make that out.
In order to make things more clear, Pluto explained exactly *where* she knew
Trunks from, although Trunks apparently didn't knew about her.
Needless to say that Bulma was upset, not to mention hurt at some point, for
her son not telling her about his 'little accident' six years ago.
"I... I didn't want you to worry. Since in the end I actually did made it to
the past, I thought I could just skip the explanation and spare you the
preoccupation." the Saiyanjin hybrid tried to explain. "I'm sorry."
"You should be!" his mother added. "For crying out loud, Trunk! When you
came back from your first trip, you told me you spilled some soda on the
Hope, but you never told me anything about getting stuck in another dimension!
How could you hide something so important from me?"
"I'm sorry..." Trunks said again, "But at the moment it seemed like the best
option. I eventually forgot about it."
With a light ahem, Pluto managed to cut into the family discussion and get
her two hosts' attention again.
"Forgive me for interrupting, but I didn't came here only to spread the word
on your son's past actions." she said.
Both mother and son left their little dispute for later and paid attention
to the dimension traveling woman. If she came all the way to their
dimension, it was quite evident she had something important to tell.
"You earlier told me you came here to ask something from me." Trunks
recalled.
"Yes." she validated. "I am here to ask for your help."
"My help?"
Pluto just nodded.
"You see," she began, "like I told you before, back in my dimension, I am
known as the guardian of time. I have the ability to see into the future and
my primary mission is to make things unfold the way they're suppose to."
"Excuse me for cutting in." Bulma interrupted, "But if your job is to keep
things in order, how come you didn't show up when Trunks accidentally
entered your dimension and fix the whole thing?"
"When your son 'crashed' in our world, it wasn't the right time for me to
show up." Pluto explained simply.
"Right time?"
"If I would've interfered at that moment, it would have affected the
timeline severely." she went on, "As troublesome as your son's interference
was at that time, it was for the best for me not to appear."
Trunks felt uncomfortable with that remark. Even though Setsuna was right
about him being responsible for the monsters that showed up, a little tact
when explaining things to his mother would be appreciated.
"Anyway," the dark haired woman continued, "back to what I was about to tell
you, one day, I felt a new presence approaching our world. Immediately after
that, I sensed how the fabric of time and space was ripped open. I tried to
investigate the source of the problem, but a strange energy kept me at bay.
The only thing I know is that a new enemy has arrived."
"Did they entered the same way I did six years ago?" Trunks asked, taking
Pluto's story very seriously.
"I suspect these 'visitors', shall we call them, entered our dimension
through the hole you formed in the past."
"But I thought if I just went back to my world, the hole would be fixed."
the Saiyajin hybrid pointed out.
"It was fixed." Pluto pointed out. "But just the way broken bones can be
healed, they become fragile and can't endure pressure like they did before.
In other words, although the damage was repaired, the barrier separating our
world with the other realities just isn't as strong as it used to be."
"That means there are monsters from different dimensions invading your world
again." Trunks stated, as he put the pieces of the puzzle together.
"That is incorrect."
Trunks just traveled his hands along his face in frustration. This was
getting complicated.
"The reason why we're not experiencing the same events we did three years
ago is due to the same energy that kept me at bay while wanting to
investigate. It appears to serve as some sort of door for the exclusive use
of our 'visitors'. I suspect it's a direct passage between their world and
ours, not like last time where it was just a hole, open to everyone who
happened to wander through hyperspace." Pluto explained.
Trunks raised an eyebrow.
Three years ago?
Has it only been three years in that dimension?
He made a note to ask Pluto more about that later on.
"What I don't understand," Bulma cut in, "is what makes you think these
'visitors' mean any harm."
"As I told you before," Pluto began, "As a guardian of time, I'm always
able to sense ahead any change in the timeline, no matter how insignificant
that change is. However, I can only sense changes that occur in *my*
dimension. In other words..."
"If something 'happened' without you noticing it first," Bulma continued,
"It means the source of the change came from another dimension. Am I right?"
