Disclaimer: They're not mine. Unless they are. Then they're mine. Greetings, everyone! Sorry about the lateness of the chapter. Things were hectic for awhile, and, well, I'm just a lazy bum. This chapter had been written for awhile, but I had to actually sit down and type it. You know how that goes. So, anyway, here's chapter 8. It's a long chapter, about 75k, but my loyal readers know I'm rather infamous about that kind of thing. (My longest chapter is in ATTR--at about 120k!) Lots of stuff happens, so I won't babble on for longer than necessary *grin* Make sure you leave a review! I like to hear what you think...I got a pitiful response last time, and I'm not the type to really care for reviews, but still...it made me a little upset. So make me happy! Gie-chan (slight note: in the beginning, the fae are speaking in an Older English, that's why it is in italics. They'll switch to commonspeak soon enough. Amazing how it sounds normal! *grin* Gie)
YOSEI--Chapter 8
A small hand reached out, and Gallifrey grasped
it, pulling the
figure into a sitting position. Everyone
was silent as the newest fae
enter the world and looked around.
"Hello."
Gallifrey smiled at his newly awakened
sister. "Hello, sister. It's
nice to have you back. I'm Gallifrey."
She nodded, a small smile tracing her
lips. She ran a small hand
through her thick mane of white hair, trying
to orient herself after
sleeping for so long. "Tan'ne.
Is it time for the Gathering already? "
She glanced around confusedly. "But
this isn't the same room. Where
are the others?"
"No, this isn't." He shook
his head sadly, a streak of sadness
flashing across his tanned features.
"We
were moved from the
saferoom. The others--the other
are dead, Tan'ne. Only you, me, and
two other pods survived out long sleep."
Tan'ne finally noticed the other occupants
of the room, sucking in
a sharp breath. "Why are there
mortals among us? Who are they?" Her
eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"They are the ones that discovered
our saferoom, and moved the
surviving pods into their dwellings."
"They were the ones that killed
our kin?" Tan'ne's eyes went
wide,
and she sat up a little straighter.
"No, they were not the ones." Gallifrey quickly clarified her.
"They just found us in that state.
The others were dead when they
discovered the rooms. They don't
mean any harm," he paused and gave
Vejiita a quick glance, "unless you give
them a reason for harm."
Bulma had been following their dialogue,
which was spoken in an
older English, and realized that it was
time for someone to speak up.
She stepped forward and extended her hand
in friendship. "Hello. My
name's Bulma." She pointed
out the rest. "This is my husband, Vejiita;
my son, Trunks and his friend, Goten,
and my daughter, Bura." She
turned back to the new fae. "You're
at Capsule Corporation, and my
home."
Tan'ne wasn't listening to Bulma, she
was staring at Bura. She
hopped off the table, and floating a little
off the ground, she moved
closer to the female Saiya-jiin. "Is
she fae, Gallifrey?" Tan'ne walked
around Bura, examining her. "She
looks like one of Oberon's Children,
but something is not right."
The male fae shook his head.
"No,
she is mortal, but my magicks
gave her that appearance. I healed
an injury of hers and had to delve
into my soul magicks. to finish."
"Soul magicks? Aren't those for..."
He cut her off. "Yes, they
are. But I had no choice. My magick
was depleted, and her injury was my fault."
Tan'ne nodded understanding.
"I
see." She gave the others a
glance and frowned, her lips curling
downward. "Something is not right."
She turned toward the three males, and moved
closer to them with her
black and white tiger-striped wings.
She paused in front of Vejiita.
"You are not human, mortal."
She turned her gaze to Trunks and Goten,
scrutinizing them with her magenta eyes.
"Neither are you two." Her
nose wrinkled in confusion and distaste.
She turned toward Gallifrey.
"How can humans smell like an animal?"
She rested her gaze once again
on Trunks.
Trunks looked slightly miffed under
her scrutiny. "We are not
completely human, that's why. Goten
and I are half Saiya-jiin."
"Lord Oberon has placed us in the land of the Kitsune?"
Gallifrey nodded. "Yes.
At the time, the people of this area were
a peace-loving race, and honored our
kin in a righteous manner. Lord
Oberon more than likely thought we would
come to the least amount of
harm in this area."
Tan'ne smiled and switched to Japanese.
"Then by all means, I
must honor our brethren in his homeland
by speaking his language."
Bura was getting antsy. She wasn't
understanding what the
conversation was about. "Mama, what's
going on?" She tugged on the
older woman's arm to get her attention.
Her tail twitched agitatedly.
Tan'ne saw the twitch and moved closer
to Bura, her eyes wide in
realization of the tail. She grabbed
the furry object, bringing it closer
to her for inspection. "Tail?
Why does she have a tail? It looks feline
in nature." She gave it a few tugs
in experimentation.
"Owww!!" Bura yelped, and tried
to pull her tail from the fae's
tight grasp. "That's mine!"
