A/N: Final chapter!!! Enjoy!!
CH 6
Vegeta smirked, taking the blow from his son and flipping to land gracefully and return charging towards him. Miari ducked the first few blows, then aimed to kick through the opening in his defense. Vegeta caught him and threw him back against the wall. Shaking it off, he jumped to his feet to resume the fight.
After a few weeks, it was now Christmas Eve day. Having nothing better to do with the day, Vegeta decided it was time to see how his son had been doing in the area of training. Miari had agreed to his challenge, hoping that he hadn't gotten too rusty, admitting to himself he hadn't been training as much as he probably should have been.
For the past few days, Miari had been learning more and more about this life. After the initial snow war three weeks ago, Miari had spent his time playing with Trunks and Bra who taught him a lot, or hanging out with Gohan who explained everything they couldn't. Even though in that time they had sparred and trained a little, Vegeta now wanted a one-on-one match with his son, to test his true power.
However, even if Miari wanted to give him his full attention at the moment, he found it impossible. Tomorrow was Christmas, when he would have to decided whether he would really stay in this time or not.
It shouldn't have been a hard choice, and it wouldn't seem like it to someone who didn't understand. Who didn't understand what it was like to see all those people suffer for so many years. He'd known them for so long, some only by face, but he still knew them all the same.
The woman with long brown hair and her daughter who always wore the same little green dress. And Daren, that young teenage boy and his girl friend Claire who were always together. Both orphans, and both in love. And Tsuyo, just born a month ago to a woman with short, light pink hair. So sweet and inarguably adorable.
Them, and so many others me could see in his mind's eye. All wanting nothing more than for the world to go back to the way it was, even when some didn't know what that was like, but just knew it was better than what they were living in now. But that couldn't be. Never. He knew it with a hopeless certainty.
But did that give him the right to abandon them?
Miari sighed, slumping on the floor of the gravity room after being thrown against the wall again, breathing hard. Vegeta stood above him with his arms crossed.
"Haven't been training much I see," he said. Miari looked up, shaking his head.
"No, I guess not. Or at least not as hard as you." Vegeta smirked.
"Well, you haven't completely let yourself go. You took longer to knock out than I thought you would," he admitted, letting himself transform back to normal. Miari returned to normal as well.
"You didn't knock me out," he said. "Just out of the air."
"No, I meant out of your daydream. Besides, you stayed on the floor long enough that I could have killed you. It works well enough for me." Miari scowled, standing. "But don't worry brat," he told him, "Now that you're staying here, I'll see to it personally that you don't slack off."
He looked down to the floor, not responding to that. Looking out of the window of the G.R., he asked, "How do you know if I'm going to stay?" Vegeta grunted.
"Why wouldn't you?" Miari shrugged.
"I don't know. I guess just because," he paused, "maybe I don't belong here." Vegeta snorted again.
"What are you talking about brat? Don't like it here?" Miari shook his head.
"No! No, that's not it at all! I love it here. It's a lot more fun then back home."
"Then what's the problem?" Miari shrugged.
"Well, I was talking to Piccolo a while ago. He said something about having a destiny and that our life is already planned for us since the day we're born. I'm thinking, if I feel so strongly that I should go home, that that's where I should be. That maybe that's were I should stay."
"Why do you feel you should leave?"
"Because I'm supposed to." Vegeta scowled.
"Who cares what you're 'supposed' to do? What should that have to do with anything?"
Miari turned back to the floor. "Because it's my responsibility. Maybe I do like it better here, but so what? Maybe I should go back. Maybe it's my destiny to stay there with them."
There was quiet between them both for several seconds. Vegeta walked over to him, putting his hand on his shoulder. Miari was startled a bit by the gesture, but didn't let on.
"Brat," Vegeta said, "You should know something: For Saiyans, there is no such thing as destiny." Miari looked up at him, as Vegeta backed away, crossing his arms. "Destiny is for lazy bakas who are too think-headed to admit sometimes shit happens and sometimes the position your in is one you put yourself in."
"So you think I brought this on myself?"
"No, I think that thinking you have to stay there because it's 'destiny' is stupid. Nothing is planned out in life. You make for yourself what you can of your situation. If that place is as bad as you say, if it has as little chance for ever getting better, then I think you should consider if that's what you want to be left with when it's all over." Miari stared, not understanding at first. Vegeta scowled.
"I'm saying, baka," he said, "that if you had one day left alive, only one, where would you spend it? What would you want?"