Setsuna nodded.
"You still haven't answered my question though." the president of Capsule
Corp. pointed out. "What makes you think your visitors mean any harm?"
"As I told you before, another one of my 'skills' is to travel through time."
she carried on. "Concerned about the current situation, I decided to take a
look into the future... I saw nothing."
"If nothing happened in the future then it's probably nothing serious."
Bulma remarked.
"I'm afraid I didn't make myself clear." Setsuna said, "There was *nothing*
in the future. No future, no nothing. My world ceased to exist."
The two hosts shared a preoccupied look.
The conversation had sunk in one of those uncomfortable pauses.
"You came here to ask my help." Trunks began, braking the silence. "I assume
you want me to go back to your world and help the Senshi with this new enemy."
"Even though brining someone from a different reality into our world is
something that goes completely against the things I stand for... yes. I came
here to ask for your help. If I recall correctly, you posses an incredible
power. Strong enough to destroy an entire planet without any effort. If the
enemy I fear is somehow related with this reality, I'm afraid your strength
will be decisive in this battle."
Bulma analyzed the situation carefully.
Could an enemy from this dimension be the cause of all this?
It certainly would explain why they used the same 'door' Trunks did in the
past. Not to mention that all the enemies they had encountered so far had
enough power to blow up the Earth, which would add up to Pluto's vision of
the future quite nicely.
She turned around to look at son. He seemed to be thinking very deeply about
this dilemma as well.
"If I go back..." Trunks started, "I'll cause an unbalancement on your world
again."
"The reason you caused an unbalancement the last time, was due to the way
you entered our dimension." Pluto explained, "If we do it my way, there
won't be any trouble."
"Still..." the Saiyajin hybrid went on. "Just by the fact of me *being* there,
I'll affect the timeline."
"Yes, that can not be helped," Pluto affirmed, "But in order to have a
future, it is a small price to pay."
Another uncomfortable pause had risen.
Trunks had his arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed.
Bulma was surprised at some point in how her son was hesitating on his
decision. She knew him well. Maybe even better than anyone. This behavior
was definitively not the usual one. Trunks was always willing to help if
asked to. Most of the times without even being asked. Right now he should be
packing his things and telling her not to worry, that he would be back after
taking care of things.
Something about all this was fishy. Something surely happened to her son on
his stay on that other dimension in order to make him hesitate this much.
But what could that be?
Trunks let out a big sigh.
All of this was happening too fast. He still hadn't recovered from the shock
of seeing a Sailor Senshi at his doorstep, and now he was being asked to
return to the world he'd thought he'd never return to.
He had long ago abandoned the idea of going back to Tokyo. After all, he had
first crashed there (literally speaking) due to some stupid accident.
A *very* stupid accident.
The possibilities of repeating that event was probably one in a million, if
not more. Not to mention that the thought of putting that dimension in
danger by his mere presence, was quite enough to convince him he'd never
return there.
And now, this woman was asking him to come back.
But things were different now.
Things had changed.
He had changed.
And most probably, Makoto and the others had gone through some changes as
well.
How was he suppose to behave in front of the Senshis, and mostly Makoto,
when showing up after so long? How was Makoto suppose to react?
He could say no... but that would be turning his back on the ones who needed
him.
That would be cowardice.
That would be ignoring his responsibilities, since he did feel responsible
for the dimension hole he caused in the first place.
And most of all, that would be going against everything that he was.
Everything his mother taught him to be.
Everything *he* learned to be.
First thing was first. He was responsible for that dimension hole which was
being used by the enemy. Therefore, it was up to him to clean up his own
mess, especially since the lives of others were involved.
Trunks got up from his seat and looked directly at Setsuna. His eyes filled
with determination.
"I'll help." he said simply.
Bulma let out a small smile.
He had her worried there, for a second. It was good to know that in spite of
the problems her son had left behind in that dimension (which ever those
were), he remained firm in his decision to help others.
"But I just want to ask a favor in return." Trunks added, taking the two
women by surprise.