Vejiita started to growl. "Never
touch a Saiya-jiin's tail, yosei,
Unless you want your life to become forfeit."
He thrashed his tail once
for emphasis, and re-wrapped it around his
waist securely. His growl
became louder as Bura's cries grew louder.
Tan'ne raised a thin eyebrow and let
go of Bura's tail. "All right."
She moved closer to Vejiita. "Shall
I pull your tail, then?" Vejiita just
snorted in response, and turned away.
Gallifrey sighed, shaking his head. "Tan'ne, please."
She gave her fellow fae a glance and
shrugged her shoulders. "If
you insist." She moved around the
room, the pale blue dress on her small
frame swirling around her legs, as if moving
on its own accord. "There is
an abundance of iron in this room, is there
not?" She glanced at the
door, scowling in distaste.
Gallifrey nodded. "Yes. The humans still use it for many things."
"What's wrong with iron? It's
a inexpensive, heavy-duty metal
that can be used to build many things.
It's in abundance everywhere."
Bulma rapped her knuckles on the wall, and
watched with wide eyes as
both Gallifrey and Tan'ne clutched at their
ears, letting out sounds of
pain.
"Okaasan, don't." Trunks held
her hand, stopping her from making
the noise. "Iron is lethal to yosei."
Tan'ne rubbed her ears, trying to relieve
the nauseous ringing.
"How did you know this, youngling?"
She frowned.
"My Mythology class had a section on
Medieval England, and we
covered all the stories and aspects of the
Fae," Trunks replied, Goten
nodding in agreement. He gave her
an appraising eye. "You're not an elf,
like Gallifrey. Are you a sprite?
Or a nymph of some kind?"
She smiled, a small laugh escaping
her lips. "No, youngling, I'm not
a nymph. Although, the small female
could have used their healing
magicks earlier, I suppose." She glanced
at Bura for a second. "No, I'm
a Sylph, youngling. My name is Tan'ne."
He nodded. "Trunks. I was close with the sprite, then."
"Close, yes, but not correct."
She crossed her arms and glanced
around the room with a restless eye.
"This is all fine and good, but I
must be off. Things to
do, fae to see, mortals to pester, you know how
it goes." She uncrossed her arms and
walked over to the door.
Bulma looked startled. "Go? Go where?"
"Does it matter?" She shrugged
her shoulders, and turned to
Gallifrey. "Are you coming, brother?"
He blinked a few times, and gave Bura
a glance. But he just shook
his head. "No, sister, not yet.
Not until the other two pods hatch, and I
still need to rectify my mistakes."
"You are an admirable one, brother.
I can see why Lord Oberon
made you our leader." She smiled at
Gallifrey. "But I do not need such
leading, for I can take care of myself."
She gave Vejiita a glance, looking
him up and down once. "But I will
welcome anyone coming with me."
"He certainly will not!" Bulma fumed, crossing her arms in a huff.
"Sister, perhaps it be best to stay,
at least until the other two
pods open," Gallifrey suggested.
"Then the four of us can set out for
Avalon, to see the rest of Oberon's Children."
He smiled sadly. "I have a
feeling they forgot about us when the Gathering
began."
Tan'ne frowned. "But I do not
wish to remain within these walls
of death, brother." She glanced at
her hands and frowned even deeper.
"My magick is at an all-time low.
These walls are not helping you in your
recharge as well, Gallifrey. There
isn't even any sunshine down here!"
Bura let out a large yawn. "Well,
it's night time right now,
Tan'ne-san." She turned to her father
and yawned again. "Papa, will you
tuck me in?"
Vejiita looked startled. He hadn't
expected Bura to talk to him
due to his earlier actions, for awhile.
"If you want."
She nodded and wrapped her thin arms
around his heavily muscled
one, and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Of course, Papa." She sighed,
a happy smile gracing her pretty features.
The Saiya-jiin Prince just stared at
his offspring for a few
moments, keeping his surprise completely
hidden from outside viewing.
He blinked, gave Bulma a glance, and led
Bura from the room. As they
were leaving, Bura's tail wound itself around
Vejiita's, in a tight embrace.
You could see the Prince jump slightly at
the intimate contact, but he
soon relaxed, and returned the embrace willingly.
Bulma smiled at the father and daughter
pair, knowing that things
will turn out for the best with their bond.
She turned back around and
studied the pair of fae in front of her.
Gallifrey looked fairly relaxed,
and she noticed that he was staring off
into space, a small smile on his
features as well. She turned her gaze
to the newest addition, Tan'ne and
studied the female. She seemed to
be fairly confident in her stance, but
Bulma knew how to read a person; living
with Vejiita for so long gave her
ample opportunity to study body language.
The yosei was calm and
confident on the outside, but was fairly
nervous and unsettled inside.
The set of antennae on her head were constantly
twitching, and her
brightly colored wings seemed to be restless--they
never not as still as
her male counterpart. Her fingers
were tapping against the light blue
material of her dress--a sure sign of nervous
energy at work.