"I'd want to be here."
"Then stay here. Destiny isn't what life gives you. It's not where life puts you. It's what you do with your life and what you do for yourself that makes your destiny." Miari nodded.
"Maybe you're right," he said. Vegeta 'humphed'.
"Of course I'm right! Brat! Now come on," he said. "Kakkoroto and those other bakas are probably here by now and the woman will yell at us if we don't go over there soon."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All afternoon, and late into the night, they had a party. Food, music, dancing, everything. Of course, the chibis had to go to bed early, or risk Santa not coming.
When they decided to call it a night, Bulma led everyone into spare bedrooms, which the house seemed to have an endless supply of. It took work to get all of the Saiyans off of their sugar high from the cookies and candy, but after letting them work it off in a few quick spars outside, even they were tired enough for sleep.
Well, not all of them. While he wasn't wide awake, Miari wasn't asleep either. Rolling over to look at the alarm clock, he saw it was already three o'clock in the morning. He sat up, now feeling restless. Gently, he climbed out of bed and crept over to the window. Slowly, he opened it and flew out to land on the roof of Capsule Corp.
He sat down after brushing away a clear area from the snow that had gathered on the roof and looked over the city. Maybe the woods were nice and peaceful, but the city had a certain air of human life that the forest lacked. The lights glowing softly below, mirroring the stars in the sky gave him a sense of peace.
"Pretty huh?" Miari nodded, already knowing who the voice belonged too.
"Yeah, it is Gohan." Gohan smiled and came to sit next to him, clearing off a spot for himself. Neither said anything to each other for a while.
"Thinking about something?" asked Gohan. Miari nodded. "What? If you don't mind my asking." Miari shrugged.
"Home." More silence. Miari turned to Gohan. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course," he said. Miari thought.
"Gohan, do you think it's wrong for me to stay here?" Gohan looked at him strangely.
"No, of course not. Why would you think something like that Miari?"
"Well, it's my choice, whether to stay here or not. And, people say I should do what I want. But does that make it right? That's all I want to know. I keep asking, and everyone keeps telling me I should stay. But that doesn't answer my question!"
"Miari I-"
"I mean, it would be great to stay here! It would be the best! But I think about all those people, and no matter what I say to myself I feel like I'm turning my back on them. And in the end, I care a lot about all of them. Even if I don't really know them as well as I should. And everyone pretty much knows everyone over there. I don't know. I just can't get over it!" he ranted.
"Miari I-"
"Maybe I'm just thinking about it too much. Maybe I should just stop thinking about it and stay. I mean I guess that's what I'm gonna end up doing anyway. Whether I want to or not. I mean how could I say 'no'? After all Bulma's gone through too. I'd feel bad if I left. And I know she wants me to stay-"
"Miari!" he yelled, trying to get his words in between Miari's ranting. "Look, I think they're right. This is your choice and you should do what makes you happy. YOU, Miari. Not everyone else, and not what everyone else thinks would make you happy. I know everyone's kinda giving you an idea about what you should do, They all want you to stay Miari. You're one of us." There was a pause, then he continued, "But then again, you're very different. It might seem like an easy choice to us, but I guess it's different from your perspective."
"I thought it would be an easy choice. I feel like a fool because everyone seems to know what I should do but me. And the thing is they all agree with each other."
"Miari, only you know what's right for you. You aren't a kid anymore. I'm not a kid anymore. I decided, even though fighting seemed like what I loved, and what I should do, that what I really wanted was to be something more. I fought with it inside for a long time. I was good at fighting. My dad was a warrior. I was strong. But it just didn't feel right on some level. There was something inside me that didn't want to fight. I feeling or an impulse to learn and make something more of myself in the human world. Not just to be a scholar for my mom, but I guess so I could make sure my family would always have me around. Not like how my father was gone all the time.
"The point is, you have to chose what you really want. And when you finally admit it to yourself, you realize that it wasn't such a hard choice after all. If you're finding it so hard to make the choice to stay, maybe it isn't the choice you should be making."
Miari thought about that for a while, both shivering from the icy wind. It was probably going to start snowing soon. He looked up at the sky, watching all the stars above winking down. The same ones he looked up too at home. And yet these ones were different. They weren't the ones he'd watched late at night from his window when it was late and he would wait for Gohan to come back from fighting, back when he was much to young to go. They weren't the ones who'd watched him shed tears for the death of him. Or the ones to comfort him when he was apprehensive about the first trip he took to the past all those years ago.