"A favor?" Setsuna asked, managing very well in hiding her preoccupation
about this.
"I want my stay on your dimension to remain a secret from the other Senshi."
he explained. "The only persons who should know about my presence should be
you... and one other."
**********
Makoto finished washing the last set of plates.
As she walked out of the kitchen, she saw Ukyou putting away her broom.
Apparently she was done too.
All of the customers had left and the 'close' sign was already up. The only
thing left to do was cleaning up the place, thing which was already taken
care of.
Both girls sat down, letting out big sighs. They laughed shortly after
seeing how they so spontaneously mimicked each other's actions.
"That was a lot of work." Makoto commented.
"That's every Friday for ya." Ukyou responded. "Thanks for the help."
"Don't mention it. My pleasure." her friend stated. "What time is it anyway?"
"Late enough for you not to find a ride home." the okonomiyaki chef declared,
as she consulted the clock near the kitchen.
"Aww, man... Ten o'clock? I completely lost track of time."
"I think you should better stay here for the night." Ukyou suggested. "You
look too tired to make it home in one piece."
"Won't I be a bother?" Makoto asked. Although she already knew what was
Ukyou going to say.
"You know you're always welcome here. Mi casa, es su casa (*)." Ukyou told
her, as she got up. "Com'on, I have a spare futon upstairs."
Ukyou's place didn't exactly count with a lot of space, since the entire
first floor was used for the restaurant. Not to mention that she also lived
by herself and only needed what was necessary. However, her room was large
enough to guest another person.
After unrolling the futon next to Ukyou's bed and turning off the lights,
both girls were ready to get some sleep.
"Thanks again for everything." Makoto told her host, as she rested her head
on the pillow.
"Don't mention it." her friend said from her bed, "Anything for my little
sister."
"I'm flattered." Makoto declared. "Does that mean that I can crash in here
at any time?"
"Any time."
"No matter what time or day?"
"No matter the time or day."
"Really?" Makoto asked, in a joking tone.
"Yes. Really."
"So, if Ranma suddenly knocked on your door in the middle of the night,
confessed his feelings towards you and took you upstairs to make passionate
love, wouldn't I be a bother?" the girls asked trying to sound as innocent
as she could.
She didn't wait long before Ukyou gave her an answer in the form of a pillow
hitting against her face.
"You little pervert!" she said, although her words didn't sound insulting
in the least. "I'll show you to tease your big sister."
Makoto couldn't help laughing even though her host was still hitting her
with her pillow. She managed to curve into a ball to protect herself from
the ongoing attack until she finally took her own pillow to defend herself.
Both girls kept on laughing until they got tiered and laid down again.
"You're incorrigible." Ukyou declared, as she finally calmed down. "But
still..."
"What?" Makoto asked as she calmed down as well.
"*If* Ranma showed up at my doorstep proposing me that," the okonomiyaki
chef went on, "I wouldn't chase you out."
Makoto couldn't help to blink. Surprised at some extent that her friend put
*her* before Ranma.
"What I would do..." Ukyou continued, "Is ask Ranma if he wouldn't mind a
threesome with you in it."
This time Makoto was the one who used her pillow as a weapon and hit Ukyou
directly in the face.
"You pervert!" she stated, unable to hide her laughter. "How dare you make
fun of your little sister like that??"
"Takes one to know one!" Ukyou declared, as she took cover. "Now we're even!"
"I hope you learned some martial arts pillow fighting, because you're really
going to need it now!" the tall brunette teased, as she kept her assault.
Both girls went on with their little friendly fight until they eventually
got tired and fell asleep.
In spite of visiting her friend only once or twice a moth, Makoto just
couldn't feel happier about her relationship with Ukyou. The two of them
shared some sort of complete mutual understanding.
This didn't mean that Makoto put her Senshi friends aside. Each one of them
had a place in her heart and she would gladly risk her own life for them
(thing she had already done when fighting Sailor Galaxia.).
Ukyou was a little different. Not in terms of if she liked her more or less
than her other friends, but mainly because she was very much like her.