She smiled a little brighter.
"Well, since you're going to be
staying for a little while, at least the
night, why don't we show you to a
guest room?"
"That would be most generous of you,
Bulma-san," Gallifrey
nodded, smiling at his hostess.
"Trunks," Bulma turned to her
lavender-haired son, "Can you show
Gallifrey and Tan'ne to a room on the guest
wing? I need to find
Tashi-san and tell him of the night's events."
"Sure, Kaasan." Trunks nodded
He turned to the two fae. "If you
would follow me." They nodded and
Trunks led the way, with Goten
trailing behind the pair.
Bulma let out a sigh, the smile slowly
falling from her mouth.
"How do I explain to Tashi about tonight?
The pods have mythological
creatures in them--and one turned my daughter
into one!" She sighed
once more, and rubbed her forehead, turning
off the light as she left.
****
Trunks led the processional through
the many halls; the group was
rather quiet. Tan'ne was staring at
the form of Trunks, who was directly
ahead of her. She smirked, and tossed
her long white hair over her
shoulder. "Tell me, youngling, what
are Saiyan?"
Trunks glanced behind him, quirking
a questioning lavender
eyebrow at her. "Trunks. And
it's pronounced Sigh-yah-zgen. Three
syllables. Don't say it the other
way in front of my father. He'll get
upset."
"Or, more upset than he already is." Goten added with a smirk.
Trunks rolled his eyes. "Why did you want to know?"
"Just curious, youngling." Trunks
grunted at her name for him.
"Your scent is unique; it's something I've
never encountered before--I
can smell the human, but the other part
is almost animalistic."
"That's more than likely because Saiya-jiin
are not of this world."
Trunks smirked as he walked. He spared
a glance at the two fae for
their reaction to his words. Gallifrey
seemed slightly surprised, but
Tan'ne gave him an encouraging smile.
Her eyes seemed almost...excited?
"My father, Vejiita, and Goten's father,
Son Goku, are the last remaining
full-blooded Saiya-jiin, an alien warrior
race from Vejiita-sei. The planet
is destroyed now. Me, Bura, Goten
and his brother, Gohan, are all half
Saiya-jiin. Gohan-san has a daughter,
Pan, who is quarter Saiya-jiin."
"I can smell the difference from you
two and the older male. But
tell me, youngling, why does the male and
the female fae have feline tails,
and you two do not?"
"Well," Goten rubbed his head.
"We were all born with tails, but
had them removed for the planet's safety.
Because when a Saiya-jiin has
their tail, they have the ability to transform
in an Oozaru, a giant ape, in
the light of a full moon."
"And this is a bad thing?" Tan'ne asked, amused.
"Yes, it is. We don't have the
ability to control that form; it
increases your strength by ten times, and
the animalistic urges and
instincts rule over any logic that may exist."
He nodded to Goten.
"Goten, Bura and I have never transformed
into Oozaru, but Gohan
Tousan, and Goku-san have. And Tousan
is the only one that can control
the form, or at least he could when he was
younger. He hasn't had his
tail in over twenty years." Trunks
frowned a little bit. He had forgotten
about the ability to turn into the Oozaru
form, and worried that his
father, now that he hand Bura had their
tails back, would remember his
earlier lessons in control.
"You are were-creatures?" Gallifrey
blinked, startled by this
news. He turned to Goten. "And
you want this ability for destruction,
Goten-san?"
"Well, that comes with it, but I don't
mind." Goten shrugged and
smiled. "besides, if we get out of
control we have the universe's most
powerful warriors residing here on Chikyuu."
Tan'ne turned to Trunks, hiking a thin
eyebrow. "Are you included
in that number, youngling?"
Trunks blushed a little but nodded.
"Well, I haven't been training
seriously in a while, but I guess so.
Both me and Goten are."
"I'd like to see an example of such
warrior prowess some time,
youngling." Tan'ne eyes the purple-haired
senshi, her magenta eyes
taking in every muscle. "But not now.
Now I just want..." She paused in
front of a set of double doors. She
put her hand on the doors, but drew
it away with a hiss. Iron. "Youngling,
what is behind this door?"
Trunks turned around at her question. "My name is Trunks."
"What is behind these doors, youngling?"
Tan'ne repeated
herself, ignoring Trunks request.
He sighed and shook his head, moving
over to a black panel next to
the door. He punched a few buttons.
"It's a botanical garden. Tropical
forest."
"Open it." Tan'ne's eyes lit
up at the mention of the forest.
"Please."
Gallifrey smiled. "Sounds pleasant, sister?"
"Hopefully, it is." The three
waited as Trunks pushed a few more
buttons, and the sliver doors slid open
silently, letting a puff of wet air
hit them. The four walked in, and
were welcomed by large clusters of
green trees, and dense underbrush.