Sighing heavily, he stood up, Gohan following in suit.
"You're right," he said, turning to face him. "A choice like this, should be so hard." He closed his eyes, and turned to let the wind blow his hair back. "And now that I think about it, it isn't." Gohan smiled
"So, you've decided then?" Miari nodded. "You sure?" He nodded again.
Jumping down from the roof, he was already digging in his pocket. Gohan followed him down.
"So what will you do when you get there." Miari smiled.
"Well, first I think I'm gonna reintroduce Christmas. Even if I have to build a spaceship and go somewhere else to get all the stuff I need."
"How will you build a ship?"
"I don't know. But I'll just worry about that when I get there."
"You sure you got everything you need?"
"Yeah. I have all my stuff in capsules. I guess really I though I would do this all along." Gohan smiled some more. Miari's fingers finally found what they were looking for, and he pulled out the capsule.
Looking down at the small piece of cold metal in his hands, he realized this would probably be the last time he used it. He pressed the small button on top, tossing it a few feet away.
It burst open to it's full glory, still perfectly clean on the outside, despite the fact it was practically held together with paperclips underneath. Miari ran he hand over the word that was scrawled on the side in black marker. The only thing he'd lived on for a long time. The only time that kept him going. And what he felt, could maybe, in that one and a million chance save all those people now.
Hope.
"I'll miss you Miari," Gohan said. Miari turned to face him one last time. Saying good-bye to the closest thing he'd to Gohan forever.
"I'll miss you too. Sayonara, my friend."
"Are you going to say good-bye to the others?" Miari shook his head.
"No, somehow I think it'd be too hard. I hope they'll forgive me." Saying no more, Miari climbed into his time machine. He set all the coordinates and started the motor. As the engine came to life and he rose into the air, he waved down at Gohan, who waved back.
Looking around one last time at this place, this wonderful, happy place. He tried to remember everything exactly as it was.
'That way,' he thought, 'I'll know for sure when I've set things back to normal in my time.'
In a bright flash of white and blue light, Miari and his ship disappeared forever from the present. Finally, Miari felt he was going home.
And this time, he wasn't sad at all.
~~Owari~~~
A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! ^_^
CH 6
Vegeta smirked, taking the blow from his son and flipping to land gracefully and return charging towards him. Miari ducked the first few blows, then aimed to kick through the opening in his defense. Vegeta caught him and threw him back against the wall. Shaking it off, he jumped to his feet to resume the fight.
After a few weeks, it was now Christmas Eve day. Having nothing better to do with the day, Vegeta decided it was time to see how his son had been doing in the area of training. Miari had agreed to his challenge, hoping that he hadn't gotten too rusty, admitting to himself he hadn't been training as much as he probably should have been.
For the past few days, Miari had been learning more and more about this life. After the initial snow war three weeks ago, Miari had spent his time playing with Trunks and Bra who taught him a lot, or hanging out with Gohan who explained everything they couldn't. Even though in that time they had sparred and trained a little, Vegeta now wanted a one-on-one match with his son, to test his true power.
However, even if Miari wanted to give him his full attention at the moment, he found it impossible. Tomorrow was Christmas, when he would have to decided whether he would really stay in this time or not.
It shouldn't have been a hard choice, and it wouldn't seem like it to someone who didn't understand. Who didn't understand what it was like to see all those people suffer for so many years. He'd known them for so long, some only by face, but he still knew them all the same.
The woman with long brown hair and her daughter who always wore the same little green dress. And Daren, that young teenage boy and his girl friend Claire who were always together. Both orphans, and both in love. And Tsuyo, just born a month ago to a woman with short, light pink hair. So sweet and inarguably adorable.
Them, and so many others me could see in his mind's eye. All wanting nothing more than for the world to go back to the way it was, even when some didn't know what that was like, but just knew it was better than what they were living in now. But that couldn't be. Never. He knew it with a hopeless certainty.
But did that give him the right to abandon them?
Miari sighed, slumping on the floor of the gravity room after being thrown against the wall again, breathing hard. Vegeta stood above him with his arms crossed.
"Haven't been training much I see," he said. Miari looked up, shaking his head.
"No, I guess not. Or at least not as hard as you." Vegeta smirked.
"Well, you haven't completely let yourself go. You took longer to knock out than I thought you would," he admitted, letting himself transform back to normal. Miari returned to normal as well.