Independent. Solitary but yet cheerful around her closest friends. Had the
soul of a real fighter. They had more or less the same wounds in what
boyfriends were concerned. And they both shared the same passion for cooking.
In general terms, Ukyou was like her soulmate.
Or 'big sister' like she put it.
After all, even when their age difference was by merely two years, Makoto
looked up at Ukyou for being able to handle her business and college at the
same time. So in a way she did look at her as her big sister. And Ukyou in
return had 'adopted' her as her little sister.
**********
Eron sat back on his chair, arms crossed behind his head.
This lair was definitively not as complete as his lab, but he expected that
when he took the job. It would just have to do until they manage to expand
further in this world.
Everything was set.
It was just a matter of time before this mission entered the next phase.
In the meantime, the only thing Eron had to do was wait.
With a heavy sigh, the scientist got up from his chair and took a few steps
towards the window in his office.
The city was covered with lights and crowded with activity in spite of the
time it was. Eron was very unimpressed by this view.
Arlakk and Sorine had already finished with their investigation and had
found nothing relevant.
This place was dull.
[Looks like once again, our Lord will be the only one to gain something out
of this.] Eron though, as he traveled his sight around the streets
underneath him.
Still, even if his two coworkers had found nothing of interest concerning
Magic or Hi-Tech, Eron was far from being pessimistic. His experience with
previous missions had shown him that 'the best' didn't appear when you
looked for it, but when *it* came looking for you. Arlakk and Sorine, not
surprisingly, thought the same way. It was still too soon to tell what this
world had to offer.
"I have very high expectations in you, Tokyo," he said softly, "Be sure not
to disappoint me."
A knock on the door broke the silence which reigned in Eron's office.
"Come in." the scientist said, without taking his view off the window.
A short girl with curly blond hair entered the room. Wearing a white
lab robe and spectacles, she gave the clear impression of being someone
more into the intellectual area than physical. Her slim body pointed that
out as well.
"Master Eron," she began, "I'm back."
"Did you had an interesting evening, Arna?" this last one asked, as he
finally turned around to see her.
"Yes." the girl stated, "This world has an interesting history and culture.
I believe the Lord will be satisfied with what we'll bring him."
"Very good." Eron acknowledged. "I assume it only took you a couple of hours
to learn everything we need to know."
Arna just nodded in response.
"Although I'm afraid I failed in finding something of interest for you,
Master Eron." she went on. "These humans hold no special attributes that
could serve your research."
"Don't be troubled by that." the scientist told her.
He then came closer to the girl and put his hand on top of her head, unaware
that this caused his assistant to blush.
"You're still new with the way we work," he continued. "But believe me when
I say that we shouldn't judge this world by the first look."
"Yes, sir..." she said shyly.
"In any case," Eron brought out, "We have to report to our Lord now. I'm
sure what you learned will interest him."
"Yes, sir." Arna acknowledged. "By the way, Master Eron..."
"Yes?"
The girl pulled out some sort of small pendant out of her pocket. After
close examination, Eron realized it was more like an inscription hanging by
a little sting. The writing of the inscription was unknown to him, but he
assumed it was one of those Japanese characters the inhabitants of this
country used to express words or thoughts.
Arna's face had turned deep red when she extended the item to his superior.
"I... I wanted to give you this..." she said nervously.
"And what exactly is this?" Eron asked, as he took the object in his hand.
"It's some sort of talisman, popular within the Japanese culture," his
assistant explained, "It... it's suppose to bring good luck on the one who
wears it... I thought... I thought you might like it."
"humph A fetish." the scientist interpreted. "Arna, you should know by now
that the success of our mission doesn't depend on luck."
"I... uh... yes, sir..." she said ashamed, as she lowered her head.
"Still..." Eron went on, "I have to admit that the idea of using a talisman
from this world to grant us luck in our conquest is rather ironical. I have
to give you credit for that. Nice touch."