A light mist seemed to surround
the area. It was rather quiet within,
lending to the peaceful nature they
received when entering the room. Tan'ne
stepped forward quickly and
moved up to one cluster of trees, her small
hands running up and down
the rough bark. "It's like a miniature
forest within this room!" She
stooped low and brushed her fingers over
a few leaves of the
undergrowth, and a small flower opened up
for her, its bright yellow
petals standing out in the blackness of
the night. She stared at the
flower, her bright eyes fixated on the silky
petals. "I'll take this one,
youngling. You can go now."
"This one?" Trunks stared at
the kneeling fae, confusion flitting
across his features. "What do you
mean?"
"You were to show me to my room, and
here it is. Thank you."
She stood and glanced at Trunks, giving
him a small smile and a nod
before disappearing into the lush foliage,
the dark embracing her
swiftly.
Gallifrey smiled knowingly. His
sister would be happy here for
awhile. He looked around, taking in
the view. He saw that the ceiling was
completely made of glass to let the sun
warm and nourishing rays in--one
panel was open, and he could barely feel
the breeze ruffle through his
hair and across the sensitive membranes
of his wings. "Are there more
rooms like this one, Trunks-san?"
"Well," The half Saiya-jiin scratched
his head. "There's this one,
the Rainforest garden. We have a plains,
deciduous forest, and
coastline."
"I'd like to see the forest, if possible."
"Sure." The three left the rainforest
and moved into a new hall,
where they stopped in front of an identical
set of doors. Trunks opened
the door using the keypad on the wall, and
stepped in. "This is the
forest, Gallifrey."
Gallifrey turned around slowly, his
bright green eyes soaking in
the sights and his nose taking in the smells
of the tall trees. He sighed
blissfully and nodded. "If possible,
I'd like to stay here. It won't be too
much trouble, will it?"
Trunks shook his head. "I don't
think so. These rooms are here
for the scientists' use, and for relaxation.
Not many people come in,
except for the ones that take care of them.
I'll let Kaasan know where
you and the other yosei are residing."
He paused. "Did you need
anything before we take off for the night?"
"No, I don't think so," Gallifrey
shook his head, taking another
long look around his new quarters before
letting his gaze rest on the
demi Saiya-jiin. "Thank you for generosity.
I know we've been a surprise
to you and your own. I apologize for
any trouble or problems that may
have arose from my awakening, and my future
kin's arrival." The fae
bowed humbly.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't be the same
if there wasn't something
going on around here." Trunks smirked.
"Just watch yourself around any
humans. since you can't put up a glamour
to protect your wings." A
thought came to him. "Actually, I'm
going to put a lockout on both
garden rooms, so no unauthorized personnel
can access them, okay?"
"Thank you again. Your kindness
and generosity is most
appreciated." Gallifrey smiled warmly
at him.
"No problem." He turned to his
best friend and nodded his head.
"C'mon, Goten-kun, let's leave him alone.
I've got to find Kaasan."
"Hai, Trunks-kun. Good night,
Gallifrey-san." Goten waved to the
fae, and followed his fellow senshi out
the room.
****
Bulma wandered through the labs, looking
for her head geneticist.
She found him in a small office, going over
paperwork. "I had hoped you
left already, Tashi-san."
The older man blinked, startled by
the silent approach of his
boss. "No, not yet, Bulma-san.
I wanted to finish up some loose ends
before tomorrow morning." He stared
into the tired face of his
employer and frowned slightly. "I
think you're the one that needs to go
to bed, Bulma-san."
She shrugged and fell into a chair
across from him. "That's not a
bad idea, actually. I will pretty
soon."
He watched her face a little bit longer
before smiling . He
continued. "Did you discover anything
of interest in that open pod?"
She blinked, remembering the last time
she saw him was before
Gallifrey found her working on his pod.
"I played in goo for quite awhile,
but that's not what I came to talk to you
about, Tashi."
"What is it?"
She frowned, trying to maneuver the
right words to say into the
right positions so her explanation would
sound...right. "Well, just to let
you know, the second pod opened. This
time it was a female."
His eyes widened in surprise. "You saw it open?"
"Yes."
"Where is it...she now? Did it
run away like the last one?" He,
too, saw the surveillance tapes of Gallifrey's
pod opening. He did not
know, however, of his subsequent return.
"No, she did not. She is still
in the building--with Trunks and
Goten at the moment, being shown to a guest
room. Along with the male
from the first pod."
"He returned?" Tashi's eyes were
wide in excitement. He
thought he was lost to the wind for sure.
"Tell me, Bulma-san, what are
they like?"
'Well, they're actually a lot like
a human, Tashi. They've got
higher levels of reasoning--they can think
on their own and hold normal,
intelligent conversations. They have
a different family structure, as far
as I could tell, but all in all, they're
practically human." She paused. "But
they're not. They're...different."
Tashi was confused. "Different?"
She nodded. "Different."
