RATING: PG-13

PART: part 1/unkown chapters

PAIRING: Krillen and #18, Bulma and Vegeta, and Vegeta and #18

CHAPTER WARNING: None

DISCLAIMER: All Dragonball GT characters belong to Akira Toriyama and the producers of Dragonball GT. I do not own any of the characters, or anything to do with the characters. Blah, blah, blah...You get the point.

Note: Once again, Juuhachi= #18. Lyrics are from Brian McKnight's "Kiss Your Love Good-bye".



(Tell, tell me it isn't so

You say you have your reasons for leaving

You have to go

I watch you turn, turn and walk away

And I'm searching to find the right words to say

Hoping and praying you'd stay

So I'll kiss your love goodbye

I guess it wasn't meant to be

I gave my all, you've tried

And now I see

That love caught my eye

I went blind

And now it makes me cry

The only thing I can do, is kiss your love goodbye)

(Good-bye)

Darkness...darkness...Death.

Simple words upon a still tongue. Empty hollow sounds emerging from a closed throat. Silence.

What was this inconceivable darkness? Not a single twinkling glow from above in all of this emptiness, not even a glimmer, nor spark. Where was the renowned light that was so often spoken of? Where?

Where were her angels?

She knew none of that was to be, however. Who other than her deserved the forever dark for her horrible sins? No light, no warmth, no stars in her sky...simply nothing. Yes, she had welcomed her sins long ago and now she was to live the consequences.

She had known...

(Juu-chan?)

Still-

She had let go.

(Honey?)

Maybe death was not forever. Maybe someday...

(BAM BAM BAM! Honey?)

She would. Just. Wake. Up.

(Juuhachi?)

Maybe.

(Juuhachi!)

Ocean eyes tore open in one startling gasp. Air rushed into her lungs as if she'd gone an eternity without a breath on her trembling lips. She gave a few shuddering coughs, taking in the sweet oxygen with her tender, thick throat.

Sunlight from the closed sliding glass doors streamed in like wildfire and lit up the room with brilliancy. Juuhachi was forced to squint into the radiance. She brought up a shaking hand to shade her painfully wide pupils. The immense shock ran through her body and back again, forcing a jolt of electricity down her spine until she sat upright in the queen-sized bed.

"N-Nani? What..." Eyes closed against the painful blaze. One hand still outstretched to block the light from hitting her face; she bent feebly over the silken bed blankets to bring her other hand to her sweat covered forehead. Perspiration dotted her fingertips with salty moisture.

"What was...?" She continued to stare at the soft tips, trying to extend her mind back, to remember. Memories were like little shards of broken glass, images faded upon their scuffed surfaces.

She couldn't...

(Shattered. Shattered.)

A soft creak to her right signaled the android to another person in the room. She turned her aching head towards the sound, coming eye to eye with a familiar peeking form. Krillen stood there, holding the sturdy door open a crack and staring in at her with blinking eyes.

"Juu-chan?"

She stared back, words not daring to form upon her lips. Silence commanded her mind as she regarded his stalky form, taking in the black hair, ebony eyes and spring clothes upon his diminutive body. He simply stood in place, staring back.

"It's, uh.time to get up."

Juuhachi blinked. "What time is it?" she questioned, half-heartedly. The android observed him glance towards his wristwatch almost nervously before he looked back up and answered faithfully:

"11:00."

Juuhachi paused, startled by how late it was. She never, EVER slept so deep into the morning. Bringing her hand back to her forehead, she felt again. A slight, fervent heat touched her fingers, but nothing overwhelmingly obvious. No, she wasn't sick.

But, this was so abnormal. Every morning, 5:00 as usual, she was out of bed, beginning the day. She had never missed a sunrise nor missed a sunset yet during her time alive; she had made sure of it. Nevertheless-and she scowled to herself, leaning her head into the cradle of her hands-all her formal rituals seemed to have been forgotten. 11:00? No.That just could not be.

"Krillen-kun? Are you sure?"

He nodded, his ebony locks bouncing upon his head. "Positive." The warrior took a cautious step forwards into the bedroom, frowning at her curled form.

"Are you all right? You don't look too well."

Juuhachi's frown was still evident, though her face was hidden from his on looking gaze. Clenching her eyes against the weak pounding on the back of her skull, she dropped her hands and stared towards the bedroom windows. A clear view of the back yard and the neighbor's house met her sight.

"I'm fine. Just a bad dream."

"Really?" He took another brave step forwards. "What about?"