Arna raised her eyes again. Somehow, she felt better after her superior made
that comment. Eron put the talisman inside his pocket and then placed his
hand on Arna's shoulder.
"Come." he told her, "We mustn't keep our Lord waiting."
Before leaving by the door, Eron took one last look through his window.
[I'm going to hit you hard, Tokyo.] he thought. [So make this interesting.]
**********
The Capsule Corp. turbo jet flew trough the sky with both Sailor Pluto and
Trunks as it's passengers.
The purple haired Saiyajin hybrid had told his mother he wanted to see
Karin-sama and get some senzus for his trip. He also insisted in taking
Sailor Pluto with him for the ride so she could fill him in on the details
of his mission.
Truth be told, Trunks wanted to ask Setsuna about matters he didn't want
Bulma to find out.
At least not yet.
Ten minutes after they both took off, Trunks finally manage to form a
question.
"Sailor Pluto," he began, "I'd like to know how much I altered the timeline
when I last entered your dimension."
His passenger paused before answering.
"There were some changes, but fortunately I managed to keep things under
control." she said simply. "Even though your coexistence with the Sailor
Senshi was noticeable during your stay, no major disturbance in the
timeline was done."
"But there *was* a change."
"Yes, but minimal."
A few minutes passed in silence then after.
"And how are the Senshi doing?" he asked. "Are they okay?"
"The Sailor Senshi have passed through many tests these last three years."
she responded. "Their determination and mutual friendship has helped them a
great deal in obtaining victory. Aside from that, their lives have been
rather calm."
"So, are they happy?"
"Yes, you could say that in general terms they are."
"And... uh..." Trunks continued, "How is Makoto Kino doing?"
Setsuna was already expecting this particular question. Actually, she saw
it coming a mile away and was certain that was the main reason why Trunks
wanted her to tag along in the first place.
"Makoto Kino, or Sailor Jupiter, is doing well." she said simply.
"That's... good to hear."
Trunks didn't knew what to ask then after, not to mention that his passenger
wasn't very talkative either, which made things even more difficult. Still,
he did want to learn a little more about that particular senshi.
"Did the minor changes you mentioned earlier are somehow related to her?" he
asked a second time.
"Everything we do now will somehow affect the people near us tomorrow."
Pluto declared, while making a great job in not answering the question
directly. "In any case, do not be worried. As I told you before, Makoto is
doing fine."
Trunks just remained silent.
"There's Karin-sama's tower." he stated, changing the subject.
Up ahead, the Senshi of change could see an enormous pillar rising
majestically towards the heavens and with several engravings going from
bottom to top. She was unable to see where the column ended though, but she
assumed that the engravings kept on going till the top of the pillar, which
was probably above the clouds or maybe even higher.
Trunks pressed a few buttons, making the craft slow down and moving
vertically like a helicopter.
After finally reaching the top, a big oval shaped chamber, he set the craft
in auto-pilot which kept it hovering in mid air. Once the cockpit opened, he
helped Pluto out of the jet and turned it back into a capsule.
"Karin-sama!" Trunks said out loud, "Are you here?"
"Where else could I be?" said a voice approaching from the stairway.
Pluto couldn't believe her eyes.
A cat? The so called *Karin-sama*... was a cat?
A human looking cat?
A human looking cat with a cane?
The most logical thing to do right now was sweatdropping. Thing Setsuna did
quite well in spite of not being familiar with the technique.
"Karin-sama," Trunks began, "I wanted to ask you something."
"I know." the cat said, "Remember I can read minds. You're going on a trip."
"That's right." Trunks nodded.
"And this lady must be the reason you're leaving, I suppose." Karin-sama
pointed out, as he turned towards Pluto.
"Pleased to meet you." the tall senshi said politely, "My name is Sailor
Pluto."
"Charmed." the owner of the tower added, he then turned towards Trunks again,
"I sense you're in a hurry, I'll get you the senzu seeds."
"Thank you very much." the purple haired man replied. "But I'd like to
ask two other things from you as well, if it's not too much trouble."