She closed her eyes, her purple
eyebrows drawn together in concentration.
"Tell me, Tashi, do you
believe in magic?"
"Magic? As in hocus-pocus, or as in illusion?"
"The hocus-pocus kind."
He scratched his head in confusion.
"Not for a long time,
Bulma-san. Being a scientist, both
you and I know that magic doesn't
exist. It's impossible. The
whole trick of it all is specifically combined
chemical reactions and oddities in nature
reacting to other substances."
She opened her eyes. "What would
you say if I told you magic
does exist?"
He paused, his chocolate-brown eyes
looking deep into her blue
eyes. "If you approached me in the
beginning with that question, before
I met your husband, I'd say you ate some
of that goo, Bulma-san. But..."
he let out a sigh. "But now, now I
will give you the benefit of the doubt.
Can you explain?"
"Not really." She smiled weakly
at her scientist and friend. "But
I'm going to give you what I know.
Please use that benefit and hear me
out, okay?"
"Okay." He nodded slowly.
She started out with the morning's
events, and Bura's story about
her dream. "That's when you came upstairs
and told us about the first
pod's opening." Tashi was quiet and
just nodded. Bulma continued on.
"Nothing really happened until after I went
to go work on the open pod."
She then explained Gallifrey's startling
her, and Trunks, Goten and
Vejiita's entrance into everything.
Tashi's eyes got wide as she told him
about their transformation into trees, Bura's
rescue of her father, then
of Gallifrey, and her subsequent healing.
Tashi interrupted her with a hand.
"Wait a minute. You're
throwing a lot at me, Bulma-san. I'm
following you to a point, but I want
to know one thing: What is he?
You said he's humanoid in shape, but not.
And by your story, he has abnormal...abilities.
Do you know what he is?"
She nodded. "Yes. He's
a Yosei. Fae, Faerie, Oberon's Children,
the Fair Folk, whatever you want to call
them. And she is one, as well.
As are the two unopened pods."
"Yosei?" He looked at her with
wide, unblinking eyes. "As in the
characters of Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer's
Night Dream?' Puck,
Titania? They're real?"
"More than likely, yes. Gallifrey
had mentioned Avalon, and
Oberon, a few times so I imagine that they're
real, as well."
"Gallifrey?"
"That's the male yosei's name.
Actually, to be completely true,
Gallifrey is an elf, and Tan'ne, the female,
is a sylph, or a large sprite. I
don't know what the other two pods contain.
We'll find out when they
open."
"Do you know why they were underground in the first place?"
She thought a moment. "Actually,
I don't. I know that they knew
what they were in, but didn't know the exact
location. And they called it
the 'saferoom.' So it maybe was to
protect them from something? And I
believe they were supposed to be awakened
or released from their pods
when something called the 'Gathering' took
place." She shook her head.
"Other than that, I don't know. Or
why they were the only ones to
survive and the other did not."
"That is one hell of a story, Bulma-san."
Tashi leaned back in his
chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Are you sure you didn't eat any of
that goo?" He peeked out from under
his hand.
She caught his teasing tone and rolled
her eyes. "Maybe if I feed
some to you, you'll understand."
"I guess I'll just have to see it to
believe it. Yosei, hmm?" He
shook his head in disbelief. "Do they
mean any harm?"
Bulma shook her head. "None that
I can see. So far, they've been
rather quiet, except for that episode with
Gallifrey and the trees, but
Vejiita brought that on to himself for not
reining in his temper." She
stood up. "Well, I'm going to go check
on Bura, then head to bed. Go
home, Tashi-san. Everything will still
be here in the morning. Including
the yosei and the pods."
He nodded. "All right, Bulma-san."
He followed her out the door,
and turned the light off behind him.
"Do I get to meet them tomorrow?"
She nodded. "I'll try to get them in here for a general exam.
Gallifrey will probably cooperate, but I'm
not sure about Tan'ne. And I'd
like to have B-chan examined, as well.
I want to find out truly how much
she has changed."
They waved to each other and went their
separate ways for the
night.
*********
Trunks sighed as the door closed behind
the pair of Saiya-jiin,
leaving them alone in the hallway.
"So what's next, Trunks?"
"Well, I go find Kaasan and let her
know that the yosei have taken
over and made themselves at home in the
Garden rooms." He yawned
wide. "Then I collapse on my bed.
Come on, Goten, I'm tired."
Goten nodded and ambled alongside his
best friend. "I suppose I
better call Kaasan and let her know what's
going on. I don't think
Bulma-san called her earlier." Trunks
just grunted. He gave his
purple-haired friend a sidelong look, and
crossed his arms behind his
head. "So, what do you think of them?"
Trunks shrugged his shoulders non-committally.
"Dunno. I was
pretty mad at Gallifrey for turning me into
a tree, but I guess I can't be
too mad at him for long, since he did heal
B-chan. I wish the female
would stop calling be that name, though."
