Welcome to another, and quite long awaited, chapter of SI!

I'd like to again apologize for the five months that it has taken me to update. I hope you all enjoyed the small amount of suspense in that little note I left back there. I didn't upload over it b/c it's been so long.

Okay, here's a little information for you guys.

Right after moving back the South Carolina, where my parents are, my mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I have moved in with them so that I may help out, and with my new school, the updating has become very hard. I plan to release another chapter of one of my other fics also, and I'm pre-apologizing for the shortness of this update. I really want to finish it before it's lapsed an entire year, so sine I'm on break, I'm going to do what I can.

Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers and those who don't. If you take the time to get this far, then I still appreciate it. I used to be able to finish a story in a day, but now it's gotten harder, so I'm going to work on how I release my writing from now on.

Enjoy guys, it may or may not be all you get from me for a while. Hopefully not, but things do happen.

And as a last note, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the reviewer of my little note who took the time to write the word "update" 60 times and even spaced it out. This reviewer was anonymous, but I'd love to find out who you are.

Chapter XXX - Broken Glass

Trunks threw down the piece of paper, as though it were a snake ready to strike and glared down at his sister with what looked like disgust.

Now, this was a new concept for Bura. She and her brother had certainly had their falling-outs before, but he had never given her that kind of look.

'This isn't going to be good,' she told herself, but then again, it wasn't exactly like things had been easy lately. With Trunks constantly catering to Lena's every whim, and Marron planning weddings and baby-sitting, making the two finally realize that they were getting nowhere without each other was the most complex problem she had ever attacked. She nodded to herself, reasserting her plans and deciding to continue with her planned course of action.

"Trunks," she began quietly, "I know that you're mad about the notes, bu—"

He cut her off. "Mad? I'm not just mad, Bura. I'm furious, irate, enraged, acrimonious! What if I hadn't intercepted this letter to Marron, or worse, what if Lena had some how discovered the one to me?"

Bura shrugged. Lena wasn't a bad person. She actually liked the woman, but the fact was that she was in the way of progress, and since the end result would justify the means, she was willing to take that chance. Bura looked up at her ranting brother to see that he was still scowling at her. 'Hmm, I don't think I've ever been scowled at before,' Bura mused.

Trunks caught the gleam of laughter in her eyes and only became more infuriated as a small smile spread its way over his sister's lips. He sat down beside her on the couch. "Bura," he began softly, "I know you're trying to do what you think is best, but did you ever stop to consider the repercussions that could result from this? What if Marron had gotten that note and showed up to meet me tonight?" He paused. "What if she had been there, and I hadn't?"

The curve of her mouth slowly fell as the "what ifs" sank in. Okay, so she obviously hadn't thought about that.

Seeing that something was actually getting through to her, Trunks continued. "Bura, I tried everything. You were there. I tried to get her to love me, for months, and she still turned me down. She thinks being with someone else will make me happy, and it has. And haven't you seen her lately? She's happy too."

Bura looked away and sighed. Yep, that was her brother, still taking everything at face value. Marron wasn't happy, not really, and deep down, neither was Trunks. He was just too stupid to realize that.

She let out a deep breath and fell backwards against the cushions slightly. Just how was she supposed to get this idiot to understand? Sure, Marron had pushed him away, but a few months, and he was ready to give up? Marron had been in love with him for years. Granted, she hadn't exactly done much to get Trunks, or even notify him of her feelings, but she had maintained them. "Trunks, I--"

"Let me finish, Bura," he said firmly.

What was this? He still wasn't finished? Bura did her best to keep her eyeballs in their forward position, but they still managed to twitch slightly.

"I am in love with Lena."

'So he thinks. Geez, is there anyone who my brother's not in love with?' She watched his mouth curl into a grin. That couldn't be good. 'What's he got up his sleeve?'

"In fact," he went on, "I asked her to marry me last night, and she agreed."

'WHAT!!!?' She forced a smile. "That's great, Trunks." 'Great? This is horrible. Why, oh why, Dende, do they keep working against me?'

He sighed. "Don't say that, if you don't mean it, but at least be nice when you see Lena. She has no idea about what you're trying to do with Marron, and I intend to keep it that way. They're friends, Bura. Why can't you just be a good friend to?"