Moments later, back in Capsule Corps:
"Here's everything you'll need." Bulma stated, as she showed her son a case
with several capsules in it. "Since we're not sure how long you'll stay in
Sailor Pluto's world, I added a special kit that will allow you to forge a
new ID and all the papers you need."
"Thanks, mom," Trunks told her, "That will really come in handy. It'll save
me a lot of trouble too."
"There's also a few modifications I did on your wristwatch." she added,
"Asides from the map view option, I inserted a device which will allow you
to change into your body armor by pressing this red button. Just press the
blue button if you want to change back into your normal clothes."
"You always think of everything." Trunks chuckled. He then put on the watch.
"One last thing," Bulma declared, as she picked up a small artifact from a
nearby desk, "Here."
"What's this?" her son asked, as he examined the object in question.
It appeared to be a portable T.V, which he could easily hold in one hand. It
had a dark screen and a couple of buttons and switches.
"It's a communicator so I can keep in touch with you." she explained simply.
"You built a communicator to contact me in another reality??" Trunks asked
completely shocked. "How???"
"Hellooooooo, genius who created a time machine talking here." Bulma
responded sarcastically. "What else were you expecting from me? I wasn't
going to let you wander off to some alien reality without making sure you
were all right."
"But still, How did you manage to build it in such short notice?"
"I built it long ago," she made clear, "I always thought you might want to
go back to the past again and see Goku and the others. That's why I created
it in the first place, but I think it can come in handy for this occasion as
well."
"It really will." Trunks realized, "Although according to Pluto, time in
this reality passes twice as fast compared to the one I'll be in. I don't
know if that will have some effect on your communicator."
"Are you questioning your mother's genius?" glared Bulma.
"No, ma'am." her son responded, while taking a step back.
"Try to use it as soon as you get to your destination. I'd like to make sure
it works."
Trunks nodded and then put the communicator inside his briefcase with his
capsules. Before he closed it, Bulma pointed out something else.
"I almost forgot." she said, "There's a gravity room in there as well.
Actually it's the space ship dad built to go to Namekusei, but it has a
gravity room inside. I thought you might want that."
"It'll help to keep me in shape."
Bulma's son finished packing the rest of his stuff and then stood in front
of her to say good-bye.
He still couldn't believe he was actually going back to Tokyo. If five hours
ago someone asked him what was he going to do, he would have answered "Maybe
going to the movies" and not "Oh, I think I'll take a walk into another
dimension".
All of this was just too sudden.
Wait a minute... Tikka.
"Uh, mom," he started, "If by any chance Tikka calls, could you... er..."
"Don't worry, I'll think of something." she cut in. "Right now, concentrate
more in fixing that dimension business."
"I'll try to solve it as soon as possible." he told her.
"sigh Listen, Trunks," Bulma began, "I don't know what kind of mess you
left behind in that dimension, but I *know* it's more than just a silly
hole in the fabric of time and space."
"You're still angry at me?"
"You're too old now to be lectured." she responded, "What I do want, is you
to tell me everything that happened once you come back. I also want you to
promise me to be careful out there."
"I will."
"Okay, then." she said, "Let's not keep our guest waiting."
End of chapter 2.
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Author's notes:
(*) "Mi casa es su casa" means "My home is your home" in Spanish. I'm not
implying that Ukyou knows Spanish, this is just one of those common phrases
everyone knows without even the need to learn Spanish.
BTW, I know I *may* have startled some of you folks with that little sex
joke Makoto and Ukyou made. Please keep in mind that Ukyou is now 19 and
Makoto is 17. I'd really like to think that it's a healthy age to talk about
sex, whether as a joke or not.
Don't worry though, I think all of you already know I'm not into Lemons, so
don't worry, this will NOT be a Lemon. But I also ask of you to keep an open
mind with what I wrote at the beginning of this paragraph.
One more thing. I herd that High School in Japan takes two years only. This
means that the senshi are about to go to college in this fic. After summer
that is.
See you in chapter 3...