She frowned even deeper, scowling towards the grass and trees beyond her reach. The songs of birds whispered past the thick glass to fill the room with a soft, beautiful music. However, it did not aid her oncoming mood.

"Nothing."

"Come on. Tell me a bit of it." Krillen jutted a finger at his chest. "I'm pretty good at deciphering dreams. Sometimes they'll even tell you a bit of your future."

Fists clenched in the ruffled bed sheets. "I don't remember it all right?" Her rough tone forced Krillen a pace back, bringing him one away from the door.

"O.K. Gomen."

Looking back over to her nervous husband, Juuhachi gave an ominous sigh. The banging in her head was horribly frequent and annoying, colorful spots dancing in her vision with every throb. Her head hurt, her eyes hurt, and her stomach was twisting and turning within her. However, the look on her husband's face was enough to quell the harsh words upon her tongue.

"I.Just go downstairs. I'll be down in a while."

"All right.If you're sure you're O.K."

She nodded, though sweat dribbled down the back of her neck.

Krillen moved to saunter out of the bedroom, the door trailing shut behind him. Yet, he barely made it a foot away from the barrier before he swung it back wide open and looked back in. He tried to give a warm smile to his wife.

"I forgot to say, Chichi called."

Juuhachi raised her blond eyebrows. "And?"

"And she said that she would appreciate if you would bring something later this afternoon. Salad and stuff would be O.K, but sandwiches would be better." He disappeared from the doorway again.

"Oh." Only his eyes were visible around the oak border of the doorway. "And you'd better hurry up; we're supposed to be there in an hour and a half. Plus" and he oddly winked at her with a hidden smile on his face, "I've got a surprise for you downstairs."

The android merely stared as the minature warrior fully disappeared, the thudding of feet on the stairs clear. A look of pure disbelief was strewn across her face.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later, downstairs, now clothed in the only thing she could find suitable enough in her closet, Juuhachi stepped off the short spiral stairs. Her soft socks touched down against the slippery hardwood floor. One hand still placed on the railing, she stared to her right and into the living room, scanning the vicinity in the morning air. Carpeted floor, couch, television.The living room looked as normal as ever. Nothing was out of place.

With an exception.

Something small and blue lay smack center in the middle of the floor. Marron's, obviously, and nothing to be bothered about. However, the misplaced plushy seemed to hold Juuhachi's gaze for more than a moment. Its glazed eyes looked nowhere in particular, a long, blue rat's snout sticking out between them. Two little fabric teeth stuck out where the lips should have been, square and soft. Such a cute little toy, an item that, though Marron was already in her teens, was unable to give up.

It just lay there on its back in the middle of the floor. Unmoving.

Wandering over with the soft carpet beneath her socked feet, Juuhachi sighed and stared down at the little animal. It continued to gaze into emptiness with its dead eyes. Bending over, the android gingerly picked up the soft toy and looked down at it in her hands. She did not understand why Marron would want to hold on to such a worthless object. The teenager was more than mature enough to discard such children's playthings.

"I would never keep such a horribly ugly thing," Juuhachi murmured only to herself.

CRASH!

Immediately, she swung around, pulling her gaze away. The sudden sound of breaking plates was everywhere. It shattered through the living room and right past her ears, making her shudder at the realization that Krillen was in the kitchen. She dropped the rat and hurried out of the room.

"Krillen, what's going on in-...?" Juuhachi instantly froze. A gasp, which could only have been from her lips, was suddenly in the air as she came eye to eye with the sight that lay before her.

"KRILLEN!"

Krillen looked up from his bent position. Glass debris, some in his hands, was strewn across the kitchen floor. Seven or eight plates had been demolished, for Juuhachi could not even step down onto the kitchen floor before her foot would meet with the sharp mess. Of course, Krillen stood in the midst of his clean up, attempting to give Juuhachi a smile over his obvious guilt.

The broken plates would not have overly bothered Juuhachi. She would have simply ordered Krillen to pick every fragment from the hardwood floor until it was spotless all over again, not even a sharp sliver remaining. However, the mess upon the floor was not all that had caught her eye when she entered the room.

"The.the counters."

Pancake mix.everywhere. On the cupboards, on the counters and dripping onto the wood floor.There were bowls strewn on the dining table, spoons sticking out of their sticky contents. An open package of bacon lay in the middle of the table with a few strips of pork falling out of the plastic.

"Juu-chan!" he started, standing up with armfuls of glass. "You got dressed fast!"