"You didn't knock me out," he said. "Just out of the air."
"No, I meant out of your daydream. Besides, you stayed on the floor long enough that I could have killed you. It works well enough for me." Miari scowled, standing. "But don't worry brat," he told him, "Now that you're staying here, I'll see to it personally that you don't slack off."
He looked down to the floor, not responding to that. Looking out of the window of the G.R., he asked, "How do you know if I'm going to stay?" Vegeta grunted.
"Why wouldn't you?" Miari shrugged.
"I don't know. I guess just because," he paused, "maybe I don't belong here." Vegeta snorted again.
"What are you talking about brat? Don't like it here?" Miari shook his head.
"No! No, that's not it at all! I love it here. It's a lot more fun then back home."
"Then what's the problem?" Miari shrugged.
"Well, I was talking to Piccolo a while ago. He said something about having a destiny and that our life is already planned for us since the day we're born. I'm thinking, if I feel so strongly that I should go home, that that's where I should be. That maybe that's were I should stay."
"Why do you feel you should leave?"
"Because I'm supposed to." Vegeta scowled.
"Who cares what you're 'supposed' to do? What should that have to do with anything?"
Miari turned back to the floor. "Because it's my responsibility. Maybe I do like it better here, but so what? Maybe I should go back. Maybe it's my destiny to stay there with them."
There was quiet between them both for several seconds. Vegeta walked over to him, putting his hand on his shoulder. Miari was startled a bit by the gesture, but didn't let on.
"Brat," Vegeta said, "You should know something: For Saiyans, there is no such thing as destiny." Miari looked up at him, as Vegeta backed away, crossing his arms. "Destiny is for lazy bakas who are too think-headed to admit sometimes shit happens and sometimes the position your in is one you put yourself in."
"So you think I brought this on myself?"
"No, I think that thinking you have to stay there because it's 'destiny' is stupid. Nothing is planned out in life. You make for yourself what you can of your situation. If that place is as bad as you say, if it has as little chance for ever getting better, then I think you should consider if that's what you want to be left with when it's all over." Miari stared, not understanding at first. Vegeta scowled.
"I'm saying, baka," he said, "that if you had one day left alive, only one, where would you spend it? What would you want?"
"I'd want to be here."
"Then stay here. Destiny isn't what life gives you. It's not where life puts you. It's what you do with your life and what you do for yourself that makes your destiny." Miari nodded.
"Maybe you're right," he said. Vegeta 'humphed'.
"Of course I'm right! Brat! Now come on," he said. "Kakkoroto and those other bakas are probably here by now and the woman will yell at us if we don't go over there soon."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All afternoon, and late into the night, they had a party. Food, music, dancing, everything. Of course, the chibis had to go to bed early, or risk Santa not coming.
When they decided to call it a night, Bulma led everyone into spare bedrooms, which the house seemed to have an endless supply of. It took work to get all of the Saiyans off of their sugar high from the cookies and candy, but after letting them work it off in a few quick spars outside, even they were tired enough for sleep.
Well, not all of them. While he wasn't wide awake, Miari wasn't asleep either. Rolling over to look at the alarm clock, he saw it was already three o'clock in the morning. He sat up, now feeling restless. Gently, he climbed out of bed and crept over to the window. Slowly, he opened it and flew out to land on the roof of Capsule Corp.
He sat down after brushing away a clear area from the snow that had gathered on the roof and looked over the city. Maybe the woods were nice and peaceful, but the city had a certain air of human life that the forest lacked. The lights glowing softly below, mirroring the stars in the sky gave him a sense of peace.
"Pretty huh?" Miari nodded, already knowing who the voice belonged too.
"Yeah, it is Gohan." Gohan smiled and came to sit next to him, clearing off a spot for himself. Neither said anything to each other for a while.
"Thinking about something?" asked Gohan. Miari nodded. "What? If you don't mind my asking." Miari shrugged.
"Home." More silence. Miari turned to Gohan. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course," he said. Miari thought.
"Gohan, do you think it's wrong for me to stay here?" Gohan looked at him strangely.
"No, of course not. Why would you think something like that Miari?"
"Well, it's my choice, whether to stay here or not. And, people say I should do what I want. But does that make it right? That's all I want to know. I keep asking, and everyone keeps telling me I should stay. But that doesn't answer my question!"