"Oh, yeah," Goten had a silly
smile on his face, his eyes staring
off into space. "B-chan was healed,
all right."
"Knock it off, Goten!" Trunks
scowled, a growl rumbling in the
back of his throat. He whacked the
blushing male next to him in the
arm. "That's my seven year old
sister you're lusting after!"
"But you gotta admit, Trunks, your
sister is a hot babe!" He
ducked at the swing intended for his nose,
instead feeling it flow by his
ear. He started to run down the hall.
"Well, I'm right, ne?"
Trunks let out a snarl and chased after
him. "How would I know?
I don't think of my sister as a hot babe!"
"Well I should hope not, Trunks."
Bulma stood in a doorway with
her arms crossed. "If your father
heard that, you would not survive the
beating he would inflict."
"Whatever, Kaasan," Trunks rolled
his eyes, coming to a stop next
to her, but not before leveling a death
glare worthy of his father at his
friend. "I was trying to protect B-chan
from the wandering baka hentai,
Goten." He sighed when Goten just
blew a raspberry. "Anyway, I wanted
to tell you that the two yosei have taken
over the Gardens. The female
is in the Rainforest, and the male is in
the Deciduous Forest."
"Why are they in there?"
"Well, I think they liked the scenery
better in those rooms.
Something about natural habitat, maybe?"
Trunks just shrugged his
indifference. "Anyway, I placed lockouts
on them so no one else can
access the rooms without the right password."
"And what is that?"
He smirked. "Yosei."
Bulma rolled her eyes. "Clever."
She nodded and beamed at her
son. "Good decision, Trunks-chan!
Soon you'll be taking over the company
for me, and I can retire to the Bahamas!"
She ruffled her son's short
hair. "I knew you inherited my smarts!
I keep telling your father that
you're more than just a pretty face!"
He smirked, showing just from who he
got his 'pretty face.' "Of
course, I'm perfect. Brains, Brawn,
and a face to go with them.
Perfection in its finest form."
"And an ego to match!" Bulma
laughed. "So if you're such a
man-stud, why don't you have a girlfriend?"
"Um...I just haven't...found the right
one." A blush crept across
his high cheekbones.
"It's not like they haven't tried to
get in his pants, Bulma-san,"
Goten shook his head. "The girls at
school drop like flies when he
glances at them."
"Yeah, well, that's just all flirting
stuff, nothing serious. It's
really annoying."
"Then why do you encourage it?"
"I don't, Goten!" He sighed,
running a hand through his hair,
fisting it in his lavender locks.
"It's just that they take everything I do
and say wrong." He shook his head,
knowing he'd never win that
argument against his best friend.
He threw a glare at Bulma, who was
trying hard to smother her giggles, but
not succeeding. "I'm going to
bed. Good night, Kaasan."
"Sleep well, Trunks-chan." Bulma smiled, pulling him in for a hug.
He allowed her the affection, with
a sigh and a roll of the eyes.
"I'm getting a little old for this, don't
you think?"
"A son is never too old or too mature
for affection from his
mother." Goten quoted, a smile on
his face. He threw his arms around
Bulma, lifting her up in the air, and eliciting
a squeal from the smaller
female. He put her down and gave her
a mushy peck on the cheek. "At
least that's what my Kaasan pounds into
my head with her frying pan."
"That's your mother, for you.
'Nite, Kaasan." He waved and
walked down the hall. Goten waved
as well, and followed him.
He stopped after a moment and turned
to the black-haired male
next to him. "Go on ahead, I forgot
to tell Kaasan something."
He nodded. "I'm going to go call
mine, okay?" trunks nodded and
turned back around, heading in the direction
he left.
He found Bulma in the same doorway,
her arms crossed and a
secret smile lighting her face. "You
know, you don't have to put up a
front for Goten-kun. He's practically
your brother." She opened up her
arms.
Trunks blushed and moved into her embrace,
enclosing her in one
of his own, holding her tight to him.
"I know, but I just want to..."
"You'll always be my little boy, ne?"
She smiled tenderly at him,
as he pecked her on the cheek.
"Always." He returned her smile
and walked down the hallway to
his room. "Good night, Mama."
"Good night, Trunks-chan."
*****
Vejiita was silent as he walked alongside
Bura, her arm looped
around his in a rather tight grip.
He didn't know what she was
thinking--did she hate him for hitting her
with his ki, almost ending
her...her life prematurely? Or did
she fear him now, and his power, and
the power he passed down to her?
Their training session this morning
and afternoon was a pleasant
experience for the Prince. Sure, he
had trained Trunks, and
consequently Goten, but he wasn't completely
confident in his ability to
train a female--especially his flesh and
blood. Trunks was easy to train.
He just used the same training methods that
were used on him by his
father and trainers--beat him mercilessly
until you're unconscious, or
learn how to defend yourself. Trunks
caught on rather quickly,
surprising him, only needing a few hard
beating to learn the tough lesson.