"A little too fast for you, it seems," she snarled. "What the hell happened in here?"

"I thought.that before you woke up," he stuttered, cringing as he spoke, "I'd make you breakfast."

A small vein began to beat its tempo above her left eye. The thudding added to the pain in her head. Her eyes closed and a shuddering exhale escaped her lips.

"K-k...K..."

Krillen took the moment to glance around the room himself. "Uh...Gomen nasai about the plates. I...They kind of slipped."

"Nnnn..." Her teeth were so clenched together she could feel their coarse edges grinding.

"B-But." He swung around, dropping the shards in his hands onto the more than covered counter. Hopping over what he could manage he bound over to the large, metallic stove and clutched two equally dirty oven mitts in his hands. The small warrior swung open the stove door with a blooming smile on his face.

Trails of smoke billowed out.

"Krillen."

Pancakes. A full tray of them. He stood there, looking over at her with this ridiculous smile plastered to his face, a tray of pancakes in his mitten covered hands. They sizzled with a strange hiss, sputtering grease and bits of grit in her direction.

Pancakes.

Pancake mix.

"We don't usually have things like this for breakfast, so I thought you'd enjoy it."

Everywhere.

Mess.

Headache.

(Pain.)

The smile he possessed began to wither. His wife's silence seemed awkward as her eyes took another trail about the room and rested back on him. No hint of a smile even peeked upon her lips; only a thin line for a mouth trembled ever so slightly upon her face.

Headache.

She thought her head was going to explode any moment. Each dull thud made her eyes twitch with silent emotion. Not a word.not a single word. Simply silence.

(Silence.)

"Juu-chan?" he whispered, watching the skin below her eye lightly twitch.

"Juu?"

Twitch.twitch.twitch.

Krillen looked so innocent standing there. A specially made meal just for his wife, the look on his face like a child who had made a wonderful breakfast for his mother. His expression was more than adorable. Eyes waited, wide, for his wife's reaction, any reaction.

But, Juuhachi was not in the mood for childish emotions. The look upon her husbands face, the mess within her traveling gaze.the broken dishes upon the floor.and those pancakes. Those damn infernal pancakes.

"Krillen, you fool!" she cried in fury.

"What the hell have you done?"

The shock reflected was startling, more startling than her sudden outburst. He nearly dropped the pan to the floor, but caught it at the last moment. Shuddering with surprise, he stepped backwards, his slippers crunching down on leftover shards.

"N-Nani?"

"This mess.this kitchen! I wake up with a splitting headache, nearly afternoon, and this is what I get to see first thing in the morning? What the bloody hell were you thinking?!"

"I."

Her breathing was harsh, her lungs screaming for air. Little black spots began to dance in her vision.

"Have you not noticed the mess you've made? It's like a tornado hit in here, and it's me that's going to have to clean it up! I.I.!"

The android clutched her head harder.

"I."

"Juuhachi-kun!" Krillen cried as he watched her slightly slump. Her body read pure exhaustion, every muscle fatigued with the stress of the morning. "Juu-chan?"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" she screamed, shocked at the velocity of her own voice. Krillen's face instantly fell into a pool of hurt. His little eyes glinted with pain and his mouth quivered ever so slightly. He wasn't going to cry, but his expression made it seem like he was damn close. Juuhachi instantly felt regret well up in the pit of her beating heart.

(Pain.)

"Unnn," she murmured, feeling the swelling agony slowly fade away. It returned to its dull tempo in the back of her mind, its beat never ending. "Krillen." She sighed.

"Don't.call me that, all right? I don't like that name. It's Juuhachi, and you know it."

Her voice was soft against the cold abrasion left on Krillen's heart, but it didn't cool the searing wound inside of him. A slight flame flickered slowly in the bottom of his soul, tasting the foreign emotions of depression and hurt.

"I.you.,"she whispered, ending in another sigh. "Gomen, Krillen. I'm just having a really bad day." A socked foot lifted to step upon the sodden floor. "I'll help you clean up."

"No."

Blinking, caught by his blank words, she stopped her descent into the kitchen.

"No. I can do it myself."

He looked at her, then turned away, placing the hot pan on the counter. The sounds of crunching ensued, pieces of glass still strewn on the surfaces.

"Krillen."

"No, that's all right, Juuhachi. I'm perfectly capable. It's all my fault anyway."

He glanced back momentarily over the bump of his shoulder. "I should be the one saying gomen. Really."