"Miari I-"
"I mean, it would be great to stay here! It would be the best! But I think about all those people, and no matter what I say to myself I feel like I'm turning my back on them. And in the end, I care a lot about all of them. Even if I don't really know them as well as I should. And everyone pretty much knows everyone over there. I don't know. I just can't get over it!" he ranted.
"Miari I-"
"Maybe I'm just thinking about it too much. Maybe I should just stop thinking about it and stay. I mean I guess that's what I'm gonna end up doing anyway. Whether I want to or not. I mean how could I say 'no'? After all Bulma's gone through too. I'd feel bad if I left. And I know she wants me to stay-"
"Miari!" he yelled, trying to get his words in between Miari's ranting. "Look, I think they're right. This is your choice and you should do what makes you happy. YOU, Miari. Not everyone else, and not what everyone else thinks would make you happy. I know everyone's kinda giving you an idea about what you should do, They all want you to stay Miari. You're one of us." There was a pause, then he continued, "But then again, you're very different. It might seem like an easy choice to us, but I guess it's different from your perspective."
"I thought it would be an easy choice. I feel like a fool because everyone seems to know what I should do but me. And the thing is they all agree with each other."
"Miari, only you know what's right for you. You aren't a kid anymore. I'm not a kid anymore. I decided, even though fighting seemed like what I loved, and what I should do, that what I really wanted was to be something more. I fought with it inside for a long time. I was good at fighting. My dad was a warrior. I was strong. But it just didn't feel right on some level. There was something inside me that didn't want to fight. I feeling or an impulse to learn and make something more of myself in the human world. Not just to be a scholar for my mom, but I guess so I could make sure my family would always have me around. Not like how my father was gone all the time.
"The point is, you have to chose what you really want. And when you finally admit it to yourself, you realize that it wasn't such a hard choice after all. If you're finding it so hard to make the choice to stay, maybe it isn't the choice you should be making."
Miari thought about that for a while, both shivering from the icy wind. It was probably going to start snowing soon. He looked up at the sky, watching all the stars above winking down. The same ones he looked up too at home. And yet these ones were different. They weren't the ones he'd watched late at night from his window when it was late and he would wait for Gohan to come back from fighting, back when he was much to young to go. They weren't the ones who'd watched him shed tears for the death of him. Or the ones to comfort him when he was apprehensive about the first trip he took to the past all those years ago.
Sighing heavily, he stood up, Gohan following in suit.
"You're right," he said, turning to face him. "A choice like this, should be so hard." He closed his eyes, and turned to let the wind blow his hair back. "And now that I think about it, it isn't." Gohan smiled
"So, you've decided then?" Miari nodded. "You sure?" He nodded again.
Jumping down from the roof, he was already digging in his pocket. Gohan followed him down.
"So what will you do when you get there." Miari smiled.
"Well, first I think I'm gonna reintroduce Christmas. Even if I have to build a spaceship and go somewhere else to get all the stuff I need."
"How will you build a ship?"
"I don't know. But I'll just worry about that when I get there."
"You sure you got everything you need?"
"Yeah. I have all my stuff in capsules. I guess really I though I would do this all along." Gohan smiled some more. Miari's fingers finally found what they were looking for, and he pulled out the capsule.
Looking down at the small piece of cold metal in his hands, he realized this would probably be the last time he used it. He pressed the small button on top, tossing it a few feet away.
It burst open to it's full glory, still perfectly clean on the outside, despite the fact it was practically held together with paperclips underneath. Miari ran he hand over the word that was scrawled on the side in black marker. The only thing he'd lived on for a long time. The only time that kept him going. And what he felt, could maybe, in that one and a million chance save all those people now.
Hope.
"I'll miss you Miari," Gohan said. Miari turned to face him one last time. Saying good-bye to the closest thing he'd to Gohan forever.
"I'll miss you too. Sayonara, my friend."
"Are you going to say good-bye to the others?" Miari shook his head.
"No, somehow I think it'd be too hard. I hope they'll forgive me." Saying no more, Miari climbed into his time machine. He set all the coordinates and started the motor. As the engine came to life and he rose into the air, he waved down at Gohan, who waved back.
Looking around one last time at this place, this wonderful, happy place. He tried to remember everything exactly as it was.
'That way,' he thought, 'I'll know for sure when I've set things back to normal in my time.'
In a bright flash of white and blue light, Miari and his ship disappeared forever from the present. Finally, Miari felt he was going home.
And this time, he wasn't sad at all.
~~Owari~~~
A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! ^_^