But a girl is a different matter, especially
the one that seemed to
be a mirror image of his mate. His
weak, human mate. Hi methods
should, in theory, have been the same; for
they were on Vejiita-sei. A
senshi is a senshi, be they male or female.
All Saiya-jiin were trained in
the same manner, and if they were unable
to undertake the vicious
methods, they were killed. The thrill
of battle ran thick in all Saiya-jiin
veins, the bloodlust driving each warrior
to become better and stronger.
He found it thriving in Trunks, and in the
mild-mannered Goten, but
would his blood run in his daughter?
Or would his mate's weak, human
blood? Bura definitely had her looks,
but once in awhile, he would see a
snatch of himself--usually when she was
upset.
So, he started off slow, trying to
gauge what her small body could
and could not withstand. But Bura
surprised him, showing a high
tolerance to the training. She immediately
learned how to block a punch,
and began to retaliate. Although she
never got anything through his
defenses, her valiant attempt impressed
him to no end. She showed to
be have more Saiya-jiin running through
her heart than Trunks. It
elevated the love for his small Princess
to the utmost peak of his heart.
And the look of shock on Trunks and
Goten's face when Bura
opened the door would give him a fond memory
for a long time.
"Papa? What are you thinking?"
He glanced, startled at the female
on his arm. He let out a grunt.
"Never mind, brat."
She smiled and blinked her blue eyes.
"Are we going to train again
tomorrow, Papa?"
Vejiita stared at her, very surprised
at her question. After a
moment, he recovered and turned his head,
facing away from her. "You
may join me if you so wish." They
arrived at Bura's bedroom.
She opened the door, releasing his
arm at the same time. "I had
fun today, Papa! I want to do it again."
She moved to a dresser, and
opening it, stared into the drawer with
a frown. She pulled out a set of
pajamas and frowned even deeper. "These
aren't going to fit me
anymore."
Vejiita frowned as well. "Then don't wear anything."
"Papa!"
"Fine!" He grunted, scowling
slightly. "I'll go see if the Onna has
something for you."
Bura squealed, and wrapped her arms
around his neck, giving him a
wet kiss on his cheek. Her wings came
around, adding to the embrace.
"Thank you, Papa!"
"Che." He stalked out of the
room, more to hide the smile
covering his normally fierce features, than
the displeasure of the
affection. That smile was what greeted
Bulma as the two met each
other in the hall near their bedroom.
"What's that smile for, Vejiita?"
Bulma's own smile grew as she
questioned him. "Is it for me?"
The smile immediately disappeared,
the old scowl returning. "No."
He opened their bedroom door, and stormed
in. "The brat needs
night-time clothing."
Bulma sighed. Sometimes...
"Let's see what I can find." She
looked through a couple dresser drawers,
sorting out different items.
"Well, the biggest obstacle are those wings.
I got lucky with that
backless t-shirt." She found a pair
of flannel bottoms and an old t-shirt.
She grabbed a scissors from a different
drawer and cut out the back of
the shirt, making sure to leave enough material
to hold its shape. She
folded them up, along with the rest she
pulled from her drawers. "Tell
B-chan to tear up the other ones, as well."
Vejiita grunted and picked up the pile
and the scissors. Before
leaving completely, he paused in the doorway,
turning around to stare at
Bulma with an unreadable expression on his
face.
"What?" Bulma found it to be
rather disconcerting, and she
shifted under his hot gaze.
He slowly approached her and
stopped, his face inches from hers.
Bulma could feel his warm breath on her
nose. She watched as his
features softened slightly, and he bent
down slightly to capture her lips
in a breath-taking kiss. She melted
under that touch and didn't even
jump when she felt his tail curl around
her calf, squeezing her gently.
She moaned into his lips, her arms coming
around his neck to bury her
hands in his thick hair.
He released her lips, and studied her
blissful expression once
more. "That was for you." He
turned around and walked out the door,
closing it behind him softly.
The purple-haired genius let out a
sigh. "I swear, one of these
days I'm going to understand that Saiya-jiin!"
Bura was struggling with her shirt
when Vejiita returned. He set
the new clothes on the foot of her bed,
and pulled the neck of the
offending shirt over her head. "Thank
you, Papa. I was having
problems."
Vejiita just grunted. "There
are your clothes. Use the scissors
to make the others fit." He turned
around and started to walk away.
"Papa! I thought you were going to tuck me in?"
He turned around and took in the image
of his youngest child.
She stood in the middle of the room, her
face framed by her
newly-tipped ears, eyes bordering on pleading
for his presence. She held
the shirt she wore against her chest, the
swell of her newly-developed
breasts visible. Her green and purple
wings fluttered every once in
awhile, stirring her long lair. He
saw her tail, his legacy to her, twitch
and corkscrew in an anxious manner.
Something was bothering her...is it
my leaving? "Fine, brat. Get
dressed."