A pathetique feeling slithered in her gut, its heavy deepness soon squirming through every part of her. Juuhachi watched Krillen begin to pick up the bits and pieces of his "to be", or rather."was" gracious gift, moving with a deliberate slowness.

"By the way, I don't think we should bring anything to the picnic at Hanami. Chichi should have enough if she's going to be trying to feed so many saiyans. Don't you think so?"

"Picnic?" she uttered, loud enough only for her ears.

"So don't worry about the food."

Juuhachi searched her withering mind for answers. A picnic, since when had she ever.Juuhachi glared at the floor, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. She had never.

Hanami?

She didn't even realize Krillen had turned back around. He stared at her with shadowed pupils.

"You didn't forget did you? We've been talking about it all week."

"N-Nani? No! No.Of course I didn't forget," she bluntly lied. "It's just.just the headache getting in the way again."

Krillen pointed to the cabinet to his right, handfuls of the mess in his arms. "Advil's at the back. You might want to take it with you." He tried to smile feebly.

Juuhachi gave her own tiny smile back, all she could manage at the moment. She watched him shuffle to the garbage can and drop the sharp contents in. Then she slowly wandered herself over to the cabinet, avoiding the glass, and juggled around until she found the medication. It was doubtful it would be enough, but it was worth a try. She felt like her head was going to explode.

"Arigato.," she uttered quietly. Krillen didn't reply.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Back outside the kitchen, Juuhachi leaned depressively against the wall, inhaling bitter air. She raised the Advil bottle to her eyes and stared. Opening the top, she popped back six.

The android could still hear her husband bustling around. She had never felt so horrible about such hateful words in her life, until she'd seen the look on his face. Juuhachi could not believe how badly she had lost control. So unlike her.

"Damn this headache," she muttered, acidly. Then she popped another three.

A sudden click and a droning creak sounded from back in the kitchen. Feet padded against the hardwood floor before a voice beckoned out.

"Hey dad! Is mom up yet?"

Juuhachi cringed, hidden from any peering eyes. Marron.

"Ooh, pancakes! Can I have one? Mmm.smells nice in here."

Krillen must have nodded, for Marron was quiet for a minute.

"Arigato, Tousan. Ah.I see you broke some of Okasan's plates.Mm.Let me help."

"No, no, Marron-chan. I don't want you to cut yourself."

Marron paused, taking in her dad's heart-fallen expression. Her own blond eyebrows quirked with recognition.

"You don't look to good, Tousan. Are you all right? Where IS Okasan?"

"."

"Tousan?"

"She's.still getting ready."

"Ah."

"."

"**sigh**"

"Did she like the pancakes?"

"Mmm.yah, sure. She did."

"Are you sure you're all right, Tousan?"

Krillen laughed, thankful for his daughter's forward concern. He stood and gave her his warmest grin.

"I'm fine."

".Is Okasan all right?"

A pause. And then, "She's a little upset."

"Really? Wow.what happened? Did the mess get to her? I'll help you clean that up too, Tousan."

Looking up at his teenaged daughter, his eyes fill with a slight pity for himself. Nevertheless, he hid their pain's with another reassuring smile.

"Nothing.She's just.having a bad day."

Juuhachi closed her eyes, hearing her own words repeated to her daughter. A bad day? More like a nightmare. Not wanting to hear anymore, she pushed her thin body away from the hard wall and began to slowly trail back down the hall and towards the stairs. But--and she halted just before she pulled herself up to the first step--something made her stop.

That stuffed rat...

Now on its side from when she dropped it, its soft, navy blue body caught her weary eye again. The thing...animal seemed just as dead and just as forlorn as when she'd first picked it up.

Closing her eyes against the wave of pain in her head, she turned away. She didn't have time to be thinking about children's toys. She'd remind Marron to pick it up later.

(Dead.)

Yes, later.after she finished getting ready for this so called picnic...Hanami...whatever the hell Krillen had called it. Slithering up the stairs as quietly as possible, she disappeared from view, trying to ignore the endless headache she endured.

It still stared, motionless, in her direction, it's marble-like eyes glistening in the sunlight from the living room windows. If Juuhachi had stopped her ascent of the stairs and taken one final look back, just one, she would have swore she saw something in those ugly little spheres. Maybe a flicker of life or a reflection from the sun.either way, it seemed to watch her slump up the long stairs with a bow in her neck and a pained expression on her face. Knowing.Feeling.Believing.

Understanding...