That made her mad. How dare he question her motives as a friend?! "I am being a good friend, Trunks. I'm trying to keep two of the people who I care about the most from making the biggest mistake of their lives."

He shook his head and got up, heading for the door. "I'm warning you, Bura, if I find out that you've meddled in my life, or Lena's, one more time, you won't like what happens."

She waited for the door to close before rolling her eyes. "Dear brother, when are you going to learn that you can't scare a Saiyan with threats?" She smiled and picked up the phone. "Certain death over time…"

· · · · · · · · · · · · · § · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Marron leaned back on the rooftop of her studio. She sighed tiredly, while gazing up at the stars. It hadn't been clear like this for a couple of months now. (*grins* WAY too much Flannery O'Connor...)

"Trunks is getting married..." she had heard Bura whisper over the phone.

Forty-seven seconds had never seemed so long before, but that's how long it had taken for her to recover her breath again and recover her voice. (Humor me. I think in REAL time not exaggerated time.)

"Marron?" Bura was panicking with worry already.

"That's wonderful. Tell them congratulations for me, will you?"

"Marron," the voice was quiet again, "do you need me to come over there?"

She scoffed. "Whatever for, Bura? I'm fine."

Okay, she was wrong. She wasn't fine. No one else needed to know that.

After all, Trunks was moving on...

"You make me wonder whether or not becoming a mortal is such a good idea."

Marron shot up at the familiar voice. "What?" She looked around. No one was in sight. 'Okay, maybe I'm not okay. Maybe I'm going crazy.'

Laughter floated through the air. "You'd like that, huh? Maybe crazy is what you need. Is this your next tactic?"

"T-tactic?"

The spirit materialized beside Marron. "You know, your tactics to get the one you love."

"Oh, but I don't l--"

She wagged her finger. "Nuh uhh uhh! You can lie to your friends. You can lie to him." She grew quiet. "You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me."

Marron pulled her knees up to her chest and dropped her head between them. "Where did it all go wrong? I mean...what have I done?"

"You still don't get it, Marron. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't do anything, and that's the problem."

"Elese," she lifted her head slightly and turned to her, "you don't underst—"

"Don't tell me that I don't understand this. I understand better than anyone. I can see inside you—your heart and your mind. I know what you want, what you really desire. But for some reason, you're blind to it."

"Okay, so you're saying that I should have told Trunks how I felt, opened my heart to him...and then what? Let him stomp on it? No thanks. I'd rather suffer in silence."

"Even when you're making others suffer?"

"What are you talking about? I'm not hurting anyone else."

"Oh? Have you ever thought about how Bura and Goten feel? They've been working with us for months now, just to help you, and things have only become worse."

The only indication that Marron gave that she had heard the declaration was the slight shake of her head.

"Or what about Epica and myself? Two hundred years is a long time to dream about a chance at redemption. And once it's earned, there seems to be no hope in succeeding at what we set out to do."

"Look, I'm sorry. Maybe Dende will grant you another mission."

Elese huffed. "You only get one second change! We were lucky to not be encased in that jar for the rest of eternity after what you did to yourself. You lost hope, Marron. Have you gotten it back yet?"

She looked away. "I'm happy."

"Stop lying! If you were happy, I wouldn't still be here. Not like this!" She made a fist and struggled to calm herself. She began again, quietly, "If this is the way that you're determined to live out the rest of your life, then our sacrifice was in vain, because you're better off dead."

"Why do you want to hurt me?" Marron asked in a torn voice.

"I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm just telling you the truth. Denying yourself that which you really want in life is no way to live. You say you want what's best for Trunks. You say you want him to move on, but you don't move on yourself."

"Trunks is getting married, Elese. He's trying to move on; so am I."

Elese shook her head. "What does it take to get through to you?"

"What...?"

"Trunks is only engaged, and I'll bet he has no plans to mate Lena. If you want him, fight. If not, cut your losses and stop pretending. You can't linger in the gray area, Marron. It's either black or white." Elese waited for Marron to look at her, but seeing that she was planning to do no such thing, she shook her head and faded away.

"Black or white..." Marron whispered softly.

· · · · · · · · · · · · · § · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

"Do you think you got through to her?"

"Only time..."

Well, I told you it was short.

How about some Kit-Kat? It's a really big one!

Thanks again to all my reviewers and friends!