She smiled brightly, the anxiousness
disappearing. She picked up
the top shirt off her bed, which was the
one that Bulma had already
altered. She pulled the top over her
head, letting it sit around her neck.
"Can you help me, Papa? I'm not used
to these wings yet."
"Can you curl them together, like how
they were before?" he said
with a sigh.
"Maybe." She concentrated, and
slowly the four sections rolled in
on themselves. "It's hard."
Vejiita quickly pulled the shirt over
her shoulders and down to her
waist, making sure that the new wings were
on the outside of the
material. "Let them go."
They immediately sprang out, waving back and
forth.
Bura panted slightly, the exertion
of such an act tiring her out.
"That hurt a lot. I don't think they're
supposed to move that way." She
pushed her arms through the appropriate
holes.
"As the yosei tomorrow." Vejiita
suggested. He picked up the
flannel pants and with a ki-lit finger,
poked a tail-sized hole in the back.
He handed her the item of clothing and she
quickly pulled it on.
"Thank you, Papa." She crawled
into her bed and under the
covers, but remained sitting up. She
stared at her father, who had set
down next to her. "You know, Papa,
I'm not mad at you. For earlier, with
Gallifrey-san." He opened his mouth
to say something, but she just
shook her head, putting a small hand over
it. "I know why you were mad
at him, Papa. But I just couldn't
let him get hurt. He's my friend, and
you said to always protect my friends and
family." She crawled out of
the covers and threw her arms around his
neck, burying her face in the
muscular grooves. "But I can be mad
at you. I love you, Papa!"
Vejiita was shocked beyond words.
She's
not mad? But... His
arms encircled her small waist on their
own volition, his head leaning
gently against the soft hair of his daughter.
"I...I'm sorry, Bura. I did
not intend for you to get hurt today.
Or ever."
She drew back, nodding. "I know,
Papa." Bura crawled onto his
lap, wrapping her long legs around his waist,
her arms clutching at his
neck. Her tail found his and curled
around the matching appendage. "But
you have to promise me, Papa. Promise
not to hurt Gallifrey-san and his
friends." Her voice hitched as she
swallowed a sob. "Please, Papa."
"I can't promise you that, Bura."
Vejiita frowned, shaking his
head slightly. She asked a lot from
him...
"Try, for me." She looked into
his face, her teary-blue eyes
pleading for his approval. "I don't
want to see anyone get hurt if they
don't have to."
Vejiita sighed, knowing he could not
argue his case in the best
court of law. "Fine. I'll try.
But my patience is limited, brat. We'll see."
He smirked at her, wiping away a hot tear
from her cheek. His heart
broke inside, seeing his actions could bring
his little girl to tears.
She smiled back, her eyes drying.
"Thank you, Papa!" She gave
him a bone-crushing hug and kissed the tip
of his widow's peak. She
crawled off him and back under the covers.
The Prince grunted and stood up.
"Go to sleep, brat. Tomorrow
will be a busy day."
"Are we going to train tomorrow, Papa?"
"Hn. You need to adjust to you
new body. I will not be easy on
you." He warned her, narrowing his
eyes.
She grinned right back. "You
never are, Papa." She pulled up the
covers, nestling in the warmth. "Stay
with me, Papa. Until I fall asleep?"
He sat on the edge of her bed, staring
at her as her breaths
evened out, and he felt her ki sink to an
even, resting level. He reached
out and hesitantly stroked the soft purple
strands that spilled across
her pillows, brushing a few stray strands
away from her fragile
cheekbones. His fingers ran lightly
over the pointed earlobes and
adult-looking features. She may look
like an adult, but she still has a
child's heart, and soul. A strong,
Saiya-jiin soul with a human's
compassion. Bura let out a soft sigh
and murmured under her breath.
Vejiita leaned over and brushed his
lips across her forehead, resting with
eyes closed on the knobby ridge in between
her eyebrows, something else she
inherited from him. He stood and walked
toward the door, but not before pausing
in the entrance. "I will try, for
you, my little senshi. I will always try, for you." He
turned back around and turning off the lights,
left the room to retire to his own.
***********
So, how's that? Lots of tender
and mushy moments, and a little information. How do you like Tan'ne
(pronounced Tan-nay)? And the day finally *ended*!! *grin*
I'm bad about that kind of thing. I think I have, in ATTR, one day
spanning 10 chapters Oh well. Whatcha gonna do, ne? Speaking
of A Tail To Remember, or affectionately known as ATTR, I'm going through
the chapters and reloading them. I've gone through and reworded parts,
added or deleted, etc. It makes it look cleaner and more, well, like
a regular book. I added the disclaimer at the beginning, along with
a glossary/explanation. So, check it out and let me know how ya like
the changes. Gie-chan
Oh, BTW--If you want me to let you know about updates, leave your email, or send a request to phowah@cs.com. I understand everyone doesn't have the Support Services option. Just let me know, and I can do something! Angie
